Free

How long had the bird been in there? Had it been placed there for the cruel purpose of having it trapped inside all day? Had it simply wandered in on its own through the tiny flap in the back, searching for food, and having forgotten how it had come in in the first place? She didn’t know, but she wasn’t going to stand around knowing that the bird was in there, frightened to death and banging itself against the windows. Not after just two days ago she herself had lost the life of her beloved bird, Baby. The girl quickly stepped up to the back of the jeep and observed the window. It was plastic, held to the rump of the vehicle by two zippers, one on each side. Sighing with relief with the fact that she wouldn’t have to try another more difficult vandalizing way to get the wren out, she reached out and ran the zipper upwards, thus opening the back of the jeep and making the window a sort of opened flap.

“Come on,” she urged silently to the bird. With her being there, it had stopped its struggles to stare wearily at her with its terrified golden eyes, chest heaving from exhaustion.

“Haven’t you noticed that the only way out is over here?” she asked out loud, looking skeptically at it. She knew it didn’t understand, but it made her feel better anyway.

The wren blinked, continuing its deep breathing, but did nothing else. Realizing the bird was not going to cooperate with her mild rescue attempt, she let out an exasperated breath. “You just had to make this difficult…”

The bell to mark off the end of the current class, which luckily for her was a free period, was about to ring and indicate time for lunch. She didn’t want the owner of the car coming out and seeing her opening the back of it as if she were trying to commit a theft.

Grabbing the upper edge of the window so as to keep it open, she moved her way towards the side of the car, hoping to get her other hand in front of the stubborn creature and bang on the window. Instantly, as it saw her move towards it, the cactus wren opened its wings and zoomed away in the opposite direction. This direction, luckily, was straight out of the back of the jeep and into a leafy tree a few feet away.

Now that her good deed was completed, the girl smiled with self-praise. She had probably prevented that poor animal from suffering the intense heat of the interior of the car, and had stopped its crashing against the windows, which probably had been hurting its wings and fragile bones.

She turned back to the car, zipped it up, and walked away. Leaving it to seem like nothing had even happened. Only she and the bird would know what had taken place that brisk winter afternoon.