“Aggie! That bird up there!” I cried, pointing up to the tree. “He sounds weak, I think he’s wounded. You have to go get him.”
Tor looked up into the tree again, squinted, I noticed when he saw him because he squinted harder then he looked down at me.
“You jest,” he stated.
“Do I look like a jest?” I shrieked, throwing out an arm. “That’s Aggie! You have to save him!”
“Cora, that bird is half dead,” he informed me evenly.
“Then that means he’s also half alive!” I yelled.
He stared at me for a long moment then he moved into me, pulling me into him with a gentle tug on my hand and he lifted his other hand to curl his fingers around my neck.
“Sweets,” he said softly, “are you attached to this animal?”
“Yes, no, uh… kind of. I’ve only met him once but he was cute. Does it matter? He needs help.”
“You’ve only met him once?” Tor asked.
“Yes, the morning I woke up in this world. He was in my room. He was there when the curse started. I’ve never talked to a bird before, he was my first and, um… only, I guess. But it was cool. You can’t talk to animals at home, I mean, you can but they can’t talk back. He talks back. I mean, he chirps back but in a way where I understand him.”
“Of course,” he replied.
Awesome! He got it!
“So you have to have heard him too! He’s in distress!”
His head tipped to the side. “No, Cora, I can’t hear small birds. Women can hear small birds, rabbits, deer, cats, mice and the like. Men can hear horses, dogs, wolves, birds of prey, snakes and the like. I can’t hear him.”
Whoa. Weird.
I wanted to hear more about that but just not at that particular moment.
“Okay, well, I can and he needs help,” I told him.
“Was this bird your pet?”
“Uh, I don’t think so. He flew in from outside.
He pulled in breath through his nostrils. Then he got closer and his fingers curled deeper into my neck.
Then he said, “Love, you can talk to the wild animals but you can’t form attachments to them.”
“What on earth? Why?” I exclaimed.
His face dipped closer to mine. “Because, my sweet, they’re wild and this,” he jerked his chin up slightly, “happens and you have to let it happen.”
I took a step back and declared, “Oh no I don’t!”
“Cora –”
“Please, Tor, I’m asking you to climb up that tree and save Aggie.”
“Love –”
“Please!” I cried.
“You shouldn’t –”