A curious cat watched from under a nearby chair as an excited-looking woman placed a rather large object covered by a white cloth on a hook and chain that hung from the ceiling of the household. She happily unveiled it and cooed to the creature inside. The cat's eyes widened and his tail tip twitched with interest.
A curious cat watched from under a nearby chair as an excited-looking woman placed a rather large object covered by a white cloth on a hook and chain that hung from the ceiling of the household. She happily unveiled it and cooed to the creature inside. The cat's eyes widened and his tail tip twitched with interest. The bird inside the cage squawked sleepily. The cat thought it was the most bizarre-looking creature he had ever seen. The only other birds he knew of were not as big and handsome. The song sparrows and robins stayed outside the See-Through Wall, but this bird was perched on a metal tree branch that hung not from a tree, but string. What stood out most to the cat was his handsome blue feathers. The colors of the jays paled in comparison to those of the out-of-place bird. When the woman left, the cat decided to approach it.
"Hello," he said.
"Oh," cawed the bird, cocking his azure head. "A young tiger kit. Hiloo, hiloo." He sounded old and had an accent the cat had never heard of before.
"Who are you, strange jay," said the cat.
"Who am I?" The bird flapped a wing. "I am no jay, that is for sure. Humans call me 'Macaw', but I am not that either. I am Blue Sky the Wild and Free. Now, who are you?"
"My Owner calls me Ash Ton." The cat paused before asking, "Why do you not fly around like the other birds, Blue Sky? Beyond the See-Through Wall?"
The old bird tried to chuckle, but all that came out was a weird, short screech. "I do not go beyond this cage."
"Why not? I can walk around the place as I please and Owner does not put me in a Metal Bed. Why do you not join me?" inquired the cat, taking a seat below the macaw.
"I cannot open it. The human is afraid I will fly away if I do."
"Will you?"
"Of course I will!" exclaimed the old bird, flexing his wings. "Unlike you, Ash Ton, I did not hatch among humans and owners." The tiny grey cat widened his bright green eyes.
"You didn't?" he asked, appalled by the very thought that all animals were born among Owners. Or at least all his friends were, even the dog that lived down the street and the ferret next door.
"No," said the bird, "Have you never been outside the See-Through Wall?" The kitten's gaze shifted downward.
"N-no," he mewed nervously.
"Well," began the macaw, "If you ever had you would realize that fact to be true."
"Then where were you born?" maoed the kitten.
"In a large forest surrounded by other birds and colorful flowers and monkeys and tiger kits like you."
"What happened to you?" His tail twitched as the cat sensed a good story coming along.
"Humans happened. They captured me and put me into a cage and then into a dark place inside a larger cage with no bars. The next thing I knew I was in a See-Through box and saw many of the same creatures that took me away. They came in all shapes and sizes. I screamed and cawed and squawked my lungs out for them to free me. My cries could be heard far and wide. I would get tired and fall asleep only to awaken the next day and begin the same routine. At one point I lost my voice completely! Oh, how I longed to be free! After many many sunrises I lost hope. They never let me go. I then knew that This was to be my life. Eating dry, tasteless food that looked like colored droppings and drinking stale water for days on end. Never once coming out from under the false sunlight to fly and see my forest again."
The grey tom contemplated the old bird's words and realized that they had been living quite similar lives. He had been taken unwillingly from his home. The poor tom could not even remember what color fur his mother had or what her milk smelled or tasted like. He only knew white walls and couches and dry cat food and tap water. Never once had he stepped paw into the world beyond the See-Through Walls. He had never felt Sky Water hit his pelt or White Sky Water touch his paws. Not until he had spoken to the old, worn out, out-of-place bird did he realize how much he longed for real freedom. A bird's freedom. He then had a brilliant idea. The young kit turned to the bird.
"Would you like to see this 'forest' thing again?" mewled the tom.
"Of course," cawed the bird.
"All right then."
The cat got to his paws, backed up, and jumped high, shaking the golden cage and unhinging the door. The macaw released a cry of freedom and flew out the open See-Through Wall. Saying, "Great thanks to you, to you, to you! Young tiger kit!"
The human woman rushed to the scene and shrieked when she saw her cat standing under an empty cage. Heart pounding and excitement in his eyes, the cat followed the path of the bird and launched himself out the window as well. Running away from the house, felling the grass beneath his claws, he looked up and saw his friend's silhouette against the blue sky.
Odenall Pi -- E.S. Posthumus
