Cally the bird

Prinah looks up at the door and notices that the sunlight occupies the room already. She closed the book, wipe its cover with her hand, and blow it to remove the dust, and put it back in the drawer. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. While her eyes closed and her both palms flat on the table, she then imagines the poem that her father wrote.

"Well done, father, you did a great job. Your poem is beautiful, and I love it." Prinah shook her head and smile, "Oh, no! father, I have to climb up; I need to find some food to eat." she remembers something, "I see, I still have a sweet potato."

Prinah used to talk to her unseen father. For her, that's the best way of expressing herself to fight her loneliness. She thinks that the more she talks, the more relieved will she become. Prinah quickly climbed up the stairs but did her best to manage her trembling knees. When she's up in the room, she closed the door after that, covers it with the mat. When she was about to get outside, she glanced at the bird at the window flapping its wings and bobbing its head.

"Cally," she smiles and acts lively as if a person had arrived, "I miss you! Why did you leave me yesterday?" Prinah tilts her head as if confronting a real person. But the bird only stares at her and bob its head.

"You must be hungry?" Prinah talks to the bird and smile, "Me too, I'm starving, wait! Do you want to join me? I have lots of sweet potatoes. Did my father planted it?" she asked the bird again pretending, that the bird will answer her. Prinah then comes closer to the window where the bird is hopping. This time the bird didn't fly away. Prinah touches the bell of the bird using her fingertips, and the bird flaps its wings and bobs its head. Prinah then rubs its feathers, and the bird stays only on the window.

"Oh! I forgot. I have to cook my food." Prinah then leaves the bird in the window; however, it stays there. Prinah turns her back and walks toward the door. Outside the house in the dirty kitchen, Prinah quickly kindles a fire and put the pot with sweet potato and water in it. In a little distance from the kitchen, Prinah espies the garden crowded with weeds occupying the space. A few moments later, something came to her mind. She walks into the storage room and look for a bolo and found it. While waiting for the sweet potato to cook, she grabbed the bolo in her hand and cleared the weeds that envelop the area. A few minutes later, sweats flowing down from her face. She was clearing under the sun.

"Whew!" Prinah exhale and squint at the sunlight while wiping her face with her arms, "This a good exercise. Father! You love doing this, right?" she shakes her head and smiles while assumingly talking to her father.

Prinah glanced sideways into the kitchen and found the pot has blown a thin smoke indicated the sweet potato cooked already. As she feels the heat of the sunlight, she extended her left arm sideward. But to her surprise, the bird speedily lands in her arm. She was stunned, her jaw dropped, and her eyes wide opened as she quickly turns to her left side. The bird intentionally landed on her arm, flapping its wings as it balances its body, gently holding her arm. Prinah knitted her eyebrows and smile as she notices that the bird uses to do that hobby. She discovers that she had made a gesture that makes the bird landed on her. When Prinah attempts to put down her arm, the bird flies around in a few meters around her. Prinah laughs as she is circling, looking up at the bird. She enjoys moving around her newly cleared area as the bird flies around. In a moment, she stopped and tried to extend her left arm again, smiling. And the bird landed. But she remembers something.

"Oh, no! My sweet potatoes," with wide eyes, Prinah covers her mouth with her hand," she turns to the bird, "Do you want to eat with me?" Prinah smiled, hold the bird, and placed it on her shoulder, "Really miss my father?" Prinah looks at the bird.

She then walked toward the dirty kitchen with the bird resting on her shoulder. She picks the sweet potato from the pot and puts in a banana leaf. She then holds it with her both hands and blows it to dissipate. The bird is comfortably resting on her shoulder while she sat under the big tree. The dry leaves are falling from the tree while gently blown by the wind. When the sweet potato is ready to be peeled, Prinah puts it on the ground, but the bird jumps quickly from her shoulder and takes the first bite of the potato. Prinah widely opens her mouth as she laughs, looking at what the bird has done by overtaking her.

"Oh, no! Cally, your hungry than me?" Prinah continue laughing

She touched the wings of the bird while it raises its head in swallowing the food. Prinah gives the potato to the bird and gets another one from the pot.

"Okay, that's yours, and this is mine," Prinah left her eyebrows while holding her potato while the bird is busy biting its food.

Prinah then leans her back at the root of the big tree as she sat on the ground facing the bird. While eating, she enjoys watching the birds on the branch of the tree feeding with their chicks as well. The gentle breeze with the fragrance of the sweet aroma of the wildflowers adds savor to her food. As she was looking at the bird and to herself, she realized they both hungry for care.