(no subject)
Leon Vargus was 46 when he first saw the dozens of birds in the lobby of the hospice where his mother Leona was. The birds were in a gilt cage filled with tree branches, swings and little whistles that hung from strings of yarn variously placed. Leon approached the cage dragging his feet with a daft expression on his face. As he stared at the tiny animals fluttering about he noticed that one of the brids, a sparrow seemed to have a broken wing. The sparrow sat on the floor of the cage blinking imperceptibly from time to time. Its feathers on the wing were matted and ruffled in spots. The sparrow rubbed its beak up and down through the feathers, tried to hop a bit and invariable gave up and left himself for dead. The lobby was empty except for a nurse at the front desk who was occupied on the telephone telling somebody on the other end "No, Donald. I already told you that it's your turn to call the cleaning supplies company and get this taken care of. Every time they make us a delivery we have an obscene amount of spic n span and not a bottle of ajax in the damn building. Tell them to fix it and that it better not happen again or else we're going to switch and this is the last time I'm going to say it." She put down the phone in the cradle with a slam and began to fix her hair.
Leon scratched his big belly and lingered in front of the cage until it was too much for him. The sparrow chirped. Leon stuck his finger in the cage to pat the little birds head. Promptly, the nurse at the front desk took action upon viewing such a sight. "Sir! Sir, pleeeease! do no touch the birds. Read the sign please!" Leon looked up to see a sign tacked on to the wall above the cage that read "Please keep appendages out of bird cage due to hospice liability. Thank you." Now, she was walking around from behind the desk and squinting her eyes up at Leon as she advanced. "Can I help you find someone sir? A family member of some sort?" Leon stared mournfully at the woman and then back at the cage again. "I think that this bird needs a doctor." He said reverently. "A Doctor!" the nurse gawked. "Sir I don't know if you know this but I have crazy people covering every inch of this hospital and half of them are falling apart at the seams as we speak. I'd be lucky if one night went by where I didn't have to clean up urine or keep someones mother from trying to climb the walls. Now if you please, I can help you on your way or I would appreciate it if you wouldn't antagonize the birds any further." "Well what's going to happen to the sparrow?", he asked. "Damned if I do know, Damned if I don't. Probably call the coroner on his way out and tell him to take this one with him as well." The nurse walked back to her perch at the service desk where she took out a paperback book from a drawer and read quietly there until a bell rang and a man on the other side of a loudspeaker asked if she could assist him in room 3-a with an unruly woman who refuses to take her medicine before bed. The nurse held her head in her hands for a minute or two and then walked down the long hallway behind the desk.
Kneeling down beside the cage now, Leon was careful not to touch anything. He blew a bit of breath gently towards the sparrow on the ground. It squinted a bit and closed its eyes as if sleeping. Leon got up abruptly figuring he should be on his way to see leona before it got too late. When he arrived at her room he pushed the door open just a bit so as not to startle her. Leona was laying in bed with the television tuned to a christmas program on public television. The blinds were open to the courtyard where all the trees were bare leaved and white. Leona Did not stir. Leon got up from his chair, tucked the covers around his mother and kissed her forehead as he was about to go. Startled, Leon stepped back a moment and stood there, eyes on Leona waiting in the silence. In the hallway there was the sound of a nurses heels clicking down the corridor. Leon reached into his pocket and removed the sleeping bird from his coat. He placed the sparrow, still warm, on the his mothers pillow and bid the two farewell.
Leon scratched his big belly and lingered in front of the cage until it was too much for him. The sparrow chirped. Leon stuck his finger in the cage to pat the little birds head. Promptly, the nurse at the front desk took action upon viewing such a sight. "Sir! Sir, pleeeease! do no touch the birds. Read the sign please!" Leon looked up to see a sign tacked on to the wall above the cage that read "Please keep appendages out of bird cage due to hospice liability. Thank you." Now, she was walking around from behind the desk and squinting her eyes up at Leon as she advanced. "Can I help you find someone sir? A family member of some sort?" Leon stared mournfully at the woman and then back at the cage again. "I think that this bird needs a doctor." He said reverently. "A Doctor!" the nurse gawked. "Sir I don't know if you know this but I have crazy people covering every inch of this hospital and half of them are falling apart at the seams as we speak. I'd be lucky if one night went by where I didn't have to clean up urine or keep someones mother from trying to climb the walls. Now if you please, I can help you on your way or I would appreciate it if you wouldn't antagonize the birds any further." "Well what's going to happen to the sparrow?", he asked. "Damned if I do know, Damned if I don't. Probably call the coroner on his way out and tell him to take this one with him as well." The nurse walked back to her perch at the service desk where she took out a paperback book from a drawer and read quietly there until a bell rang and a man on the other side of a loudspeaker asked if she could assist him in room 3-a with an unruly woman who refuses to take her medicine before bed. The nurse held her head in her hands for a minute or two and then walked down the long hallway behind the desk.
Kneeling down beside the cage now, Leon was careful not to touch anything. He blew a bit of breath gently towards the sparrow on the ground. It squinted a bit and closed its eyes as if sleeping. Leon got up abruptly figuring he should be on his way to see leona before it got too late. When he arrived at her room he pushed the door open just a bit so as not to startle her. Leona was laying in bed with the television tuned to a christmas program on public television. The blinds were open to the courtyard where all the trees were bare leaved and white. Leona Did not stir. Leon got up from his chair, tucked the covers around his mother and kissed her forehead as he was about to go. Startled, Leon stepped back a moment and stood there, eyes on Leona waiting in the silence. In the hallway there was the sound of a nurses heels clicking down the corridor. Leon reached into his pocket and removed the sleeping bird from his coat. He placed the sparrow, still warm, on the his mothers pillow and bid the two farewell.