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Bird Island
Chapter 2
The Quarry

Patrick Fealey

    WAWP! WAWP! WAWP! WAWP!
    C’mom, Bird! You can do it!
    What are you doing to him? says the away boy.
    Teaching him to fly.
    WAWP! WAWP! WAWP! WAWP! WAWP!
    He’s gonna scare the fish, says the curly it.
    C’mon, Bird. You can do it. Look! A Fish!
    He’s feeding him our bait. It took an hour to catch those sunnies, says the curly it.
    WAWP! WAWP! WAWP! WAWP!
    Wawp is walking away with the fish. Wawp put Bird high on a ledge above the pond where the boys catch fish with their sticks. Bird is alone here and hungry. Wawp is calling Bird like Wawp is not coming back with the fish.
    Jump, Bird!
    The curly it and the away it are throwing. Wawp goes past them. Wawp goes away behind trees and appears on the other side of the water..
    WAWP! WAWP! WAWP! WAWP! WAWP!
    C’mon, Bird! Wawp stands, Wawp’s arms open, a fish moving in Wawp’s fingers. Wawp lifts Wawp’s arms and lowers Wawp’s arms, legs up and down.
    He’s not gonna do it, the curly it says.
    He can do it, Steve, Wawp says. He has all his feathers. He needs a push. His tail is almost grown in, it’s the last part. He can’t walk around forever.
    What’s the tail do?
    Stability, direction, I think.
    What if he falls in the water?
    He’ll float. I’ll go get him.
    That water’s deep.
    Deeper than a crow, I heard.
    He’d float just like a seagull, the away it says.
    Not if he’s upside-down, the curly it says.
    He’s gonna fly it. He wants the food.
    WAWP! WAWP! WAWP! WAWP! WAWP! WAWP! WAWP!
    Out of the sky dives a brown and grey bird who takes a feather off Bird’s back.
    WAAAAAAAWP!
    Mockingbirds are on him, the away it says. He better fly.
    WAWP! WAWP!
    WAWP! WAWP!
    C’mon, Bird. You can do it. I’ve got your FISH! Right here. That’s it, just flap those wings and jump. C’mon, jump!
    The water half in shadow, Wawp in the sun yelling with the fish. Can Bird get to Wawp? Bird does not want to stay here and Wawp will leave Bird here. The curly it and the away it are throwing with sticks and talking and give Bird no fish and Wawp is across the water, moving Wawp’s arms and shouting at Bird to come. But Bird is afraid to jump from this place where Bird cannot stay.
    WHAT ABOUT A GUN? The curly it says.
    WE DON’T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH GUNS, the away it says.
    HOW ARE WE GOING TO ROB A BANK WITHOUT A GUN? The curly it says.
    THE PERFECT BANK ROBBERY WHERE NO ONE IS HURT, IT’S ART, the away it says. THERE ARE SO MANY SYSTEMS IN THE WAY, YET EVERY SO OFTEN SOMEONE PULLS IT OFF.
    ART?
    Bird stands . . .
    YOU NEED INTELLIGENCE, CUNNING, TO MAKE YOUR LUCK, AND ABOVE ALL, SILENCE.
    WAWP! WAWP! WAWP! The brown bird, but why?
    what purpose? The curly it says.
    Crows are cool. Tommy is an ass.
    That mockingbird hates him, the curly it says.
    Crows eat their young.
    Not this crow. This crow can’t even fly.
    A crow is a crow to a mockingbird.
    I THINK A GUN WOULD CONVEY THE POINT WITHOUT A WORD, the curly it says.
    A GUN WILL GET YOU TWENTY YEARS, the away it says. WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT, IF THEY SO MUCH AS PUT THE CUFFS ON YOU, THE BANK IS LOOKING AT A LAWSUIT FOR WRONGFUL ARREST.
    MAYBE WE CAN TRAIN THE CROW TO GO IN AND SCARE MONEY OUT OF THEM.
    Bird stands . . .
    LISTEN. THIS IS LEGIT. WE’RE USING THE SAME STRATEGY THEY USE TO GET PEOPLE TO PUT MONEY INTO THE BANK, EXCEPT WE’RE APPLYING IT IN REVERSE.
    WAWP! WAWP!
    WHAT? Says the curly it.
    ALL YOU DO IS GO IN THERE AND GIVE THE LADY THE NOTE, the away it says.
    ONE OF THOSE?
    NO. THIS NOTE IS DIFFERENT. IT WILL SAY: “do not say a word. This is not a gun in my pocket. This is not a bank robbery. Do not give me all the money in all the drawers. If you scream or alert anyone, I will not shoot you in the face.”
    YOU WANT ME TO BRING THAT IN?
    YES, says the away it. STAY CALM. THEY WILL BE GIVING YOU THE MONEY. WALK OUT. WE’RE NOT BREAKING ANY LAW. IT’S THEIR DECISION TO GIVE YOU THE MONEY. WE’RE JUST TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THEIR FEARS. IT WOULD BE BEST TO GET A TELLER WHO LOOKS LIKE SHE HAS SOMETHING TO LIVE FOR.
    LIKE FAT, the curly it says.
    The away it and the curly it are laughing.
    Bird stands . . .
    GIVE HER THE NOTE AND DO NOT SAY A WORD. NOT A WORD.
    WHAT IF SHE SAYS HELLO?
    JUST SHUTTUP.
    The brown bird.
    WHAT IF I GET ARRESTED ANYWAY?
    YOU’LL SUE THEM, the away it says.
    I DON’T WANT TO GO TO JAIL A VIRGIN, the curly it says.
    THERE ARE FIVE SUCCESSFUL BANK ROBBERIES EVERY DAY IN LOS ANGELES. THAT’S LIKE A THOUSAND A YEAR. OURS IS JUST ONE.
    THEY PROBABLY USE GUNS.
    I THINK IT’LL WORK, the away it says.
    I GOT ONE! The curly it says. I GOT ONE! Its stick bent toward the water, jumping while it spins its hand. It bends down to the water and reaches into the water and pulls out a big silver fish by the mouth. It hangs still in its hands. It is big. It holds it toward Bird and says, WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT DO WITH THIS ONE, BIRD? THIS IS A BASS. The curly it kneels and slides the fish into the water. It splashes its hands and stands up.
    C’mon, Bird. I’ve got a fish for you. Look! Fish! C’mon! Jump!
    Bird cries. WAWP! WAWP! WAWP!
    He’s not coming, the away it says.
    You don’t know his stomach. Since he’s been sitting up there, he’s missed three meals. He’s starving. When he becomes convinced that he will perish, he’ll take the leap. He’s perfectly prepared for flight. He’s just never had a reason.
    Who woulda thought you’d need to show a bird how to fly, the curly it says.
    Some birds. Bird! C’mon! Look! Fish! Fish! Fish! Fish!
    Bird jumps . . . Bird’s opened up . . . Bird flaps . . . Bird is over the pond . . . the pond comes up to Bird . . . up from under inside Bird  . . . his wingtips touch . . . his life below him; sky above him: life in the sky . . . Bird flaps wings out of Bird’s Bird . . Bird is stroking away from the glassy surface . . . Bird strokes up and away . . . Flapping faster, flapping . . . Bird is lifted . . . Bird feels it inside BIRD . . . Bird sees Wawp waiting on the shore across the water . . . Bird rises from the pond and the air is in Bird’s eyes . . . Bird is going free with Bird . . . there is Wawp with the fish . . . Bird hits Wawp in the body . . . Bird falls flapping. . . Wawp’s hands catch Bird . . . Bird grips into Wawp’s shirt . . . Wawp is laughing . . . the curly it and the away it are laughing . .
    YOU DID IT, BIRD!
    Almost went into the drink, says the curly it.
    Good job, Bird! Fish!
    Wawp holds the fish. Bird takes it and swallows it.
    I told you guys he would do it. Wawp is walking Bird and Wawp around the pond through the trees toward the curly it and the away it. They are moving their sticks.
    Today is a big day for you, Bird, Wawp says. We’ll do it again.
    I got one, says the away it. Lost ‘em.
    Bass.
    Small one.
    Wawp bends over the metal bait bucket and traps a handful of fish.
    You can’t give him all our bait, the curly it says.
    He just had his first flight. He deserves a party.
    Wawp pinches a fish by the tail and holds its flipping body. Bird grabs it and swallows it. The fish flips inside bird. Wawp offers bird another.
    Bird is hungry.
    Let’s catch him a bass, the away it says.
    He wouldn’t know what to do with a bass, Wawp says. He’d be curious, but he couldn’t swallow it. Maybe we could teach him how to peck the eyes out and pull the intestines out the asshole like a seagull does.
    Waste of a bass, the curly it says. Why do you have to teach him everything? He’s a wild animal. He has instincts.
    Crows are different. They have brains more like us. Their parents teach them things. They live in family groups. They’re not hard-wired like sparrows or seagulls. They’re like dolphins, or us. They come out helpless and become the world’s most successful communists.
    No wonder he sounds like a baby.
    Seeing him skip across the water like a stone and then slam into you is worth a couple minnows, says the away it.

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