Thank you, @marcoriccardi and @tristancarax, for planteing the Finish the Story contest!
This is my entry to @bananafish's most excellent finish the story contest.
BROTHERHOOD IN TROUBLE
The sea extended in front of us. It had been a long time since Dun Dee, Jasper, Luke and I had dreamed of the sea and a boat. So we headed for the coast, where it was hard to tell which was the blue of the sky and which was the blue of the sea.
We admired, from afar, the skills of the pelicans to surround and chase the prey of the sea. We saw how they captured some of them to feed themselves. But they were not like us, because once you reach something to eat you bring something to your friends; so sometimes we are pleased to wait for the piece that some comrade brings us. This is, seen in this way, our gain in friendship.
Bored of the scene, instead of following the sea we set out for infinity. Once exhausted and hungry, and even a little disoriented, we reached the seashore. On that beach, the swings and slides were full. We approached to rest near a bank, where we coldly considered the situation. How is it possible that someone has not seen in us the least human feature? That's what we always asked ourselves, what more proof is needed?
The garbage trucks hadn't shown up for three days; the bins were full; the heat was rising. We went looking for a vacant lot, but there was no vacant lot or it was occupied by human-looking couples.
A different smell ran through the place and we all shot out to find it. They were coming from a house where an old couple was feeding their son, offering him the most appetizing snacks: olives, dogwood cherries, wild chicory, cheese and eggs served in clay pots; the same as nuts, dried figs mixed with wrinkled dates, plums, scented apples, grapes picked from purple vines and even a white honeycomb.
The house was guarded by a couple of dogs who laughed as if sharing a joke. Luke and Jasper managed to get through the iron gate and into the garden. Another terribly looking mastiff, sleeping with his eyes open (or perhaps not, such a good watcher he is) tried to scare them off, but they stood their ground; then they continued and Luke stuck his head through the door of the house. Jasper was about to do the same when the dog, who had cleverly let him get close (to take away all the illusion he had conquered), due to his skill in dealing with feathered and beaked living creatures, jumped at him and attacked him on his left paw.
The emu brotherhood does not let itself be defeated so easily, so Dun Dee and I went against the dog. Dun Dee tried to peck at its basins but the dog was very skillful. Luke came back with a quick flutter, outwitted the chase and we helped Jasper out. We felt that we were triumphantly crossing a continent but it was only a humble hut with a roof of reeds and canes. The dog gave us an expert look and went to sleep.
We went to a tree to review our strategy. I started counting the buildings in the city and humming. After a while I turned to my companions:
–How about we move towards the city and go back to the bar?
–Yes –said Dun Dee, –but let's take these big sticks in case we need them later.
And after that:
Here we were, in the bar with large sticks being pointed at us. Dun Dee and Jasper just snatch three large boxes of fries from the two families seated near the kangaroo statue. Luke, being the smallest of us four, snagged a couple of bags from toddlers, which were, presumably, filled with burgers and more fries; and I had enough drinks for the four of us.
"You know who we are," I squawked.
"We do," said a jittery human. "We told you this would happen if you come back."
I stood my ground by raising my chest in the air, ruffling my feathers. I stretched out my long neck and showed my sharp, strong beak to the tourists and workers. Showing them who was boss of this outback was of the highest importance. Little did the humans know of respect for other lives than their own. The time had come for a little lesson and the emu brotherhood was going to show the humans their power.
"You are on our turf, human," I said. I scratched my leg with the other foot. "You invaded our lands with your dwellings and forced us out. You owe us."
"It's the way of the world," a chubby-faced human yelled out. "Do you know how many of us have lost our homes?"
No! Not the pity card. Not the best time. Luke was a sucker for pity. He almost always felt bad for the other side, the human side.
"My mommy had to work two jobs to pay for what that jack-ass of a bird has taken from me," said a tiny human who sat by the waterfall.
I looked at Luke. He was cracking. I could tell by the way his knee shook, by the way his beak clattered together. He was about to drop the goods and run. Think!
"Any last words, birdie?" asked a slim human.
"Gentleman and Ladies," I said as I moved my wing over several spears and pushed the tips down. "There is no need to be hostile. The rule is you feed us daily - morning and night - and we leave you alone until feeding time. Easy. Simple. If our demands for respect are not taken into consideration, bigger things will happen. Scary things. Strange things. And you don't want these bigger things to happen because, if they do, you will be paid a visit from the great emu elder - and he does not take kindly to humans who disregard the sacred pact between human and emu."
Like the night inching its way into the light, the tips of the spears rose again and drew closer to me.
"What the fuck are you talking about," said a human behind a cash register. His eyes grew big like the moon and sinister like Chucky. "Good people. Let’s cook some bird to cover the cost of what we've lost. Sound like a plan?"
The whole restaurant said yes in unison, which made me shiver. It couldn't have gotten darker for us in the brotherhood, even if Alfred Hitchcock was hired to scare the piss out of us. Birds or not, in the eyes of humans, we were thieves. And thieves had to be dealt with.
THANKS YOU FOR READING
