THE ROBIN GIRL


CHAPTER ONE

Lucy Rose was an avid Robin-watcher. She was seven years old and lived with her Mother and Father in a small house on a hill where the sun shone almost all the time.

Lucy’s Mother was an artist. She painted pictures of forests and lakes and dogs and horses and sometimes even sheep. Lucy’s favorite thing to paint was Robins. With one hand poised over her canvas, Lucy would keep her eyes out for the red-breasted birds. She loved the way they would suddenly appear in the air, swooping and gliding by like magic. Lucy kept all of her robin paintings in a big book she called her robin logbook that she carried with her everywhere she went.

Lucy’s Father was a pastry chef, which means he made the most delicious desserts in the world, at least in all the parts of the world Lucy had been. These parts included California, New York and Asia when she was just a baby. On days when she wasn’t painting, Lucy joined her father in the bakery, mixing things together like flour and chocolate and rainbow sprinkles and milk. Even though Lucy’s culinary experiments didn’t always turn out to be so delicious, her Father would always say, "Try again Little One, (he always called her that), even geniuses like me sometimes make mistakes, practice makes perfect," and all sorts of other encouraging things.


CHAPTER TWO

One day, Lucy and her parents went for a picnic in the woods. The sun was shining brightly and the sound of birds singing filled the air. Lucy’s Mom rolled down the car window and let the wind blow her hair around. Lucy’s Dad turned the radio up real loud and sang along at the top of his voice. Her knew the words to every song. Lucy felt like she was the luckiest girl in all the world.

Once at the woods, everyone was supposed to help unpack the picnic basket. Lucy was on the lookout for Robins though and kept her binoculars glued to her eyes. This made it very hard to do anything else. Besides, Lucy said, I’m not really that hungry. But when she caught a glimpse of her favorite sandwich, peanut butter and jelly with bananas on top, Lucy said, I suppose I could bear to eat something...

And just as Lucy was licking some stray peanut butter from her fingers, a Robin flew overhead. Excited, Lucy jumped up and grabbed her binoculars. There they are! she exclaimed and focused in on the swooping bird. Sometimes it took a few tries to site the bird in the tiny lenses of the binoculars, but after a few attempts, she had it. Lucy’s Mother wrapped up the uneaten half of the peanut butter, jelly and banana sandwich as Lucy jumped up and down on one foot, anxious to get going.
 
"Don’t stray too far into the woods," called Lucy’s Father.

"I won’t," Lucy called back, but she was already skipping away, her binoculars guiding the way.


CHAPTER THREE
 
Lucy had lost sight of the robin from the picnic site, but she wasn’t worried-the sounds of singing were close by. Lucy rummaged in her backpack and pulled out a bag of old bread. Tearing off tiny pieces, she scattered them along the ground. And just like that, the Robins appeared. First one, and then another, and pretty soon, Lucy was surrounded by an entire flock of beautiful red-breasted Robins. Lucy quickly opened up her logbook and started to draw.  


CHAPTER FOUR

In no time, Lucy had finished three sketches. And just as she was about to start on a fourth, she heard a loud rustling in the tree above. Looking up, she saw a snake wrapping itself around one of the Robins she had just drawn. Help! Lucy cried but there was nobody but her around to hear. Thinking quickly, Lucy looked for something to scare the snake off. Spying a perfectly round stone out of the corner of her eye, she threw it as hard as she could. The stone hit the snake on the head, forcing his body to uncoil and setting the robin free. The Robin’s flock quickly flew down and gathered their friend up in their wings. And not a moment too soon for with a loud Snack! the branch they were on broke in two and both the branch and the snake went hurtling towards the ground. With a ZNACK! and a THUNK! they hit the forest floor.

The Robins looked down from their safe perch in the sky. There they saw the snake lying dead, but right next to him, also, lay Lucy. She had been struck by the falling branch and was knocked unconscious. A sudden night descended over the forest as the Robins fluttered nervously in the trees above.

"Kaaaae-o, Kaaaae-o, Kaaaae-o," their cries mingled with those of Lucy’s parents, calling out to her that it was time to go home.


CHAPTER FIVE

Lucy opened her eyes. She felt cramped and hot. She tried to pull back the bedcovers but-there were no bedcovers. Then Lucy noticed that there was no ceiling above her head. When she looked down, she saw that there was no floor beneath her feet. Lucy sat up. CRUNCH! went something underneath her. Lucy looked down and saw that she was lying in a basket…of twigs…covered with red and brown feathers! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRACK! the basket went as Lucy moved around in it. Lucy pinched her arm, squeezed her eyes shut and poked at her cheeks. "Wake up!" she commanded herself. But when Lucy opened her eyes, she found that she was awake. Suddenly, Lucy was scared-she had no idea where she was, how she got there, where her Mom and Dad were or how she was ever going to get out of this…nest! Then she started to think: What was the last thing she remembered? A flock of Robins, scattered breadcrumbs and then…then Lucy remembered the sun shifting in the sky and everything going black.

CHAPTER SIX

"Cheerio, cheerio-up!" a flock of Robins called excitedly. Lucy looked out and watched as the Robins glided and swooped through the air towards her. "Cheerio, cheerio-up cheerio!" they landed noisily on her tree. Lucy recognized some of the Robins as the very same she had sketched the other day. Or was it the other week? Lucy had no idea how much time had passed since then.

"Cheerio, cheerio!" Lucy reached her hand out towards them Robins. Not a single one was scared. As her hands glided through their bright, beautiful feathers, Lucy thought once again that she must be dreaming. But just as before, when she pinched her cheeks, squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, everything remained the same.

CHAPTER SEVEN

GROWLSLURPGERRROOP Lucy’s stomach growled like a lion.

"Cherri-cheerio?" asked a Robin with something in his beak. The Robin settled onto the branch next to her and opened his mouth. A slimy, wriggling worm dangled out of it. "YUCK!" Lucy couldn’t help but exclaim,"Worms!" She couldn’t even stand to look at them, she certainly didn’t want to eat them! Her sudden outburst startled the Robins.

"Cheeriup, cheerio, cheeriup!" They couldn’t understand it-didn’t the girl know good worms when she saw them?

"I’m sorry," said Lucy through her clenched teeth, "I just can’t eat worms."

"Cheerily, cheeriup, cheerio," replied a young robin with a speckled breast hidden behind all the others. Everyone turned to look. What he had said was, Little girls don’t eat worms. The Robins went all a-twitter; this was a difficult concept for the Robins to grasp,there was actually a creature that didn’t eat worms?

"Cheeriup, cheerio, cheeriup," cackled the eldest robin of them all. And by that he meant, there are a lot of strange creatures out there and Lucy isn’t the first we’ve encountered.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The young robin flew to his nest. There he grabbed Lucy’s backpack and logbook. Securing everything in his beak, he flew back to Lucy’s tree. "My logbook! And my backpack!" Lucy exclaimed when she saw her things. Quickly, she tore into her bag and found the uneaten half of her peanut butter, jelly and banana sandwich. She finished it off in two huge gulps as the Robins looked on. Reaching back inside, Lucy found a tiny bag filled with homemade chocolates. Her Father had hidden them inside her backpack, hoping to surprise her with them the day of the picnic. The memory of her parents brought tears to Lucy’s eyes.

"How did I get here?" Lucy asked the Robins. The Robins instinctively moved quietly closer towards her.

"I wish you could talk," Lucy sighed. "I feel so sad but at the same time, I feel like I’m having the most incredible dream!"

The Robins watched as Lucy’s eyes welled up with tears of confusion. “Cheerily, cheerily, cheerio,” the young robin said, and by this he meant, don’t worry, we will love you too, just like one of our own.  

Meanwhile, Lucy’s parents were very worried about her. Night was falling and they didn’t know where she was. As the sky darkened, they left the forest, resolving to return first thing the following morning.


CHAPTER NINE

The next morning, Lucy awoke to the sun’s rays gently touching the branches of her tree. Lucy stretched and peering between the leaves, took in the sights-everything looked the opposite of how it usually did from below; the sky was close and bright and the ground was barely visible through the trees. Instead of sidewalks and houses, Lucy was greeted by the sight of great fluffy clouds and bright rays of sunshine. The young robin who found Lucy’s bag came gliding on the air towards her. With his shock of orange feathers, he reminded Lucy of her best friend from home, Mills.

“Do you mind if I call you Mills?” Lucy asked the Robin.

“Cheerio, Cheerio, Cheerio,” Mills replied.

Lucy couldn’t be positive what he meant by that. “Well, I’m Lucy,” she said, and took his foot into her hand to shake.

Mills jumped backwards, startled. “Cheerio, Cheriup!”

“Well that’s how people greet each other where I’m from,” said Lucy.

Mills moved back towards her to show that he wasn’t upset. “Cheerio,” he chirped once again and pointed his wing northward. Lucy understood that there was something he had to attend to, and waved goodbye.

“Cheerio, Cheerio, Cheerio!”

“Goodbye Mills! Come back soon!”

CHAPTER TEN

Lucy stayed very busy all that afternoon sketching the Robins who lined up at her tree to have their portrait drawn. They kept track of who was next by scratching their names into the bark with their tiny claws.  

And just when Lucy thought the impossible, that she couldn’t paint another Robin, Mills returned. In his beak he carried a large nest the same size as Lucy’s. When Lucy looked closer, she saw that the nest had ropes attached to it. “Cheerio cheeriup-o,” Mills said and Lucy put down her paintbrush. A few of the Robins grabbed parts of the rope in their beak and flew off into the tree. Within minutes, everyone was at it; pulling and wrapping and twisting from the top of the tree to the very bottom. Lucy couldn’t figure out what they were up to. The only one not participating was a tiny robin girl whose portrait had been interrupted by the arrival of Mills. She ruffled her feathers in a huff and flew off to her nest to sulk.

Finally, everyone settled back onto Lucy’s branch. They seemed excited by their efforts and twittered and chirped until they were silenced by Mills. With his left wing, he motioned majestically towards Lucy and then towards the nest.

“You want me to get into the nest?”

“Cheeri-o-eo.”

Lucy climbed into the nest. She sat down. Everyone was still, as though waiting for a sign. So Lucy gave them the “thumbs up.” Instantly, the nest with Lucy inside of it descended the tree in the first (and perhaps only-ever) wing-powered elevator.

Hopping out onto the ground, Lucy felt elated! She stretched her legs and did a few jumping jacks while the Robins flew joyously around her head. They’d done it! Even the little robin who had been sulking in her tree came out to join in the fun.

“Cheerio-up! Cheerio-up!” everyone sang, and started for the lake.

“Hey! Wait for me!” cried Lucy, and ran off after them.



CHAPTER ELEVEN

By week’s end, Lucy knew where the bushes bloomed bright red and gold with berries, where a banana tree stood tall and wide, laden with large, ripe bananas and where an abandoned bee hive was from which she could gather honey. This saved her from a strict diet of worms, which would surely have been worse than never eating again at all! The lake provided Lucy with a bath and she scrubbed herself clean with rose petals and dried off in the sun. She forged a fishing net out of the discarded webs of spiders and stayed warm at night covered by the Robin’s generous contributions of extra feathers.

Lucy’s heart wasn’t without its heaviness though-she missed her Mother and Father terribly. Her Robin family was as wonderful as could be, but it just wasn’t the same. Nighttime was the hardest, for then it was quiet in the forest and nobody was around to read her a bedtime story. Sometimes Lucy and Mills stayed up late together sitting high atop their special tree. Even though Lucy was a girl and Mills was a Robin and they couldn’t communicate that well, there was an understanding between them that comforted Lucy.

And It was around this time that Lucy remembered something her parents had always told her: That she could be anything she wanted to be. Lucy wondered if this included living her life as a human or as a bird.

Sooner and more dramatically than she could ever have imagined, Lucy was about to find out.

CHAPTER TWELVE

A terrible storm hit the forest. Rain fell, lightening struck and the trees swayed violently in the wind. It was all Lucy could do to not fall out of her nest. And just as she thought it was coming to an end, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.

Like a zipper, the lightening hit Lucy’s tree, ripping from the very top of it, straight through to the bottom. Lucy and her nest went hurtling towards the ground. The Robins screamed out to her but Lucy couldn’t hear them. All she could do was reach up and out for something to grasp onto. But Lucy’s hands missed the branches that flew by. Terrified, Lucy threw her arms out for something, anything. Suddenly, Lucy realized that she was no longer falling but neither was she holding onto anything. Confused, Lucy threw out her arms again and this time, it seemed as though she was actually rising. Almost like, she was flying! Lucy wildly pumped her arms up and down and wobbled unsteadily up through the air. She was flying! She reached out and grabbed onto a branch, holding on with all her might. And just then, the storm started to break and the moon peeked out through the darkened clouds. A beautiful bright, red feather fell from Lucy’s hair and floated down to the floor of the forest.

“Caiiioo!” the Robins called to Lucy, seeing that she was all right. “Caiiioo! Cheerio-op!” They would be over just as soon as they could make it through the pouring rain.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

In the quiet after the storm, a sudden sadness came over Lucy; was she ever going to fly again? Would it take another storm to toss her out onto the air? How could she be sure that next time, she wouldn’t just fall? And who back home would believe that she could fly if she ever got the chance to tell them?

Lucy had been rubbing her shoulder distractedly when she felt a few feathers flutter into her hand. Then Lucy scratched her belly and looking down, saw what appeared to be tufts of feathers on either side of her ribcage. Lucy brushed at these feathers, but they didn’t go away. On closer inspection, Lucy noticed that the tufts were attached! To her! As she stretched out her arms to get a better look, the tufts grew longer. In the time that it took to rub her eyes clear of amazement, the tufts had grown the length of her arm. Lucy reached out to grasp her nest, but where were her fingers?

“Kaaaaaaaio!” She called out, except instead of her usual voice, she trilled like a Robin. Within seconds, the entire flock had flown over. “Kaaaaaaaio! Kaaaaaaaio!” Lucy cried back.

“Cheerily Cheerily Cheerio-e-up!” the Robins replied. Suddenly, it didn’t seem like Lucy understood the Robins, she knew she understood them-every word and she could respond in their own language! The Robins stared at her, amazed; where Lucy the little girl had stood only moments before, was now Lucy Rose, the Robin.

“Cherrio-eio-ahhh!” Lucy sang in wonder. And with the early morning sun lighting up the forest and the rain turning into a drizzle, Lucy pushed herself to the edge of her nest and whoosh! flew out into the air.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

At the lake, now glowing with golden sunshine, Lucy flew straight to the edge. She sat down on the ground, leaned over and stared at her reflection in the water. Her eyes were the same hazel color as before. Lucy could even make out a few stray brown hairs mixed in with her new red feathers. Other than that though, she was a Robin through and through. Mills settled down next to her. “Cheerio-up, caaw.” And Lucy understood that he had said, You look nice.

“Kaaa,” Lucy replied. And by this she meant, thank you.

And with that, Lucy dove into the lake and took her first ever birdbath.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

One morning well into her life as a Robin, Lucy spied a little girl stringing flowers together by the lake. To the delight of the little girl, Lucy sat beside her and started to sing. “Caaiiio-e-iiiii, Kaaaaa-eo,” and by this she meant, You remind me of someone from long ago but I’m not sure who. The little girl laughed with glee and held out her chain of flowers. Lucy bent her neck down and the little girl bestowed the necklace on her.

“Kaaaaa,” Lucy replied, thrilled and surprised by the little girl’s touch.

Suddenly, the little girl’s mother came running over. Picking her daughter up in her arms, she hugged her tightly, her lips pursed into a frown. With a heavy heart Lucy watched as the mother scolded the little girl for being gone for so long. The scene seemed somehow familiar to Lucy, as though it were something she had seen long ago, but couldn’t quite recall.  

As the little girl and her mother hurried off, Lucy felt strangely sad and decided that the best thing to do was take to the sky.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

By mid-afternoon, Lucy was tired and thirsty from flying around. The wind was blowing strong and hard and the more Lucy tried to go one way, she found herself blown back the other. Lucy was reminded of a time long ago when she swam in the Gulf of Mexico; the tides had been so strong that as hard as she had paddled, she’d stayed in the same place. But this didn’t seem to make any sense. How could she have flown so far away and why would a Robin want to swim in the ocean? Lately, it seemed that Lucy’s imagination was thinking up with the craziest things…

Exhausted, Lucy was about to give up when she saw what looked like a cup of water down below. She aimed straight for it, fighting with the wind the whole way down. She alighted onto the rim of the cup and drank from it thirstily. When she was finished, she looked up to find a woman sitting quietly beside her. The Woman’s eyes were so sad that it made Lucy sad just to look at her. Lucy hopped closer and saw that The Woman was crying. Looking down at the cup she drank from, Lucy wondered if it hadn’t been filled with tears, and not water after all.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Instinctively, Lucy jumped onto The Woman’s shoulder and nuzzled into her neck. Surprised, the Woman laughed out loud and sat still, waiting see what the Robin would do next. Lucy thought that The Woman had a familiar smell-rose water, the same smell as, what was it? Lucy couldn’t focus. The Woman was stroking Lucy’s head and it felt so nice. Exhausted from fighting the wind all afternoon, Lucy was fast being lulled to sleep…

Sometime later, Lucy woke up. She didn’t know where she was or what time it was. Then Lucy saw that she was in an unfamiliar setting, yet, somehow it felt like she had been there before. Lucy saw The Woman from the forest busy at the stove. Stove? Lucy knew the word but couldn’t remember what it meant. She knew The Woman was at the stove but how and why?

“Cheeriop?” The Woman turned around and smiled. Just as The Woman’s tears had made Lucy feel sad, her smile made Lucy feel happy. “Cheeriop! Cheeriop!” The Woman walked towards Lucy, reaching out as though to pet her. Lucy leaned her head forward and collided with something hard and cold. Looking up, Lucy noticed a bunch of silver lines in front of her eyes. Lucy touched one of the lines with her beak-they were metal! Lucy was in a cage! Gripped with fear, she tried to remember what cages were and this is what she heard: "Clack, chirp, kaap, caaw," there’s no way out.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The sudden fuss the Robin was kicking up made The Woman realize that she had stolen this bird from out of it’s natural habitat-never before in her life had she done something so rash. The Woman promised both herself and The Robin that she would return the bird to the forest the very next day. But the second she resolved herself to this, a great sadness washed over her and her eyes welled up with tears. Seeing this, Lucy felt confused. What was The Woman so upset about? Wasn’t she the one who had put her in a cage? But The Woman’s tears made Lucy’s own eyes damp and she was mad and she didn’t know where she was and this all made it very hard to know what to do next.

Lucy moved to the front of the cage. “Kaaaa-e-o.” The Woman gently walked back over to Lucy. She slowly unlatched the cage door. Lucy sat quietly to one side of the perch. Without understanding why, Lucy knew that if she stayed still, it would make The Woman happier, and if The Woman were happier, Lucy would be happier too. Then the Woman took a handful of seeds and poured them into a little cup attached to the cage. “Cheerio?” Lucy chirped in what she hoped was an encouraging tone. And just like magic, The Woman smiled. And this made Lucy smile too, “Cheerio!”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Later that evening, a Man came into the house and stood in front of Lucy’s cage. The Woman stood beside him and pointing at Lucy, spoke quickly and with great emotion. The Man just shook his head and kissed The Woman softly on the cheek. Then he pulled out a bag of bread whose still-warm aroma filled the house with a soft glow. And all of a sudden, with a flash as strong and sudden as anything she had ever experienced, Lucy knew-these were her parents! Memories came flooding back to her and Lucy knew for sure that these memories were no mere fancy-they were real!

“Cheerio! Cheeriop! Cheerio! Cheeriop! Cheerio! Cheeriop!” Lucy chirped wildly. Startled, Lucy’s parents ran over to her cage to see what was wrong. They stared in surprise as Lucy fluttered her wings and hopped about, singing. She sang a song about being a girl, getting lost in the woods, turning into a bird, and miraculously being found. But Lucy’s parents had no way of understanding what she was saying. They had no way of knowing that inside the cage, inside the body of the Robin and underneath the radiant red feathers was their daughter, Lucy Rose.

After a time, Lucy’s parents dropped a cover over her cage to try and quiet her but Lucy wouldn’t stop, for suddenly she craved things like crisp clean sheets, peanut butter sandwiches, chocolate and her best friend Mills. Lucy longed to swim in the ocean, ride her bicycle and paint by her Mother’s side. So Lucy sang and sang and sang and sang.

And not until very, very late that night, long after Lucy’s parents had gone to bed and she was so tired that her song was but a whisper, did Lucy sing no more.

CHAPTER TWENTY

The next morning, Lucy awoke up to the smell of brewing coffee and she remembered that she was home. But which home? Lucy didn’t know anymore who she was, what she was, or where she belonged. Her efforts to communicate the previous night had failed and she was still locked inside the cage. Lucy knew that she was going to have to come up with something really clever if she was ever going to get out.

Lucy’s Mother was on the verge of sitting down to breakfast when Lucy hoarsely chirped, “Cheer! Cheer! Cheer!” When her Mother opened up the cage door, Lucy quickly hopped out and flew over to the breakfast table. There she gobbled up the eggs right off of her Mother’s plate. Lucy’s Mother laughed out loud.

Next, Lucy hopped up onto the edge of the orange juice glass. Dipping her head down, she drank from it thirstily. Again, Lucy’s Mother gave an astonished laugh and shook her head. But before she could say anything, Lucy flitted over to a chair and sat down. Now Lucy’s Mother didn’t know what to think. The Robin was acting like-well, like a person! Lucy’s Mother wondered what she would do next.

Spying a bowl filled with her Father’s homemade chocolates, Lucy grabbed one and popped it in her mouth.  Grabbing her favorite book, The Giving Tree, Lucy dropped it down into her Mother’s lap, Plunk!

“Now this is really too much!” her Mother said, “A Robin who eats eggs, drinks orange juice, devours chocolate and likes to read? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you weren’t a bird at all but-“ and here Lucy’s Mother paused- “but a little girl I once knew…”

And at that, Lucy excitedly sang out, “Cheeri-o…cheeri-ah…Cheerio-ka!” And that’s me…that’s me…please believe when I say that that’s me!

“Alright Little Robin, Lucy’s Mother said, shaking the clouds from her eyes, I’ve procrastinated enough for one morning...” And with that, she brought her attention to a blank canvas at hand.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Discouraged, Lucy flew to the windowsill and stared at the world outside. She wondered what her Robin family was up to and if they missed her at all. Lucy longed for the comfort of their soft feathers and easy sing-song ways of communicating.  

“This lake looks ridiculous-more like a rhinoceros than anything else!” Lucy’s Mother said, frustrated. Lucy flew over to see what she was talking about. And when she looked at the canvas her Mother had been working on, she saw a  portrait of herself, as a Robin. That was it!

Grabbing a paintbrush in her beak, Lucy dipped it into a pot of paint. As her Mother looked on in surprise, Lucy tore a piece of paper off of the sketchpad, placed it on the floor, and began painting furiously. A few moments later she hopped back so that her Mother could see what she had done-it was a painting of herself, as a little girl!

Lucy’s Mother looked slowly back and forth between her painting of Lucy as a Robin and Lucy’s painting of herself as a little girl. And then her Mother knew, what she had thought was impossible, what all morning she had tried to deny was actually true; that by some incredibly wonderful and strange twist of fate, this Robin was her long-lost daughter, Lucy Rose.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Late that afternoon, Lucy’s Father came home. “Kaaaa,” Lucy cooed, and flew across the room to him. Lucy’s Father looked questioningly at Lucy’s Mother, Wasn’t she supposed to have returned the Robin to the forest? But before he could ask, Lucy’s Mother pulled him over to where her and Lucy’s paintings hung above the fireplace, side by side. She told him of all the things that had happened that day and then she waited, her eyes glistening with hope.

“I’m going to go wash up. Let’s talk about this later.” And with a heavy heart, he turned away and walked up the stairs; for as much as he missed his daughter, he knew that by now she would probably never be returned home. He didn’t have the energy to hope any longer, knowing, as it was all the other times there seemed something to believe in, that this fantasy would end in sorrow.

Lucy’s heart sank with the fear that her Mother’s beliefs would be no match for her Father’s doubts. She sensed her return to the forest drawing near.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

By the time Lucy’s Father came back downstairs, Lucy’s Mother had fallen fast asleep.

“Cherri? Cheeri? Cheer?” Lucy implored her Mother to wake up but it was no use. So gathering up all her courage, Lucy turned to her father. “Kaaa-eeee, Caii-o!” she asked him to see through her outward appearance and into her heart. And for a moment, Lucy’s Father seemed to understand; he stopped, and took a good look at the Robin. It was true that she was beautiful. And it did seem like she was trying to communicate, but he would never go so far as to say that-

And just then, a beautiful note rang out, like a wind chime responding to the blowing wind. “Kaaaaa-iiii-ooo, Kaaaa-iiii-ooo!”
Lucy 'd know that voice anywhere! She flew to the window and stared out in surprise-it was Mills! “Cheeri! Kaa-ii-o! Cheeri! Kaaa!” Mills sang and what he meant by that was, I miss you terribly! Life just isn’t the same without you!

“Cheerio! Kaaaa! Eeee-oooo!” I found my parents again and now I’m torn between two lives! Then Lucy told Mills that as much as she loved him and her life in the forest, at heart, she was still a little girl. This place-and here Lucy flew over to where her Father sat-is where I rightfully belong.

A tear slid down Mills’ beautiful golden face as he realized that Lucy would not be returning with him to the forest. “Cheeeeer-i-ka?” He asked. Will you visit when you can?

“Kaaaaa,” Lucy replied, as often as possible.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

As Mills flew away, Lucy sat quietly in the palm of her Father’s hand. She cocked her head to one side and watched his face, trying to guess what he was thinking. “I guess it’s up to me to put you to bed,” he said. Immediately, Lucy snuggled herself down almost as though she was trying to hide. Lucy’s Father was struck for the second time that day with a memory of his daughter; every night as bedtime approached Lucy used to snuggle deeper into whatever chair or couch or floor she was lying on. She’d imagined that if she could just blend in with the furniture then nobody would remember she was there, thus prolonging, if not entirely preventing, her ever having to go to bed. For left to her own devices, Lucy would choose to stay awake twenty-four hours a day and never miss a thing!

Lucy’s Father shook his head. “I don’t know what it is about you Little One, but you sure have made a deep impression on this family.” He looked towards the studio where the two Lucy portraits hung side by side. “Maybe the forest could bear to be without you for just one day more …”

“Kaaaaaaa,” Lucy replied sleepily, for suddenly she was exhausted. Lucy’s Father looked into her beautiful brown eyes, gently kissed the top of her head and said, “Goodnight Little One, you have made me remember beautiful things.” And with that, he lowered the cover over the top of the birdcage.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The next morning, the birdcage was empty. A breeze blew in through the kitchen window and ruffled some feathers lying along the floor. Lucy’s Mother sat in front of the cage without moving while Lucy’s Father busied himself at the stove, baking bread for breakfast. Neither of them said a word. Lucy’s Mother stared at the wooden perch waving emptily to and fro. A sob escaped her throat and stuck in the air. Lucy’s Father sat down beside her. He had already sworn a thousand times that he had secured the cage door and lowered the cover. And anyway, the Robin had had a million chances to fly away when she was free in the house-there had to be a better explanation. Lucy’s Mother rose slowly and announced that she was going back to bed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

At the top of the stairs, Lucy’s Mother heard a sound like rustling leaves. She turned towards the end of the hall. The sound continued, soft and beautiful, like a wave advancing and retreating against the shore. Lucy’s Mother followed it to the front of Lucy’s bedroom door.

She entered the room and looking around, thought her heart might break, for here were Lucy’s things; her favorite books, her stuffed animals, stickers and crayons and notebooks filled with doodles and a few half-hearted attempts at homework. Here was Lucy’s puppet collection, her plastic bats and dollhouse sized people scattered along the floor.

Lucy’s Mother walked over to Lucy’s bed-she had gone mad now for sure; for there, lying fast asleep, barely covered by a pale rose-colored sheet, lay Lucy Rose, the girl. Naked as the day she was born, she lay surrounded by bright red and golden-brown feathers. Her body gently rose and fell to the rhythm of her breath. And just as Lucy’s Mother was about to question everything she had ever believed in, she turned and saw Lucy’s Father, her Husband, standing beside her. He wore the same look of wonderment on his face. Neither of them spoke. There was no need.

As Lucy Rose slept on, a breeze blew the cover off the birdcage downstairs, and settled over the painting of Lucy Rose as a Robin, to be forever left unfinished.