08/13/2013
There I was on the side of the Falls Road Bike path. I hear something that sounds very similar to a hen. Thinking to myself that there may be an...opportunity, I walk out closer to the path. One of many cars drives by, but this car is different. This car stops. Three people get out of the car and start to walk over to me. Two of them are throwing things towards me. YUM! It's bread and corn, my favorites.
But they're getting too close. I know what this means. It's not good. I'm scared, so I head back towards my home down by the river, and they keep following me. I'm afraid; I don't know these people, so I hurry down to the river. It seems I am safe here. The people don't seem to know what to do. Maybe they will just go away.
Uh-oh. One of them starts to come down the bank. I try to get away from him by running up the bank, but there the other two at the top plus a new one. Then, another car stops, and a person gets out. Why do these cars keep stopping today? But now, all five of them start chasing me. That's why I crossed the road.
So now four people are chasing me along the other side of the road. I don't know this side. One of them, the smallest is starting to get close to me, and I don't know what to do. He's gaining on me, but just as he tries to throw a blanket on me, I run across the road again.
One is still after me, so I try to go back to the woods, but there's a steep bank, and I'm not looking. I fall off. Down. Down. Down. But wait, birds can fly, can't they? I start to flap my wings. CRASH! But chickens can't. It's OK though, because I didn't get hurt, and I'm safe now.
Now I'm down by the stream. Content. Happy. I'll be OK now, if the foxes, and raccoons don't get me. And if I can find enough food. And water. And if I don't get too hot. And if a really mean human doesn't try to get me. But now I hear one of the people.
It's one of the original people, but he's doing something different now. He's talking to me. He's not running. He says softly, "Here, Chickie-Chick. Here boy. We're not going to hurt you." Maybe, I think, this man is telling the truth. I'm feeling pretty tired by now. It's a hard life being a feral chicken. What if this man really is nice. I hear him talking again, "Here, boy. We're going to take you home. We're going to feed you. We're going to take care of you. We're going to love you."
As this man gets close to me, I think that maybe I will have a better life with these people. Maybe they'll be nice to me. Maybe they'll love me. As the man gets right next to me, I don't run; I just stand there looking in to his eyes, and I can see that he means what he says. As he wraps his warm strong hands around me, I relax. I've finally found someone. I realize that they can't save everyone, but they saved ME, and that matters to ME, and, now, I matter to them.
