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Oliver shook his head. “He’s not dangerous. He’s smart, friendly, and compassionate. He just spent however long trying to cheer me up in that holding cell.” He glanced at the clock. He’d been gone for nearly thirteen hours. It was the next day, morning, from when they picked him up. He was glad it was his day off; he’d be miserable if he had to report to work after a night of zero sleep and nothing but stress.
“You stated on your application that he can control other birds. I know what Rill said about it, but do you want to explain why you think that?”
Oliver blinked a few times, but rather than explain, he decided to show his uncle what had happened. “Come with me, I’ll show you and you can decide.”
Chapter Six
He checked the coffee, it was filling, but wasn’t finished yet. He led the way to the rooftop greenhouse. There was still a steady stream of birds of all types dropping coins. The planters were not only full but overflowing. There were so many coins he gaped at them.
“Ummm, I asked Rill if he had a skill. He flew out the window, and brought back a coin, then the stream of birds started.” He shrugged, nonchalantly, but at the same time, he was worried. If Rill hadn’t taken control of the birds, why were they still bringing coins? Also, could he get them to stop?
“Hmmm.” Geoffrey said. He looked at the coins, and turned and watched the stream of birds appear with coins. “I don’t think any of these birds are the same.” He said after a long silence.
“What do you mean? How could you tell?”
Before he answered, he spoke to a bird that had just dropped a coin. It stopped, and looked at him, then fluttered over to the wall and landed. It trilled and whistled.
Geoffrey answered, and the bird flew off.
“That was interesting.”
“What did it say?”
“Something I hadn’t considered.” He tapped his finger against his lips, and although Oliver kept prodding him with questions, he remained deep in thought.
“I’ve got to go, my boy, I’ll give you a ring tomorrow. Get your rest.”
He started to hurry towards the stairs.
“What about Rill? How will I feed him? He can’t stay locked up for much longer. It can’t be good for him.”
“I think you’ll find Rill will be fine.” He hurried through the roof door and was gone.
Oliver considered the mess on the roof and tried to make a quick plan on how to take care of the coins. He figured the bank wasn’t going to be happy when he showed up with buckets of coins. He figured he’d deal with it tomorrow and slunk down the stairs himself.
He was exhausted, and the pot of coffee didn’t look the least inviting. He switched off the machine and dumped the carafe down the sink. He didn’t feel like eating or drinking as long as Rill couldn’t. He glanced at the cage.
He expected Rill to be staring with his head cocked to the side, but the cage was empty. He started.
“Rill?” he looked all around the house. He was about to lean out the window, when Rill came zipping through it, chittering and beeping at him. Rill landed on Oliver’s shoulder. “How did you get out?” he asked the bird. Who sent him an image of the door opening and him flying out. Oliver looked at the cage. It didn’t have a visible door. He poked at it, and it was still solid. A mystery for sure.
Would they both get in trouble if the Guild saw the empty cage? He could feel a tiny bead of sweat gather at his hairline and start to roll down his forehead. He wiped it away. “Well, let’s feed you, buddy,” he said, trying to forget about his problems and have a moment of normalcy.
He filled Rill’s bowl, but before he could put the food away there was a knock at his door. He whirled around so fast; seed went flying over the floor. He swore and set down the bag. He looked at Rill and the cage. What if it was the Guild again? He swallowed. And his heart raced. He looked from Rill to the cage, but he had no idea how to put the bird back in.
There was another knock. Now he was sweating profusely. He wiped his brow and considered ignoring the knock. But if it was the Guild, he’d be in more trouble if he did. He wiped his hands down his pants and strode to the door. He gripped the knob and turned it slowly. He placed his foot behind the door and opened it about six inches, dreading what he’d see on the other side. It was Julia from 2F.
He moved his foot and opened the door fully. “Hi, Julia. Is something wrong?” he asked. Although right now the last thing he wanted to deal with was a leaky faucet.
She shook her head. Her honey blonde curls bouncing. “No, in fact, I brought this as a thank you.”
He looked down to see she was holding a plate of cookies. “Oh,” he said stupidly. He wasn’t that smooth with women. He knew it. He’d always been a little awkward and didn’t know what to say. It was worse when they were pretty. Julia was very pretty. Her hair was like warm, sunlit honey, and her hazel eyes sparkled.
He reached out to take the plate. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”
She smiled. “I wanted to. Having the sink fixed is such a relief, and you were so sweet about the rent and the laundry. I wanted to do something nice.”
He blushed. He knew she had to see it. His face would be red and his ears were so hot they were probably glowing. He didn’t know what to say, so he just said “Thanks.” Again, like a dumbass.
