THE FLIGHTLESS

Over the zoo’s ostrich exhibit stands Roger, staring down as he has been for so long. The sun shining off his silver hair as it hangs over the trees. He grips the metal bar on top of the enclosure looking down and ponders the question he has so many times before. Will today be the day? As always, his heart starts racing, each thud matching the stride of the birds below. A shake starts in his neck down his spine as his hands go back and forth on the bar. Getting closer every day to build up the courage, Roger has decided today is the day. His right foot shakes as it’s slowly raised onto the metal bar and planted.

“That’s a terrible idea,” is said from behind by an old man walking out of the bushes. The man is wearing an oversized yellow rain jacket and very small boots.

Roger snaps his head at the man, “Do me a favor and mind your own business.” His grip tightens as he looks back down at the flightless birds, starting to raise himself onto the bar.

“Just answer me why? Why do you want to go down there?” says the man in the rain jacket. His voice gave hints of the thousands of cigarettes he’s smoked in his lifetime.

With a frustrated sigh, Roger turns his upper body to face the man. “Can’t you see that I am busy? Go bother someone else.” Then turning back to the large enclosure, he fully lifts himself onto the bar almost shaking himself to the ground.

The man in the rain jacket grabs the back of Roger’s shirt. “The only thing you’re gonna be busy with is getting your stomach kicked out your ass.” He then pulls Roger off the bar and back onto solid ground. “Seriously, why would you want to be down there with them?”

Roger turns and shoves the man away from him. “Get off me man. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this day; how much I’ve built up to this moment?”

“Instead of jumping in there like a maniac why don’t you apply for a job,” the man in the rain jacket says. He points out to the crowds of people walking by families with kids. “Don’t traumatize all these poor families here.”

“Let me tell you something,” says Roger pointing down at the animals. “When I was a boy, my parents brought me here to feed the ostriches, I’ve always loved them. And every time they ate from my hands they would stare directly into my eyes with this twinkle, like they understood me to my soul.” Tears fill up Rogers eyes as a crack enters his voice. “Until we moved, and I was forced away from them. So, I left my birth family all behind and ran away until I ended up back here. For a lifetime now I’ve been standing in this spot, waiting to join my new family, be where I truly belong.” A few tears now roll down his cheek as he continues pointing down at the mindless birds, hissing away at each other.

The quiet becomes deafening as the man in the rain jacket stares back. For what feels like an eternity, processing the information. His eyes getting wide, then narrow as every thought in the world races through his head. Finally, he has articulated the only fair response to this. “What?”

Roger starts up again as passionate as ever, “I have a connection with them man. They get me, I need to be down there with them.” He then turns and places his hands back on the bar, focused down on the enclosure, not even a tremble this time. Roger looks up to the sky, experiencing a vision of his new world. He stares directly into the sun, eyes wide open. “Nothing can hold me back, this is my destiny,” he says looking back down.

The man in the rain jacket gives a frustrated sigh of his own. “Look, you’re nuts but who am I to stop you.” He pulls off his rain jacket to show an old ripped up t-shirt hanging over his pants that only go down to his knee, squeezing off the circulation below. He holds out the rain jacket to Roger, giving a nudge at it. “At least take this, you need it more than I do. Maybe they’ll think you’re some sort of god or alien.”

Turning to the old man, Roger grabs the rain jacket and puts it on. He pulls the sleeves back a bit after realizing it’s much more oversized than he first thought. “Thanks man, but you’ll see when I get down there. This is where I belong.” He turns back towards the enclosure and puts his right foot back on the bar followed by his left foot. He stands above the crowd of people now unmoving, facing into the pit. Roger turns to get one last look at the old man before his new life.

“I have no doubt this is where you belong,” the old man says. Giving a parting wave before stepping back into the crowd.

The moment has finally come, Roger stares down at the ostriches. With the whole zoo staring at him, Roger jumps into the pit with no hesitation. The second he lands a tingle comes over his body, he has done it. He makes eye contact with the first beast towering over him, his new family member. Roger gets a twinkle in his eye with tears running down his face, he holds his arms out ready to embrace his new family. “My brother!” he yells out to the ostrich.

The bird stands up straight and shares the twinkle in its soulless eyes. It lets out a few thunderous grunts to break the silence and opens its wings wide. Roger leans in to give the beast a hug, but it kicks him in the stomach and ending his new life.

Matthew Slaterline is from Michigan and now lives in Orlando. He is a professional wrestler in training and studies creative writing. Follow him on Twitter at @MattBS9R.