Getting A Budgie

• Linda Wang, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2016

It’s going to be dark forever. Dark and shaking. I let out anguished cries but no one ever replies. The movement rocks me from side to side. I fall and rise, fall and rise and I wonder when this torture will end. I am stuck in my own filth, trapped in the darkness, doomed to a life of confusion.
But wait! What is this? A flicker of light, the sound of a voice. I see a blur of colours. Light fills my vision. Something looms closer and closer – something big and monstrous. It encloses entirely around my tiny, fragile body and I wait for my fighting instincts to kick in, but they do not come. I am frozen in sheer terror as I am carried to certain death.
Suddenly, I am free! The oppressing entity around my body has been released and I am free! Where am I? Where is my saviour? My head whips from side to side as I try to take in my surroundings. I fly up as high as I can and land on something solid. But my vantage point only allows me to see what horrors lie in wait for me. A huge, round, pale monster and sickening white squares. It may be a face. There is sound coming from this thing; some unfamiliar voice. I don’t like it.
Hours pass.
I have made discoveries. Some interesting small oval shapes lie in a container, and I recognise it as food. When I am not hungrily devouring this food, I am back on the highest vantage point, on alert at any moment the monster should return. I am small, but I am strong. My eyes are bright and careful, watching for any signs of movement.
Days pass.
The monster has been to visit me. Strange sounds came out of its mouth, soft and soothing. The only emotion I felt was fear. I saw the enormous, gaping bottomless hole each time its mouth was opened and thought of how perfectly I would fit. The only time I feel something close to happiness is when it leaves me. But it quickly fades, to be replaced by boredom, confusion, anxiety, and dread when I see it approaching again.
Weeks pass.
There is no way to escape. Every way I turn, I see my path to freedom barred with straight, black lines. They are impossible to move. My weak teeth are useless against these powerful enemies. I am tired. I have given up. I accept this place as my home.
Months pass.
Sometimes, I hear the call of my fellow ones. It is always distant and faint, but it fills me with hope as I return it. I remember a time before now, when I lived with those like me. We were frightened and captive, like I am now, but we were together.
…
The girl was lying down on her bed, deep in thought. Suddenly, she sat up. “Mum, can we rethink getting a budgie?”