Blackbird

Snowflakes drifted down, glittering faintly in the wan light of the harvest moon. Barely visible against dark sky, a blackbird swooped down, lighting softly in the snow next to a prone figure. Hopping two steps forward, the bird looked cautiously at the small creature. Her dark hair, only partially held back by a thick woolen headband, lay stark against the white snow. The girl moaned, shifting slightly. Tentatively, the bird stepped forward again, staring at the tempting locks. Suddenly, it snatched a few strands, and the girl awoke with a start.

Lily rubbed the back of her head, glaring at the guilty blackbird. High in a tree, three strands of dark brown hair hung from a dark beak. Lily struggled to her feet, then ducked as the bird flew over her head and into the forest. Shaking her head, Lily looked around.

Small for her age, Lily was dwarfed by the old firs and rocky cliffs that surrounded her. She frowned; there wasn’t a wall of rock alongside the hiking trail. The last thing she remembered was slipping on some ice, yet nothing around her looked familiar.

Confused, Lily looked up the cliff face. A tiny glow peered over the wall about fifteen feet above her. Squirting in the darkness, Lily suddenly laughed, the joyous sound echoing over the silent landscape. It was her phone, reflecting the pale light of the moon from the top of the trail. Looking closer, Lily could make out the faint outlines of a hole in the bushes lining the precipice..

I fell off the cliff! Lily realised in shock. I didn’t even know the was a cliff up there!

Looking around with new curiosity, Lily wondered how many other hidden landscapes were dotted along her favorite trail. No one knew about it but her; a shortcut from the woods behind her school to a sidewalk three blocks from home. She had taken great lengths to keep the entrance hidden from view, but she was starting to regret that decision.

“Well, at least I know where the trail is,” Lily noted aloud to herself. Frowning, she began to evaluate her options.

“I suppose I could try to climb the rocks here…” she mused, touching the ice-cold wall of grey stone. But it might be icy… should I risk it? Lily looked around, but the cliff appeared to go for miles. There was no other option.

A chirp sounded behind her; the blackbird had returned. Lily laughed and brushed her hair in the bird’s direction.

“You already got some, you stupid bird!” she mocked. “Go home!”

The blackbird remained where he was, staring intently at her.

“Oh, I see,” Lily snorted. “You want to watch me climb this hunk of rock and make a fool of myself, huh?”

The blackbird ruffled its feathers and chirped urgently, as if it was urging her not to scale the wall.
“Do you have any other ideas?” Lily snapped back.

The bird didn’t answer, flying away a few paces and landing on a berry bush.

“Oh you stupid bird,” Lily scoffed. “Why am I talking to you anyway?” It’s not like he can understand me.

The bird trilled behind her.

“Shut up!” Lily yelled despite herself. “I’m climbing up and you can’t stop me!”

Gripping the cold stones with both hands, Lily started pulling herself up. The moment she lifted her leg, however, pain shot through her body. With a startled scream, she fell into the snow.

Vaguely, beyond the haze of pain, Lily heard the blackbird tweeting behind her. It almost sounded like he was laughing. Irritation cleared her mind, and she made a rude gesture at the bird.

Undeterred, it flew onto her outstretched arm. Startled, Lily froze as the bird hopped across her body. As the bird explored her shoulder, she slowly tried to sit up. Her ankle responded with another explosion of pain. Gasping, Lily fell back into the snow as the startled blackbird retreated to its berry bush.

Freezing and covered with snow, Lily helplessly looked up at her phone. The fifteen foot cliff might have well been miles high. Tentatively, attempting to keep her leg still, Lily groped for a tree branch and pulled herself up on her good leg. The pain flamed up again in her ankle, but not debilitatingly so. Grabbing a fallen stick, Lily reached for the glowing device, but only succeeded in pushing it further back. She tried to again, pushing the stick in dozens of different directions in an attempt to knock it off, but it was no use. The phone was stuck on the cliff.

Lily swore. She tried to think of what her father would say in this situation, but all that came to mind were more curses. That made her smile slightly, but only for a moment. Her mother had always said that she took after her father.

Behind her, the blackbird piped for her attention. Curious, Lily turned towards the bird.

What does he want?

Leaning heavily on the stick, she took a careful step towards the bird. Chirping happily, the bird flew about foot back. Frowning, Lily took another step, then watched as the blackbird flew another pace away.

It’s as if he’s edging me on...

“You- you want me to follow you?” Lily asked uncertainly. The blackbird ruffled its feathers, at to Lily it almost seemed as if the bird was nodding.

Lily looked back up at the cliff face, but any guiding reflection from the phone was now hidden by the bushes. Common sense told her to wait by the trail until someone found her, but something about the bird seemed strangely genuine. After all, it wasn’t every day that a blackbird flew onto your shoulder, then stood waiting for you a few feet ahead.

Besides, Lily realized, no one knows where I am! Her hidden trail would prevent anyone for finding her for a long time, days possibly! Lily had no idea if the berries in the clearing were edible, and her leg obviously needed medical attention. But can I walk through the woods on it?

She looked back at the bird, starting into its small, dark eyes. “You know where you’re going, right?”

The blackbird took another hop back, as if in response. Lily hesitated, then painstakingly followed. It seemed like her best option, but she hoped it was the right choice.

---

The snowfall increased by the minute. After three hours of plowing through drifts as high as her thigh, Lily needed a break. Despite her best efforts, her ankle throbbed painfully. So far, the he blackbird had only taken her deeper into the woods. Spotting a large rock, Lily wiped off the slow and carefully lowered herself onto it. The blackbird paused ahead of her, trilling in annoyance.

“Shut up,” she responded irritably. “Not everyone can fly from tree to tree!”

The bird twittered, peering at Lily as she stretched out her leg, cursing under her breath. It hurt to move her body the slightest bit, and she could barely feel her toes.

Even if I had wings, they’d probably be broken too!

` The forest relapsed into silence as Lily’s eyes drooped. At first, Lily tried to stay awake, scared of never waking up again, but her exhaustion proved too much for her. As the blackbird sang somewhere in the trees, Lily was reminded of an old song her father used to sing to her:

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings
And learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this
Moment to arise.

Humming quietly to herself, Lily’s back sagged against a tree as she fell asleep.

---

Lily woke with a start. At first, she wasn’t sure where she was, then she remembered what had happened.

Thank God I’m alive!

Euphoric relief flooded her body, giving her the energy to look around. The snow had finally stopped, leaving the forest covered in a dazzling coat of white. Even her legs were blanketed with fresh, powdery snow. Lily’s family had always loved the outdoors, and the beauty of the winter landscape was not lost on her.

Then Lily noticed something odd. The woods were eerily quiet. The sense of relief faded as Lily frantically searched for a sign of the blackbird. It was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly panicked, Lily jumped up, then collapsed as pain shot up her leg. It was worse than before, and she could feel her swollen foot strain against the sides of her winter boots. She wanted to examine her ankle, but didn’t dare take off her shoes for fear of being unable to put them back on again. This time, Lily knew, her injury wasn’t going to let her go anywhere.

Besides, where would I go if I could? The tracks I made last night are gone, and that stupid bird is gone! Leaning helplessly against the tree, Lily swore aloud. I wish I had never followed it!

Despair pressed down on Lily’s lungs as she comprehended her quandary. She was lost in the woods with no food, no fire, and no means of communication. If it had been unlikely that anyone would have found her by the trail, it was impossible that she would be found here.

She sat for hours, hoping against hope that someone would find her. She tried going back to sleep, but the bright sun and her throbbing ankle kept her wide awake. With nothing better to do, Lily began to sing again, changing the words slightly.

Blackbird vanished in the dead of night,
Doomed on broken legs to watch you fly.
All your life
You had never know the pain,
When you can’t arise.

Tears rolled down Lily’s face as she closed her eyes, yet for some reason, the singing made her feel a bit better. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice singing in the distance:

Blackbird singing in the dead of night,
Take these broken wings
And learn to fly.
All your life,
You were only waiting for this
Moment to arise

His notes were punctuated by familiar trills; the blackbird had come back for her!

And it brought my dad!

“Over here!” Lily yelled.

The blackbird flew into the tiny clearing, followed closely by her father. Without saying anything, he enveloped her in a huge bear hug. She yelped as he bumped her injured ankle.

“Sorry,” he apologized, but grinned broadly. “Did I squeeze you too hard?”

“No,” Lily responded, grinning through the pain. “It’s my ankle, I think it’s broken.”

Bending down, her father tried to examine her leg, but it was hard to see the injury inside the thick boots. He swore, and Lily’s grin widened.

“That’s not going to be pretty to take off,” he noted, gesturing towards the boot. Noticing Lily’s smile, he asked, “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Lily said truthfully. “I fell off a cliff, broke my ankle and got lost in the woods.”

“True,” her father agreed. “Then what’s the smile for?”

“Just the fact that I probably swore more that you did yesterday.”

Her father laughed, a rolling guffaw. “I don’t know about that. You had us really worried!”

“How did you find me?” Lily inquired, looked at the blackbird, who fluffed his feathers proudly.

“This little guy found me searching for you.” her father replied. “I ignored him at first, but he was so persistent that I had to follow him. There was something very... sincere about him.

“Yes, he does seem that way, doesn’t he?” Lily agreed, slightly puzzled.

The blackbird must have been leading me to dad! But how had it known?

Her father laughed at her bemused expression. “C’mon,” he groaned, lifting her up as easily as if she were a stack of firewood. “Let’s go home.”

Lily leaned back in her father’s arms, grimacing slightly as her leg shifted. Behind them, the blackbird trilled a happy farewell.

---

Hobbling through the trail on crutches was hard work, but it took less than an hour for Lily to clear the path entrance and find her phone.

It had been five days since she had taken that nasty fall. The snow and ice had melted slightly, lending a whole new look to the landscape below. Rocks jutted out of the ground where powder had lain, and Lily realized, not for the first time, how lucky she had been. Carefully avoiding the cliff edge, Lily tucked the device in her pocket, leaving in its place six long, dark hairs. Smiling to herself, she turned back towards home. Behind her, the happy trill of a blackbird filled the forest again.