That Chicken

That Chicken

Walking to the kitchen, I glanced out the window as I passed. There was a chicken in my yard. We don’t have any chickens. Nobody in our neighborhood has chickens.

I did a quick turn as this all registered, no chicken. But it was there! Now all I could see was empty grass all the way to the neighbor’s house. Well, it was before coffee, maybe I imagined it... it seemed so real.

I busied myself with the coffee. Filling the water reservoir I wondered for the five hundredth time if I drink too much coffee. Got that started, going back three times, still looking for that chicken. Finally giving up, I turned on the TV as I started breakfast.

Someone was yelling! I wondered what was I watching last, but it was the news. The commentator, visibly shaken, talking about something big.

“Unknown flying object seen over the city!” flashed beneath the picture. The commentator was now describing small shiny objects reported by residents all over the city. So many reported them that it was determined not to be a mass hallucination. They were still hoping it was a prank of some kind. People were definitely panicking.

A bit panicked myself, I ran to the door to look out! Opening the door, there just off my step was a large round sphere, about two feet high. As I stood in incomprehension, a voice said, “Excuse me, could you direct me to Iowa?” I turned, it was that chicken.

“Sorry, no,” I sputtered, then recovering myself, “I believe it’s west from here though...”

“Thank you,” the chicken said, climbing into the sphere and then shooting straight up, and to the west.

I went back inside. There was certainly nothing else to do, really. And darn, now my eggs were burning!