All For The Sake of A Feather

It hit me like ton of bricks last night as I was ruffling my feathers to go to sleep. How could I have been so dense? It is really quite simple – the only expert on Britney I know is… Britney! Why didn’t I think of just asking her why she is so desperate to get out? What harm can it do? I spend the better part of the night thinking about the little girl’s suggestion and planning how to approach Britney.

So, this morning after breakfast, I joined her at the fence and asked her why she wanted to get out so desperately. She turned to look at me with those soulful eyes of hers and seemed to weigh her answer carefully. ‘It’s because of my feather?’ she said. ‘Your feather?!’ I asked. ‘But you have a whole body full of feathers! Why do you need another one?’ She looked away briefly and then said, barely audible. ‘It’s Mommy’s feather, she gave it to me the day we were taken and I always kept it tucked away safely under my wing. That day when I escaped, I lost it and I want it back so badly.’ I looked at the poor sentimental dear and wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. That’s it? She’s looking for her mother’s feather and I was trying to psychoanalyze her behavior all the time, certain she’s headed for admission to Holywell Hospital.

Well, I’m happy to say that we enlisted the help of Mr. CEO when he came by for the productivity meeting. By some miracle he could arrange for another ‘mommy feather’ to be brought to Britney from the farm. We really are indebted to these people at the Island; they go out of their way to make sure that we are happy. The change in her is remarkable. Tonight at dinner she was chatty and her eyes had a new luster.

It’s time for me to sign off for the day. I’m so relieved about Britney that not even Henrietta’s prolonged absences bother me tonight - she’s a big girl and can look after herself. Hope you have a good time until we meet again. As my great grandmother in Chile used to say: ‘May all that happens to you, be as joyful as a dream.’