Chapter 27
04_Melting point
Prina cupped the baby bird gently in both hands, as if cradling it. Then she carefully made her way up to her room. The tiny creature, which had been trembling uncontrollably, seemed to calm as the warmth from her palms seeped into it, the shaking gradually subsiding.
On closer inspection, one wing was folded in, likely broken.
“…Oh dear, that must hurt.”
With such a small body, falling from a height and surviving at all was a miracle. Had Hunter found it even a little later, a wild animal would likely have carried it off, ending its life.
Peep— The baby bird let out a faint, strained cry.
“Little one, it must hurt, and everything must feel so strange and frightening.”
She felt a pang of pity. Hearing that frail voice made her chest tighten with urgency.
“Don’t worry. I’ll fix you up so it won’t hurt. First… let’s make you a warm little nest, shall we?”
Prina lined a bread basket with a soft towel to make a temporary nest. She placed it in a cozy spot where the sun wasn’t too harsh and the air wasn’t too cold. Then she lightly secured the wing so the bone could set, and dampened a handkerchief to give it small sips of water.
She tended to that small, fragile life with care, day and night. Back at the convent, she’d had to tend to injured animals in secret, stealing glances at the other nuns to make sure they didn’t notice, but here she could devote herself wholly to healing.
She even gave the bird the name ‘Happy’ so that it might live up to it.
“Happy, you know Lucky, right? He bled a lot and was hurt even worse than you, but now he’s all better. He eats well, hops around all lively… You’ll be just like Lucky soon.”
She knew there was no way such a small creature could truly understand her words. But she hoped at least the sincerity in her voice would reach it, and so she murmured to it constantly.
“So let’s hang in there a little longer, okay? See the sky outside that window? When you’re all healed, you’ll fly out there. Won’t that be wonderful?”
Prina placed Happy on her palm and held it up to the window.
A gentle breeze drifted in through the gap, and Happy let out a soft chirp, as if it felt good. In caring for Happy, Prina felt as though she was finding comfort herself.
“If I leave it as it is, I think it’ll die.”
Just like when he had taken in the injured Lucky.
Just like when he had saved her as she lay collapsed.
Hunter had saved Happy, fallen from its nest, this time as well.
Yes. He had saved it.
He might look frightening on the outside, but inside he was thoughtful and kind. He couldn’t just turn away from something small and hurt. Prina felt an odd sense of kinship in that.
“Prina. Do you think you can fix this?”
And caring for this little bird was the first request Hunter had ever made of her.
She had always felt like a useless burden in this house. But when he said those words, Prina felt as though she had found her place here.
It wasn’t much… but still.
Anyone who falls ill grows weaker, and even the strongest person can’t overcome sickness alone. At the very least, if he were ever hurt or unwell, she could tend to him and nurse him back to health.
Then… even someone like her could be of help.
In that, Prina found her own sense of necessity, her sense of belonging. She wanted to heal this little bird and show him that she could be of use to him.
That she was someone indispensable.
That she could care for the fragile, injured lives he brought home.
That she could be someone who helped him. She wanted to show him that.
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