Fever Brain Fable #24

The hog boss struck a bored but dutiful pose and waited until all of the others had departed. Last to leave was the boy hunter who irked him so, especially now that he was walking into her house with the birdcage in one hand and the gaff in the other.

This triggered an unwelcome memory that he carried with him even after the coast was clear, and all the way to the woodpile. As such, he didn’t see nor was he seen by the secretary, who quivered as he reached for the now unguarded door of the shed, and gripped the handle of the butcher’s knife.

“I just love visiting your town,” the outsider had said. “Every year the girls get prettier, and my bird stays just the same.”

Mercer remembered the adults chuckling, although he still didn’t know why. He also remembered what happened next: the outsider extended the cage on the gaff to the row of young people, close enough for them to see that the bird’s body was lighter than its wings or tail. And even those feathers couldn’t match the void of the dark eyes, which, along with the fire red beak and feet, had haunted Mercer ever since.

At the time, however, the pyramidal cage passed him by and settled in front of Ursula, who blushed through the fading light in a way that reminded Mercer and his twelve rivals for her affection of the stakes.

“Say, pretty lady,” And the outsider’s voice was softer now, but still audible to the far extent of the group. “Would you mind holding him for awhile? I’ll feel safer if he’s with you.”

Ursula’s gaze fluttered nervously between the bird and the man’s face. Perhaps she looked close enough at the bird and determined that her earlier fears of the creature were unfounded. Or maybe she looked closer at the young outsider’s steady smile, and came to another, even more satisfied conclusion.

She unhooked the cage and propped it on her lap. Several people in the crowd gasped as if they’d seen something better left private. But he was off again, gesticulating with the gaff and addressing the group as a whole. “This is a tale of three axes, two men, and one god who rewards honesty…”

One axe is all I need, Mercer mused his way back into the present, and groped along the wall for the entrance to the shed. Before he could lose his nerve, he threw open the door and came in swinging.