The Cage

"Let me out", squawked the black Minah bird in the cage hanging by the door, its head twitching left and right as it spoke, "Please, let me out".

Laura giggled looking through the bars.

"What a funny thing for a bird to say", she remarked to Mr Finch, the birds owner; an old pensioner and neighbour who she was doing chores for to get her girl guide badge for helping out in her community, "Why does it say that?".

"I don't know", said the old man standing behind her, smiling, "Yes it is funny, isn't it".

Laura pressed a finger between the bars of the cage.

"No", she said, teasing the bird, "You're not getting out".

"Please", said the bird again, "Please let me out, please".

"Well, anyway", said Mr Finch, "If you want something to do. You could help give this room a dusting. I've got a feather duster somewhere, I'm sure".

Laura looked round about at the old mans living room while he went out to search for his duster.

"Weird", she thought, seeing the windows of the gloomy little room that seemed to be covered by padlocked shutters instead of curtains, "I wouldn't want to live in a place like this".

And the more she looked at the room the more she thought it didn't really seem like much of a living room.

More a dead room, she thought.

There were no pictures on the walls, no TV set or radio, only one piece of furniture; an old couch and no ornaments on the mantlepiece above the bricked up fireplace apart from three little wise owls carved from wood; one of them turned away to face the wall.

She went over to the mantlepiece and turned the ornament round, seeing that it was covering its eyes with its wings.

"No, stop", said the bird, starting to fly about its cage, making a loud flapping sound, as if it was panicking, "Please no".

Laura turned to look at the cage.

"Why are you saying that?", she asked.

"Let me out", the bird replied, now more frantically, "Please let me out".

Laura shook her head.

"What a crazy bird", she thought.

But then she heard a noise from behind her that made her jump; the door of the room suddenly slamming shut.

"Mr Finch?", she asked, spinning round to look at the door.

She heard the sound of a key turning in the lock.

"What are you doing?", she said, rushing towards the door, trying to turn the handle and realizing that the old man had locked her in, "Open the door".

"Open the door", said the bird as Laura hammered and kicked at the door, "Please. Let me out".

But then Laura stopped hammering, infact her whole body went numb because then she heard the bird make another sound, not like a squawk this time; more like a human scream.