A World Apart

Sunny weather makes people want to spend time outdoors. When the public flock to the zoo, they want is to surround themselves with animals wandering around the plains of their enclosures. They don’t seem to be interested in being cooped up, looking at the animals more suited to warmer climates, such the reptiles and exotic birds.

Inside the tropical house, where the windows were steamed up, like boiled water from a kettle, the sweltering heat even overtaking temperatures from outside. In one enclosure, tropical plants and bushes sat stagnant. No wind or movement from the leaves, fallen on the dirt ground. A log, tied together with metal poles, a few inches above the floor. A large hornbill, it’s beak like a banana, its black and white body full of feathers, came flying onto the log branch, placing its large talons on the wood. The hornbill called Rosie, uttered a squark that echoed around the room, to her, she was sighing. A great sigh to show how tired she was, resting her body for a few moments.

The automatic doors edged open. An elderly woman with white hair, dressed to go to the races, came through, hobbling around with a walking stick. She herself was tired, from her wander around the zoo. She placed her stick against the window, and stared into the misty enclosure, smiling up at the bird. Inquisitively, the bird swooped right next to her, Rosie’s beak almost touching the glass separating them both. Rosie made a squark to make her presence known, a sort of hello in her language.

"Look at you! You’re a beautiful girl, aren’t you? I’m Eunice.”

Rosie’s expression spoke a thousand words. She tilted her head, puzzled. She let out a large squawk in acknowledgment, her beak touched the glass.

“How do you know I’m a girl?” Rosie cried out. Somehow this time, she didn’t let out a noise, but human words came out of her beak.

“Excuse me?” Eunice was bewildered. She hadn’t been paying much attention but when a giant hornbill starts to speak, she took notice.

“How can you tell I’m a female?” Rosie said,not realising that Eunice was looking rather startled.

“You can understand me!” Eunice exclaimed, grabbing tightly hold of her walking stick. “I can understand you!”

Rosie knew this day would come, the day a human would start a conversation with her and be understood.

“Well, of course! I’m not a Martian!” She said sarcastically.

“But… but… you’re just a bird?” Perhaps Eunice was going mad, perhaps it was her overactive imagination but she couldn’t move from the spot, either way, she was glad of some company, even if she wasn’t the same species.

“You’re rather rude!” Rosie hissed, showing her who was boss.

Rosie began shaking her head, turning back towards her log branch, when in mid-flight Eunice spoke up, her voice soothing and gentle.

“Wait! Please! I’m sorry, come back.”

There was a sort of sadness in her eyes, nonvisible to a human, but obvious to Rosie. She sighed and flew back, landing again on the window ledge, beak touching the glass.

“I suppose, if you’re sorry.” Muttered Rosie.

“I am! It’s just, well I’m not exactly used to birds having conversations with me. I mean, I talk at them yes, but normally I don’t get a response.”

“How sad.” Rosie understood. The woman seemed lonely and at times she was too.

“I suppose.” Eunice hadn’t given the topic much thought before.

“Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. I am Rosie, The Great Hornbill. I didn’t make up the ‘great’ part, that’s just my species name.”

“I see…” Eunice nodded at an informative sign on the exhibit, which had information about her species and habitat.

Rosie huffed. Was this old lady intentionally trying to be rude, she knew that she wanted to expand her introduction, rather than the information humans had created.

“Again! You make fun of me! Why?” She snapped.

In fairness, Eunice looked so hurt that she made Rosie uncomfortable. The bird was slowly beginning to understand that humans had very odd ways of expressing themselves.

“Oh! I’m sorry!” Eunice grabbed her hand and slapped it ever so gently. “Forgive me, I’m not leaving a good impression for the rest of humankind, am I?”

Rosie shook her head.

“You’re better than most humans I know. Some smaller humans tend to bang on the glass.”

If she and the bird were to become friends, she thought it best to teach the bird her customs.

“Children.”

“Excuse me?” Rosie replied, taken aback.

“Those smaller beings, they’re called children.” Then it dawned on Eunice, what if this bird had any children of her own.

“Say, have you had any chicks hatch?” Are you a mother?”

Rosie shook her head in sadness. “Me and the male around here, we were trying…”

“What a shame.” The thought of anyone unable to have a child, was enough to move Eunice to tears.

Rosie diverted the conversation, thinking about the struggles her and the male had faced for months, with the keepers watching their every move.

“Are you a mother?”

Eunice’s face lit up like a lamp. Someone was interested in her life for a change, it didn’t matter that she wasn’t human.

“I am, yes, but I rarely see my son nowadays. That’s why I’m spending so much time at the zoo, it’s somewhere to go to keep my mind of things, keeps me busy.”

It seemed that, although they were different species, their loneliness was the thing connecting them. Perhaps that was why they could communicate with each other.

Rosie sighed. “Well, I’m here if you ever need to talk or even squawk.” She smiled back at Eunice, who in turn beamed at the great hornbill.