Cage or Freedom

Her mother meant well. The caged bird was viewed by many tourists every day. She and her two daughters were just three more tourists. The bird hardly noticed them. But the girls noticed the bird. They both had wishes and desires. The dark-haired child wanted to add the bird's beauty to her artwork, and the blond-haired child was less certain. She wanted the bird out of that cage. Either to be home with her and her family or else to fly free. The bird should be surrounded by family .not strangers and tourists. Both girls stare silently at the bird and its bright red feathers. Both in awe. The mother tried to demonstrate the educational value of the bird. She stated Polly wants a Cracker and even though the bird was not named Polly she repeated the phrase. Tourists after a tourist took a turn. The family moved on shopping for tourist trinkets.

The mother wanted them to have a balanced education. The family went to the bird sanctuary. They did not have telescopes, but most of the bird watchers were men and they let the young woman and her two girls look through their telescopes, The girls were excited to see a macaw flying free. Why was one bird flying free while the other one was a show bird in a cage? Even young elementary school girls knew which bird must have been happier.

The US children studied everything. When they wrote stories they gave animals human thoughts and actions. But real animals were assumed to not cry and ache when their freedom was taken away. The pet animals' freedom of choice was taken away through training and bribes. Some were in cages in science labs. Mice had needles stuck in their eyes. But the blond-haired girl stayed curious about the macaw in the cage.

They saw more free birds. These birds could travel anywhere in their habitat. but they needed to survive on their own. Humans fed the caged birds. Was free room and board worth captivity, What would that bird say?

The trip ended but the experience lived on. As the young girls grew older their situations changed. The dark-haired women began to wonder what is a suitable price for survival. Boyfriends who kept her from wandering the world alone. Survival was not to be taken for granted anymore. Parents who controlled her fate in exchange for room and board. All she wanted was her freedom. As soon as she was 18 she decided to give self-survival a try. She thought of the macaw. Was that bird screaming in hidden anger? If the two young girls had opened the cage, would the bird have sat there frozen? Or would she have flown free? Was the bird too well trained to realize her captivity? But was she free if she could not survive on her own? Was she bound to those who she needed for her survival?

The blond-haired girl's situation had changed as well. She had more freedom than her sister, but she was still chained emotionally. She had married young. And yes her husband was perfect for her. But he had died leaving her with two sons. Not children but teenage men.

The dark-haired girl assumed that the two boys would want their freedom. but as they ascended into their thirties they still stayed with their mother. Neither were married or had children or were even financially responsible. The dark-haired woman saw the danger but the blond-haired woman did not.

The strange thing was the blond-haired woman loved her children. She helped plan their careers and paid their health coverage and car insurance, She bought the groceries and cooked the meals. Life continued as if her boys were in high-school. These boys would not turn out like the dark-haired woman. Even if they did not know how to finance for groceries, because the blond haired-women would leave them a house and a big inheritance. But do they have any desire for their independence and freedom? Or do they just not know anything else. The two girls if today would see that caged macaw would they want to immortalize it, would they want to adopt it into their family or would they want to free it? Or could they do more than one option? Could they photograph it and then set it free. Could they set it free and leave bits of birdseed on the ground in case the bird did not remember how to hunt. Wouldn't the bird be happier soaring in the sky than sitting in the cage waiting to be taken care of?

The two girls' mother died. She had as an old lady been dependent on the dark-haired girl. The mother would never know how this lesson played out, she just knew that as she lost her independence her entries in her journal got more depressed. She still smiled for the dark-haired girl. She still laughed, but she saw how society regarded those who were not independent. The needier she was the less, people needed her. And yes the less she needed life. Her body was taking her freedom. She needed others to survive, she wondered what was an adequate price for survival.