The Wings of Change

Charlotte sits in the Vermont coffeehouse her family has run for three generations. She stares out the window at the bright summer day, the picturesque scene doing nothing to alleviate the aching feeling in her chest. The only thing on her mind is the pile of bills she can't pay and the letter informing her she has only a month left to pay her lease. Otherwise, she'll have to relinquish the business her father had poured his heart and soul into. Dad, I'm so sorry. I wanted to keep this place alive for you. But...I don't know how I'm gonna get the money together in time.

Parker aimlessly wanders the streets of London, the wind blowing his unkempt hair back. Another evening, another blow-out with his junkie father. After taking a few slugs to the face and gut, Parker managed to take a lamp to his dad's head before fleeing out the back door of their rundown house. The last thing he heard his father say as he ran off was a threat to kill him if he ever came back. It wasn't the first time Parker heard such a threat come from his father's mouth. As the sky grows dimmer, adrenaline is replaced by the cold grip of fear to match Parker's dreary thoughts. Dad keeps getting worse every day. If I don't get out of that fucking house soon, I'll wind up dead or hooked on crack just like him. But I don't have anywhere else to go...

Tiffany sits on a Missouri convenience store toilet, water streaking down her face as she clutches a positive pregnancy test in her hand. The reason for her tears and the reason for her taking this test in a mini-mart instead of at her home were one and the same. A devoutly religious woman and a pillar of the local church, Tiffany's widowed mother prides herself on having a family of high moral principles. Her elder sons were off at college pursuing business degrees and she expected a similar academic future for Tiffany. What she didn't expect--and what Tiffany knew she'd never accept either--was having an unwed teenage mother for a daughter. On the floor at Tiffany's feet is her cell phone, still displaying the text conversation she'd just had with her boyfriend. She got no response in return for her message confirming her worst fears. Why isn't Ethan answering? I'm so scared. If Mom finds out about this, she'll kill me. But I can't hide this from her for long. What am I gonna do?

Drew lays out on his Colorado high school's soccer field, staring up at the clouds passing overhead. In his arms is his father's soccer ball--the same one his high school coach gave to him when he graduated. From the age of seven, Drew's favorite pastime was scoring goals in the backyard while his father acted as goalie. And all throughout middle school and three years of high school, Drew played on the soccer team and shared a dream with his father that he'd continue playing in college and then go pro. But three months prior, a severe leg injury during a game quashed all of Drew's fantasies of soccer stardom. Looking down at the damaged limb that had killed his career before it even started, Drew felt bitter tears well up in his eyes. It's not fair. All my hard work...all the sacrifices Dad made...it was all for nothing. I used to be so sure of what my future looked like. Now it just looks...empty.

Kimberly stands in a Marseille cemetery. A bundle of orchids is clutched within her tight grip as she stands before the grave of her best friend. Kimberly could still remember when she first met Hugo: it was her first day at the French boarding school her parents had shipped her off to. The abandonment on top of the pressure of classes was too much for Kimberly, so after soldiering through her classes, she fled campus crying. She ended up literally running into Hugo, but instead of being angry, the boy asked the teary-eyed Kimberly what was wrong. That one question led to Kimberly unloading her troubles onto Hugo over lunch, sparking a strong friendship as Kimberly and Hugo bonded over their shared grievances against their parents. Hugo became the only bearable thing about Kimberly's new academic prison. But during the summer before her second-to-last year there, a freak electrical fire cost Kimberly her best friend--and the greatest person she'd ever known. I miss you so much, Hugo. School's about to start again, and I don't know if I can make it two more years here without you. It's just...dammit, why did you have to die!?

But just before hopelessness overtook these five souls, a most bizarre sight caught their attention. A Scarlet Macaw.

The bird flies up to Charlotte's coffee shop and lands on the sidewalk right outside the store window. The sudden blur of colors catches the weary storeowner by surprise and she gets up to investigate. She stares in marvel at the geographically misplaced parrot. It looks back at her, two passersby walking past the animal without a second thought.

The parrot soars right over Parker's head, nearly sending the boy falling to the concrete. After getting his footing, Parker turns to see the bird flying up towards the setting sun. Despite the rapidly disappearing light, he could still see the Macaw's vibrant colors as it flew further and further away. Soon, it was little more than a speck of bright pigmentation amongst the darkened clouds.

A sudden noise draws Tiffany's watery eyes to the bathroom's small awning window. Just behind the glass, an unusual bird watches over the frightened young girl. Tiffany rubs her eyes, convinced her terror is making her hallucinate. But when she opens them, the bird remains, still looking at her with tiny eyes conveying a look of compassion and understanding. The kind of look Tiffany rarely saw in her mother's perpetually somber face.

Drew hears the sound of wings flapping before looking up to see the owner of said wings. Perched on one of the field's soccer goals was a bird with feathers of red, yellow, green, and blue. As Drew stands to take a closer look at his unexpected visitor, he allows his most cherished possession--the symbol of the dream he couldn't chase--fall to the grass. It was as if some force was luring Drew closer to the Macaw and its radiant beauty.

After Kimberly places her flowers in the stone vase built onto Hugo's grave, she stands back up to see a Scarlet Macaw atop the elaborate tombstone. Kimberly jumps back in shock, the bird having not made a sound before appearing on her friend's grave. Once Kimberly finds her composure, though, the mysterious creature's presence soothes her aching heart. Its empathic gaze suddenly brings to mind the happy memories she made with Hugo in the time they had together. It was the same pair of comforting eyes that brought peace to Charlotte's financially frazzled mind.

The same colorful wings that lifted Parker's broken spirits.

The same consoling energy that made Tiffany feel like she wasn't alone.

The same confident stance that brought strength to Drew's wounded pride.

As quickly as the Macaw entered their lives, it disappeared. None of the five even saw the bird move; it simply vanished as if it were never there to begin with. But even with their strange shared visitant gone, the state of calm these five strangers were left with remained. In an instant, five shattered souls were given refuge from the troubles that threatened to destroy them. Of course, they still had their burdens to carry and problems to grapple with. But despite knowing of the storms that awaited them in their futures, they were all gifted with something they desperately needed.

A chance to feel safe and secure during their bleakest hour, if only for a fleeting moment.

Written in memory of Tom Bradbury. May his spirit and legacy live forever within the pages of Vocal and in the hearts of everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.