Free

    Small dark brown eyes stared out the window curiously, watching the dark grey clouds move sluggishly across the sky. The world past the glass was dim and gloomy, but Cotton, as he had been dubbed, wanted nothing more then to be out there in the cold and wet. Turning away from view, Cotton moved his gaze to the small girl that was his ‘owner’.
    She was a small thing, for a human, and young too. Her glossy mouse brown hair was gathered back behind her head and tied with a blue ribbon to match the pretty blue dress she was wearing. Bright green eyes gazed intently at the picture book sitting on her lap. Shiny black shoes tapped a nonsense rhythm on the floor, her perch on the window seat only just allowing her toes to touch the ground.
    Cotton didn’t mind the small human because she was nicer than her brother, to whom Cotton used to belong to before the big humans gave him to the small female human. It was all very confusing to Cotton, who had a hard time telling one human from another.  He cocked his head to one side when the small human looked away from her book to watch him. After a moment Cotton turned away from her to stare forlornly out the window once again.
    “I can’t imagine you like it here very much,” the small human said, recapturing Cottons attention. It had taken years for him to start to understand the speech humans used, but he like to think himself as fluent now.  He blinked rapidly as he realized the small human had spoken again.
    He was surprise when she rose, making her way towards him. She hesitated then unlatched the window separating Cotton from the rest of the world. There was a small clinking noise as a second door was unlatched and Cotton stared in amazement at the unobstructed view of the outside world. He wasted no time in leaping through the open window and out into the open air.
    The soft breeze hit Cottons face and ruffled his feathers. He flapped his wings and gained height, staring down at the grass and trees and open land. Cotton didn’t turn around, he didn’t see the small girl smile and close the window, all he did was continue forward.
    It may have been a gloomy day, but Cotton thought it was the best day in the world.