Page 161 - Dark Matter Issue5 Part II

SARA WRIGHT

Lily B., My Telepathic Bird

Every morning at first light Lily B sounds a call to wake up the rest of his family – his

human mother and her current dogs, two small Chihuahuas whose names are Hope and

Lucy. The moment he calls “co cooooo,” Hope and Lucy jump out of bed, and I stumble

behind them in a daze. The dogs insist it’s time to go out because Lily B woke them up!

Occasionally I refuse to get up if I haven’t slept well. When this occurs the dogs come

back to bed. But not for long. Lily B repeats his beautiful morning call a few more times,

flies to the lamp that has a good view of the cave that we sleep in, and then sails down

to the floor and waddles into the dark room. This maneuver always works because Lucy

can’t resist chasing him– she leaps out of bed just as Lily soars to the top of the door. By

this time I am fully awake, like it or not.

Lily B is an African

Collared dove who has

lived with me for 24

years. He came to me as

a chick and has never

been caged. I named him

Lily because I thought he

was a female and added

the “B” for boy when I

realized my mistake.

Soon after he arrived, I

discovered that he preferred to sit on top of the highest furniture in the house, so I hung

baskets from the ceiling with newspapers inside them. He loved perching on swinging

baskets and it solved the problem of cleaning up after him.

About six months together I was forced to acknowledge that Lily B literally read my mind.

Whenever I had a new insight he would bellow out his song in approval or validation,