Post storm sunshine projects a subtle spotlight on the hatchling as I deliver her into the glass. Her sun-polished body glows a faint yellow-orange. Wonder waits in the goblet on the front lawn while I prepare her burial spot out back. The earth is soft from the rain making it easy to dig an area as wide as my open palm and as deep as two pine cones.
“Hey Mom,” I shout from the back yard when I hear her car drive up. I’m excited to show her the body right before I bury it.
“Holy shit, Jenna, what are you doing putting a dead bird in my good glass?”
“It’s Wonder ...” I call, tensing with trepidation for what’s about to happen.
From the grave I can see Mom snatching the glass off the ground. I sprint towards her just as she’s lifting the lid on the outdoor garbage can to dump Wonder away.
“Don’t!” I plead. But it’s too late.
Plop.
I’ve never seen anything worse than Wonder’s little purple head falling limp next to soda cans and boxes of instant mashed potatoes like she’s a worthless equivalent to the garbage beneath her.
“But Mom, I made her a grave,” I say, dropping stiff tears.
Mom’s already got the trash bag all bundled up though, not yielding. I follow steadily behind her wondering how people get to the point where they think it’s normal to throw a tiny body in the garbage and leave it at the side of the road to be loaded up in junk trucks, like the earth’s birds are rubbish just because they’re dead.
With a brave swipe, I grab my Mom’s arm tight. “Wonder’s in there!”
“Jenna …”
Mom’s arm easily resists my clasped hand. But there again, something changes. She sighs. Her eyes roll to the sky in surrender. With a light toss, she deems the garbage bag dumped and ambles into the house.
My heart soars when I find Wonder. She’s stretched out across a white pizza box next to Mom’s rejected goblet. The box becomes a sturdy cardboard stretcher that I use to carry her with great concentrated concern. It’s because I understand she’s even frailer now after having been unfairly insulted and so roughly handled. My heart marches ahead of me to the backyard burial ceremony.
