It all started when I was about seven, when I first started getting the little presents in my window. It was always a good thing, when the messenger bluebird perched on my windowsill, dropped something in my room and then, barely giving me a glance as she flew off, was gone as quick as she'd come.
The first present I ever got was a stone—a smooth, flat gray stone. I'd found it on the ground outside, and I'd caressed it and curved it into the shape I'd had in my head then: a girl. That was the first thing I ever sculpted, and I'd cried when I'd broken it. But I was proud of it. It had been just a stone, but it was mine.
I was always a little lonely and afraid, so when I got a second stone, I thought maybe a bird would come to visit my second creation, too…
It was a little stone boulder about three inches long, perfectly round and brown, with a design carved into the top. The carving was of a bird, but not a bird, not like the bird in my first sculpture. It was more like the birds I saw in my dream, in the sky every night. The bird had a big head and a tall neck, but it was heavily protuberant like the size of its head was too big for its body. It was deep blue—not gray, like the first stone. It looked like the bird in my dream, which was different from the birds in the sky. The bird's feathers looked soft and kind, like satin or. Or maybe evergreen needles. Its eyes seemed to be made of petal, paper, or delicate silk. Its wings did not look stiff, like parchment cut to the shape of the bird; they looked soft and supple like pale lace. Its talons looked beautiful, some sort of gold.
I packed my dolls and my own collection of stones in a straw sieve and wrapped them up in a scarf out of my closet. I took everything out of my room, closed the door, and hid it at the end of the stairs. A pathway from my door led to the stairs, so I wasn't sure the bird would find it, but maybe it would find that and make another surprise visit.
I went back to my room to wait. I took my cleanest clothes out of my bag. I didn't have a lot of nice clothes. I liked dresses, but my mom didn't buy me new ones often. I'd have to wear a dress I didn't like, with a sweater over it, but that would be okay. I changed into my new clothes, then sat on the floor.
After a while, I got bored. I went back to get another dress out of my bag, but I forgot to close the door. I checked to make sure there were no grown-ups around, no neighbors – just the same two heads I'd seen from the window. I closed the door and went back to my spot by the window. I could see the spot where I'd hidden things from the window. The scarf was still there, some dolls, and a few puddles of water.
One thing I didn't see was a bird. I decided to check to see if it was still there. I figured that if it was gone, I would have to try something else. I went to the door, opened it ever so slightly and listened to my own footsteps. I could hear the creak of the door, but for some reason the sound of my footsteps didn't creak at all. I thought everyone else must be sound asleep, but I still listened, thinking maybe I'd just heard a breath or a door opening or something.
Then I heard it. A rustling like that of leaves and soft wings, very soft and elegant. I jumped at first because it was quiet, very softly soft…
I gasped, because the sound was exactly like that of the bird I'd made the first time. I was glad for this chance for the second. Maybe I could make the bird come out again.
I tried to look at it, but my door was just barely open and it was dark, so I couldn't see anything. I took a step outside to look under the door, as far as I could. It looked like this. The dark instead of a stone was a familiar roll of scrolls, parchments with words on them—a present!
I opened the door and went out to reach for it. It was a little piece of carefully folded parchment—a scroll. I picked it up and slowly unrolled it. I held it out In front of me to read it, but I couldn't see anything. I wanted to go get a candle, so I stuffed the scroll back into the rolled up parchment, put everything back in the bag, and closed the door behind me as quietly as I could.
There was a candle on a table in the corner of the room. I'd never touched it before, so I would have to be careful not to knock it over. I picked it up and went back to my door, only this time I opened it wide enough to walk through and out into the hall.
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