Even though he has family and friends, he still finds himself enjoying the company of animals over humans for the most part. He hasn’t owned any pets in his lifetime but what would be the need when he shares his time with the woodland animals every day. Amongst those animals are cats, squirrels, birds and on the odd occasion a badger or fox. He hasn’t had the same experience with any of these other animals that he has found with the robin. As he ponders this, he glances at the robin once more before taking his leave back into the house. Maybe he will see the robin again tomorrow.
The man works as a self-employed copy editor, this allows him to choose his own working hours and work from the comfort of his own home. He spends the rest of the early afternoon working. Around 3pm he decides to go to the supermarket to grab some food for a late lunch, he hadn’t realised how hungry he was until just now. Once he takes a shower, gets himself dressed, he quickly takes a look into the garden from the living room window to see if the robin is still around. He doesn’t see the robin to his disappointment and so he grabs his keys making his way to the front door.
The man arrives back from the supermarket and starts to prepare his lunch. He decided to go for a ham and cheese sandwich with mayo and for dessert, a blueberry muffin. While he was eating his sandwich, he had a sudden wave of tiredness so decided to make another coffee. As he popped the kettle on boil, he suddenly heard another chirp close by. The robin had returned, but before he knew it, it had left again. The man continued to prepare his coffee and then made his way back to the living room to finish working.
The next morning the man followed the same routine he had the day before. He eventually got out of bed and went to make his morning coffee. The day didn’t feel as cold and icy today, there was more sunshine and less dampness. This meant that he could have his coffee outside, which he did every day in summer.
He was feeling a little more peckish this morning which was unusual. He decided to bring along a pastry with his coffee out into the garden. He made his way over to the chair next to the bird bath, he would be lying if he didn’t hope to share his morning coffee with the robin. He felt a strange connection with this robin, the need to share time with it. He waited and waited for a solid thirty minutes, looking around, hoping to spot the robin, but nothing. He wondered how long would be too long to wait on a robin who he had shared a single morning with. He decided to wait at least an hour before going back into the house.
Chapter 3
Over the next few days, he would repeat this routine, make his coffee and then venture into the garden. He would sit on the chair by the bird bath and wait for the robin’s return. After about four days he came to the conclusion that maybe he would never see the robin again, and he had to be at peace with that. When he was just about to give up for the final time, he heard a chirp. The robin flew over his head, under his legs and then finally landed on the bird bath and stared at the man, just as he had done the first time. The man couldn’t contain his excitement, he had missed this robin and although he did not understand why this was the case, he embraced it.
The man and the robin sat side by side for the rest of the morning, just as they had done the first time. After a short while, without warning the robin landed on the man’s arm. The man was in shock at first, but the robin did not appear to be affected at all. The robin chirped away for a few minutes and then suddenly broke into song. The song sounded familiar to the man but he couldn’t quite place it. Who was this robin, why did he feel a connection with it, these were the questions replaying in the man’s head. This was no ordinary robin and the man felt this, to his very core.
The robin visited the man every day without fail after that day and they shared their mornings together. He would discuss his latest work projects, share his dreams and aspirations, and tell stories. The robin was alert and attentive throughout their conversations and chirped every so often to confirm this to the man. He wondered to himself, how long would this friendship last.
The season of autumn passes by so quickly, before you know it it’s winter and winter feels as if it’s never ending. Despite this, there are beautiful things about the winter season too. The darkness is peaceful, the crisp cold air is refreshing and sometimes, there is nothing better than being wrapped up in a blanket sitting by the fire with some hot coco. The man pondered these thoughts as he woke up, winter had officially arrived.
As the man prepared his morning coffee, he heard the doorbell ring. This is unusual for a Wednesday as it wasn’t post day and he wasn’t expecting anyone. He turns the kettle off; he would start the process of making his coffee again after he had answered the door. He opened the door, to his surprise it was his neighbour, Maryanne. He didn’t see Maryanne much, and when they did see each other, they simply exchanged pleasantries and moved on. The man was at a loss as to why she would be knocking on his door. He greeted her, she smiled and asked if she could come in. As to not come across as rude he obliged and offered to make her a cup of coffee.
They both sat down on the sofa with their coffee and for the first couple of minutes they sat in silence. This unnerved him and so he decided to ask Maryanne what brought her over. Maryanne simply replied, I’m here to talk about the robin.
The man could not quite understand how Maryanne knew about the robin and why this would be a topic of discussion between them both. Maryanne sensed the unease in the room and decided to explain. The robin is magical, he appears when he senses you need him and will leave as soon as he feels you no longer need him. It is very easy to get attached and reliant on the robin to be there for you always, but it does not work like that. She should know, she had been through the same experience.
The man was listening to Maryanne but not entirely registering what she was saying. He lost his focus and everything around him became a blur. He regained his composure when he heard Maryanne say his name. She went on to say that she understands how crazy this all sounded but it was nothing less than the truth. The man spoke then, “Sorry Maryanne did you say that the robin was magical.”
Maryanne smiled and said, “That is correct.”
The man apologised to Maryanne and asked her to leave, he needed time to process what she had said. Maryanne left without speaking any further words and lightly closed the front door behind her.
Chapter 4
The man was in shock, he didn’t yet know how he felt about what Maryanne had shared. He sat on the sofa in silence without moving for the next hour. Trying to process what he had been told was proving to be difficult, mostly because deep down in his heart he knew he believed her. If anyone else had been told this, he imagined they would probably have laughed and said that Maryanne was insane. He knows logically, what Maryanne was saying would come across as insane but he also knew how he felt when that robin flew into his life. That robin did fly into his life for a reason, he just wasn’t aware he needed it to.
Once the man finally removed himself from the sofa, he took himself off to bed with a scotch. After what he had experienced this evening he needed a drink, maybe even the whole bottle. Finishing the bottle of scotch off was easy enough, and before he knew it, he fell into a deep sleep. He woke up startled, rattled from the dream he was having. He isn’t one for having nightmares, he even dreams little. The nightmare truly frightened him and he was not sure what it meant. Due to still being highly intoxicated the man fell asleep again, and this time he didn’t wake until morning.
In his drunken state, the man had forgotten to pull the blinds before he fell asleep last night. The sun rays were dancing over his face and he woke up in a daze. His head was in pain, it was throbbing at both temples due to the hangover. The man hadn’t drunk that much scotch in a while, the hungover feeling was not entirely new to him but they always made him regret his decision to drink in the first place. He headed straight for the shower, hoping it would wash away yesterday’s events from his mind and body.
Once the man had showered, he made his way to the kitchen, as he always did to make his morning coffee. The coffee tasted more bitter this morning, he believed it’s possible it was mirroring his mood. The man started to think about what would happen today with his robin, in light of what he had learned yesterday. If this robin was magical, would he know that Maryanne had told him his secret, his purpose. Would he have decided to take his leave earlier than originally planned, leaving the man alone without him for the rest of his life. These thoughts made the man angry and so he gulped down the last drops of his coffee and stormed off into the garden. He and his robin needed to talk.
The weather was icy cold this morning, with a sharpness to it. The sky was grey and the wind was strong. Again, the man was convinced it was mirroring his mood. He walked straight over to the bird bath and stood; he didn’t want to sit down. He yelled out to the robin, over and over again beckoning him to show himself. The more the man yelled, the more angry he became and then suddenly without warning he burst into tears and fell to his knees.
The man was kneeling down and crying for at least 30 minutes, he could not control the tears that seemed to want to expel themselves from his body. The man was not known to cry, he had always remained strong when he was upset. He made a conscious effort to never shed a tear, no matter how tough the situation was. This outpour confused him, he could not understand how or why it was happening. He remained there in the garden for a while.
The man had moved himself into a sitting position rather than the kneeling position he had begun with. This was definitely more comfortable and also enabled him to hold himself in his arms and console himself. He had not yet had that person to console him, he always preferred to console himself. The man suddenly thought to himself, was it my preference or did I always push people away to save myself. Did I choose to be alone because loving anything and possibly losing it would be too painful. These thoughts had never occurred to the man before, probably because he was blocking them out by choice.
The man stood back up, wiped his tear-stained face and sat on the chair by the bird bath. He realised in that moment that he was having a revelation, an epiphany. This was what the robin had come to him for, to help him to love something and let it go and to know he would be ok. The robin wanted him to love and allow himself to be loved, he could see this now with such clarity.
The man started to cry again, but this time it was out of joy not pain. His heart felt so full and he was ready to do what the robin wanted him to do. For the first time in his life his heart and his mind were open and he would be eternally grateful to the robin for flying into his life. Maryanne was also in her garden that morning, she had heard the cries of pain and the cries of joy. She knew that the man had finally understood, just as she had all those years ago. The robin would never return here, but he would be fulfilling his purpose all over the world for eternity. This thought made Maryanne smile, and with that she made her way back into her home.
I Like My Coffee How I Like
Everything, Depending
on My Mood
Chapter 1
I woke up today in a foul mood. This was due to being struck away from my lovely, peaceful deep sleep. Not all nights allow deep sleep, so I appreciate them when they occur. Alas, work had other plans. So, if work starts at 9am I need to be up and out the door in 45 minutes, I can totally manage this. I’m actually a very organised person, I like things better when they are planned accordingly. I can’t handle being late so even though my mood is foul, I have this all under control.
As I’m en-route to work via public transport, (driving would just give me anxiety) I ponder the thought, I bet almost half these people on the way to work are questioning their life choices. I mean I definitely am. Hi my name is Mel, and I work in an office. I could have introduced myself at the start, but I wanted to dive right in. What type of office worker am I, you might ask? I am an office manager. Totally suits my personality and the need for organisation. Do I enjoy being an office manager? A very good question. Honest answer, I like work how I like everything else, mood depending.
The guy with the red and white spotty tie catches my eye, he looks jolly, he doesn’t seem to have the same expression as me and others on this train journey. Maybe he is happy with his life choices, or maybe he is just a professional at hiding his true emotions. I for one currently have a resting bitch face, this is evident for all who dare look at me. I see a ring, so he is married, I reckon he also has a few kids, no evidence to suggest this but I have a feeling. The vibe a person gives off can be very telling, however, do we ever really know anyone? Deep for a Tuesday morning I know. For the rest of the journey, I pull out my paperback, there is nothing I love more than a good ole read, anywhere at any time.
As I edge closer to the building where I work, I get a sudden shudder. This shudder was brought on with the knowledge I am going to have to face my work colleagues. I like my work colleagues but only in small doses, this is challenging considering I have to spend 8 hours with them every weekday. Lorna is the accountant; Mark is the receptionist and Lulu is the intern. Lorna is lovely; however, she loves to gossip and also loves to chit chat about life in general ALL OF THE TIME. Mark is a bit of a twat, he thinks the world revolves around him and lastly, we have Lulu, she is also lovely, but has no real work ethic and floats around the office for the most part.
The first person I have to face is Mark, being the receptionist, he is the face of the company as it were, and he most definitely likes to babble on about this fact. I try to avoid eye contact with Mark, this is clearly rude, but that doesn’t stop him. “Morning Mel, good weekend? Mine was great, the strangest thing happened to me…” I cut Mark off with a I’m not in the mood for your shit today glare as I walk past, and he just laughs. He is fully aware of my mood swings and finds them amusing, this works in my favour as he leaves me alone. Guys like Mark require your full attention when they are talking to you about anything, no matter how uninterested you may be. He won’t get any enjoyment out of a conversation unless you make him feel like the only man in the world. I take a detour into the kitchen first, to pop my lunch box into the fridge, Lulu floats in, on cue. “Hi Mel, how are you?”
“Lulu as much as I would love to chat, busy day ahead, bye now.”
I would have said you know the drill, but as previously mentioned, Lulu does not know the drill, and she never will.
Finally, I’m in my office, my solace, my quiet place. “MELLLLLLLLLLLL, darling,”
Oh no, it’s Lorna. I have asked the boss for a lock; (he did look at me rather strangely when this was suggested) and to my surprise, he said no. No lock means uninvited guests enter my office whenever they want. “Mel, did you hear me?”
Unfortunately, I did hear her. “Hi Lorna, what do I owe this pleasure?”
“Well, I just wanted to check in, see what’s happening in Mel’s world.”
“Lorna, nothing new, sorry to disappoint. I’m super busy today, so can you please give me some space?” “Sure honey, I’ll give you the update on my date last weekend at lunchtime. Are you still going at around 12:30pm?”
“Erm, that’s the plan, but plans can change. Maybe I’ll see you later, have a good day now Lorna.”
PEACE AT LAST.
Chapter 2
Home time is the best time, sure I love keeping myself busy and having a purpose but even so, I don’t like people that much. Being at home, I am only responsible for entertaining myself, and my two hamsters. I could have gone for a cat but I don’t feel as if I want too much responsibility at this point in my young life. I’m not that young, I’m just lazy and selfish. I would ask you to guess my age but I guarantee you’d get it wrong. I am 32, yes, 32 is my age. Moving swiftly on, as I am only cooking for one, microwave meal it is. I don’t know why people knock microwave meals, I mean I make sure it’s Tesco’s finest range or from Marks & Spencer’s as to affirm my high standards. As my beef stroganoff is circling in the microwave, I plan my evening ahead. After dinner, tea, and a mince pie, whilst eating said mince pie and drinking said tea, I will watch dinner date on Netflix. Perfect evening.
Here’s the 411 on dinner date (whether you care to know or not), it’s a dating show (you could’ve guessed that surely) whereby a singleton, looks at menus cooked by five other singletons, and out of the five presented, three will go on a blind date with the singleton looking at the menus. Decent program to watch to pass the time however, some of the contestants are absolute TWATS. I do sit there for the most part swearing at the TV and trying to understand why these people act the way they do. You want to know why someone is single, just watch them on a dating show.
Coco and Pops my babies also enjoy a bit of dinner date, they run around in their little exercise balls and pause in front of the TV. I mean I can’t be sure they are watching the TV but I like to think Coco and Pops are special hamsters who can recognise more than the typical hamster. Or maybe it’s just a way to make me feel as if I’m not watching TV all alone. Drink anyone? Just kidding, I am a strong, independent woman who does not need a man. I have my fabulous job, my fabulous ‘rented’ flat, fabulous friends, you get the idea, I have a FABULOUS life, (sarcasm will get you everywhere). I’ll just grab that drink now.
Deep into an episode of dinner date, my phone dings and it is my best friend. My best friend is my mother, I have other friends (that I can count on one hand) but alas, mum is my numero uno. I’m not surprised by this message as mum messages me at the same time, same day every week, just to check in. Mum is under the impression that I have a FABULOUS life but the truth of the matter is, it’s simply average. I don’t have the heart to tell her this though, I just exaggerate things for her to make her happy and tell a little white lie, maybe five. She’ll say things like, “How’s work dear?”
And I find myself saying things like, “I had just the best day, I got so much done, had a girly lunch with my work friends, drinks with the team after work.” When the reality is, my day was actually mediocre, I got disturbed at lunchtime by Lorna and Lulu, (they ambushed me in Pret and took it upon themselves to share my table) and lastly, everyone else went for drinks while I went home as soon as the clock struck 5:00pm. Mum is satisfied for now, until next week. I wonder how creative I’ll have to get, if I continue to lie to my mum, I’ll worry about that later.
