Lies Options

[Guest_Ishmael_*]

He stepped out onto the balcony with his glass of orange juice and stopped, staring at the empty cage. His heart was hammering in his chest as he remembered Jason warning him about the Currawongs.
“Never leave her cage outside by itself,” he’d said, “because the Currawongs eat little birds and they’ll grab a budgie with their beak and pull it through the bars.”
He looked all around the cage but he couldn’t see any blood or broken feathers and he told himself she’d probably managed to open the gate herself and fly off. She’d almost managed it once or twice before, just poking her head out before the gate slid shut on her neck and she was left shrieking for help, and he decided that it wouldn’t be too much of a lie to say that he’d seen it happen through the window. Jason would shout at him - he really did love that budgie - but he wouldn’t really mind the thought of her flying away, free and happy. The cage was light as he picked it up and as he turned to carry it inside he heard a lone Currawong chuckle a melody that echoed across the valley. He looked over his shoulder but there was no movement in the trees.