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.

[Sekhmet]

Hi Ishmael - most parents will have been faced, one morning, by a much loved pet lying cold and stiff in its cage or bed. They then have to face the unpleasant task of breaking the news to their child. There is no escape.
The father in your short story had been given a way out - he could lie! But was he lying to save Jason from pain? Or was he lying to prevent his son realizing that he, Jason's father, had failed the boy?
The easy get out? - To let the lad think that the budgie was flying free. Every one's happy.
But children need to learn some of the harsh truths about life while still young - the father did his son no favours by lying to him.

Your story was a tale familiar to many of us, and you told it with admirable brevity - almost like a charcoal sketch
I would, in fact, have liked the story, 'filled in' with a little more more colour.

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.

A good opening! I defy anyone not to want to read on; although I have no idea what a Currawong might be - is it a figment of your imagination, or do you live surrounded by the cackle of Carawongs?
If you wanted to extend the story, (but you probably don't) I would like to have some description of the Father, Jason, the budgie and , most important - the Currawong.
Leo

[JustDaniel]

Here's a link to the Currawawong, or Australian Raven