Gaby wasn't feeling herself. The unusually cool summer, the constant influx of new summer fruits and vegetables to sample from -- none of these were enough to buoy her spirits. She felt an uncomfortable heaviness in her abdomen, and when she tried to fly to the perches at night, she found herself unable to lift off the ground.
The Human worried. Large ungainly hands lifted her delicate body into a box, and soon Gaby found herself under bright lights atop a cold, metal exam room table. She was confused, so she didn't fight when the tiny gas mask went over her beak and sent her into unconsciousness.
When she awoke a few hours later, something was different. She felt a certain lightness to her body. A bit of soreness too and.... what are those? Staples! Something had definitely happened; something was definitely missing. "The humans," she thought, "They have cut something out of me -- perhaps that unpleasant abdominal mass that made me feel so heavy?"
Soon The Human reappeared, boxed her up, and brought Gaby back to its compound. Pills. Repulsive syrupy medicines. Nonsensical human chatter in the air. A small prison cell, a fraction of the size of her normal sleeping quarters.
A plate of corn appeared, but Gaby was not fooled. She knew she had to get out.
The next morning, she was ready. She heard the jar of pills opening, and she watched the hulking human hands reach for the prison-door latch.
Like a bolt of lightening, Gaby made her break. Through the prison door and out the screen door she ran, never slowing, never looking back.
"Gaby, wait! Your medicine!" wailed The Human, but Gaby did not wait. On and on she ran until she found her kin. White feathers blended into white feathers until she was just one drop in a sea of hens. She knew The Human would never be able to find her again.
She chortled in a clucky kind of way, then sighed in relief. Safe again.
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