some visitor

last night there was a bird in my room.

at first i didn't think it was one, not being able to make sense of the frrt-frrt flutter of noise against thick, curtain material.

half awake, and slowly becoming more aware of the noise, i hoped it was just leaves rustling, or something outside of the window.

but there are no more leaves outside my bedroom anymore, as i mentioned in the blog post before.

and with further frrt-frrt's coming from the corner of my room, where the line of light from the nearby street light meets the curtain edge, i suddenly realized it was moving.

there was something alive, and trying to escape, from my room.

not usually being scared of small animals, i thought i would turn off the lights, catch it, and release it out the window.

but when i managed to stumble, groggily, to the light switch by my door on the opposite side of the room, i became too scared to even try.

i could hardly even tell what kind of animal it was when the lights were on. i could only make out something brown, alive, with a feather-tail bobbing behind my electric guitar stand.

yes, a bird.

for a moment it almost felt like an edgar allen poe kind of experience, except not as weird, dark and creepy as the raven.

but instead of sitting down and facing the bird in my bedroom like he did, i got someone else to open the windows and curtains, to ensure an obvious escape route.

behind a closed chamber door.

i slept in the other room.

the only evidence of the mystery bird's escape in the morning was a few misplaced decorations/toys from my headboard ledge and printer's tray.

it seems ridiculous that i could have been so scared of such a small and obviously terrified bird while indoors, when outdoors i'm fascinated by them.

maybe it's just the timing, not being able to handle a trapped living creature in my room half-awake at night, the same way my brother must have felt when a bat was circling his room while he lay in bed.

or when my grandmother woke up with another bat on the pillow next to her head.

i laughed when i heard these stories before, but now i understand.

being exposed to even the smallest wild creature can be terrifying enough, nevermind when they're panicked and unpredictable and you're alone with them in a confined space.