You may or may not have noticed how quiet it’s been in the void this week. Not for lack of writing, believe me the words are coming, they’re just all being given to River. But I wrote a scene this week that made me smile and I thought you might like a little glimpse into River’s world. It’s a bit unpolished but there’s just something about pigeons…

River sat down on the bench. There was a pigeon scrounging some breadcrumbs near the curb in front of her. She watched as it picked up a piece of bread and flew a few feet away. River thought about something her grandmother told her once when she brought her to the city as a child. “Pigeons are one of my favorite birds! Do you know why River?” “No, why Grams?” “They are one of the smartest birds and they hold immense love.” “Love? How do you know that?” “They’re loyal. When they find their mate, they stay with them forever. Even if they get a little lost, they almost always find their way back home to their loved ones.” “Wow! That’s so cool! They seem so plain though.” “They’ve had to adapt to being in the busy city. But even in chaos, they still have love. It’s like their driving force.” “Ready?” Mitch asked, interrupting River’s tender memory as he patted her on the back. “What? Oh, yeah. I was just observing that sweet pigeon right there.” River said, pointing at the busy bird. Mitch made a displeasing face, “Sweet? River, pigeons get into everything and they’re almost always in the way. They’re most definitely not sweet… I’ve almost wiped out a few times on the moped during deliveries because they just land right where I’m driving.” “But how can such a bird hold so much beauty?” “Beauty? Babe, they eat trash and poop EVERYWHERE.” River sighed, “never mind.”

Maybe pigeons are chronically misunderstood too…