My Nest of Silence by Matt Faulkner

Author:Matt Faulkner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 2022-10-18T00:00:00+00:00

September 20, 1944

Embarkation center

Dear Father,

I hope this letter finds you all in the best of health. Well, I finally got a look at the Atlantic while on a march today. It looks just like the Pacific—big, blue, and wet. I didn't get to see much of it, though, because my view was blocked by all the ships being loaded with supplies.

We marched down to the docks and past some Liberty ships. I’ve never seen so many tanks and guns in one place!

11. GETTING MY WINGS

It’s a scientific fact that grown-ups are much nicer to kids when we’re sick. Take the Clucking Sisters. You’ve seen just how nasty they’ve been. Well, not long after I got pneumonia, they started showing up at our barracks with desserts and candy and whatnot. They sat with Mama and clucked about the camp gossip. They smiled at me and patted my head and ate the goodies they’d brought. It was nice enough, I guess, but it seemed odd because they’d been so mean before and now they were acting so nice. Who can understand grown-ups?

Then there were the grown-ups who I didn’t know all that well but who were extra nice to me when I was sick. Mr. Tayenaka was one of those. One day he knocked on our door. Mama let him in and they spoke for a moment, then Mama introduced us. I knew his name but had never met him. He was known around the camp for making toys for kids out of the spare pieces of wood he found. Mostly he made airplanes for boys.

He smiled at me, bowed quickly, and reached inside the bag he was carrying. From it he pulled something wrapped in old, yellowed newspaper. I took it from him and unwrapped the paper. Inside was a small carving of a bird. It was a sparrow! Its wings moved back and forth, and its little mouth was open like it was singing. It was wonderful! I thanked him, nodding my head and bowing. He bowed too, then backed away. He seemed very shy. Mama walked him to the door and he left.

“Oh, it’s lovely!” said Mama as she came to sit beside me. “Such detail. This is very special.”

I held the little wooden bird up to the light. Mr. Tayenaka had carved it in such a way that I felt like I was looking into the face of an actual sparrow. I placed it on my little night table and looked at it till it was time for my nap. I wondered how he’d been able to put so much sparrowness into a piece of dead wood he’d found lying in the dirt somewhere in the camp.

It was midafternoon. Mama had promised that tonight I could go to the mess hall for dinner. This was the first time since I got sick. Her one condition was that I take a nap beforehand. As I lay in bed, I thought about Mr. Tayenaka’s gift.

I woke up, having had a dream about the wooden sparrow.

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