Magpie's Bend by Maya Linnell

Author:Maya Linnell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2021-04-11T00:00:00+00:00

Fifteen

Lara dusted off an old budgie cage, removing dirt and cobwebs, but the magpie was not nearly as impressed with the cage, nor the bell and multi-level platforms, as Elmo the budgie had once been. She didn’t know much about birds, but she was sure its wing wasn’t supposed to sit like that. There wasn’t a great deal she could do for him so late at night, so she draped a towel over the cage.

She ate breakfast quickly the next morning and carried the cage out to the car.

‘Don’t look at me like that, mate. You’re the one who decided to skydive down my chimney,’ said Lara, checking the cage door was fastened before closing the boot.

The magpie sang out a few times on the way to Hamilton and flapped as Lara placed it on the vet’s lino floor.

‘Here to collect a dog and drop off a bird,’ she said to the receptionist. He leaned over the front counter as she lifted the towel.

The baby magpie glared at them both and scurried to the other side of the cage, its long black claws scrambling for purchase on the newspaper.

‘Doesn’t look good,’ he said. ‘The wing’s at a funny angle. They’ll probably put him out of his misery.’

Lara felt the bird watching her as she took a seat in one of the hard plastic waiting-room chairs. It was like he was pleading with her to steer clear of the ‘green dream’.

C’mon, Amy.

But her veterinary friend confirmed the receptionist’s earlier prediction.

‘Sorry, Lara. I already called the local wildlife carer about an orphaned joey this morning and she said she’s at capacity. Birds never manage well from shock anyway, her backyard is like a bird cemetery,’ said Amy. ‘If you’re not keen on taking him, we’ll have to euthanise.’

Fifteen minutes later, Lara found herself driving home from the clinic with not one but two patients in the back of her Subaru: a recovering snake chaser and a magpie she’d named Vegemite.

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