A YEAR LATER
Jeremy came home from school and dropped his backpack on his bed. He went to the front room. “How are the birds, Grandpa?” he went over to the window and looked at the nest.
They were gone.
“Grandpa! The birds! They’re-”
“Flying,” Grandpa said and then Jeremy saw one swoop past the window.
“Whoa! All on their own?”
“Yep. I didn’t feed them dinner yet. You want to?”
“Yeah, sure!” Jeremy went into the kitchen and got a garden shovel. He went outside. “Blue!” A blue jay colored deep blue came and perched on his finger.
Jeremy used the garden shovel and scooped out a pile of dirt from the ground. “You have to look for worms this time, Blue.”
Blue found some worms and went to the nest to eat.
“Lucky!” Lucky was the last one to hatch. Everybody waited for her, and were afraid that she wouldn’t make it. She got her meal.
“Jay!” Jay looked just like Jayette, and he was the first to hatch, so he was the one who got the memorial name.
Life was good again.