BIRD’S TALK BIRD’S TALK Emily Chang Emily Chang

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INDEX

Chapter one About Raymond…………….……page 6-11 Chapter two Friends…………………….….….page 12-17 Chapter three Joe the housekeeper……….…page 18-23 Chapter four The Earthquake…………....…..page 24-32 Chapter five The Wonderland……….……....page 33-39 Chapter six A Girl Named Gail……………...page 40-50 Chapter seven Love and Trust……….......…….page 51-54

Raymond, a thirteen-year-old teenager,

could not feel any

happiness in his life.

He hated people

and liked to be

alone. On day after a fight with others,

he wrote in his diary desperately, “I

WANT TO CHANGE!”

A big earthquake suddenly struck

his house; the room was shaking in a

very horrible way. He jumped up from

the chair and ran as fast as he could……

BIRD’S TALK

BY

Emily Chang

E4A 1091300002

2006.06.21

Chapter One

About Raymond

It was a summer night. The street

was quiet and vacant. The motionless trees

stayed calm like someone had stopped the

time. Thirteen-year-old Raymond was

sitting in his room. He was a thin boy,

with a pale face and black hair. His eyes

were shining with anger, writing his diary.

Dear diary,

What’s the matter with this world? I

gave Timmy a punch this afternoon, but it

didn’t make me feel better. Annoying

people are everywhere, EVERYWHERE!

The next morning when he woke up,

predictably it was a sunny day. Raymond

decided not to go to school to see those

same damned people. It was still early,

and the birds in the trees sang together

like they did not have anything to worry

about. “How can you be so happy?”

Raymond murmured under his breath,

“Yeah, maybe it is because you don’t have

to go to school, you don’t have to make

friends, so you don’t have evil hearts. You

don’t know how to hate people, do you?”

He picked up an eraser on his desk.

“Then let me teach you!” He threw

the eraser out the window. The eraser flew

into one of the trees, the birds in that tree

cried sharply and all flew away.

Raymond seemed satisfied with what

he had done. He closed the window,

slowly got dressed and walked downstairs

to have his breakfast.

The house was more like a castle. It

was huge and luxurious. A large amount

of antiques decorated every corner of the

house. To live in such a big house was

definitely a dream for every child.

However, the master and mistress were

not living in the house. Raymond’s father,

the master of the house, was the president

of a well-known candy factory in Japan.

He made the children all over the world

happy. It has been two years since

Raymond saw them last.

A piece of bread and a cup of hot

milk had already been prepared for him.

The long table in the dining room had no

problem fitting a dozen people. It was just

too big for only a young boy. Raymond

frowned a little but still sat down, without

saying anything.

Chapter two

Friends

Because he could not find anything

interesting to do, Raymond finally went to

school. When he stepped into the

classroom, a cold voice unawares slid into

his ears, “You hit Timmy yesterday after

school, didn’t you?”

Raymond raised his head. It was his

class teacher, Mrs. Stevenson. “I think

so,” with impassivity, he answered and

kept walking toward his seat. Everyone in

the class stared at him with a strange look

on their face. He did not care.

“Apologize to him,” said Mrs.

Stevenson, “Now!”

Timmy, who is a husky young boy,

smiled with victory. “I don’t mind, it

doesn’t matter, I just want to award you

something,” Timmy had a glimpse of

Raymond, made sure he was listening,

“Never reject my demand when I ask you

for help.”

Mrs. Stevenson put her narrow thin

nose close to Raymond’s. “Do you hear

that? To help people is always necessary.”

“If he wants,” Without looking at

each one of them, Raymond put his bag on

the floor, and sat down.

Timmy used to be his best friend.

They had known each other since they

were in first grade. They shared

everything in their daily life. Timmy

invited him to his home and his mother

often cooked warm meals for Raymond.

He also took Timmy to his house. They

used to play with model planes and video

games together. Timmy sometimes

borrowed a little amount of money from

him, and Raymond always said he did not

have to give it back. That period of time

for Raymond was really a happy memory.

However, when Raymond was in the

fourth grade, little by little he discovered

that whenever Timmy came, he took away

something small from his house without

his permission. He didn’t say anything to

him, but he never took Timmy home again.

Once Timmy asked him for several

hundred dollars again, he refused. “Why

not?” said Timmy surprisingly,” You had

never said no when I asked you for money

before.”

“Now I said NO,” Raymond replied

chillily.

“How can you be so mean?” shouted

Timmy, his face suddenly turned red,” I

think you are willing to help people.”

“Oh, yeah, I used to like to help

people,” Raymond showed him a fake

smile, “If they are worthy to help.”

Chapter Three

Joe the housekeeper

Since Raymond realized he can not

trust anyone in the world, he closed his

heart. He began to make a lot of friends,

and he lent them money no matter how

much they wanted. Every time when they

are hanging out, he afforded the expenses.

Even though he knew a friendship like this

was not real, unless he got someone to be

with, and they made him not so lonely.

When he got home, Joe was in front

of the gate, bending over. “What are you

doing, Joe?” asked Raymond curiously. “I

was here waiting for you, my dear, but my

glasses had fallen down and I can’t find

it.” He fumbled around himself.

“Here they are,” Raymond picked the

glasses up and gave them back to Joe.

“You know, you don’t have to wait for me

in front of the gate. It is dangerous.”

“I enjoy waiting for you, Raymond,”

Joe’s smile was always like the sun in the

afternoon, warm and harmless. He put on

his glasses, with which he looked more

solemn. “Poor kid, you are not alone, I

will take care of you until I die.”

Raymond did not say anything. He

supported him with his hand and led him

into the house.

Joe was the old housekeeper of the

house. He was almost seventy years old.

White hair covered all over his head. He

had a kind smile and great tenderness. To

Raymond, Joe was just like his

grandfather. They had a really great time

together when Raymond was little.

Raymond’s parents were not often at

home since Raymond was three. Since

that time, it was Joe who took care of him.

He read him bed time stories; they went to

picnicking on weekends, and he took him

to climb mountains. Everyone believed

that Joe was his grandfather, and

Raymond did not think it was necessary to

correct them. Joe was the only person

who cared about him in the world. As

Raymond grew up, he got his own friends.

He gradually did not talk to Joe too much,

but Joe was still kind to him yet left him

breathing room.

“How’s school?” Joe asked him when

he served cake and tea to Raymond. The

hand which he raised up to take the cup

paused a little, “Not so bad.”

“That’s great,” Joe smiled at him.

“Your dad called this morning.”

“So?”

“He said they are fine in Japan, and

they said they love you.” Joe decreased

the volume when he pronounced the word

“love”, like he did not want Raymond to

catch it.

“Okay,” Raymond neither raised his

head nor looked at Joe, “Tell them I love

them, too.”

Chapter Four

The earthquake

The next morning when he opened

his eyes, he sensed something was

different. The sun was still shining, but no

birds were chirping. He did not think too

much. It supposed to be a beautiful day for

him and he did not want to ruin it for

anything. He took a big deep breath, and

went downstairs.

Joe was sitting at the table with the

breakfast, he also looked chipper today.

“Good morning, kid! Would you like

pancakes or omelets?”

“Omelets, thanks.” Raymond showed

a smile which he did not often express.

“I’m going to the library today.”

“That’s really nice, Raymond,” Joe

said, putting a plate of omelets and a bowl

of salad in front of him. “Yup,” said

Raymond lightly, “and I won’t come back

for lunch.”

The weather was really nice. But the

street seemed too quiet. Some street dogs

passed by at times, but they did not make

any sound. Raymond did not feel anything

wrong. Contrarily he felt really

comfortable to be alone. “It is Saturday,

and I don’t have to see anyone who knows

me today,” He thought as he walked down

the street with a very bright mood. The

library was not very close to his house,

but he rather walk. Walking made him feel

peaceful and calm.

In the library, he found himself a

corner seat. He took a book from the shelf

named “Western literature” and sat down.

As he was reading chapter four of the

novel, he heard a boy behind him, talking

to his friend. “Do you know Raymond

Cody, the one who lives in that big

house?”

“No,” the other boy answered,” what

about him?”

“Do you know that his father and his

mother are both dead, and left him a huge

inheritance,” the boy said. “Yeah, they are

just like dead,” Raymond thought

ironically but did not do anything.

Everyone said that his parents were dead.

It was not news.

“And, I’ve heard that his grandfather

is an idiot, he waits for Raymond Cody to

come home everyday at the gate,” said the

boy. “I saw him yesterday and he was

bending and finding something just next

to his feet.” As he was saying that, he

imitated Joe as if he were really an idiot.

His friend laughed in a low voice.

Raymond suddenly stood up, walking

toward the two boys. “Can you please shut

up? Whether my grandfather is really an

idiot or not, it’s none of your business.”

The two boys shut up and looked

scared. Raymond clenched his fists. He

wanted to fight them, but he did not want

to disappoint Joe again. He gave them an

indignant glance and went home.

Raymond did not mention to Joe what had

happened earlier. That night, as usual, he

opened his diary and wrote in,

Dear diary,

Who can please tell me what’s wrong

with the people in the whole world? I want

to change. I don’t like it here. I want to

leave……

Maybe feeling too tired, he fell

asleep at his desk.

He saw himself in his room, writing

in his diary. A big earthquake suddenly

struck his house; the room was shaking in

a very horrible way. He jumped up from

the chair and ran as fast as he could.

Following his subconscious he ran

through a small path that he had never

been to, so he walked slowly and carefully,

and tried not to touch anything. He could

not see anything but could hear a girl

singing in an extremely beautiful voice.

Where is that voice coming from? He

asked himself while walking. About ten

minutes later he saw the end of the path. It

was a large ancient door which had some

golden totems on it. “That’s the answer for

the voice,” he told himself, then he

stretched out his hand to reach for the

door knob.

Chapter five

The Wonderland

Raymond suddenly opened his eyes.

It was morning. He found himself still in

his room sitting on his chair. “What’s

that?” he murmured, “I don’t remember

there has a path like that in the house.” He

was so curious, so he quickly got dressed

and went to knock at Joe’s door. “Joe?”

As Joe opened the door, he asked

rapidly, “Joe, do you know if there’s a

secret path in our house? I just dreamed

about it. Do you know where it is?”

Joe looked surprised, he held

Raymond’s shoulders. “No, kid, I don’t

think there’s any path in the house.”

“Are you sure? But I did dream about

it, and it’s really real!” Raymond said,

“Or….is there any door that no one has

noticed before? I mean like a small

wooden board or something.”

Joe scratched his head and pondered,

“There’s a time when I cleaned Mr.

Cody’s study room, behind the bookshelf,

there I found an unnoticeable little

wooden door, but I couldn’t open it….”

Not waiting for the end of the sentence,

Raymond rushed into his dad’s study

room.

Behind the shelf, he found the little

door Joe had just talked about. He thought

it would be locked, but it would not. He

opened the door, and walked into the path.

The path was very dark and wet. It

smelled like rotten cheese. Raymond

frowned and held his breath. He walked

along the path until the golden door in his

dream appeared.

“Here it is.” Then he stretched out his

hand and reached the door knob. He

closed his eyes and opened the door.

When he opened his eyes, he did not

know how to describe such a beautiful

land. The sun was just like smiling; the

flowers blossomed all over the land; the

trees were old but green; and the most

noticeable thing was, there were

thousands of kinds of birds that have

never been seen. They were all around

Raymond, twittering as if they would like

to get to know this new friend. There was

a colorful castle not very far away.

Raymond walked lightly toward the

castle.

When he stepped into the castle, he

found that vision was so familiar to him.

He glanced around the decoration of

the house, the giant Chinese vase, and the

delicate winding stairs……the house was

just like his!

Raymond kept walking toward where

his room was located, and then he saw a

duplicate door of his. He did not think too

much and opened the door. Unsurprisingly,

he found it was exactly like his room.

He walked into the room and saw an

unknown girl lying on the bed.

Chapter Six

A girl named Gail

The girl was unnaturally pale, but

really pretty. “Uh, I’m Raymond Cody,”

he said stiffly, “Are you injured?”

“It’s not a big deal,” said the girl, “it

often happens.”

“Often?”

“I was hit and I fell down the tree,”

she said casually, seemed not willing to

talk about the matter. “Oh, my name is

Gail.” She smiled at Raymond.

“Do you live here?” Raymond was

very curious about this pale girl. She was

about his age, maybe a little younger.

“Yeah, I’ve been living here since I

was born,” Gail looked at the window.

“The garden is quite beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yes, really amazing. I’ve never seen

so many different birds and flowers

before.”

The girl was delighted with the

respond. Her eyes were twinkling like the

ocean beneath the sunshine. “Do you like

birds, Raymond?”

Raymond thought about it for a while,

“I don’t know. I have never thought of

that.”

Disappointment flashed through her

face but she smiled again soon. “Are you

eager to go?”

Raymond shook his head. “No,” he

wanted to know more about this special

girl.

Gail looked at him, chuckling, “Then

why don’t you sit down?”

Raymond pulled out a chair and sat

next to the bed. Gail sat up and looked at

him. “Do you believe in fairy tales?”

“No, fairy tales only tell lies.”

“Do they?”

Raymond looked around the room,

carelessly. “They say people love each

other, but people don’t; they say people

trust others, but there are only lies

between people.”

“But you love people,” said Gail

calmly,” You love your parents, you love

Joe, and you trust Timmy even though

they didn’t treat you that well.”

“How do you know them?” asked

Raymond terrifyingly.” Who are you?”

Gail smiled like a breeze. “You said

you want to change, didn’t you?” He did

not respond, Gail continued, “You love

people, so you want people to love you as

well. That is natural. But have you ever

told your parents that you love them?

Have you ever noticed that Timmy was

changing and he wants to be your friend

again? Have you ever thought of there’s

an old man who loves you deeply but he

always feels lonely without your company?

You only think of your sorrow and don’t

care about others,” Like telling a story,

Gail’s face was still peaceful and her voice

was so light and tender.

“I….” Raymond could not find any

word to refute her. He was too confused to

think rationally. Who IS she? He

wondered.

“You love them. You just don’t know

how to.”

They talked for a while, and then

Gail closed her eyes and began to sing.

That was the most beautiful voice he had

ever heard. He kept quiet and also closed

his eyes to enjoy the melody.

Suddenly, the song was broken off.

Raymond opened his eyes and saw Gail’s

painful face. She was too weak to finish

the song. She even coughed up some

drops of blood. “Are you all right?”

exclaimed Raymond, standing up trying

to reach for some tissues on the desk.

Instead of tissue, he reached something

else. It was an eraser. He took the small

cube near his sight. On its paper cover he

saw his name was written with his

favorite purple marker. He suddenly

realized something. He turned to Gail.

“I’m sorry.”

Gail smiled and shook her head.

“They, I mean my family let you in here

because they were indignant about you.”

“So, why didn’t they hurt me?”

“I think you are poor.”

“Excuse me?”

“I think you are poor, Raymond. I

have a wonderful family, and I have a lot

of friends. You were right; birds don’t

have to think too complicated. All we

have is joy and love. I want to know you,

Raymond. I want to know why you are so

sorrowful,” she said seriously, lying back

on the bed. “And I want to make you

happy.”

“Do you hate people?” Raymond

asked dully.

She raised her head. “How? People

are so lovely.” Then she laughed as a

child.

Chapter Seven

Love and Trust

They spent the whole day chatting.

When it was getting dark outside, Gail

reminded him to go home. “Can I come

back to see you someday?” he asked her

without thinking. He wanted to see her.

With her company, he felt calm and peace.

“Don’t we meet at the window

everyday?” said Gail in a clever smile,

and Raymond smiled, too.

“Will you recover?” He looked at her

anxiously. “I’m so sorry about I hurt you.”

She grimaced. “Sure, I’ll be fine.”

When he came back to his house, it was

time for dinner. He ran into the kitchen

where Joe was preparing the supper and

gave him a big hug. Joe was extremely

surprised. “What’s wrong, kid?”

“What’s for dinner?” asked Raymond.

“Roast chicken.”

“Great, that’s my favorite!” he said

happily, and walked out of the kitchen.

“By the way, Joe, I love you so, so, so,

much.”

He seemed to hear Joe singing.

After dinner, he sat at his desk again. As

usual, he opened his diary.

Dear diary,

I’m sorry to be mad at you last night.

Today I met a friend named Gail, she is a

bird. Isn’t it great? We talked a lot. She

was wonderful. I’m wondering when I can

chat with her again.

P.S. Maybe I’ll find Timmy to have lunch

together tomorrow.

He was too tired to leave the chair, so he

slept at his desk again.

The very next day he opened his eyes,

and found out there were a pair of bird’s

footprints on his diary. He jumped up and

rushed toward the window. “Good

morning!” He yelled energetically.

As he closed the window he could

almost hear a girl vividly singing between

the twittering.

Raymond, a thirteen-year-old teenager,

could not feel any

happiness in his life.

He hated people

and liked to be

alone. On day after a fight with others,

he wrote in his diary desperately, “I

WANT TO CHANGE!”

A big earthquake suddenly struck

his house; the room was shaking in a

very horrible way. He jumped up from

the chair and ran as fast as he could……