Celia had always know that it would be up to her to lead the family one day. With her father gone, someone had to look after those he had left behind. her father's life had been a tough one. By the end, he was left with just one wing and one eye. The effect was a sobering one even for the most youthful of birds. He used his disability as an advantage, turing it into a tool to be an excellent jude of character.
Many of the young birds strutted around the park like they invented the idea. Everyone respected her father, Clarence, as he was a war veteran and the oldest pigeon around. It was no secret that he had been around the fountain more than a few times. And bird who laughed at his one-legged hop or took a second too long to stare at his empty eye socket always flew away sorry. he was the patriarch of the clan and as such, he demanded respect and admiration.
Cynthia knew that she did not have as much life experience or as many battle scars as her father, but she knew that she had to act and lead the troops with confidence. Whether she felt it or not. Her brother had been lost in the great Bread Crumb Battle of '62 so her father's legacy was left to her.
When the monsters approached, so much smaller than the other giants but so much louder, Celia stepped up and instructed the soldiers to fly up and starts pooping. She also had the foresight to instruct the women and children to fall back and aim for the loud shiny things that the giant creatures always arrived and left in. Hearing the giants curse and their little monsters laugh, as they took in the once clear and now streaked surfaces of their transportation, she knew that she had made the right choice.
The monsters seemed to think that they alone owned the park, but the pigeons knew the truth. They would not be forced out of their home by hideous creatures that laughed maniacally as they launched themselves at the nobel birds. They may not be as graceful as the doves or as tiny and quick as the sparrows but they were a proud family. They were also patient. they knew that eventually the giants would kill each other eventually and the world would return to the way it was before their arrival, Belonging to the animals. The pigeons would be able to freely pick at the trash that they left behind. Celia felt deep in her downy gut that the birds would rule again one day. She may loose one wing or only see victory through one remaining eye, but she would still welcome it with a joyful heart. She would lead her troops to victory in the name of her father; Clarence the Brave.
Ten years later Celia still had both eyes and both wings but she was loosing her life. An old bird now, she told her story to the younger pigeons. She told them the story of her father and urged them to continue striving to create a new world. Soon, she would be gone but her pigeon dreams would fly on in the hearts of younger generations.
She was given a heroes burial next to her father. Their new balance shoe boxes sitting side by side forever. Every time the monsters launch an attack, the pigeons retaliate with their only runny self self defense. Always keeping one beady eye on the future. A future where birds roam the streets and parks freely. Strutting and squawking without fear.
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