Page 12 - Animal Kin

Gimlet
When I was a little older, my mom came home with a small green South American parakeet. He had been hand raised and was very comfortable being held by people. Everyone loved him but somehow he started getting most attached to me. After a while he didn’t really want anyone else besides me to hold him- so he became my bird.
I took Gimlet everywhere I went. He was small and sometimes he just hid in my shirt. But if I was eating he would pop out and try my food. If one of my friends tried
to pat his head or get him to perch on their finger he would give them a nip with his sharp beak. But I could kiss him or scratch him or even get him to lie on his back for a belly rub. He was a beautiful green color, like a parrot, with gray on the sides of his head and bright turquoise on the top. His eyes were shiny black and his feet pink.
I had a very small cage that I carried around in case I had to put him somewhere. I kept the feathers on one wing trimmed so that he couldn’t fly very far. But the feathers grow back over time and I had a few scary times when he flew away.