“Ruby and Bernie”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: “A ladybug ponders life for her cockatiel friend.” — suggested by Mary

“Hey, Bernie,” Ruby whispered, crawling up next to her friend’s head. “Whatcha doin’?”

Bernie whistled a quiet response.

“Cool, cool,” Ruby said, settling down beside him. “You know what? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you outside of this room. I keep inviting you to come over to my place, but you always insist I come here instead. Is it because you’re afraid of what’s outside? I mean, I understand; there are a lot of things that could eat us. But hey, I’ve survived this long without getting eaten, so I’m sure you could too. Plus, you’re bigger than me, so less things will be able to fit you in their mouths.

“Sorry, I hope I’m not scaring you. I know you’re comfortable here. I can’t say that I totally understand how you can be happy here all day in this little cage. I mean look, you don’t even have enough room to stretch your wings! But again, I know that you’re happy and comfortable, so I guess that’s all that matters.

“Okay, good talk. I think your human’s coming, so I’ll be on my way. I’ll catch you later.”

And with that, Ruby spread her wings and fluttered away, finally leaving the old cockatiel to nap in peace.

Final Comments: I’m not sure why, but when I was writing this I realized that I don’t usually write a lot of dialogue for the character who isn’t the POV character. Weird…

Overall Rating: 🤨