Two Blackbirds and a Guru

 Words Have Power

Read Aloud by Caroline Anderson

Two blackbirds, Seth and Ted, sat on the park gate chewing the fat. ‘Hear any good ones lately?’ asked Seth.

‘Well, last night I was listening to one of those know-it-all types, you know, that self-help guru who meets his acolytes over there behind the bushes most Thursdays.’ His friend nodded sagely. ‘He told them, the best thing to do with a problem is to just ignore it. Attention increases its scale. So, that’s why I’m ignoring it.’

‘Ignoring wh …’ Seth’s answer was swallowed by a slinky tabby cat with sharp teeth. Problem over I guess, thought Ted with a teary eye, pushing off smartly from his perch to fly high.

I’m missing him already, maybe it’s time to find a new Guru thought Ted, I wonder who around here is in touch with the other side? Just then he was astounded to find his friend rapidly approaching, that’s uncanny he thought.

‘Hold on a minute, I’ve something for you’ Seth trilled.

‘Is that really you? But you only just left us Seth, how did you return from the dead so quickly?’

‘Well, turns out that your guy was right … with my dying breath, I just smiled at the light instead of trying to flee that cat. ‘Ascend’ said the light ‘Ascend’,’ and here we are. Is there a problem Ted, are you struggling there?’ Altitude was beginning to have an effect.

‘No, no problem, I’m feeling somewhat vertiginous is all.’

‘Ah well, that was the message I brought you from the light’ he said with a steely glint in his eye, ‘I thought it was a good one, fly with me Ted, fly higher.’

The birds soared in ever-decreasing circles until they appeared to merge as a dark fleck against the sky, then in an instant, they were gone.

Meanwhile, a mildly perplexed and peckish tabby cat roamed the park, hoping for less lofty prey. What happened to a problem shared is a problem halved he wondered irritably.