Cora and the Birds

A story in one sentence

Winston was wasted and Cora had the task of getting his gorgeous but sagging body up the two flights of stairs to the apartment he shared with a dozen canaries he refused to confine because they were winged creatures meant to be free so he let them fly in the extra bedroom and in what should have been a dining room which forced him to eat in the too-small kitchen standing by the counter because in the would-be dining room he’d have to fight off the canaries trying to get a piece of whatever he was eating and Cora hated the place having to always watch where she stepped and where she sat and now was wondering if Winston had closed that dining room door before they headed out for drinks or was he so excited so eager that he forgot just this once which would mean she wouldn’t be able to drag him in without birds flocking out and escaping through the window that was always open at the end of the hall and as she struggled with the last stair Winston’s shoe that had been catching on the edge of almost every riser finally came off and she watched it tumble down to the landing halfway back to the second floor and as she plopped Winston on the rug and fumbled in his pocket for the key she could hear the awful racket of cheeps and chatters on the other side of the door and then Cora turned to make sure that window was open at the end of the hall and she turned the key and pushed the door inward and held her breath truly convinced those annoying creatures would fly straight out the open door and then the open window and be gone and she’d have Winston to herself and after cleaning the place maybe move in with him and buy a cat or maybe two to ensure never having to endure the horror and clatter again but wings and beaks swooped and pecked at her head until she flapped her arms and escaped down the stairs while behind her Winston’s snores filled the hallway.