Oh precious one, I wonder what you think of as you watch the nestlings learn to fly for the first time, peering out into the world. A perch, trodden and worn after many long nights waiting for my return, empty as you follow me into my room. You have always loved the windows of this familiar place, viewing each passerby and delivery man as if they were actors in the endless performance of your world, dancing across the screened-in sills, never thinking about their reappearance but thankful for their presence all the same. How lovely it is to be reminded to watch this sleepy town through your eyes, and remember the wonderment as if it were my first time looking out those same windows again. For even though your world is small, it is enchanting to you time and time again.
I've loved you now for a year and am still struck by your existence as a branch of mine, connected by chance and fortified through afternoons of pleasant company. You remind me to take care of myself, after tiresome days when my mind lies elsewhere. You have been with me through tears and joy, loving me nevertheless, and sticking by my side through loss and growth. How funny it is to have never held a conversation with you when it seems you know me deeper than most, my secrets and failures, on display for you with never response of judgment. I wonder what you would say from time to time, but then I remember what a simple creature you are, a companion and friend.
Through those same windows you have watched me grow and have remained a constant in my life through many seasons. You were sitting on my bedside waiting for my return when I found out my grandfather passed, when my first love dumped me over phone call, when I quit my first job, and when I first started antidepressants, leaning into me and harboring that same quiet sadness I had felt. But you were also there waiting when I started my new job, when I changed my major, when I finally turned 21, and when I felt brave enough to love again. Oh precious one, you have celebrated my life with me and loved me through every high and low. Despite the circumstances I have always come home to your silent, but compassionate existence.
To see you watching the nestlings, I wonder if you see me the same, departing and coming back to this apartment, learning to fly on my own. Your little bird, an example of life beyond that nestled, trodden window perch.
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