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The scarecrow twitched. His body produced small shudders that gradually grew to the point where Briella had to fly away or be thrown off. His eyes blinked numerous times while they acclimatised themselves to the sunlight. His mouth opened and closed continuously, while his throat worked furiously to create sound.
The legs were so restless they came off the support ledge while his arms jerked wildly, trying to tear himself free of his restraints. Briella was afraid he would injure himself and flew in to offer assistance. “You need to unhook your arms from the pole before trying to raise them!” she yelled.
The scarecrow looked at her blankly, not comprehending her words. She turned around and spread her arms out like his. Then she showed him the motion required that would unhook his arms. He copied, raising them and lifting himself off. With a terrible thud, he fell to the ground, smacking his head and crushing his hat beneath him. “Ooof,” the air was pushed from his torso.
“Are you okay?” Briella asked, hovering above him.
The scarecrow rolled onto his back and gazed at the sky. He blinked several times before raising himself into a seated position. “Bright,” he said.
“Yes, the sun is dangerous. You shouldn’t look into it directly.”
“Why am I here?”
“I created you,” Briella admitted while wringing her hands.
“Why?” his attention soon turning to the circling birds above. “Birds,” he snarled launching to his feet and flapping his arms in the air. The birds squawked as they flew south, the scarecrow in hot pursuit.
“Wait!” Briella cried. He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her.
“What?” he asked, dancing on his feet. He was itching to continue the chase.
“You mustn’t leave this area,” she said.
“What area?”
She glanced around and saw that there weren’t enough objects to use to define the boundaries for him. “Do you understand distance?” she queried.
“Distance?”
“Ooh,” she growled, fluttering up and down. “You must keep the birds away from the food. Especially the corn. If you go too far from the cornstalks, they will be able to pick at the kernels.”
“They are not to eat the corn,” the scarecrow agreed. He ran back to the cornfield and ran around the perimeter. “No birds,” he stated.
“No birds,” she agreed. “They will come back.”
“I will be waiting,” the scarecrow crossed his arms and nodded.
His eyes continuously scanned the sky, looking for his adversaries. “You don’t need to be so vigilant. You will hear the flapping of their wings when they return.”
“I cannot hear yours,” the scarecrow said.
“I’m a lot smaller than a crow,” she stated the obvious.
“Indeed. Other types of birds will come for the food.”
“Yes,” Briella said.
“Then I must be vigilant. They may be small like you, and I may not hear them. I must keep my eyes moving.”
“I thought we might be able to talk,” Briella began. “I’ve got some issues and could do with some advice.”
“Maybe when I am finished working. I cannot be distracted from my duties,” he said.
Briella put on her sad face which did nothing to sway his opinion. “May I sit on your shoulder? I’m going to get awfully tired flapping my wings all afternoon.”
“Do you not have anything better to do than to watch me work?”
“Actually, no. I told my friends I needed some time on my own.”
“You are not going to have that if you stay with me,” his eyes continued to scan above.
“Oh, I don’t know,” she landed on his shoulder. “You can be with someone and still be alone.” She sat forlornly, slowly swinging her legs.
“That does not make sense.”
Briella didn’t argue with him. What was the point? He was more focused on chasing away the birds than holding a conversation with her. Actually, it was more than not wanting to talk to her. He didn’t really have any interest in her at all. “Do you have a name?”
“Why would I need one?” he answered.
“Everybody has a name,” Briella said. The scarecrow said nothing. He continued to look for birds to chase. “I would have been better off with a dog,” she muttered. “Way more loyal, although, he probably would have tried to eat me by now. Of course, I might have been able to control him and told him not to eat me. But then maybe he wouldn’t have listened and eaten me anyway. Oh, my goodness. What has my life come to? I need to get back to my normal routine. I need to go back to our apartment.”
Briella felt a weight lifting from her shoulders. Two revelations in one day. It had to be a world record for her. She considered leaving the scarecrow but wasn’t sure if he would stay near the cornfields. Just because he had so far, didn’t mean that would continue. She wasn’t sure if he was doing what he was told, or afraid the birds would get the corn.
What if a bird was to fly near the pumpkin patch, or over by the tomatoes, cucumbers and cauliflowers? Would he chase them over there and then continue onto the watermelons, pineapples and grapes the neighbours were growing? She would have to stay and ensure he remained unnoticed by the humans.
She could always tell him to strike a pose should a human wander into view. Of course, she had no way of knowing if he would follow her command without it being tested. Briella searched the area. There was nobody in sight to test him with. “Do you want to play a game?” she asked him.
“Working,” he replied.
“It will help you scare the birds,” she lied.
“Sure, what do I have to do?”
“Stand as still as you can in a freaky pose.”
He eyed her strangely. “That is ridiculous. Why don’t you go find something else to do? Like I said to you before, I have a job to do.”
Briella flew to the edge of the forest and sat on a rock. She grabbed a small mushroom from the base and began to chew. “I should have asked Scout to stay.”
