Grounded

Kindling

The sun blazed above Hopin Town, a small city in Minnesota, illuminating the grandiose research facility which stood out from the rest of the buildings like a jewel in a pile of coal. Thousands of birds soared above the clear sky, displaying the chaos of the migration season. Just a few blocks away from the research facility, a humble school stood within a quiet neighborhood.

Twelve year old Timmy and another boy burst through the doors of the educational institution, eager to be freed from the mundane school day. Timmy turned to the other child and cheerfully handed him an elaborate drawing of a Persian Finch, smiling as his friend delicately placed the picture in the pocket of his folder.

Running away from the school and to the town’s research facility, Timmy entered the building and greeted Dr. Stanfield, a prestigious and respected scientist. The scientist updated Timmy on the recent scientific events, mentioning a sighting of an undocumented fiery red bird a week ago.

Timmy, who always dreamt of discovering a species, excitedly announced that he would discover the animal first. The scientist chuckled and flatly encouraged the boy before turning around and returning to his work.

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Ignition

Looking to his left, Timmy saw a tall woman dressed in a lab coat walking towards him and ran up to her and expounded his intent to find the bird. Horror flashed through her eyes for a split-second, but the woman, who called herself Venessa, quickly recovered and deprecated him, saying that if she just got fired from her job of trying to find the animal because of how little progress she made, then no one, especially someone as young as Timmy, would be able to find the bird. Expecting the words to cut into him, Venessa slightly recoiled as he did not react to her deprecation and ambled outside.

As Timmy started walking away from the research facility, he spotted a dot of red in the corner of his eye. Turning, he saw a bird the color of flames chirping in a tree. Timmy immediately deduced the animal to be the undiscovered species; however, he did not have a camera with him, so he pulled his notebook and pencil out of his backpack and, unable to contain his excitement, started sketching the bird.

Suddenly, the page Timmy was drawing on was ripped out of his notebook and he looked up to see Venessa standing above him with his picture balled up and crumpled in her hand. As if sensing his distress, the red bird in the tree let out a call and flew away. Not knowing what to do, Timmy just watched as Venessa pulled out a lighter and burned his paper.

Daylight Robbery

Shocked but still hopeful, he ran back into the research facility and announced to Dr. Stanfield that he had seen the bird. However, the scientist quickly dismissed him, telling the child that only a photograph would suffice as proof and to stop playing pretend and wasting other people’s time.

That night, Timmy could not fall asleep, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom, heartbroken about how he ruined his opportunity to document the bird, and unable to understand why Venessa had destroyed his drawing. He knew that she might have wanted to discover the species first, but he could not comprehend why they could not keep the competition friendly.

The next day, Timmy woke up languid but filled with a determination to try again. Grabbing his Paw Patrol backpack which contained his birdwatching gear and fastening a camera around his neck, he headed to Prawn’s Woodland, a forest where many birds nested.

The abundance of time he spent in the forest watching the countless birds familiarized him with the area and he climbed a tree, nesting himself into his favorite bird watching spot.

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With the sun almost at the top of the sky, it threw warm sunbeams down into the thick leaf canopy above Timmy’s head. Reflecting off the dew on the grass, the sparkles of light danced as if mirroring his enthusiasm.

Timmy began to scour the trees, looking for any red color. He spotted Jandive cardinals and Tumolk robins and Bowser falcons and Pushed pigeons and Braxen hawks but could not see the mysterious bird he saw yesterday.

Deciding to move to another spot, Timmy climbed down from the tree and saw Venessa, her eyes like a tiger, standing next to an ATV. A third-grade reading award hung from a keychain she held. Suddenly, Venessa leaped, snatched the camera from his neck, and without skipping a beat, dashed away on her vehicle.

Timmy’s shock quickly turned into unfamiliar anger, and he sulked home. Passing the only preschool in town, he saw a small boy in a sandbox getting bullied by another boy. He watched as the smaller boy retaliated, throwing sand into his bully’s eyes, and as a teacher ran over and berated the boy who threw sand, telling him to be the bigger person and ignore his bully.

Fuel on the Fire

Grabbing a second camera from the pile of devices his extended family gave him after they discovered his talent for science, Timmy raced back to Prawn’s Woodland.

The sun began to set, its warm beams stretching across the sky illuminating the array of clouds in the sky a multitude of colors. Moving deeper into the forest, an eerie silence fell upon the trees, the setting sun casting the trees’ shadows on each other to create patches of darkness. Timmy walked to a clearing near a lake where a few sunbeams shone on the clear, calm water, making the lake sparkle in the fading light like the night sky.

Suddenly, a call pierced the air, and Timmy immediately recognized it as the same one he had heard yesterday from the mysterious bird. He could barely see the red bird in the dying light, but he managed to photograph the animal, and upon checking the camera, he saw that the automatic lighting feature had made the species perfectly visible.

Jumping for joy, he didn’t notice the sound of an ATV behind him. Venessa dismounted the vehicle and ran towards him. Before Timmy even knew what was happening, she snatched the camera out of his hands. Preparing to throw the child’s camera, Venessa hesitated for a moment; finally, she hurled the instrument into the lake and with her head down, refusing to look at Timmy, raced away in her ATV.

Timmy’s anger was as thick as honey and he stormed home. The thought of getting revenge on Venessa by sabotaging something in her life was as sweet as the candy he could never reach in the candy store without an adult. He fell asleep dreaming of photographing the bird, smiling in his sleep when he imagined Venessa watching him as he was credited for his achievement.

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Burning

He woke up possessed with anger and determination, immediately grabbed his last camera, and upon realizing it only contained enough film for one photo, decided to buy some at a store next to the research facility. Transferring the items from his Paw Patrol backpack to his father’s military backpack to solve a space issue and adding more supplies like food and water, he headed to the shop that sold film.

When Timmy arrived at the shop which was just across the street from the research facility, he noticed a red bird in a tree about a hundred feet away. Timmy raced towards the tree, knowing he needed to get close for a clear picture and because he could not afford to take a risk since he only had enough film to take one picture.

Coming to the base of the tree, Timmy raised his camera and prepared to photograph the animal, his tense finger ready on the picture button. Excitement surged through him as he thought about how he beat Venessa, but suddenly, Timmy heard a shout, startling the bird, causing it to take flight, and saw a hand, Venessa’s hand, fly in front of his camera lens.

His finger smashed into the button.

Ashes

Looking at the result in his camera, he saw that Venessa’s hand only blocked a quarter of the picture, and the bird was still completely visible. Sprinting towards the research facility, Timmy burst through the doors and showed Dr. Stanfield the picture.

Shocked and in disbelief, the scientist looked at the photograph a thousand times, asking Timmy if he or his parents took the picture; finally, Dr. Stanfield accepted that Timmy had photographed the species and presented him with a certificate of credit for the animal.

The joy running through his veins was as sweet as a cough drop and only increased when he saw Venessa outside through a window and gleefully exited the building to go to her. Thinking of a sardonic line to mock Venessa with, Timmy stopped in his tracks when he saw Venessa staring at her own reflection in the window. She slowly turned her head towards him, her blank eyes pierced into him as she choked out a congratulation. Timmy looked away.

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