by Cathy Pullum
Last September when we lost our Penny I was so consumed with sadness,
that I started talking to her out loud. I asked her if it was possible to send me some kind of a sign she was ok. I told her it was ok if she had to go, but it wasn't ok. It will never be ok.
One Saturday about 2-3 weeks after we lost her I was cleaning house and I went to the kitchen sink for something. I was looking out the window, and there was a little sparrow in the driveway. I didn't think much of it. About 10 to 15 minutes later I went back to the sink not thinking looking out the window I noticed it was still there. I thought maybe it was hurt because it really hadn't moved. I put on a pair of shoes and went outside. I kneeled down beside talking softly to it, and he or she just stared at me. It didn't move, didn't seem scared of me, just looked at me. I thought boy this is strange for a wild bird. I have a bird feeder out back, and the only birds that seem to stay there and you can talk to them are the chickadees. I decided to pet his little head and see if that startled him and he would fly or hop. He did nothing. Just looked at me. Now I really started to wonder what was going on. The thing that sticks in mind, is around his face by the beak was so yellow. I had not seen a sparrow like this before, I looked in my birdbooks and couldn't find one like that. All I could think of all of the sudden, was all the grey Penny had on her face in the last years. This bird just stared. Didn't seem scared or concerned I was touching him. I decided to see if he would hop or something. He did. I got him over to some stones by the side of the house. I finally said, well Penny if this is you, and your ok, you can go. Its ok. Go ahead and show me you can fly. You can go. All of the sudden this bird flew into the back by some trees. I just stood there. Kind of in shock. I walked into the house shaking my head and wondering. I can't explain it. Why would this sparrow let me touch him if he wasn't hurt or injured. Five months later I am still wondering about it.