By: Yiling Sun

I waddled along with my chicken siblings along the dirt path. Mom and Dad were walking behind us, squabbling at each other about the best type of grain. We had been walking for an eternity, and I still didn’t know where we were going.

“Mom?” I called, stopping and turning around. “Where are we going?”

Mom patted my head with her wings. “You’ll see when we get there. The humans are moving us from our old coop to a brand new one.”

“Really?” I chirped, hopping excitedly. Our old coop was dark, dirty, and very small. My siblings and I could barely fit, not to mention the random blocks of hay that the humans keep in there. I don’t like that hay. It smells like poop, mainly because my older sister, Egg Shell, always poops there.

I hopped along with my siblings, telling them about our new coop. They wore eager and excited faces, flapping their wings and instantly recharging their energy. They began chirping among themselves.

“Oh my gosh, this is going to be so great!” my oldest brother, Sun Blaze, exclaimed. “I am so excited to settle down!”

“Yeah!” I agreed. “This long walk is definitely going to be worth—”

My oldest sister, Bright Shadow, interrupted me. “I don’t see the point of moving.”

“Come on, Shadow,” my second oldest brother, Swift Wind, said, nudging Shadow. “It’ll be better than our old home.”

I chimed in. “Yeah, and plus—”

“Our new place is gonna be huge!” Blaze predicted. “So excited!”

Wind was hopping twice his height. “Me too!”

“Shell, Blaze, Shadow, and Wind on the way to a new home!” Blaze squealed.

“And Cloud!” I chirped, my voice quivering with excitement. My siblings continued chattering as if they didn’t hear me.

A few moments later I stopped hopping, watching my siblings laughing and chirping together. I stopped flapping my wings, because who was I flapping it for? For myself? I can’t even see my excited flapping wings right now, only my siblings having fun without me.

My oldest brother, Brown Leaf, older than Blaze, had died of a rare disease. He always supported me no matter what. He was my best friend, and everyone liked him a lot. He always told me to stay positive even if it seems like nothing will ever be happy ever again.

Negativity has ten letters, and so does positivity, Leaf would say to me. Evil has four letters, and so does good. Life has two sides. It’s up to us to choose which side we want to live in.

I took a deep breath and continued trailing next to my chattering siblings.

Soon, we reached our new coop. There were a few humans there, opening the doors of the shelter and letting us in. It was a lot bigger than our old home, and it was much cleaner, and fresh, too.

“This place is amazing!” I said, looking around as I walked into our new house. The walls were light brown, and there was a piece of the wall that was transparent, letting in light. There was a big haystack. Shell will definitely continue pooping in that.

My siblings climbed onto the haystack and claimed their sleeping places. I quickly climbed onto the top of the stack with them, standing there, claiming my spot.

“I sleep here!” I chirped. “Wow, I love this house!”

Mom would sleep on the nest below, and Dad would sleep in the corner. He loves corners for some reason.

I watched my siblings fumble over the last few spots. There were only four spots, which means two chickens had to share. But my spot was tiny, and it could only fit me, and I had already claimed it.

Blaze was fighting with Shell for a spot to my right. I was standing next to them proudly, knowing that I got the best spot. I love heights! I can see everything in the house from a high position. Every corner was visible in this perspective.

“I got here first!” Shell screeched, slapping Blaze’s beak with her wing. “Rawr!!”

Blaze pecked Shell off the haystack. “No, I claim this spot! From now on, this spot is mine, Blaze’s spot! Not anyone else’s!”

Mom and Dad were walking out the door, calling at us. “We’re going to check out the area. Sort out your sleeping areas and go play!”

They left the coop as Shell angrily glared at Blaze. “Not fair. I literally went there first and you pushed me off!”

“Calm down,” Blaze said. “There’s a spot at the very top.”

“But Cloud is there!” Shell grumbled. “There’s no way I can share that with him.”

Blaze chuckled. “You can steal the spot from him. He is so weak. Way weaker than even a blade of grass.

He can’t beat you in a fight.”

Shell brightened instantly, nodding vigorously. “Great idea. After all, he’s the weakest in the family. Look at these muscles!” She flexed her wing. “What does he have?”

Blaze smirked as Shell hopped up to my spot, her head held high. All my siblings were watching with an evil gleam in their eyes.

“Move over, youngster,” Shell clucked coldly. “This is my spot now.”

I shook my head. “I claimed this spot way before you came. It’s my spot. You can go share with Blaze. His spot is huge.”

“No.” Shell squeezed me to the edge of the spot. “Give it up before I make you.”

“But I claimed it first. I came here first, so by the rules it’s my spot.”

Shell narrowed her eyes. In a sudden movement, she raised her foot and pushed me off the haystack. I squealed as I fell off, watching Shell’s face fill with triumph.

“I warned you!” Shell chirped, the other chickens laughing. “Oh, you really are so weak!”

I hung my head down, listening to my siblings laughing. It wasn’t fair. I claimed that spot first. It was supposed to be mine.

I forced myself to look up at Shell. “You’re not following the rules that Mom and Dad made. I claimed that spot. It’s supposed to be mine.”

“Come on, let’s be real,” Shell snorted. “Who really follows those rules? Only feeble chicks like you do. Even your name says it: Coward, Loser, Obnoxious, Ugly, Disgusting. Life sucks sometimes, Cloud. Deal with it.”

The other chicks laughed again. I looked at my siblings, watching them laugh their hearts out as stood alone at the bottom of a tall haystack. I wanted to go back to my old home. There were more spots there, even though they were smaller. We didn’t have to fight there.

I dragged myself out of the coop, my siblings still laughing behind me. Tears stung my eyes. Ever since I was born, my siblings just hated me. I didn’t know why. It was a natural hate that Mom and Dad didn’t care about.

Leaf’s voice seemed to ring in my head. Stay positive. Choose the good side of life.

I saw stairs at the side of the coop. I instantly climbed them. They led to the top of the coop, which was surprisingly tall. The taller the better for me!

I plopped down at the rooftop and stared at the clouds in the sky. Those clouds are never hated by anyone, so why am I hated? Is it because I’m the youngest? Probably not, right? Or is it because I’m weak? Shell did mention how I was really weak. But I am weak. I don’t have much strength.

Does it really matter if you’re weak? Leaf’s voice whispered. You love heights.

I peered over the edge of the roof. Could I jump safely down from here? I wanted to try and fly. Again. I loved the idea of flying. Mom says chickens can’t fly, but I don’t believe it. Dad and my siblings say that too.

I stood up and put my talons over the edge of the roof. It seemed pretty safe. I spread out my wings and took a deep breath, ready to jump.

You’ve been practicing, I told myself. It worked a little last time, didn’t it? You’ll be fine.

Last time I tried this, I had floated in the air for a second, descending to the ground slowly like a balloon. It was a huge improvement from the first time I tried it. The first time, I fell to the ground like a heavy rock.

After a little while of pep talk, I leapt off the edge of the roof, flapping my wings violently. I fell a little before slowing down and hovering a few feather lengths above the ground. I found a small rhythm in my wing flapping, and I managed to float upwards just slightly before my wings became exhausted. I fell to the ground, laying there in a heap. It was such a big improvement.

“Still trying to fly?” Shell snickered, waddling out of the coop, my siblings behind her. “You know chickens will never be able to fly, right?”

“Obviously he doesn’t,” Shadow muttered. “What a dummy.”

I sat up, watching them laugh and hop away. I stood up, feeling like there was a big stone in my chest, weighing me down. I slowly made my way back up to the rooftop.

Stay positive.

I jumped off the roof again, with no visible progress. I fell right to the ground after floating for a hot second. I dragged myself up the stairs to the roof again.

Wait, I can just sleep here, I suddenly realized. I immediately ran back down to the ground. I then began exploring the area, plucking grass and leaves for my nest. I got some flowers to decorate it, too. There were so many flowers of so many colors! I only got lavender, though, because it’s my favorite.

I’ll just replace these flowers every time they wilt, I said to myself, weaving the long yellow grass blades into a big, cozy nest. I am so excited to see how this is gonna turn out!

I spent the rest of the afternoon weaving my nest. It had to be perfect. It had to be the best nest ever. My siblings and Mom and Dad were out, so I could do anything right now. Plus, this place was completely safe; the humans had some weird barking beasts that guard everyone. How nice!

I got some sap and stuck my nest onto the rooftop with it. Then I put some of my favorite lavenders into the nest, finishing it. It was my little spot.

This is perfect! I said to myself. I love the flowers. My personal sleeping spot!

I climbed into my nest. It was so soft! And the flowers were so pretty. I decided to go get some leaves to decorate it even more. After I put the leaves onto my nest, my siblings came back with Mom and Dad. I immediately jumped off the roof, pretending like I was practicing to fly. I didn’t calculate my jump properly and crashed miserably onto the ground.

Stay positive.

“Seriously, he is so stubborn!” Blaze chirped.

Wind nodded. “I really don’t get what’s going on in his brain.”

I stood up. “I made progress, though. Also, Mom, is it okay if I don’t sleep in the coop?”

Mom looked surprised. “Then where are you gonna sleep?”

“On the roof,” I said. “I made a nest there.”

Mom glanced at Dad, then shrugged. “Fine. Suit yourself. It’s gonna be cold, though.”

I nodded. I would get a blanket later. I watched my family go into the coop, before going off again to find some more grass for a blanket.

I found some flowers with huge petals larger than Dad. I instantly plucked off a petal and ran back to my nest, testing out my new blanket. It was so warm! My nest was now finished.

The next day, I woke up in my nest early, ready to practice flying. Before I went to sleep, I had practiced a little, and made much progress. I was close to flying.

I jumped off the roof, flapping my wings in a rhythm that worked best for me in previous practices. I hovered in the air as soon as I jumped off, falling down to the ground as slow as a sloth’s movements. As soon as I got to the ground, I hopped up the stairs back to the rooftop and kept falling off, until one time, I was hovering in the air, not even falling down. I was so happy. I tried flying forward, but I didn’t really know how, so I fell to the ground again.

I hopped up the roof happily. That is so much progress! Wow, now I just have to practice controlling where I fly. Then I’ll be the very first chicken to be able to ascend to the skies!

I jumped off the roof again and again, trying to fly forward. I made little progress, but every time I jumped off the roof, I felt like a qualified bird. Why do chickens have wings if they’re not made to fly?

The next day, I practiced flying all day and night. I did my best to ignore my siblings’ comments, but it was hard. They kept telling me I would fail, and I tried not to believe them. But it hurt me that they bullied me because I’m trying.

Just stay positive.

Days turned into weeks, which turned into months, which turned into four months. My hard work had paid off.

My siblings had just come back from their daily afternoon walk. When they saw me on the roof again, they burst out laughing. Every time they saw me on the roof, I always fell to the ground miserably.

“Do you not have a brain?” Shadow chirped. “It’s been four months. Are you really this dumb? Chickens are not flying birds, brainless.”

The other chickens laughed, shouting, “brainless” at me. I glared at them, fluffing my feathers indignantly.

Show them, Leaf’s voice whispered in the breeze. Show them.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them. “Well guess what? Mr. Brainless can now fly.”

My siblings stopped laughing for a moment, then burst out laughing again.

“Seriously?” Wind sneered between his laughs. “Do you really think we would believe that?”

Show them. They’ll be shocked.

I nodded, confident. “I can show you.”

Shell gasped for air. “Gosh, how dumb is this guy?”

My heart sank a little. They weren’t listening to me.

“I can literally show your right now.” I turned around to climb the stairs up to the roof.

Blaze was rolling on the floor, snorting. “You dummy! Chickens can’t fly!”

My heart sank a little more. Just show them.

I climbed up to the top of the roof, shaking off my worries. I stood with my talons over the edge of the roof. I took a deep breath in. My siblings were snickering silently, watching me with evil eagerness in their eyes.

Show them.

I leapt off the roof, my wings spread wide apart, flapping in a peaceful rhythm. I flew over my siblings’ heads, circling around them, before floating down slowly with great control next to them. They wore faces of pure shock.

“Teach me how to fly!” Blaze squealed after a long moment of silence. “Teach me! Teach me!”

I shook my head, folding in my wings. “No, sorry. I don’t feel like teaching you weak people.”

Wind scowled. “Why, ‘cause you wanna keep your skills to yourself?”

“No, definitely not. I’m going to teach other chickens. Just not you guys.”

Shadow rolled her eyes. “Alright, we admit it. You’re amazing and strong, okay? Just teach us. We need to know how to fly.”

Shell nodded in agreement. “Yeah. We want to fly too.”

“No is no,” I clucked calmly.

Shell glared at me. “We’re older! Respect your elders and do what they say! That’s what Mom and Dad always told us to do! It’s one of their rules!”

I chuckled. “Who really follows those rules?” I quoted. “Only feeble chicks like you do.  Even your name says it: Sucker, Hater, Egocentric, Loser, Liar. Life sucks sometimes, Shell. Deal with it.”

Image Credit by Pixabay