The Enchanted Aviary: The Water Mouse Stays The Night

The Philippine summer, on tiptoe, reached its apogee in the month of May. The old hermit finished misting the birds with fresh water, a mid-afternoon treat they all enjoyed, flying back and forth across their cages and screeching joyously like children playing tug-of-war in a park. The fine clouds of water showed up rainbows in the sunlight. Tiny, sparkling beads clung to cage wires like stranded, elfin jewelry. Back on their perches, the birds aerated their feathers and allowed the warm breeze to stroke their tiny bodies beak to tail.

It was water day for many of the compound tenants. The boy at the water supply store on Arayat Street made several deliveries of ten-gallon jugs that day. One of the white mice that lived on the loft of the store liked hopping onto the iron cart that was connected to the boy's bike, and so it did when the boy left for the compound. The water mouse relished these jaunts through the neighborhood. Nestled between aquamarine jugs that magnified the sights round them, it was safe from the stray cats and the feral rats that populated the dense, animal underworld of Cubao.

The water mouse also liked stopping by the Cage of The Healer Birds, since, because of its height from the ground, it was most accessible. The healer birds operated an herb and oil shop in a corner of their cage, and the water mouse would spend long minutes browsing through the packets of herbs and bottles of oil as an avid reader would browse through a well-stocked book store. Today was quite alarming for the water mouse, though. When it looked up from the racks the sun was almost setting on Cubao's horizon. Moreover, the delivery boy had pedaled off, leaving the mouse behind. The journey from the hermitage to Arayat Street, though a cinch to any human being, was a dangerous feat to any tiny mouse on four feet.

The healer birds suggested that the mouse stay at their place overnight. The mouse agreed, knowing that extra water deliveries had been scheduled the next morning and that it could hop onto the cart as soon as it parked in the driveway. The healer birds, fortunately, owned a hut that doubled as an N&B (Nest & Breakfast) managed by two gnomes, who were a married couple. The birds and the gnomes were extremely proud of their N&B, which had become a popular stop for other birds, mice, cockroaches, and other diminutive creatures. It was a rustic affair with a small balcony and lamp-lighted windows. A secret room containing a cache of coins was in this N&B. It ensured that the old hermit who lived beside the aviary would never run out of money. The enchanted tree that grew near the hut was the sentinel of the cache.

Relieved to spend the night in comfort and in safety, the water mouse checked into one of the bedrooms and deposited its bag of purchased herb packets and oil bottles in a footlocker. Another mouse, a brown, sugar mouse from the Castle of Baking and Confectionery on the same street as the compound, had checked into the adjoining room, and the water mouse was delighted that it could have someone to converse with that night. The sugar mouse was on its annual pilgrimage to The Cage of The Cosmic Birds, a steep climb on the grilles but, according to it, well worth the exertion. The sugar mouse invited the water mouse to join it that evening. The water mouse, deciding that it had enough excitement that day, graciously declined.