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The Eleven O'Clock Sparrow

mysteryEveryone
5 contributors · 3 paragraphs deep

Elias forgot about the empty square. He only cared about the sparrow. In nine years it had never missed a day. He climbed onto the fountain's edge and peered at the third spoke, looking for any sign of the little bird.

On the third spoke, caught in a crack, was a single brown feather. Below it, wedged where the spoke met the rim, sat a tiny twig nest. Two pale eggs rested inside. The sparrow hadn't left the fountain at all. It had been building a home here the whole time.

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Elias couldn't leave the eggs. He hurried to the newsstand and found Mrs. Otto, who knew the town's bird-watching club. Within an hour, three volunteers and a wildlife officer arrived. They photographed the nest and filed an emergency protection notice on the fountain. The demolition would have to wait.

ED
Elif Demir
7 votes · future 1 of 2