"Horace, the Birdwatcher" (READ DESCRIPTION BOX) #shortfiction #homeless #birdwatching

After a painful divorce, parental alienation & forced homelessness, Horace Colbert went to go live out in the woods. He used that time to reflect on his past. He was glad to finally have a peace of mind. He was still sad about missing his relationship with his 3 daughters, Muriel, Gertrude & Phyllis. He felt sad about no longer having the opportunity to raise them as a decent parent.

He decided that he was going to pick himself back up & find a productive hobby. One day, he sat down on some rocks by a waterfall. It was kind of chilly & on the verge of dusk, so he didn't want to get himself wet. Aside from the sounds of the waterfall, he heard the wind & lots of different birds, which sounded like music 🎵 🎶 to his ears.

He went back to the city, hopped on the transit bus, paid his fare & then sat ALL THE WAY IN THE BACK. Shortly after, he started whistling songs that sounded like bird sounds, while laughing at how bumpy the ride was. He didn't know where he wanted to go, but he was just riding the bus, to clear his mind. After that, the bus stopped at a red light, & he looked to the right. He noticed an advertisement for a free day pass entrance to a bird museum, while going into a daze, staring at the sign. He was contemplating on whether or not he wanted to go to that museum. The bus pulled off because the light turned green. He waited until the last minute to pull the string, apologized to the bus driver & then got off at the nex bus stop.

While walking towards the bird museum, Horace stopped at a burger restaurant, called, "Burger Exoticals". He came across a rich-looking couple, named Alana & Jerry, who were exiting as he started to enter. The couple gave him $20 & said, "Here! Go feed yourself. God bless." They seemed to be in such a hurry that Horace didn't even get to fix his mouth to say, "Thank you."

Horace ordered an "Elvis Burger", which has peanut butter, bananas & bacon on it, along with turnip fries & Jamaican ginger beer. He passionately closed his eyes & rubbed his belly after he was done eating.

He went to the bird museum & asked about the free admission day. The 1st thing he stumbled upon was a bald eagle exhibit, & then he went touring around. He was the most intrigued by the information on the dove, the sparrow & the pheasant. There were gorgeous peacocks & mallard ducks that were freely roaming around the museum. 1 of the peacocks had a tug-of-war with 2 of the ducks over a piece of bread that a child accidentally dropped on the floor. But the peacock won, & everyone was standing around, laughing & filming with their smartphones (probably to post the fight onto their YouTube & social media accounts). The 2 ducks walked off, acting angry, & the visitors made social media memes, saying, "See? Even ducks can be a 'Karen'! You better watch your back." & also, "The next 'Karen' war, coming to a zoo near you." Horace couldn't wait until the next free admission day, since he was homeless with very little money.

Horace got back on the bus & went to the library. He read a few books & then made a reservation for internet use to research online about his newly favorite birds. He was so fascinated & excited, that he even published a well-written Amazon Kindle ebook the next day, using the public library computers. He quickly got a lot of positive reviews & ebook sales.

He began to love birds so much that he would watch & stare, at every opportunity. Unfortunately, he never saw any doves, pheasants or sparrows flying, but he would see crows, pigeons, blue jays, wrens & finches. He picked 3 favorite birds in the museum to reflect his 3 daughters, whom he dearly missed.

The next time there was "free admission day" at the bird museum, he was offered a job opportunity to work there selling admission tickets (He could get free admission every day that he worked, during his time off.), & he was able to get back on his feet.

After that 2nd museum visit, he went back to Burger Exoticals & took the time to familiarize himself with the entire menu, which he didn't get to do the 1st time. He noticed "Phyllis's Award-winning Korean Bulgogi Beef & Pheasant Burger", & he was able to get the burger for free, when he explained to the manager his homeless situation, & that he has a daughter, named Phyllis. He savored the flavor of the moment.

It took Horace 3 weeks to finally get hired at the museum, & unfortunately, the Burger Exoticals owner was forced to abruptly shut down the business, due to an unresolvable leak that was ruining the building & causing the business to always fail health & safety inspections.

Horace found a cabin to rent, & he was able to enjoy birdwatching on his off days. He was able to build up enough money to eventually help get Burger Exoticals back up & running again.

THE END

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