The Island Flamingo: Chapter 30

The Island Flamingo
My head shook in disbelief at the sight of the flamingo; all the while, my brain created plausible scenarios that overtook any rational thought I had before.
โNo, no, this canโt be real.โ While backing away from the pink bird, I whispered, โMiss Martha, Louis, this is a joke, right? This flamingo is an animatronic, thatโs it?โ
Miss Martha and Louis didnโt answer, but looked sadly in my direction as my heart sank.
โJessica,โ Louis said, โPlease, let us explain thisโฆโ
โLouis, this jokeโs gone far enough,โ I shouted as feelings of fear and anger rushed through my body in hot flashes. A sliver of hope remained in that moment, that the flamingo in the living room was a joke.
โIโm sorry,โ Miss Martha said with a serious look on her face. โWeโre both sorry you had to find out this way, Jessica. Itโs true. We have a wild flamingo in our house.โ
At her admission, my knees buckled and fell to the carpeted floor. While my breath came out in brief spurts. Louis ran to my side to keep me steady, but I pushed him away.
โDonโt touch me!โ I gasped. โHow could you lie to me, Louis?โ
Tears rained from my eyes while Louis tried to console me.
โIโm sorry, Jessica.โ he cried, โI didnโt mean to hurt you!โ
I turned away from him and hugged myself to keep from falling apart.
โPlease understand, Jessica!โ Miss Martha pleaded. โThereโs an explanation for this. You must hear us out!โ
Anger and betrayal mixed into a cocktail within me, but I was still too stunned to let it all out. The flamingo appeared to have sensed my distress and nuzzled my cheek.
โNO! It’s not real, it can’t be real!โ I screamed, and tried to push the flamingo away, but weakness overcame me, and at that moment, I blacked out.







