Months from now, flyers for the Uluru Games will be drifting on the wind, bringing long-awaited good news to this city shrouded in thick fog.
But, the locals know nothing of it yet, including Liberti Grove. In East London, she finishes her knocker-upper work for the morning and makes her way home ... once more, on her own.
Before she makes a stop beneath a fateful eave.
Liberti: chirps
Bird: Chirp?
Liberti: chirps?
Bird: Chirp, chirp?
Their cross-species interaction takes place on the corner, its participants oblivious to any onlookers, yet inevitably catching their eyes.
Classmate I: Oi, look who it is? It's Little Miss Why!
Classmate II: Hm? Is she trying to talk with that bird? Not surprised, two odd birds together.
Classmate I: You ain't half-wrong!
The children burst into laughter, roughhousing as they leave. Liberti looks back to the little blue bird on the eaves once again.
Liberti: Don't pay them no mind. They're just like that.
Liberti: Could be they're onto somethin', though. My bird-talk's a bit rusty, and you don't speak English neither, do ya?
Liberti: Clocked you hangin' about a while ago. Been followin' me, have you? You fancy us being mates?
Bird: Chirp?
Liberti: If you're tryin' to say "yes," then let's get a move on, eh?
Liberti: Shh. Keep it down. Mum don't care for being disturbed while she's workin'. She'll go on a proper rampage.
Liberti: Just like this. Try to slip in through the window. Right.
Bird: Chirp.
Liberti: Blimey, you actually came! So, I was right. You do wanna be mates.
Liberti: Fancy some bread? It's all I've got for supper. Let's share it. Here, I'll break off some bits for ya.
The bird hops forward, peering over the bread with its beady black eyes before turning away.
Liberti: Why? What's wrong? Don't care for bread?
Liberti: Oh! A bit dry, innit? Hang on. I'll fetch ya some water.
Liberti turns to find her father leaning on the doorframe, rubbing his forehead, a tired look on his face.
Father: Liberti, you're back.
Liberti: You up, Dad? Why you rubbin' your head? Still got a sore noggin'?
Her father came home late last night, knocking on the door in a drunken haze, and now looks as though he has only just rolled out of bed. Every night before his day off, he drinks with his coworkers "until the last drop's been drunk."
Liberti has never been fond of the sharp scent of alcohol clinging to her father, but she knows he isn't fond of it himself.
Her father says nothing in response.
Father: Who you talkin' to?
Liberti: My new mate. See?
Liberti moves aside, introducing her father to the tiny guest standing on the windowsill.
Father: sigh You don't mean the bird, do ya? What am I to do with you, girl?
Father: Why can't you be more like the other little'uns on the street, y'know, behave a bit more proper?
Father: They don't go off talkin' to birds all day. They go out and play with each other instead.
Liberti: But I don't like playin' with them.
Father: "Unsociable," that's what your teachers call you. Now, I've warned you already. You can't go on acting like this and do strange things.
Liberti: What do you mean "strange things"?
Father: sigh You always gotta mouth back to me, eh?
Liberti: I still don't get it. I weren't mouthin' off, Dad. I just don't see why—
The door inside is flung wide open, hitting the wall with a loud thud.
Mother: Shush! Must you two make such an awful racket?
The true head of the Grove household stands in the doorway, exuding a silent, threatening aura. The pair go quiet at once.
Father: ...
Liberti: Sorry, Mum.
Mother: You know that while you're off having fun at school, I'm working myself to the bone, don't ya?
Mother: From the second I open my eyes, it's naught but sewin' and weavin' for me! All day long! I'm gonna make myself blind from all this work!
Mother: So all I want's a bit of peace! Is that too much to ask?
Father and daughter bow their heads, silently saying a quiet prayer that this storm might pass over them.
However, the storm has other ideas. Mother's gaze suddenly hardens, fixing in place.
Liberti watches in confusion as she steps closer, inch by inch, until she finally stops at the windowsill, staring in disbelief at the half-eaten bread and the little bird perched nearby.
Mother: What were you thinking, Liberti? Feeding your bread ... to a bleedin' bird?
Liberti: I ... I ... It's only a bit of my supper, and I don't mind sharin'! It's just that she's my new mate, and I just thought I'd give her somethin'—
Mother: Oh, don't mind sharing, do we?
Mother: Miss Liberti Grove, our own little Lady Bountiful, givin' out our bread to the poor little bird!
Mother: We don't work as hard as we do for you to feed your bird!
Bird: Chirp, chirp!
Liberti's new friend flits away from the window—a little disloyal, perhaps, but Liberti knows she can't be blamed.
Father: Ease up. I'm sure Liberti knows she did wrong. And she won't be doing it again, will she?
Father: Liberti, how about you go and fetch next week's shopping? Lend a hand around here, eh?
Father: Go get some money from your sister. I wrote the shoppin' list in a blank spot on the newspaper. Right here. Go on, off you trot!
The shopping list is shoved into Liberti's hand, and she is pushed out the door.
Unfortunately for her, council house doors are not known for their soundproofing.
Mother: That girl can't keep carryin' on like this. You've got to talk some sense into her.
Father: I've told her time and again, but does she ever listen?
Liberti: ...
Bird: Chirp.
The lilting sound of a bird reaches her ears from above. Liberti looks up, her smile returning once more.
Liberti: Waitin' for me, were you? Thanks. I was in need of some cheerin' up after all that.
Liberti: Sorry. I hope they didn't give you too much of a fright. They ain't always so cross.
Liberti: I'm off to find Sarah, my sister. She's usually down here with her union lot. You could wait with me if you like.
Bird: Chirp.
Satisfied by the bird's answer, Liberti heads up the stairs. Just as she's about to knock, a large, broad-shouldered worker stops her.
Worker: Hey! What d'you think yer doin'? This ain't no playground, girly!
The worker eyes Liberti suspiciously, to him she's just another little mischief maker sneaking around and stirring up trouble. That is, until he hears the name of another "grown-up."
Liberti: I'm here for Sarah.
Worker: Right! I remember you, the little sister, ain't ya? 'Ang on then. I'll fetch her.
He motions toward Liberti, wordlessly impressing that she should stay by the entrance.
Liberti: I don't like it much in there. Everyone's got faces redder than slapped backsides.
Bird: Chirp, chirp?
Waiting at the door, she and the bird resume their friendly chatter.
Liberti: I think Sarah's proper clever, and I do look up to her. Only ... sometimes I think she don't much care for me.
Liberti: Mum and Dad were saying that Sarah's running for union leader. And if she wins, then she might move away.
Liberti: If she leaves, then I won't get to see much of her anymore. I don't know if that'd make me feel chuffed or gutted. Just thinkin' about it makes me feel a bit funny inside.
Bird: Chirp, chirp!
The little bird perched above tilts its head and flutters down, landing softly on Liberti's drooping shoulder.
Liberti: Oi! What are you like?! That tickles, haha!
Liberti: By the way, sorry about the bread. I hoped you'd get a bit more than you did. And I was plannin' to introduce you to Ollie. S'pose it'll have to wait till next time.
Liberti and her avian companion wait at the stoop of the doorway for a long while, and a touch of boredom begins to set in.
Liberti: Oh, I know! How about I show you a bit o' magic? You up for that?
She reaches into her pocket for the half-sheet of newspaper, flattens it carefully, and pinches a corner, making the entire sheet stand upright.
Liberti: Watch close now.
Sarah: Stop! What are you doing?
A hardened hand, thick with calluses, seizes Liberti's wrist, sending the shopping list tumbling to the ground.
Sarah: You really doing "that" again? How many times have we—ugh, again and again—don't do "that"!
Liberti: I-I ... was only ...
Sarah: You haven't been doing that little trick of yours around town, have you? Trying to get some attention? Showing off to your schoolmates? Your friends?
Liberti: I haven't!
Sarah: You'd better not have.
Sarah fixes Liberti with a hard look, then finally lets go of her reddened wrist.
Sarah: Remember this now. Don't go causing trouble for our family.
Liberti: That ain't true. I ain't causing no trouble! I'm doing my part as a knocker-up, aren't I?
Sarah: Oh aye, very impressive. And you know what I was doing at your age? Working four jobs in all.
Sarah: That was after the war! Before then—well, you don't know nothing about how rough it was then. I was younger than you are now, but I still made sure I was always seen and not heard. You've no idea how hard we had to work to get us here.
Liberti's head drops once again.
Bird: Chirp, chirp.
The bird nudges her cheek with its wing, and once more, Liberti lifts her head.
Liberti: Why do you always do that? Why you always goin' on about how things used to be?
Liberti: And why do you always tell me not to use "that"?
Sarah: You wouldn't understand even if I explained. Just remember what I've told you. You'll appreciate it when you're older.
Liberti: I don't get it. It's always "when you're older," but why that the way it has to be? If you've got all the answers, why don't ya just tell me now?
Sarah: How is it you come up with so many questions? There's no why!
A few passersby begin to glance their way. Sarah clears her throat and speaks more quietly.
Sarah: Enough. I've no time for your usual nonsense. Just tell me what you're up to.
Liberti: ...
Without a word, Liberti reaches into her pocket and hands over the shopping list with a bended head.
Sarah: The shopping, is it? Well, it does need doing ... sigh
Her sister frowns as she digs into her pocket and counts out the coins one by one.
Sarah: Here, this should do. And if the shopkeeper says it's short, you tell him he can forget about trying to charge us more!
Sarah: And if there's any change, you bring it right back. No sweets, understand?
After giving her strict instructions, Sarah heads back inside, pulling the heavy door shut behind her.
Liberti: I won't use it for sweets, honest.
Still, she plans to go to Mr. Laury's shop later, because she has to go home after the shopping's done.
For the time being, she has no desire to head home.
