Entry 17: The Aviary

The person ‘bailing out’ Kookie and Louis was a tall man in an expensive silver business suit. He was carrying a briefcase and his face was stern.

“Meet your new owner, Mr Mo Mansoor,” the guard said proudly, “He’s a rich entrepreneur and he’s taken time out of his busy schedule today just to bail you out, you good-for-nothing birds.”

Mr Mansoor put up a hand to stop the guard from speaking, “You’re right I’ve had to cancel important meetings with venture capitalists to get here in time, but it’s wrong to say Kookie Banjo Jr. is good-for-nothing. In fact, he’ll make a remarkable addition to my ticketed aviary.” He made eye contact with Kookie, “Yes I’ve heard all about your scamming and most recently, near-escape from Disneyland. I’m sure tourists would come from far and wide to see you!”

The phrase ‘near-escape’ sounded familiar to Louis, but he couldn’t figure out why. Meanwhile, Kookie was busy eyeing Mr Mansoor’s briefcase and now asked if he had any donuts in there.

Mr Mansoor’s stern face grew sterner and ignoring the question, he turned to the guard and instructed that the birds be immediately transferred to the bird cage he had brought with him.

The guard nodded and left to fetch it.

Louis and Kookie couldn’t see anything from the back of the van, and it was only when they arrived at their destination several hours later that they saw they had pulled up to the kerb of a mansion bordered with magnificent hedges and palm trees.

The chauffeur grabbed the bird cage and followed Mr Mansoor inside. They made a right from the front hallway, with its chandelier, high arches and polished wooden floor, and there to one side was a humungous room that had been transformed into an indoor aviary. The wall on the further end was made up entirely of glass with a pair of doors that led to the outdoor aviary in a patio bordered by nets. Louis had never seen anything like it. There were all kinds of birds in the aviaries, some free to fly around and others in cages. The rooms were bursting in green from plants and foliage, and there were also fountains and artificial ponds. The birds were of all shapes and sizes, in all the colours of the rainbow, from finches and canaries to owls, parrots and hummingbirds.

There was a sudden dance in Mr Mansoor’s step and his stern face was replaced by a childish grin. “Isn’t it wonderful?” he said to Louis and Kookie, who had been put down in the doorway in their bird cage.

Mr Mansoor went further into the room and spun on the spot, then clapped his hands together. He yelled out for someone and they heard rapid footsteps. A person appeared at the door who looked like a secretary or personal assistant.

“Priscilla!” Mr Mansoor said in a shrill voice, “I want you to take care of our special new additions. This one,” he pointed at Louis, ‘Will be free to roam the indoor aviary, after its wings are clipped.’

Louis almost fainted.

“And then the grand prix,” Mr Mansoor continued, “The infamous kookaburra, the bird scam artiste, will be put on permanent display in an exclusive alcove costing customers extra.” He almost started with worry then, “You did order the customised cage with special spot lighting and marble stage that I mentioned earlier?”

Priscilla nodded, straightening her blazer as she spoke, “It should be here no later than Tuesday, Mr Mansoor.”

“Good. The aviary opens again for public viewing next week, and the installations must be complete by then.”

“Yes, sir.”

Mr Mansoor peered down at Kookie and smirked, “Well, you might be a stupid, insane bird, but I sure thank you for all the money you’re going to make me. Isn’t that right?”

Kookie stared up at him blankly, his feathers dishevelled and covered in grime, and for some reason, Louis felt overwhelming pity for him in that moment.

“Well!” Mr Mansoor clapped his hands again, “Now that that’s taken care of, I’ll be off to take another look at the eagle.”

“You’re doing a wonderful job rehabilitating the eagle, sir,” Priscilla said, “When do you think it’ll be ready for the wild again?”

“I’d say the week after next. Yes, I’m so efficient at rehabilitation that we could release it next week. But why not make some more money while we have it?”

“Why not, indeed!”

“Don’t flatter me, Priscilla. Now go on and get those things sorted for the aviary.”

Louis and Kookie were miserable the next few days. Louis was losing feathers in anticipation of his wings being clipped, and Kookie was getting angrier by the day that he was being given nothing to eat but bird seeds.

The birds in the aviary gawked at them and joked with each other about the newbies. There was one bird, a robin bursting in hot pink with spindly legs, who would strut on a ledge in front of their cage to show off that it could roam freely while they couldn’t.

“Make sure you don’t lose your balance. You’re so fat, you’re like a balloon,” Louis snapped one afternoon.

“Oh, go back to the backwater you came from!” the robin screeched back in a high-pitched voice.

Louis was shocked.

It was then that Priscilla came wandering into the aviary. She looked different today. Her hair was a mess and she’d taken off the blazer she always wore and turned up her shirt sleeve cuffs. She was muttering to herself about something. It was like she had stumbled into the aviary by accident, too busy stressing to notice where she was going. But now she blinked and looked around, and then smiled. She took out a cigarette from her purse and lighting it, began to wander around the room and blow smoke into the birds’ faces. When she reached Louis and Kookie, she laughed and bending down, grinned at them through the bars of their cage. “Oh look! It’s Mo’s favourites.”

Suddenly she took a key from her back pocket and opened the cage door. Kookie was closer to it, and he had barely squeezed through when they first put him in the cage. Now it would be a challenge to get out – not that it even occurred to him to take the opportunity to escape.

Priscilla took her cigarette and began to poke Kookie with it, “How d’you like that, you donut fiend?”

All Kookie heard was ’donut’. Oblivious to the poking, he said, “Donuts? Where’s that?”

Louis thought fast and, shoving past Kookie, grabbed the cigarette in his beak and flew out the cage door.

Priscilla let out a panicked yell. Louis flew out of the aviary and into a study next to it. He chucked the lit cigarette on to a pile of papers on the old mahogany desk. They went up in flames and the smoke alarm went off. Water came pouring from the ceiling.

“Oh, you clever bird!” Priscilla had run into the study after Louis and, now drenched, couldn’t help but grudgingly admire his quick thinking. Feeling that familiar adrenalin rush, Louis flew over her head and back into the aviary to retrieve Kookie.

They didn’t have much time. Louis recalled how one time, Kookie had casually mentioned that he liked to hitchhike on the back of eagles. It was a long shot, but probably the quickest way to get him out of here – if it worked. Luckily, it didn’t take long to find the shed where Mr Mo Mansoor was keeping the eagle he was rehabilitating. It was in a corner of the vast grounds behind the mansion.

Entering the enclosure, with Kookie waddling far behind, Louis saw an intimidating bald eagle perched in the shadows. The eagle peered at him through the darkness, its eyes glinting, and said, “You dare disturb my peace?”