Fiction Short Story

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Fiction Short Story

Alan Harvey

The Adventures of Harri, the Kiwi Bell Bird

Harri awoke instantly; his whole body shuddered in response to the spine chilling screams that impregnated the air around him. He stayed perfectly still, frozen, as though his very life depended on it, and it did!

The aerial assault ended. Harri couldn't help but feel relieved that his life hadn't ended with it. That damned falcon again, what a nice way to start the day he thought to himself. Still at least he was actually starting the day; some other poor bird or rabbit had just copped it. Numbed by this thought, he ruffled his feathers, stretched one wing, then the other, rotated his neck and looked around him.

The branches of the fuchsia tree he roosted in, had been inundated by a flock of quivering hedge sparrows that had dived for cover as the falcon had fallen right into their midst, out of the sky at over 100 kilometres an hour. One of their number had become a breakfast morsel for the dreaded fiend.

Knowing that a little titbit like that wouldn't satisfy the falcon's voracious appetite, Harri was on full alert. He knew the hungry falcon would return to kill again, very soon. Her chicks were growing rapidly and they took a lot of feeding.

Across the valley a beautiful melody broke the stunned silence. Suki, Harri thought, it's Suki singing her morning greeting, and he heaved a sigh of relief; at least his beloved had survived the onslaught.

It was a cool morning and he knew he would soon need food or his wee body would become chilled. Dare he risk moving? Harri knew the falcon had extremely sharp eyesight and would quickly hone in on any movement she saw from her perch, high above. I don't fancy being a titbit for that wicked beak just yet, he thought.

Hetti, that was the falcon's name, sat silhouetted against the rising sun on the stark skeleton of an ancient beech tree that clung to the craggy outcrops of rock reaching towards the sky. She had torn the little hedge sparrow into pieces and gluttonously devoured it. Before this meagre morsel had even settled in her stomach, Hetti was scanning the valley below for her next opportunity to dine; after all, that pathetic little excuse for life had hardly touched the sides on the way down.

I wonder if that Harri will drop his guard today, Hetti thought; at least he's half a snack. Too clever for his own good that one. He'll slip up sooner or later.

A tantalisingly beautiful scent drifted delicately on a wisp of early morning breeze. The fragrance of the nectar wafting from the nearby fuchsia flowers was proving a little too much for Harri to resist. His chilled body shivered and without thinking he darted to the nearest flower, plunging his beak into the glorious liquid. Ah! Exquisite, he thought as the sweet velvet nectar trickled smoothly down his parched throat. I don't feel alive until I've had my first sip of Fuchsia Tea, he chuckled.

Craaaack craaaack, the air once again filled with that deadly scream as the falcon dived from out of the sun. Instinctively Harris dived deep into the foliage of the fuchsia tree. His whole body trembled, every last feather quivered, but that one hit of energy from the nectar had helped propel him to safety. Clever little dick, Hetti thought as she saw Harri make cover. The ground below was coming up fast. She opened her wings and trimmed her tail feathers, to slow her down as she rolled out of her attacking dive and rode the thermals back towards the mountain top plateau. Bah, she squawked, I'll leave these damn birds to it, maybe there is a juicy little bunny waiting for me in the tussock over the ridge.

Harri opened his eyes to see Hetti gliding away on the breeze. Too quick for her, thought Harri, she's off in search of less intelligent prey. Harri started to relax.

Phew, he said; I live for another day, unless that squawking chook comes zooming out of the sun again. Never can tell with her. Off he went gliding down over the valley towards ribbons of water tumbling down the steep, imposing, tree-clad hills on the other side of the valley. How exhilarating it felt, the cool breeze rushed past him as he wheeled back over the beech trees for a riotous reunion with his beloved Suki.

First a little introduction of Harri the Kiwi Bell Bird. Harri is a Bell Bird, usually found only in remote areas of New Zealand. The Bell Bird has a beautiful melodic song. A little smaller than a black bird, it feeds on nectar, favouring flowers of Fuschia and Kowhai and other endemic trees. Bell birds have a dark blue head, a green body plumage and dark brown tail feathers. The flightless bird known as Kiwi is New Zealand's national icon and in many parts of the world New Zealanders are known as Kiwis. This is how Harri became a Kiwi Bell Bird. He is Bell Bird, not a Kiwi bird.

Alan Harvey is an accomplished New Zealand photographer, who after completing a Diploma in Freelance Photography, took up nonfiction writing in order to better market his photographs. He covered mainly environmental stories and tourist editorial before writing a monthly illustrated nature column in a local newspaper. Alan has also penned illustrated travel features for naturist magazines in New Zealand, Britain and USA. as well as dabbling in poetry. Recently Alan took part in a WVU F2K fiction course and we have the privilege of publishing his first fiction short story. Samples of his photographic work can be seen at Thyme Xposure Photography.