An Odd Encounter

Sometime last week, just after dinner, I was making the short walk between the Wallace and the library (my study space) and was not at all in the mood to do homework. As I neared the doors of the Allen center, however, I noticed two of my classmates, Jen and Peter, standing outside of the doors seemingly doing nothing. Confused, I approached, and saw a tiny black and white bird just sitting outside of the doorway completely still. It was in shock, having just flown into one of the Allen center’s windows, where it left behind two of its feathers. Jen and Peter who had already gone to ask for help, and were waiting for a teacher to come out. Our science teacher had said that the best thing we could do for the bird in the meantime was to keep it warm, because when birds are in shock they get cold very fast. Peter had gotten a towel to wrap around the bird, but he was hesitant to do it. However, after a couple of minutes of waiting for help, we decided that we should put the towel around the bird. Peter bravely tried to put the towel around the bird, but just as he was about to let go of the towel, the bird seemed to start to life and frantically started flying. However, it was still in shock, and was not able to fly very well. In fact, it only managed to fly for about a second before it promptly landed on my arm! Unfortunately, I don’t think it thought my arm was such a safe place, because it only stayed there for a few more seconds before taking off, leaving Peter, Jen, and me the ones in shock.

-Sarina Shamoon-Kleinman

New York City, NY