Romance Oneshots ❀❤︎︎☾꧂

𓅿𝟚𝟞 - 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐬𓅿

My wife and I often sit on the couch in silence on the days we don't have work. The kids are usually playing outside or in their rooms, so we're allowed quiet time together.
The birds chirp outside in the soft wind. I enjoy reading, and lately I've been catching up on my Stephen King books. My wife, Lady, is an over thinker. Whenever we get quiet time together, she worries that she's not working hard enough or that maybe she's not spending enough time with the children.
I watch for minutes at a time as her face slowly contorts into different expressions throughout the hours. Sometimes she looks sad, sometimes she looks happy, other times she looks angry. I'll never truly know what's going on in her mind, and I respect that, but I'm willing to take a guess.
Her lips slowly pull downwards as her head tilts to the side, her eyes blankly fixed on the black tv screen. Tears prick at her eyes - I can't tell if she's forcing herself not to cry or if her eyes are just drying out.
"Love," I speak softly. The tears immediately disappear and her features soften again. She hums in response.
"What's on your mind now?" I query.
"Just listening to the birds. What if their babies have left the nest lately, or even today? There's a little less chirping than usual. Do you think they miss their babies?" Her voice doesn't convey the emotions I know she's feeling.
"I'm sure they think about their babies a lot, but birds don't feel the things we do," I realise that's not as comforting as it should've been.
"That's not true. We can't know what they think, we don't speak their language. Scientists can assume all they want about birds, but I'm not a bird. I'll never know what a mother crow feels when she watches a brat like the one down the street stomping on eggs."
I think I've found the route of the problem. Or rather, a route of the problem.
"Darling, crows are much smarter than many other birds. But of course, I'll never know what a bird is thinking when it loses a baby."
"Nobody ever will. And I hope to never see that child outside again," tears well at her eyes again but she turns her head to wipe them away. She's a passionate soul.
"Love, he will come to learn what is wrong and what is right. Hopefully. I'm sure his parents are just tired at the moment. We'll never know what goes on inside their home everyday."
Her shoulders slump as she remembers her very own logic. "Yeah, I know..."
We both go quiet for a minute. I watch as her head turns to look outside at the tree with the bird nest in it, the one that the magpies have made for themselves. "I think those birds miss their babies. I'll miss my babies one day."
My wife is an overthinker, but at least she has a heart of gold.

Word Count: 506
Publish Date: 17 March 2024