Yesterday while I was away from home my glasses broke where the bridge attaches to the right ring. A bad place for it to break as I can't really tape the parts together without filling my right eye's vision. Thankfully I had my old pair of glasses with me. They worked but anyone who has switched gradations knows it's an uncomfortable business.

As soon as I got home I decided I would at least try to put some super-bonder on them to see if I could get them to stick. I had little hopes as the rim is made of metal, but I thought I would at least try. However, we don't have any in our house so I went to my in-laws to get some. Our houses are right next to one another. We live in the countryside and there's a short fence that divides the two properties.

As I opened the waist-high gate I heard a strange sound. I rushed to see what it was and saw their dog was chasing a blackbird, a Zanate as they're called here. I got there exactly at the moment in which she pinned it to the ground. And at that moment I heard the bird's screams. I'd never really heard a bird scream before. I didn't know it was possible. It's such a different sound from their usual tweet, full of dread and terror. I remember thinking "what is it screaming for? is it expecting someone to come and save it? or maybe just warning others to fly away?"

Their dog let the bird go as soon as she saw me. She looked at me almost as if asking for permission to continue with her sport. Which was surprising to me because she's the kind of dog that usually runs away when you tell her to drop something.

Many people say they're pests (which they are) and wouldn't have stooped themselves to help it. But I was bound to help it, especially after having stumbled upon the scene in such an unlikely manner. I felt it was screaming at me, asking me to help it.

I walked towards them and she stepped back as the bird lay there scared and still. I could see its fast breathing, and its head swiveling this way and that. The dog didn't bother me as I picked up the Zanate, nor did she come close to me while I stood thinking what the hell to do with it.

My first instinct was to turn it over so I carefully did so. I was surprised by how calm and docile (the proper word here might be stunned) it was as it let me examine the underside and the wings, all the time looking at me with that sharp gaze some birds have. I'm little versed in bird health but I didn't see anything immediately wrong with it. No blood, nothing big seemed broken, and the bird eyes had a present expression (though how I could tell this I do not know).

Eventually I decided to put it in a secluded space of the front garden, where the dogs couldn't get to it. I kept my grip loose as we walked through a short fenced passageway lined with hydrangea, the same fence that separates my house from my in-law's. I didn't really block its wings for fear of hurting it. This ended up being a mistake, because the Zanate went from being still to trying to fly away. But either its flying apparatus or its mind were not working well so he just "fell" and then ran into the fence. It ended up in a crumpled mess, trying to squeeze itself into the corner between the floor and the fence.

After some maneuvering I was able to pick it up while blocking its wings. It tried to fly again but once he noticed he couldn't he didn't put up much of a fight. It turned its eye toward me as we walked. I hadn't noticed her but the dog was still behind us watching attentively. I didn't think any of it at the time but it was surprising she didn't jump on the bird as it lay there between the hydrangea.

We got to the front garden and I found a nice little corner in the shade, between a large Camellia, a short hedge, and a stone wall. I lied the Zanate there and it seemed not to really know what was going on. However, it didn't try to fly again and it just sat there looking around. I noticed that it's eyes had changed, it looked drowsy, even beginning to close its eyes a bit as if to sleep, or die. It held its head erect though, so eventually I decided to just leave it be. It was a large bird and the cats don't come here for fear of dogs, so I decided it would be safe enough, and I would check on it in a while.

So I crossed the fence back into my house and went into my office to get some work done. Between one thing and another I mostly forgot about the Zanate and only remembered it when it started to rain. To pour really. Before the rain got too bad I went to check on it and didn't see it where I'd left it. I kind of expected it as I imagined he'd tried to fly away again, but after looking around the spot a bit I couldn't see it anywhere, nor could I see feathers or any other sign of mishap. So I went back home before I got drenched.

Of course, playing detective in the rain is fraught with dangers. It could very well be that the Zanate lay under the hedge and I just didn't see it. But well, I hope he's better now. I dreamt with its screams yesterday, and in my dream I looked for it but couldn't find it anywhere. That's probably why I woke up this morning with an urge to write about it.

Good luck out there little friend 🐦‍⬛