The wind picked up as the rain pummeled the side of the house. Maggie was tired and wanted to sleep, but knew if she did, she'd never make it to the airport in time for her 6:00 A.M. flight. Instead, she sat on the couch, her MacBook slung over her lap, playing silly games on Facebook. It was a poor distraction from the lull of the Sandman, but she thought she could make it through the night.

    

     The suitcases were packed in the car the night before; all she had to do was stuff the bird in his carrier. It would be his first time flying, and Maggie hoped he'd be good on the flight. She didn't want him to be like one of those screaming kids that always managed to find the seat next to her. 

 

     Four hours later she was awoken by a loud squawk. It was her parrot, Arnie, telling her that it was time to go. In fact, it was time to go an hour ago. She jumped up, packed her computer bag, grabbed her keys and rushed to the door. As Maggie reached for the handle, the parrot let out another screech. She couldn’t believe she almost had forgotten Arnie. He was the sole reason that she was traveling across the country.

 

It was all a big mix-up really. She had ordered a bird online to keep her company in her new apartment. However, she accidentally picked up the wrong bird at Zazu's(special bird store) on 5^th Ave. Arnie was a circus bird… he had very special talents and belonged on the road with his trainer. Somehow, the bird she had originally ordered and Arnie ended up getting mixed up.

 

The trainer was on tour in Paris and couldn’t leave the show because of his commitments. So the circus company paid for her ticket to come and switch the two birds.

 

She was very nervous for many reasons. She had never flown over seas before and was deathly afraid of crashing. Maggie and Arnie had become very close during the time they spent together… and she was really reluctant to give him up. Also, she had Googled the circus bird trainer and came across his gorgeous picture. Needless to say, it gave her some more motivation to take the flight.

 

But she was already late and knew that customs where strict. If she didn’t make this flight, she may never see the cirus man of her dreams.

 

It was now 4:50 AM-- exactly 1 hour and 10 minutes before her plane would depart for New York for a connecting flight to Paris. She hurriedly grabbed Arnie in his cage and rushed out the door in the clothes she had fallen asleep in. It was still pouring. She sloshed through the puddles on the driveway as she ran to her car. Fumbling with her keys, the rain started to soak through her t-shirt. She finally opened her door and plopped into the driver's seat.

 

As she backed out of her driveway she turned her radio on and started jamming to her burned CD. Without hesitation she turned it to her favorite song.

 

"My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and they're like it's better than yours, I could teach 'ya, but I have to charge..."

 

She was really feeling it; singing at the top of her lungs and bobbing her head to the beat as she cruised down the road. In fact, she was so engulfed in her favorite song of all-time that she blew right through a stop sign.

 

Through her rear-view mirror, she caught a glimpse of blurry flashing lights behind her. Then the siren. It was just her luck that a cop was patrolling the side streets around her house at 4:55 in the morning.

 

"It's not me. It's not me. He must be going after someone else," she thought to herself. But there was no one else on the road.

 

She slowly pulled over and watched as the cop positioned his car right behind hers. Then she waited for his slow, deliberate walk up to her window...

 

Now she was really nervous... there was no way she'd make it to the airport on time.

 

"License and registration please," he said.

 

She apologized up and down and explained her situation. "I had to be at the airport like an hour ago," she said. "I'm going to Paris to meet the famous parrot trainer in the circus. This is his bird and he needs it back."

 

The officer was blown away. He'd heard some pretty weird excuses before, but this one seemed logical enough. He happened to be a native of Paris and was the Parrot trainer's biggest fan.

 

"Get in," he said.

 

"What?!?" She couldn't believe this.

 

"I'll get you across the city in no time, hurry up and get in!"

 

Before she knew it, her bags were in the back and she was sitting up front with Arnie, now out of his cage and on her shoulder... speeding through the city with the lights and sirens on.

 

She just might make it after all.

 

As the cop car made its way for the airport hitting speeds of over 100 mph, Maggie couldn’t help but think to herself is all of this worth it? Before she could even come up with an answer to her query the bird flew out the window and disappeared in the dark morning sky.

 

Maggie yelled to the officer to stop the car but he was too busy focusing on the task at hand and oddly enough singing Kelis' “milkshake.” After about 15 seconds, and still no acknowledgment of her cries she decided to take matters into her own hands....she reached over and grabbed the wheel pulling the car over to the side of the road. The officer apologized for being so into the song that he didn’t notice her attempt at getting his attention and promised he’d help find the bird. 

 

So now, instead of making their way to the airport, the two feverishly drive across town trying to find the damn bird.

 

“This has to be the worst day of my life! And it’s all because of this stupid bird,” Maggie said as she dropped her head into her hands. “I didn’t even know he could fly!”

 

The officer quickly glanced over at Maggie to see that she wasn’t looking for Arnie. “Hey! You need to be keeping a look out for him. This is your bird we are looking for here...well kind of.”

 

She gave him a dirty look out of frustration and resumed looking out the window. Up the street they saw an older man with a grey, worn-out sweatshirt walking on the sidewalk. Frantically they pulled over, thinking that anyone could give them some valuable help in this god awful situation. 

 

Maggie quickly rolled down her window and reached half of her body out the window to get the mans attention. The man looked over, saw Maggie, and jumped back about 3 steps. His light blue eyes seemed to have popped out of his head for a second before he realized the crazy woman just wanted some help.

 

Maggie explained to the man the events that had taken place that morning and then asked if he had seen a red parrot flying around anywhere. Unbeknownst to Maggie and the officer, the older man was actually Emu Phelps, the famous bird whisperer. Neither of them recognized him from his popular show on the Discovery channel. 

Mr. Phelps agreed to help... how could he not! He began whistling and cawing and making noises that could only be described as... weird. It seemed, however, to be waking up the wild birds roosting in their nests. He was soon mobbed by his feathered friends. They spent a moment congregated around Mr. Phelps, and as quickly as they had come, they all flew off... in different directions. 

 

Emu Phelps had spoken to these birds in their own language. They were off to find the amazing Arnie. 

 

Fortunately, because of the limited morning light, Arnie hadn't gotten far. A group of swallows found him in a nearby tree, fast asleep. The swallows sent two of their search party back to Mr. Phelps, and chirped their findings to Emu, who translated for Maggie and the officer. They jumped into the patrol car and followed the sparrows back to the tree.

 

Arnie, hearing the commotion below, waited in anticipation. He had never been outside, alone, in the dark. He hoped his beautiful Maggie was coming for him. He realized he had fallen in love with her.

 

Arnie spotted the familiar cruiser coming around the corner. He was elated. He squawked and sang and whistled and yelled, "PEEKABOO" at the top of his lungs, until he was sure Maggie heard his calls.

 

In the meantime, Maggie, riding with her head out the window, against the officer's advice, finally heard the familiar whistles of the little birdie. "SLOW DOWN!" She was screaming at the officer! 

 

Finally, Emu shouted from the back seat. "STOP!!!!" The officer came to a screeching halt. Maggie and Emu jumped out of the car and ran towards Arnie's squawks. Maggie, blinded by the morning sun, ran right over the spot where Arnie was perched, stepping on his tail feathers, and yanking them out.

 

"OWWWWWWWWWW! HELP ME!!!" Arnie shouted at the top of his lungs. Maggie turned around, tripping over her own two feet and falling to the ground directly in front of her lost bird. Arnie, realizing the mound of person piled on the ground before him was actually his beloved Maggie, he jumped on her shoulder. He was so overwhelmed with emotion, he regurgitated right on her nose. 

 

Maggie, who knew what regurgitation meant when coming from a bird, sat up on the sidewalk, yanked the bird off her shoulder, and nuzzled him in her neck. "Arnie!! I cant let you go! We have to run and hide from the Parisian parrot trainer."

 

"Officer," Maggie cried, "would you please take us home!"

 

Three weeks later...

 

Maggie, standing outside the door in her long, flowing, purple gown, peeks around the corner. At the end of the short aisle, she sees Arnie, dressed in his little white pantsuit, belting out "Love Me Tender" better than the King ever did. On the other side of the podium, her newly beloved prince, Emu, waited for her arrival.

 

A sigh escapes between Maggie's smiling lips as she takes her first step towards the rest of her life.