The Cage Stands Alone

It's been so long since I've come home to look at the joyful Roc in her cage. It isn't the same without hearing her chirps in the evening, and no amount of Robbie and his puppets are going to replace Roc's company. No puppet is going to fly like a bird can, and certainly they make less of a noise. I haven't even had the heart to take down Roc's cage, it still stands empty, just as she left it. I walked past it every day, hoping that maybe, just maybe, she'll return again. Why would she vanish like this? It confuses me so much, and the fact there is no explanation is worse than her vanishing in the first place. Robbie tries his best, but all I do is miss her more and more every day. I have to forget about her, just as I did Brian. I left the day care without a fuss in order to help move on from him, and now that lingering cage has to follow. The silence of the birds around here has begun to unsettle me, and the scars I have from the owl attack have no explanation. I haven't seen the owls since the attack, I haven't seen any birds since then, and neither has Robbie. I don't dare go into the forest again, I have a feeling it wants me to leave it alone. Everything has no explanation, and the more things that happen the less I can make of it. Without Roc, it's even harder for me get by.