Stories of the Street - Thirty eight

Richard is watching the street from his living room window located two floors above the butcher’s shop. Mid-morning activities abound, with people doing shopping, a few school kids bunking off school – or maybe they have free periods. Some old couples begin to gather in the Post Office and an old lady is walking her two dogs.

A brief flurry of wings catches his attention and he looks around just in time to see a bird swoop by and swerve between two buildings straight in front of him. In close pursuit is some sort of bird of prey but, as the first bird reaches the alleyway the bird of prey majestically curves to one side, obviously aiming to cut the other bird off and make its kill.

Unfortunately the bird of prey has mistaken the large arched window for an open arch, leading to the same place as the alley way. There is a muffled thump and a flurry of dark brown feathers and the hawk, or what ever it is drops onto the roof of the newsagents below.

The bird seems to shake itself briefly then flies up to a satellite dish where it appears to perch in a nonchalant fashion, while it calmly surveys the street for new prey.

Richard lets out an unexpectedly loud guffaw of laughter, the bird turns its head towards Richard’s window then flies away in disgust.