I was sitting in the colorless cab of an Allegiant airplane flying to Los Angeles when I saw something in the row of gray seats across from me that, in this setting at least, should have been impossible: a plump woman with blonde hair parted down the middle and a straw hat was holding an especially regal rooster. When I saw it there in her pale, squishy arms, I thought what you’re probably thinking: what in the name of all that is good is a rooster doing on an airplane? My second thought was even stranger: if she can have a rooster on the plane, why can’t my Saint Bernard sit next to me? I never got an answer to my second question, but when she caught me staring, the rooster’s owner gave me the answer to my first one.
“Oh, you’re probably confused about him, aren’t you. Well, this here is Narcissus, and, if you can’t already tell by the ribbon he’s sporting, we just won first prize at the county fair back home in Iowa. The people at the terminal told me he wasn’t allowed on the plane, but I told them that winners get to do what they want.”
As I processed her words, I finally noticed the bright blue ribbon with a number one painted on it in white pinned to the dark feathers around the rooster’s chest. His golden eyes were transfixed on something outside his row’s tiny window. His gizzard was a deep red, and his beak was the same color as pencil lead. He stood erect, both his yellow talons gently clasping his owner’s forearm as if he were an eagle and not a chicken.
“Yes sir, Narcissus was chosen as the most handsome out of a group of 147 roosters from all over the state. I raised him with my elderly grandmother. She doesn’t see or hear that great anymore, but the chickens treat her like she is one of them. It’s amazing.”
“Uh-huh”
I wanted to tell her that it’s touching that she flies all the way to Iowa just to spend time with her disabled grandmother, but as she spoke, Narcissus had turned towards the window; now his beak was positioned just inches away from the glass.
“Yes. The doctors said that grandma doesn’t have much longer to live, so I really wanted to do something special with her before she goes, you know. So, we worked together to raise Narcissus here, and against all the odds he ends up taking first place in the county fair. When they announced that he had won, my grandma smiled wider than I’ve seen her do in years.” Her sky-blue eyes sparkled with joy at the thought.
I was unable to respond. I was petrified by the scene that was occurring before me: while his owner talked fondly of her moment of triumph with her grandma, Narcissus had begun to peck away at the window with his beak. I finally realized that what he had been so transfixed on was the sight of his own regal face in the reflection of the window. Just like the real Narcissus, Narcissus the rooster was attempting to embrace his own reflection. As I saw the little cracks starting to form in the window, I looked over at the rooster’s owner. She was still trapped in her daydream about her grandma up on stage at the county fair hoisting Narcissus above her head as if he were the idol of some incomprehensible bird religion. Then, without warning, the window shattered and Narcissus the rooster was sucked into the wild, blue sky by the sheer force of air momentarily escaping the pressurized cabin of the plane. The only thing that remained of him was a single black feather and the first-place ribbon he had worn like a true champion.
“Oh my god! Narcissus! Grandma will never forgive me!” The rooster’s owner let out these words in a succession of three ear-shattering screams, and then she cried, inconsolably, until we touched down in LA. As I stood outside of LAX waiting for my ride to penetrate through the seemingly endless wall of cars, trucks, and buses, I had only one thought on my mind: I guess chickens really weren’t meant to fly.
Kaleb J. Scarminach is from Ojai California. He currently resides in Medford, Oregon. He has been attending the Southern Oregon University for nearly two years now; he is currently a senior majoring in English.
When he graduates, he hopes to pursue a Master’s degree in teaching. In his free time, Kaleb enjoys taking walks with his dog Kodi.
Main Squeeze Literary Journal 