At first, it sounded like small children--small girls--whimpering. It sounded like whips beating through the air.
I sat up in bed. Strained against the darkness. Was someone being hurt, outside?
The sounds sharpened. A chipmunk chirped too quickly, bleated out in distress. And the rhythmic beats continued--whirr, whirr, whirr.
I flipped on my bed stand light, hoping to disperse the animals. And their sounds.
The bird--it had to be a bird, most likely a hawk, because of its powerful wings--screeched in victory. The chipmunk shrieked out its terror.
And then the killing outside my bedroom window ended.
I went back to sleep, my light left on.
Nature is frightening. And cruel.
3 comments:
That sounds awful! I know that it is the natural cycle of nature, but I don't think that I would enjoy hearing it. I have no problem with hawks eating fish and such. But chipmunks are so cute. What a horrible thing to wake to.
I just wake up to cats coughing up hairballs. Or the police knocking on the neighbor's door to tell them their daughter was arrested and they had to come to the station. I don't think I could sleep after hearing a predatory moment.
Nature is pretty vicious. I've seen some horrific things (the worst was probably with the hamsters), but hearing for me would be worse... it would leave the rest up to my imagination.
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