Disorder - E. D. James

Olivia knew what she was seeing was not right. It was subtle. The crane was standing, it’s feathers and color looked right. But there was a slight trembling in the wings folded along its side. It’s head moved in a small side to side motion that Olivia had never seen before in cranes. The bird did not seem particularly aware of its surroundings, it didn’t have the watchful presence that she was used to seeing. She didn’t see the telltale areas of missing feathers or the reddened areas along the beak that she associated with birds that were older, but she wondered. The motions and the seeming disconnect from the world around it reminded her of her dad in his last months. The emphysema and the diabetes had rendered him palsied and listless. The drinking had left his mind at the bar. She knew the crane did not have long to live, but she didn’t know why.