Apocalypsis 02 - Warpaint

next, so I left. I found Nina a week later, when she wass just a baby, and worked with her for a while and den kept walking. She followss me where I go, but she stayss where no one can see her.”
    “How long have you had her?”
    “I don’t know. Several months, maybe. She is imprinted, but I worked really hard to do it da right way so she won’t scream at me all da time. She’s very smart - one of da smartest hawks I ever hadt.” He reached over and brushed the feathers of her chest. She ignored him, looking off into the distance.
    “Why did you hide her from me?” I asked, trying not to sound hurt and pitiful. The emotions were rushing through me like wildwaters. I had just found out that Bodo has this amazing thing about him, this huge thing in his life, and he’d kept it blocked off from me. I realized I had kind of taken for granted the idea that he really liked me and was this big, joking all the time, up-front, simple guy; but he wasn’t just those things. He was someone a lot deeper than that, and I’d only found out about his secret life and his biggest passion because I’d snuck up on him. Not because he’d shared it with me by choice. I had never felt more distance between us, and I was standing right there next to him.
    “Da reason I hid her from everyone is becausse da last people I trusted killed my hawks. Dey took a piece of me dat day. I always feel a little bit afraid now, that someone iss going to hurt me through da things I luff. Dats why I stayed alone for a long time. But den I saw you. And Peter. And I didn’t want to be alone anymore.”
    He’d confessed so many things I almost didn’t know where to start. “Do you honestly think I would have hurt your birds?” I wasn’t sure whether to be angry or sad about that thought.
    “No, not you. And not Peter. But we were meeting new peoples and some of dem were a little crazy, so I decided it wass better to just wait until da time when we know it is safe.”
    I looked down at the ground. “When is that time going to be, Bodo?”
    Bodo sighed. “I knew you were dare, Bryn. I saw you sleepingk over dare across da water. I played my harmonica many times, and only two times it wass for Nina.”
    “Are you saying you wanted me to find you?”
    “Yes, I’m saying dat.” He looked over at me finally, wiping the remnants of tears off his face and standing up straighter. Nina spread her wings again and let out a screech. “Welcome to my world, Bryn,” he said, an awkward smile on his face. “I really hope you like it.”
    ***
    Something happened in my heart in that moment that I saw him standing there, his hawk’s wings spread wide and her mouth opened, a shriek coming out. The muscles in Bodo’s arm were bulging with the effort of holding her up. He looked hopeful, as if he wanted nothing more than to have my acceptance.
    I took a big breath and decided to just go for it. What do I have to lose, other than my heart?
    I looked him in the eye and said, “I want to come over there and kiss you but I’m afraid Nina will get jealous.”
    “Just giff me one minute,” he said, pulling something out of his leather wrap that had been tucked inside. It was a small bell on a strip of leather. He attached it to something on her leg and then blew a note on his harmonica, throwing his wrapped arm up higher into the air.
    Nina opened her wings with a snap and took off, flying high above us to disappear over the trees in a matter of seconds.
    Bodo reached down and unwrapped the leather from his arm, folding it up and shoving it into the side of his pants.
    I stood in place, afraid to move. Bodo had become another person almost - bigger … tougher … more manly or something. I was suddenly shy.
    He put his harmonica in his pocket and then finally looked up at me.
    “Well? I’m ready for dat kiss now.”
    I smiled, my feet refusing to move. “Okay. Good.” I knew I sounded like a dork but I seemed to have lost my ability to be cool or be even relatively intelligent.
    He half smiled. “How much longer do you think I’m gonna haff to wait?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Do you hate me now?” he asked, no longer smiling.
    “No way. Not even close,” I said softly, embarrassed about what I was feeling and terribly afraid I was the only one feeling it.
    “If I come over dare, are you gonna kick me in da nuts?”
    “No,” I half giggled.
    “Poke me in da eyeballs?”
    “No, Bodo, you idiot, I’m not going to do any of that stuff.