SETTING:

I am a small town in the rural Midwest. I have Wal-Mart and Kroger and an outlet mall that makes all the other small rural Midwestern towns envious. I have a quaint downtown district with pawn shops, and bars, and a courthouse where people go to hear Christmas carols. I am comprised of rows of houses, and each house has a yard, and each yard has a tree; I am surrounded by forests.

CHARACTERS:

I am a bluebird, and I am big and blue with bits of black and white, and I have a big crown, and a dark and hard and mean looking beak. I fly around the neighborhood of this small rural Midwestern town terrorizing lesser birds, house cats, and small children. I am sleek, fast, and mean--no one messes with me.

I am an oriole. I am small, and quick, and orange with black wings and a small black head. I like to stay in my territory, feed my young, fix my nest, and play in the birdbath. I am happy to be an oriole and I am happy to be alive.

PLOT:

I am the plot. I am touching and moving and suspenseful and I make you wish that you were here in the small rural Midwestern town watching the bluebird and the oriole. I am the bluebird raiding the orioles nest. I am the oriole returning from its bath to see the bluebird destroying its nest. I am a fight between the bluebird and the oriole. I am the bluebird fleeing fast.

CLIMAX:

I am the climax. I am treacherous and deceitful, and I rear my ugly and enticing head at the end so that I keep you on the edge of your seat and you so don't know what will happen next.

CONCLUSION:

I am the bluebird returning the next day and destroying the oriole's nest and eggs.

I am the oriole returning from its birdbath too late to save his nest.

I am a short story, and I frustrate you to no end because you anticipate my conclusion incorrectly.

LETTERS FROM READERS