Song of the Mockingbird: My Journey with Josefina

I can’t resist the mockingbird’s tune. I grab Josefina’s hand and tell her to run with me. We can’t let him get away. Josefina looks surprised. As I pull her along, she asks what’s wrong.

I tell Josefina that nothing is wrong. We should just run because it’s fun. The mockingbird flits ahead of us as if he’s teasing us, always a few feet out of our reach. I scramble up on a rock, my basket over my arm. Sombrita springs up on the rock behind us.

I tell Josefina to jump as far as she can. I leap off the rock and land below. Josefina does the same, and I catch a glimpse of Miguel standing a short distance away, his mouth open in surprise.

Josefina rubs some dust off her cheek and asks if we lost the mockingbird. I say no, he’s there, and point to the branch. Josefina glances quickly at Miguel. She whispers we should sit on the rock and catch our breath. We set our baskets down beside us, and Sombrita sniffs around our skirts.

Just then, the mockingbird starts to sing again. I slide my flute from my pouch and run my fingers over the smooth back. Josefina gently asks if I heard mockingbirds during captivity. I swallow and say their songs have special meaning for me. I remember my loneliness on my boulder outside my house, just before I came to Josefina’s world. Josefina says I probably have many powerful memories of the past. We should make the mockingbird’s song into a different one, so when I hear it, I think of our adventure instead.

I smile and raise my flute to my lips. I play a few notes, careful not to play the time-traveling tune in front of Josefina. She might be a little surprised if I vanish before her eyes.

Josefina sings the mockingbird song again, longer, her voice trilling up and down the scale. I play the notes on my flute, and the song winds through the piñón trees and drifts toward the distant hills.

When we’re done, I say that was an amazing song and we should do a duet, maybe even play it for Josefina’s family tonight. Josefina’s forehead creases, and her confidence fades. She loves singing alone but gets nervous in front of others. I touch her hand and tell her I love performing, our song sounds wonderful, and performing is always easier with a best friend beside you.

Josefina nods slowly and says she feels braver with me there. Just then, I hear the crack of snapping twigs behind us. What was it that Señor Montoya said about enemy Indians in the area? I whirl around.

Relief floods me when I see Tía Dolores coming towards us. She and Francisca are hiking up toward the hill, baskets at their sides, with a servant trailing behind. Tía Dolores says she’s come to find more yucca root for the laundry, but wonders what we’re doing, since she doesn’t see any rabbit-brush near here.

I break in and say we were chasing a mockingbird, heard his song, and felt like we had to follow him, then composed a tune of our own. Francisca raises her eyebrows and tells us to play it for them. Josefina hesitates, but I encourage her, and she nods. I turn to the others, clear my throat, and announce that Josefina and I would like to sing a song we’ve composed to celebrate our friendship.

Tía Dolores smiles, and she and Francisca sit down on a log nearby. Miguel leans back against the tree. Josefina’s forehead is a little sweaty, and my stomach feels a bit fluttery, too. I always get butterflies before a performance. Josefina takes a deep breath, and I raise my flute to my lips. Our mockingbird song fills the air, soaring into the blue sky, and as I play, Josefina’s voice grows stronger and steadier.

I feel my heart lift along with the notes on my flute. Maybe music and friends aren’t just back in Chicago. I feel like I can finally be Birdy again. Tomorrow, I tell Josefina I’m going home, but I know I never forget this day, or her.