First Blood

The other day, Liam drew first blood. He was stalking the front yard with his BB gun when he spotted a bluejay in an oak tree. His first shot took tore through a wing. The bluejay fluttered to the ground, its limb and feathers flapping in odd spasms.

Liam fired again. Headshot. The bluejay's skull is about the size of a grape, yet Liam bounced a round off the bird's temple. And it stopped moving.

Liam walked next to it. Stood over the fallen thing. He says it looked up at him with its slow grey eyes. He says it was scared. And in that moment he thought to himself, "Why did I shoot the innocent bird? It is one of God's creatures..."

And then the tears. Followed by a long confession of regret. And more tears.

I put on some gloves and checked out the bluejay. The headshot didn't actually go into the skull. It bounced off.

The bird was just stunned.

Liam stopped crying. 

I put it in some bushes.

The next day, it was gone.

Liam's hunting squirrels now.