Tiny Angel

When the weather starts getting cold we load up on scratch feed, cracked corn, and wild bird seed. We also buy suet and other treats for our feathered friends. In fact, our birds are fed better than some children I know. We enjoy sitting in the living room, listening to music and watching the birds have a feast in our yard.
Doves prefer the cracked corn and they usually come in twice a day to feed. About ten in the morning and around three in the afternoon. When I looked out this morning, there must have been a hundred doves feeding. I went about my work and a few moments later I heard a whack against one of our front windows. That usually means a bird emergency. For some reason when the light hits the glass at a certain angle it confuses the birds and they fly into the glass. Most of the time there is a thump which means they realized their mistake and pull up at the last moment and thud into the glass chest first. They usually hit the ground where they spend some time getting their breath and trying to figure out who was driving the truck that hit them. They usually lie there on the ground for a few moments before launching into the air and away from the windows.
Today the sound was different. When you hear a whack, a sharper impact, it usually means the bird did not see the glass in time and they flew into it head first. That was the case with the dove this morning. When I ran outside, I knew immediately that she was dead. I did get a towel, wrap her up and bring her inside for a while to see if she recovered, but sadly she did not. I later took her out back and buried her with all the noble creatures that have died here.
This afternoon, we were sitting in the living room reading when Jilda said look there in the top glass. I looked up to see where the dove had hit the glass and the place looked like a small angel had pressed up against the glass with her wings outstretched. I thought to myself, a tiny angel did visit us today.