We were the greatest of friends, and everyone was so nice to us. We adored each other. Our school

was like a second home to us, and we wanted to attend classes even on Sundays since our school provided us with memories to treasure for the rest of our lives.

 It is not monetary things that can keep us happy, but rather spending time with our closest friends and family. We read, played, had fun, and enjoyed ourselves, and without our knowledge, a deep bond was formed, one we vowed would last. Back in biology class, we were reading about cells when our teacher said that we will be reading about reproduction in animals and birds in the following session. We were just getting started with the introduction to the subject when we heard a chirp behind us. We turned around to see what was behind us but saw nothing, so we continued to listen to the lecture.

 The sound continued and We were curious to know what was hidden behind us. We knew it was a bird since the sound was sweet. We turned back and glanced at the tiles again, only to see a little bird resting down behind a desk. We hurried to see the bird and were startled when we saw the lil creature lying down.

   It was shivering and looked very small. We focused too closely on trying to spot any injuries. The bird was indeed hurt and it looked tired.  The small bird was terrified. We knew it didn’t strike the fan because it wasn’t turned on. Thank God, We felt relieved. I assumed the bird was learning to fly for the first time and had landed here by accident.

We looked out the window to see if we could spot the mom bird, but we couldn’t since the sky was cloudy. I carefully lifted the small bird into my palms. I rubbed its head and tummy, and it felt warm and comfy in my hands.

We then decided to feed the bird some seeds and water. We bought a little cup, filled it with water, and carefully brought it close to the bird. It sipped the

water with a gentle raise of its head. It felt quite weak after that and was unable to elevate its head. So, we tried putting drops of water directly into its beak, and it drank happily. It was quite thirsty. We tried feeding it seeds and food, but it refused.

We adored the bird as it gradually became acquainted with us. We had assessments in an hour, so we needed to listen and study well. So we placed the bird under our desks among books and started reading. The bird went slowly around the classroom, running under our desk. We had a great time observing the bird, carrying it, taking turns, and keeping it with us. We held the bird in our hands even during class, and whenever our instructor scolded or punished us, we raised the bird, and she would start laughing.

 It was a memory to behold. We asked our sports teacher to look at the bird after we finished class. He examined it carefully and stated that it is a type of sparrow that was born only a few weeks ago. We chose to keep him with us until it was courageous enough to spread its wings and fly in the free air because it was so little and didn’t know how to fly. We don’t know if it was a boy or a girl, and we despise referring to the bird as it. We decided to give the bird a name.

          We called the bird Drapsy by combining all of our classmates’ initial letters of their names. There will never be a better name than Drapsy. On that particular day, she is the joy and heart of our class. We’ve trained him to walk and fly, as well as hide and seek. We spent the entire day in class with Drapsy, which our professors graciously permitted. We shut the windows and doors and left him inside the class during lunch. We didn’t want him in the mess because everyone would want to touch or hold him and we were sure he would be terrified. We also didn’t want him to get wounded again, so we waited to make sure everything in the classroom was firmly closed.

We returned after eating our meal and discovered Drapsy missing when we opened the door and shouted for him. We checked all over the classroom, beneath the desks, behind the doors, and even on the projectors!  We were unable to locate him anywhere and were really worried. I was going to wail when we heard a chirp. When we looked up, we saw Drapsy on top of the fan. Drapsy, who was terrified to fly or walk, has now mustered all of his power to fly to the top.

         Drapsy flew to the fan but couldn’t figure out how to get down, so the boys gently went on top of the cabinet and brought him down. There were many wonderful times with him and plenty to remember. We made a little cardboard house with the help of a teacher, decorated it, and placed Drapsy inside. We were certain that he loved his house, and that it was his home at the end of the day. It was 4:00 p.m., and someone had to take her home, so my closest buddy volunteered.

         My friend kept sending me videos of Drapsy napping, and it was so cute to see him sleeping calmly at home. He almost learned to fly the next day. He would fly and land on top of our heads as we opened the cardboard box. He became one of us and to all of us, he was like our best friend. It was the third day with Drapsy, and he began shivering again. He had felt at ease for the previous two days, but that day he was disturbed. I assumed he wanted to return to his family or flock, but we had no idea where he came from or how to reconcile with his mother. We realised that because we care so much for Drapsy, his happiness is all that mattered to us.

          So, with a heavy heart but a cheerful face, we opened the windows and waited for him to take his first flight. Drapsy carefully stepped onto the window, but she was afraid to face the outside world. We were all admiring Drapsy when we saw him popping and standing in front of the window, feeling the breeze on his face. We all kissed him goodbye while holding back our tears. He slapped his wings slowly, lifted his legs in the air, and soared straight up into the sky.

We knew he’d come to see us frequently since he’d always remain our closest buddy. We heard the chirping sound every morning after that, and if we spotted a flock of sparrows flying in the sky, we knew Drapsy would be one of them, waiting for us to come in and say hello! We would wave to them, expecting that Drapsy would wave back at us.

As a memory, we wrote an essay named Drapsy and published it in our newsletter, and we also included his name in our class chart because the relationship was so strong. We also called our class Drapsy and this name is our name! if you like birds and if you really understand them, please set them free. They are not designed to be caged; they are meant to fly high and be free.