Stolen Tongues

Felix, the first-person narrator describes a lone cabin atop a peak in the Colorado Rockies. This is, he says, where his life became a nightmare, though the story begins long before.

Felix describes his childhood best friend, Colin, who owned a gray parrot named Carrot. Whenever Felix approached Colin’s door, the bird shouted “Knock-knock!” and when they showed the bird their Halloween masks, she’d exclaim, “Ugly! Ugly!” Years later, Colin got married, and when he asked Felix and Faye to pet sit so they could go on a honeymoon, they agreed.

One night, Felix and Faye went to bed and soon heard Carrot downstairs, mimicking laughter and saying “hello.” When Felix checked on her, she was staring at the ceiling. The next night, Boomer and Chewie, Colin’s dogs, grew agitated and restless. Felix took them upstairs to the master bedroom, and he heard Carrot yell “Knock-knock!” and “Don’t cry” downstairs. Carrot was scared of something. The bird shook, and she wouldn’t look away from the sliding glass door.

The next night, when Felix and Faye were in bed, the dogs started snarling at that door, and something knocked Carrot’s cage over. Felix and Faye brought the animals into the guest room with them, but in the middle of the night, Felix heard Carrot telling someone not to cry again.