Editor's Note: I have left this story as it was submitted to me without omitting any details since it was submitted as a dedication. However, it does contain some disturbing details on the tragic life of this budgie. Read at your own discretion.
We just moved to a new town, and I was having a hard time making friends. For my 14th birthday, my parents decided to let me pick out a pet. I thought about getting a dog or cat, but realised that what I really wanted was a bird. They chose a Parakeet because they were so cheap. My older brother became instantly jealous over Lucky. The two of us became fast friends, spending hours together listening to Spice Girls and Boyz 2 Men albums. Lucky would sing along with the Spice Girls. My brother started making friends before me, but they were losers. They liked him because he did things to impress them. He would even mess around with Lucky if it meant impressing his new friends. One day I caught them in my room teasing him. I chased them out, but I guess it was too late. Lucky stopped standing on his left leg. A few days later, it turned a different color, and eventually fell off. Lucky managed pretty well on just one leg, but he didn't like to fly as much, and he seemed sad most of the time. My brother got punished for a week, but my Lucky was never the same. We still had a good time together, but my brothers friends thought what happened to Lucky was so funny that they encouraged him to keep it up. One night, when my parents were out, my stupid brother had a drinking party with his friends. I was staying at my aunt's house, and my parents refused to let me take Lucky. When my parents got home, they found out that my brother got Lucky drunk, and him and his friends were throwing Lucky in the air and making him fly into walls. He got punished, but my Lucky was left brain damaged. I would hold Lucky in my hands, but he would just kind of sit and stare at me with a blank look. It was sad to watch him get worse and worse. One day me and my parents got home from shopping and we walked in on my brother and two of his friends cooking Lucky in the microwave. My parents threw his friends out and made my brother clean up the mess in the microwave. I was so shocked that I didn't even cry. I didn't know what to do. A few days later, I finally broke down crying in school. Kids made fun of me because I still didn't have any friends, and they thought it was silly about Lucky. Everyone knew about it because my brothers friends told everyone how funny the thought it was. My parents sent my rotten brother to a military school, but my poor Lucky is gone. We couldn't even bury him. All I have of Lucky is one feather. I think of him all the time, and know I'll never love anyone like I loved my poor Lucky.
- Submitted by Stephanie
