The Sky Warden makes his rounds, souring from tower to tower, weaving through the thin spires gracefully on the string air currents.
He checks each hanging cage, ignoring the hateful glares of the prisoners. Their shouts don’t quite cover the howl of the wind.
He reflects on the irony of his position as he lands and folds back his wings. He is as free as, well, a bird, while they are trapped in the same skies.
But he cannot afford to pity them. The Sky Cells are reserved for the most dangerous inmates, and they’d love to clip his wings.

“the bird cage” by waferboard is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Come see me at The Better Off Read Summer Book Festival in Lewiston, NY on 9/5/26!

Everyday Drabbles © 2019-2026 Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Thanks for reading!