A noise wakes me up or maybe I was just getting to a restless stage of sleep. I keep my eyes shut and focus on trying to get back to sleep. I start to drift but the noise continues. It’s a kind of ruffling noise. I’m thinking Elisa’s balloon is being pushed up against a wall but I don’t remember her balloon being in my bedroom. I try to sleep again but the noise continues so I start to wake myself up. As I reach for the light switch the sounds become clearer. I think it could be some kind of animal like a mouse or rat on the floor. I flip the switch and see a black bird circling the room. I let a kind of low scream that isn’t exactly masculine and after the bird flies past the doorway I zip out of the room.  After a few minutes in the living room, I decide to do the reasonable thing. Shut the door to the bedroom and sleep on the couch.

A little bit later Yang, who has been sleeping in the adjourning bedroom with Elisa, gets up to go to the bathroom.  She sees me on the coach and says “you’re here” and I say “there’s a bird flying in the bedroom” and she says “oh” and goes back to sleep.

The next morning there is no sign of the bird. Aidan, Lydia, and especially Elisa are looking for the bird. Yang is questioning how the bird got in the house, after all the windows only open a crack and all have screens. The subject of it being a dream – I correct hallucination -- is brought up. I tell Yang that neither situation is good, we either have a dead bird in the house or I am seeing things. She seems more worried about the dead bird so we search the bedroom, high and low, and do not find anything. Later in the day Aidan finds some animal droppings like a mouse would make, but that was it.

The next night there is no way I am sleeping in the room so Yang’s mom gladly takes it. When morning comes and Yang’s mom reports no bird. Nothing. That I must have seen something that wasn’t there. I won’t say I questioned myself, but I did do some internet searches on black birds flying in your bedroom and let’s just say it’s not a good omen.

Then about 3pm today I am driving with Yang when her cell rings. It is Aidan. They found a bat. Under a cushion. It is alive.

By the time Yang and I get home they had transitioned the bat to a left over spaghetti takeout container.  I don’t mind having had missed on it. The bat was small with a mouse’s body and the web like wings you imagine. We were not quite sure what to do with it so Aidan and Cui Ayi took it to property management. When Aidan tried to give it to the woman working there, she screamed and ran out of the office. The next one was scared too and back away. The third thought the bat was cool.

And I’m just wondering about the bat’s friends.