want to come to me, but being that they are locked in a cage, they can’t.”
“You believe that those birds want out of their cage and to go to you?” Dr. Pendell questioned.
“I know for a fact that is what they want,” Ellen assured him. “Birds, animals and rodents are attracted to me, my dad and his brother… and my uncle’s kids. Before the accident, they were attracted to my grandpa, my brothers and my sister too. Anyway, the psychic’s vision was about certain types of birds that were flocking around my dad’s house, and the psychic had mistakenly taken his vision as a bad bird omen. So my dad’s… and even my grandpa’s mistake was thinking that bird omens applied to our family without considering the fact that we naturally attract birds.”
“You honestly believe that you and your family attract birds?” Dr. Pendell questioned.
“Again, it’s a fact; not a belief, and if you want proof then open the door to the birdcage and see what happens,” Ellen said before gesturing towards the exit. “Detective Delaney and Everett know that about me too, so if you don’t want to open the birdcage then go ask them.”
Dr. Pendell stared skeptically at Ellen for a short time before standing. He shot a thoughtful look towards the door before turning and walking towards the birdcage.
“Normally I wouldn’t indulge such claims, but your claim definitely has me curious,” Dr. Pendell said as he stepped up to the cage. “And it will be easy to prove or disprove.” Dr. Pendell then went to open the birdcage.
The cage door was barely wide enough for the finches to get out when the two squeezed through the small opening and flew directly to Ellen. One landed on Ellen’s right shoulder as the other landed on her right leg at the knee.
“Well I’ll be!” Dr. Pendell uttered in an impressed tone.
Ellen grinned. Her expression then turned serious before saying, “I’m pissed off at my dad because my dad should’ve known better than to believe that bird omens applied to us.”
Dr. Pendell nodded in an understanding manner before asking, “How difficult will it be to get these birds back into their cage?”
Ellen thought for a second before saying, “Let’s find out.”
Ellen cupped her hands beneath the finch that was on her leg and scooped it up. The finch responded comfortably to being picked up by Ellen, and while holding the finch in her cupped hands, Ellen stood up.
The finch that was on Ellen’s shoulder just shifted its balance over Ellen’s movements, and as Ellen walked towards the birdcage the finch continued to shift its balance.
Once Ellen stepped up to the birdcage, she gently put the finch that she had in her hands into the cage. The finch went into the cage with little protest. Ellen then went to scoop up the finch that was on her right shoulder with her left hand. As with the first finch, the second finch responded comfortably to Ellen, and had gone into Ellen’s left hand before being scooped up.
Dr. Pendell was watching Ellen’s every move and the finches’ reactions to it, and once the finches were back in their cage, with the cage door close, he said, “If I didn’t know better I would swear that you had those two birds trained.”
Ellen just shot Dr. Pendell an amused grin.
Dr. Pendell then gestured towards the couch while saying, “Anyway, we should continue.”
Ellen nodded before turning and walking back towards the couch. After reaching the couch, Ellen hesitated to sit while looking at the painting on the wall.
Dr. Pendell saw what she was looking at and shared, “My son painted that picture.”
Ellen shot Dr. Pendell a grin while saying, “That’s a nice painting. Your son is talented.”
As Ellen and Dr. Pendell were retaking their seats, Dr. Pendell said, “He is talented, and I’m very glad that he had refused to listen to me on what he should’ve majored in at the university.”
Ellen gave Dr. Pendell a curious look while saying, “I’m guessing that he had studied art and that you didn’t want him to.”
Dr. Pendell was noticing that the two finches were quieter than before while saying, “At the time when he was studying art, I thought it was a waste of time. I told him that art was a hobby, and I’m happy that he had proven me wrong. And while on the subject of people proving things to me, I have to admit that the birds seem calmer after being allowed to go to you.”
Ellen glanced towards the finches while agreeing, “They do. I had even enjoyed that.”
Dr. Pendell grinned before continuing with, “Anyway, to get back on track, let’s talk more about your dad.”
“What more is there to talk about?” Ellen questioned.
“Other than you being angry at your dad for him thinking that bird omens would apply to you and your family, how is your relationship with him?”
“Better since my brother’s funeral, but still not like most father/daughter relationships.”
“Describe your relationship with your father,” Dr. Pendell requested.
Ellen took a breath before saying, “He loves me, and he would spend time with me if I would request time with him. However, I’m always on guard when I’m around him, so I try not to spend that much time around him.”
“Why are you always on guard around him?”
Ellen thought of her answer for a moment before saying, “Before I was born, my dad had worked for a crime lord in Kansas City, Missouri. Four years ago he had decided to share his life story with me. His life story had frightened me and that was when I decided that I want very little to do with him.”
“Does your dad still work for that crime lord?”
“No,” Ellen replied while shaking her head. “He went to prison over the deaths of my siblings and when he got out thirteen years later, he went straight. He works at a warehouse in Independence, Missouri.”
“Do you talk with him at all?”
“I haven’t spoken with him verbally since I had moved here to Savannah, Georgia, but we do send each other Emails. And currently, corresponding by Emails is really the only comfortable relationship I have with my dad.”
“Okay,” Dr. Pendell said while making a notation in his notes. “Getting back to your mom, what was your relationship with your mom like?”
“Good,” Ellen began. “We did a lot of activities together. Although, I believe that most of what we had done were diversions in order for her to keep her mind off of all the family members that she had lost.”
“Your siblings?” Dr. Pendell questioned.
“My siblings, her brother and parents,” Ellen replied. “The other two children that she had wanted to have after me and never did.”
“Your mom had wanted additional children?” Dr. Pendell quickly questioned.
“My mom had wanted to have a total of eight
