Missing May-May

When we went to the Crocodile Farm recently, my daughter had the time of her life with the Mynah bird there. While my daughter was laughing, I actually cried a bit because I remembered something in the past... our very own Mynah bird named May-May (pronounced My-My).

I don't recall the exact date, but I still remember the day when my dad brought home a Mynah bird. I was in high school then and had no idea what a Mynah was. I also wasn't that excited seeing the bird for the first time. To me, it looked like a crow with a yellow "collar" at its back, nothing special about it. I didn't even believe my dad when he first told us that it was a talking bird. Back then, the only talking bird for me was a parrot.

It took quite a while for May-May to learn a few words and a few sentences. What amazed me over the years was that May-May did not only learn the words or sentences that she often hears, she was also able to mimic the tone of the voices. From our househelp's high pitched voice, to my dad's low tone, May-May was able to nail it. Every single person in the household became a victim of May-May at one point or another. My moment was when I was home alone sick, and I heard a man say ayo, which means "anybody home?" I immediately jumped off from the bed, opened the door and said, "Yes, how may I help you?" only that there was no one there. And right at the exact moment when I realized I've just been had by a talking bird, I heard May-May give out a big laugh. Now, I'm not saying that she has mind of her own, but she definitely is on time and on target with her comments and punchlines.

Whenever we had trips and we brought May-May along, she would become an instant hit. We got so used to having May-May greet us every morning when we open our door and windows, and to talk to herself during afternoons when the house is silent. May-May became a member of our family.

When my daughter arrived and joined our family, May-May was able to mimic her cries and laughs. I was already looking forward to seeing them learning new words together, but alas, when my daughter was eight months old, May-May passed away. She just fell dead one day inside her cage. After making so many people happy, May-May's time was finally up. My only regret is that she didn't live long enough for my daughter.

I miss May-May more now that I've seen how the Mynah bird at the Crocodile Farm made my daughter very, very happy. Wherever she is now, I'm sure she's still making everyone around her happy 'coz that's who she is.