Riki's Happy Place

Kati Lacey Illustration

Banbury, Oxfordshire, GB

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A few weeks ago on a sunny Thursday morning we heard an exotic bird by the back door and soon saw a bright yellow parakeet looking through the window inquisitively. There was no question about it, he was going to come in! And he did. He had lots of food and drink and by the evening we were able to give him shelter in the form of a large cage that someone in the neighbourhood was selling that afternoon. We've had him since - we named him Riki, short for the Maori name of his breed, kakariki. He soon took to his new home and is very fond of the hibiscus tree that my grandmother planted back in Hungary - the only plant that has been following me round wherever we've moved in the last 12 years. Riki is a joy! I've drawn his happy place. (For the record, we have been trying to find his owner to no avail.)