One sunny morning, Mimi the Coppersmith Barbet decided that she had seen every flower in the forest.
Fluffing her bright green feathers, she said to herself, “I want to see new forests and taste different fruits.”
So she spread her wings and flew. She flew over tall trees, rested on a branch now and then, pecked at a juicy fruit, and then flew again.
Soon she reached a quiet neighbourhood where the city met the forest.

Everything looked different. The trees stood in neat rows. Flowers grew in colourful pots instead of the ground. She saw humans and wondered who were these strange creatures who walked everywhere on two legs.
Mimi blinked in surprise.
“Why are these giant birds walking instead of flying?” she whispered. “Where are their feathers?”
Just then, something caught her eye. A large shiny window. And sitting right in the middle of it was the most beautiful Coppersmith Barbet she had ever seen. Its feathers shimmered in the sunlight. Its eyes sparkled. Its beak looked perfect.
“Hello!” chirped Mimi.
“Hello!” chirped the other bird.
Mimi smiled.
“You are so pretty!”
The other bird smiled too. Mimi hopped closer. The other bird hopped closer. Mimi puffed up her feathers. The other bird puffed up its feathers. Mimi tilted her head. The stranger tilted its head.
Mimi giggled. “You are very cute!”
From that day on, every morning Mimi flew all the way from the forest to visit her new friend.
She sang songs. Her friend sang along with her. She danced. Her friend danced exactly the same way.
She even brought tiny flower petals as gifts. But somehow, her new friend never picked them up.
“She must be very shy,” thought Mimi.
Inside the house lived a little girl named Mili.
Every morning she peeked from behind the curtains.
“Mummy,” she whispered excitedly, “the little bird has come back!”
Together they watched Mimi chatting happily with the bird in the window.
Mili giggled. “She’s talking to herself!”
Her mother smiled.
“Should we tell her?”
Her mother shook her head.
“No, let her discover the secret herself.”

One afternoon, dark clouds gathered overhead. Rain splashed against the window. Tiny drops covered the glass. When Mimi arrived, she stopped with a gasp.
Her friend had disappeared! She looked left. She looked right. She flew up. She flew down. But there was no one in the window.
“Oh dear,” sighed Mimi. “Where did my friend go?”
A little while later, the rain stopped. The clouds drifted away. The sun came out. The window sparkled once more. And there was her friend again.
Just then, another Coppersmith Barbet landed on a nearby tree.
“Who are you talking to?” he asked.
“My friend,” said Mimi proudly.
The little barbet looked at the window and then at Mimi.
“Oh, Mimi,” he chuckled. “That’s your own reflection.”
Mimi blinked. She looked at the window. Then she looked at herself. She looked back at the window again. Slowly, a smile spread across her face. She stuck out her tongue.
The bird in the window stuck out its tongue too. She flapped one wing. The other bird flapped one wing.

“I have been flying all this way, just to visit myself,” she giggled,
She looked one last time at the pretty bird in the glass and winked. The bird winked back. Mimi spread her wings and flew home, shaking her head and smiling.

Story and photos by Prerna Jain.