It's not easy being a turtle dove.

Humans have high expectations of us, it seems. To be pretty and to make cute little cooing noises. To represent everlasting love, because we doves, we mate for life.

I'm one of the few doves that hasn't. I've had plenty of opportunities to, with those male doves trying to woo me and flatter me. But another male has already caught my eye.

A human male.

It's pathetic, really, to be fawning over a male from a completely different species. I don't really even understand what it is about him that fascinates me so.

Yet, I feel myself wanting to be near him.

He comes to the park everyday, carrying a big, blank white board and a black bag filled with tubes of colors and sticks with bristles on the end of them. I perch on a branch in my favorite tree (a nice big oak with plenty of shade) and watch him, my tail feathers occasionally twitching in anticipation.

And on this day, it starts out the same.

He comes to the park and sets up his board, getting out the tubes of color and bristly brushes. I sit and watch him, waiting to see what funny patterns and shapes he'll put on the board today. He dips a brush in on of the colors and begins, and I'm entranced.

I fail to notice the smaller humans sneaking up behind the tree, arms cocked. In an instant something hard strikes me from behind and I fall, fall towards the ground. I cry out, making a chortled little noise, and I hit the ground. Thud. Ow.

I hear the little humans laughing, and I see the little rock they threw at me. I make an angry noise, wanting to to peck their eyes out. Then they'd really have something to laugh about, wouldn't they?

I try to get up, but my leg hurts, and I fall back down. I hear footsteps near me, can feel them vibrating in the ground, just barely. I feel scared, but then I see who's coming. It's the (my) human male. He shouts something at the little humans, his voice sounding angry. I can't understand what he says.

The little humans run off, and suddenly I'm picked up by two rough, calloused hands. The human male says something softly, tone gentle, and I look at him. A smile appears on his face.

My little heart goes thump, thump, thump.