The Back Yard of Clara the Clutz

The Back Yard was never the same after Clara arrived. Elspeth looked around her, to see if anyone was in the vicinity, then lowered her voice. "I know you have feelings for her," she accused, but there was a strange note of understanding in her voice. "She's special to you, isn't she, Jay?""Well ..." I felt a lump in my throat."You really like her, don't you?""Doesn't everyone?" I challenged."After this hard winter, yes," said Elspeth. "I don't know how we would have gotten through the bitter cold and biting winds if she hadn't shared with us all that she had. But you, Jay ... you think of her in a completely different light.""You don't know," I snapped, still annoyed."Nothing's going to change that either," scolded Elspeth."She's not like other birds," I cried, "she's special like you say. She isn't afraid of the Humans, and she has power over the Old-Black-One and the Raw-Boned Feline. She tells me things I've never thought about."