Parrot

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This is a cryptic story!

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I've just started living on my own.
To combat loneliness, I've also started keeping a parrot as a pet.

The parrot soon began to copy my greeting phrases.
Every morning it greets me "good morning," and every night it greets me "welcome home." 

It's such an intelligent creature.

Comments

Unknown said…
I've read this several time and i still don't get it...
Anonymous said…
is it because he is living on his own, yet the parrot copy his greeting phrases which include "welcome home." so who is he welcoming..? it's either something non-human or he's mad..
gads said…
Or the parrot imitate 'something' in his house that always greet the owner in its own way.
RRayhan S said…
OH! somehow it's kinda similar with what happened in the TV anime ANOTHER, from eps 1 there's a parrot named Rei-chan living together with main protagonist's grandparent house which always said, 「レイちゃん、どうして?どうして?おはよう!」 and it's cryptic too, as the component of it's horror storylines =))







......and i am Rei indeed LOL
nunu said…
If the parrot is copying him, then who does he welcome back home?
Or is the parrot copying something else that welcomes him home?
Woo.. creepy indeed.
Very interesting, Saya-san. Thank you.
Cepul said…
So, from what I can stumble out, I think it's cryptic in the way that he greets somebody. Maybe the good morning isn't that odd (he could be welcoming the parrot?) but...the fact that he "welcomes something home" - that's strange. We're not too entirely sure what it could be, but...well. It could be anything. A spirit, an imaginary friend, maybe the persona misses his old family members? Who knows?
mossy hemisphere said…
at least that "something" is polite
FA19Hon said…
Well, if it copies the man's greeting phrases, we'd have to assume it's the parrot that comes back home, maybe because the man lets it fly?
Or perhaps we have been looking too much into it and he taught the parrot to say "welcome home" to him so he wouldn't feel lonely?
Kame Genbugan said…
Eh.
Else we could go silly and the parrot sometimes goes for a trip and the owner welcomes him back when he returns? Haha.
Vrai Un said…
Thé parrot could just be saying "welcomé home" to thé lad because he works and returns home at night. But thé parrot copies him so when/who would thé lad be saying "welcome home" to unless he's telling thé parrot that as he returns home.
PS: sorry for thé accent marks
Yaviva said…
Okay, so this took me a while...

If the parrot was copying what he/she said and he/she lived alone then who the heck was he/she welcoming??

But maybe he/she just taught the parrot to welcome he/she home.

Yup. I'll take that, it's much less creepier.

Oops! Sorry for the 'he/she', it's because I didn't know what gender the person was...
blackrealm said…
............uh?
i dont get this one.
Anonymous said…
It took a few reads to get it, but the "Welcome home" is what doesn't fit at all. He wouldn't say that to the parrot, so it copied it from someone or something else!
Unknown said…
Hi, I'm Seet...
During my work, I notice your blog accidentally and started reading the stories you posted from the lastest to the oldest...
And, it was so nice...Compare to others ghost stories blog I found, in my opinion you are the best...
Waiting for updates and take care of your Health, thanks..
Anonymous said…
I think the parrot should be saying "I'm home!" instead of "Welcome home!" right?
BlueRio said…
I think the parrot welcoming "someone" into the house instead of the owner since the one who take care of the parrot were live in the house alone..
One theory I read online is as follows:

The first premise is that the narrator didn't consciously teach the parrot how to talk, but the parrot just copied whatever it heard the narrator say.

The second premise is that the narrator is living alone, so he would NOT say "welcome home."

The conclusion, therefore, is that the parrot copied it from some other source.

But from what source?
One theory says that the parrot might have learnt the words from a stalker who breaks into the house while the narrator is away.

Or the source might be some unknown non-human entity, as you readers postulated! :D


@Carrie Depulveda: I hope you're able to enjoy the story more now that other people have shared their theories with us!


@Anon (6 Jan): You were very quick to recognise the strangeness in the story!


@gads: Yep! Very possible! :)


@REI: Oh! You know a lot of anime, dear. That's pretty creepy what the parrot said. If I had a parrot and it said something like that to me, I would just throw it out of the window! XD

Well, Rei, I hope YOU don't have a parrot! XD


@nunu: Scary isn't it? :D I'm glad I managed to creep you out! Thanks for your comment, dear!
Anonymous said…
Haha! Good story Saya, a bit scary if i was the author i would've noticed something was wrong straight away i would move out! Thamks again

Melody :)
Sadae said…
I'm always tempted to read the comments before I post, but not this time lol...
So, this person lives alone...and the parrot says "welcome home"? If the guy/gal lives alone, s/he wouldn't have anyone to say "welcome home" to, and this can only mean the parrot is listening to someone else greets the person home. Except, if the person lives alone...it's a ghost! Creepy and a bit cute...whoever taught the parrot to say "welcome home" must like the narrator...for now...
@Cepul: Yes, maybe it's the narrator not the parrot who's saying something odd.


@mossy hemisphere: Indeed! :D


@Alejandro Jawerbaum: Yes, it could be that we're reading too much into it, but I always like creepier explanations! XD


@Kame Genbugan: Maybe!! It must be a clever parrot that comes home by itself!


@Vrai Un: Not to worry! I love all the accent marks! XD
@Yaviva: That's OK I know the gender issue can become really annoying. I've just written an essay today and I was initially writing "he or she" every time there was a need to write it, but in the end I thought what's the heck, I'll just write "he" instead of "he/she" in the traditional way. It just makes it so much easier to read.


@HN3: Don't worry! I hope other people's comments have been helpful!


@Anon (7 Jan): That's right, sweetie!


@Kiko kent: Hi! How are you?
Wow you're reading this during your work? Don't let your boss find out! haha. I'm very glad you find the blog interesting though. I'm really flattered.
Thanks a lot for leaving a comment, and you take care too! <3


@Anon (8 Jan): Yep, that's how it should be! It looks like the bird is intelligent but the owner isn't!


@BlueRio: Yes, maybe there's someone in the house who takes care of the bird while the owner is away! Someone the owner doesn't know...


@Melody: I have a friend called Melody too. haha I'm chatting to her on Line right now.
Thanks for your comment and the big smile :D


@Sadae: Oh your comment is creepy. The last words "whoever taught the parrot say welcome home must like the narrator.. for now..." sent chills down my spine! haha Because if this someone stops liking the narrator then what happens? Scary to think about it, eh?


THANKS ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS!! Take care!! :D <3
Petzie said…
The parrot is greeting "welcome home" at night? Who is he welcoming home when maybe the owner is sleeping at that moment...?


Nice story, saya san! Can't tell you how much i misses your posts! Akemashite omedetouuu! Please pray for me so I can go to Japan this year!! Hihihi #sorandom

GReat to see youuu!!
Rika said…
I just wonder that the parrot is actually welcoming his "doppelganger"?and his "doppelganger" wait until the right time to kill him....?or stalk him every night?


anyway,this cryptic story is short but still interesting.Thanks Saya!
Rika said…
I just wonder that the parrot is actually welcoming his "doppelganger" at night?Maybe his doppelganger stalking him every night?



This cryptic story is short but still interesting.Thanks Saya!
Pixie said…
Ahh! I figured it out! It took me a bit because we don't really greet each other in my home, haha, but I've seen this exchange frequently in Japanese media...

I'm guessing that the words are "tadaima" and "okaeri," right? In Japan, someone would come in and say, "tadaima" (I'm home) and someone else in the home would respond "okaeri" (welcome home). Person A says they're home, Person B welcomes them. So, if he lives alone... who is saying okaeri?!

Unless he's just so lonely that he says it to himself. Poor man. xD
Anonymous said…
Hmm... I can only conclude that the parrot didn't mimic either "Good morning" or "Welcome home" and has been responding to its owner on its own, possessed or otherwise.
O_o
Anonymous said…
This is a story that doesn't translate terrible well to English, as the greetings are specific in Japanese to who is saying what to who and when. I assume the parrot is saying 'iterasshai/okaeri' and the owner is saying 'itekimasu/tadaima', and the creepy is where is the parrot learning to say the greeting/farewell that is said to the person leaving.
@tabithagrow: Actually the parrot is saying "ohayo" which means good morning,and when the narrator comes back it says "okaeri" which means welcome home.The creepy bit is where the parrot learns how to say "welcome home"
Rozaline Jin said…
uhh this one is creepy thou..btw how are you Saya, haven't been here in awhile.. since you've set your blogs private before . lots of good new stories i see. Xoxo have a wonderful year, dear =)
"G" said…
Let's try with more logical approach.

The author stated that he started keeping a parrot as a pet... to combat loneliness.

My guess is that the author tried to train the parrot, saying "Good morning," everytime in the morning, and "Welcome home," in the night.

This "Welcome home," is the scary part, yes, but do you know some parrots know how to respond back... like, a greeting?

Maybe the author said, "I'm home," and then trained the parrot to respond by saying, "Welcome home."

Maybe, just maybe. Sorry, it's just my stupid logical theory since my uncle has a parrot with him that can mimic and respond too, which is awesome, in my opinion.

Anywho, keep doing what thou is destined to do (posting stories), Saya-san!
Unknown said…
I think the question is not who the parrot is greeting, but who or what is welcoming the narrator back home.
Unknown said…
It would be scary but then something that says "welcome home" to a loner everyday cant be that bad