Short Story (1) Halfway up Pike’s Pass, I could hear Grandpa halloo-ing from all the way down by the cabin. Grandpa is not as spry as he used to be, and he took a fall last winter that left him with a limp. Even so, he can still kick up a lot of noise. The more agitated he gets, the louder the noise he makes. And today was a day to be agitated.

(2) The lady from the agency was coming to talk to Grandpa about going to an old age home. Grandpa is polite enough most of the time. He starts to lose his manners, though, when that lady tries to talk him into moving. The way Grandpa sees it, she wants him to trade his cabin in the mountains for some tiny room with people telling him what to do all day long. And that is something he just will not do. Grandpa needs the mountains, his freedom, all that sky around him. From the top of Pike’s Summit, the sky looks as big as the world. Up there, you feel as if you are floating in an ocean of blue among the cloud-islands.(3) “That’s all right, boy,” I said to Hamilton. Hearing Grandpa down below, Hamilton was starting to get agitated himself. He isn’t that big, but when he gets restless, his claws can dig into my arm and he can throw me off balance.

(4) Hamilton is a hawk I found injured on the mountain two winters ago. Grandpa and I nursed him back to health as best we could. The folks at the raptor center told us, though, that he wasn’t likely to fully recover use of his wings or his vision. He can get airborne for a short distance, but he has difficulty steering and comes back pretty quick. I wonder sometimes if he feels a little like he is trapped or in prison. I take him outside with me any chance I get. I can tell, though, that Hamilton is like Grandpa. He wants his freedom, more than anything else.

(5) “All right, Hamilton,” I said. “It sounds like Grandpa needs us back.” Grandpa is pretty much all the family I have, and I feel I need to take care of him as best I can