Echo Song

These mornings I have to myself are the best! I don't have to go to work, don't have to babysit for my brother, I can just piddle around the house. The first thing I usually do on mornings like this is turn up the music and clean. I put on whatever I feel in the mood for and just sing my heart out to it. This morning I'm deep cleaning the fridge. It's not the most pleasant of Saturday chores but the music is a distraction enough that I don't really mind. I'm scrubbing away at a sticky spot on the lowest shelf and belting it out to my favorite country song when I hear something... an echo? Maybe. It stopped right after I paused my singing in surprise. I continue scrubbing and get back in to the music, resuming the song. There it is again! It's singing with me? I stop working and stand up slowly, a bit freaked out. After all, I live alone in my own house. I can't afford much of one on my zookeeper salary but it's not haunted that I know of. What's going on? I start to sing agai, waiting for the sounds this time. As I hear the other voice, I continue singing, a bit softly, and start to silently stalk around my little dwelling to see if I can figure out where this is coming from. It must have a source. Maybe my nephews walkie-talkie is on and he's pranking with me? I search around but can't seem to pinpoint it. Every room I go to, it seems the voice moves. What is going on? I'm starting to get rather anxious, as this mystery voice is worrying me. I stop singing to catch my voice which hasnsuddenly begun breaking. "Oh no, my meds!" I think. I just had my meds changed, and I can't tell you how many meds have hallucinations as a side effect. "But am I really going crazy? Am I just hearing things?" It seemed to make a lot of sense... the voice parroting me and moving as I was without being in the house. This is very bad, I need to call my doc and at least leave a message. I turn the music down and sit at the kitchen table, not caring that the fridge door is still open. I try to steady my nerves and shaking hands as I start to dial my doctors office weekend number. I try to explain my symptoms to the answering machine as quickly as I can, knowing it will cut off after mere seconds, and it does. I'm halfway through a thought when I hear the beep to signal my time is up and the call is terminated. It feels somewhat like my lifeline has been cut. I start to tear, panicked and half convinced I'm crazy. I look up in a bit of a daze, see a bird at the open window across from me and go back to my self doubt. What!? The reality of what I saw just sunk in... the mynah bird I work with the most at the zoo is in my window! I stand up slowly so as not to spook her, and move to another room. I start to sing and I hear her flutter to the ground beneath the window in this room. She starts to sing with me and I laugh. "You crazy girl, you scared me!" I remarked gently to her as I made my way outside to collect the runaway. I don't know how she found my house, or how she got out to start with, but at least I dont feel like I'm hallucinating anymore. "Oh crap!" I hurried back inside with the talented bird and re-dialed my doctor's number, leaving a very calm and apologetic message in attempts to negate the rediculous one from minutes before. I grab my work bag and badge, and cat carrier for the escape artist. Closing my fridge door on the way out, I chuckle a bit as I head back to work, knowing I'm going to have quite the story to tell my boss... and probably my doctor!