“Who is this?” Lyam quickly asked a follow up question, confused and surprised by the unexpected voice on the line. He looked around the office and even out the window, wondering if something was wrong with the phone line, or if someone was pranking him somehow.

“I am here to check on your wellbeing, you seem very busy recently.” A female’s voice answered, her warm and calm tone felt familiar to the heron.

Upon hearing that, Lyam can only assume this was a telemarketer. The heron let out a tired sigh. "I don't need any insurance, doll. Try someone else." And after his reply, he hung up the phone and turned back to his cases. It wasn’t until after an hour or two did he remember his original goal to call Wilson, wanting to ask him for more information on the plates. Without a second thought, the heron picked up the phone once more. Holding the receiver up to his ear, he was about to dial when he heard the voice speaking up again. 

“Oh? Did you change your mind?” The caller asked instantly with the same calm tone.

Lyam felt nothing but irritation and frustration. “Listen, Lady. I- Whatever you’re selling, I ain’t buying. Okay? Now leave me alone, I need to call a friend.” He promptly hung up once more, almost slamming it down. Noticing how aggressive he was acting, he knew he had to take a deep breath before picking up the phone again. As he waited for himself to calm down, he rubbed his beak, trying to relax. To aid his nerves, he took a gulp of alcohol as well. And once he finally felt at ease, he picked up the phone. 

“Well… I am not selling anything. I really am worried about your wellbeing, as it is important.” She said, continuing the conversation as if it never ended.

  “What the-” Lyam didn’t even hear what the lady on the other side of the line said, all he knew was that his work flow had been interrupted for the third time in a row, all due to some mysterious individual being on the line. “Do you have a habit of harassing married birds, hen?! Get lost!” He yelled at the phone and slammed it down back onto the base. 

He could only assume that when he rented this office, the landlord conveniently left out the little detail that the phone line wasn’t separate or something, and he’d have to take money out of his own pocket to get this issue fixed. The heron buried his face into his hands and let out a loud groan. After a few moments of quiet and a few more gulps of alcohol, he held the phone up to his ear once more, knowing what to expect.

“Do know, I have no intentions in doing such things. I just want to help, you can tell me whatever is on your mind. For example, how is your work?” The voice asked, trying to find a topic to get the bird to open up.

Lyam scoffed, finding this whole thing preposterous. “If I need someone to listen to me ramble, I’ll go to that club downtown.” He briefly paused to remember the lovely singer and her sweet voice. “I don’t need the assistance of some stranger that’s hogging the landline!” He aggressively cut the conversation short and didn’t want to wait long before trying again. He was this close to using the law to get the caller to stop harassing him.

The detective stared at the phone. He felt like his expectations and his wishes weren’t going to line up. It almost felt like a gambling situation now, where perhaps, at some point, he would be able to hit the jackpot of the ‘phone lines being cleared’. He rubbed his hands with anticipation, as if it would bring him better luck before picking up the receiver. 

“Well, I won’t stop you from finding other ways to get assistance, as long as-” The female tried to explain before being cut off.

“Aaaah! Forget it!” The heron slammed the phone down. The loud clanging sound fully expressed his anger and impatience. He gave up then and there, deciding that it was best if he just went back to work. No more of this back and forth nonsense. If the issue doesn’t improve tomorrow, he’ll have a word with the landlord and get it fixed. 

Despite the promise to himself, days have passed, and he didn’t try to fix the problem. It was instead, filled with drinking and drugs while the late night radio played, filling the room with Maggie Berrybush’s singing. If the radio wasn’t playing her songs, then Lyam would head to the bar to listen. One late night, the detective came stumbling back into his office, trying to make his way towards the phone. He was roaring drunk, but nothing was going to stop him from calling his wife. He was guilt-ridden about how long it has been since he contacted them.  

“Oh, Lyam! Are you ready to talk about what’s on your mind?” The lady’s voice returned, sounding as if they were surprised.

It’s been a while since he had picked up the phone and heard anyone speak before dialing. It made him jump out of his seat in terror, only to have his experience with this mysterious person come back to him a few seconds later. The moment filled him with rage. “What the f- How are you still-” He looked around, and even out the window, wondering if it was a neighbor that was pranking him. 

“It is more like I have been waiting for you to-” She said before being cut off once more.

With how intoxicated Lyam was, he couldn’t even take in what was being said to him. But something in his head clicked as he listened to this mysterious caller talking. “Wait a minute!” He said, now excited as his attention came to a more pleasant assumption. “Are you the singer from the club? Th- uuuuuuuh Maggie? Maggie Berrybush! The cute sparrow gal, that’s you, right?!” 

“N-No… Umm… My name is Dr. Lylaniff Aplcaitien, but you can just call me ‘Red’. I am sorry if that disappoints you.” The newly introduced voice politely replied, hoping to clear up any confusion.

“Red…” Lyam lingered on the word as his mind drifted off, for a split second there, it felt like he was floating on air. “I like red.” 

“Then tell me,” A slight chuckle could be heard as Red talked. “What do you like about the color?” she asked. 

“Huh- What?” The heron snapped back into reality, realizing how stupid he must’ve sounded. “Wait…” He wiped his face to clear his head. “Why are you still on the phone? Do you ever hang up or am I just that unlucky?” 

“I am only here because you need help, Lyam.” Red answered, “You being able to hear me is a call for help. So let me help you, tell me more about yourself.”

Lyam let out a huff of annoyance. He just remembered about his plans to get the landline fixed but never did. The heron leaned forward in his chair, almost spacing out as he felt his body radiating with heat. He could feel the warmth leaving his body. “Are you… wait, what did you say?” He then sat up and asked. “You said ‘Doctor’. You’re a doctor?” 

“Yes, I am. A psychologist to be exact.” Red replied, her voice was cheerful and energetic, but soft and delicate at the same time. “I am here to help you better understand your problems, and-”

The avian couldn’t help but scoff and sneer at the caller. “A Psychologist?” He leaned onto his chair, an expression of entertainment appeared on his face, finding the very idea funny. “So you’re not a real doctor.” He scoffed.

“I assure you that I am just as good as any physician.” Red said confidently, “I am one before becoming a Psychologist.” 

“Ha! Sure, sure.” Lyam said with a dismissive tone. His hand even waved her off as if she was in the room standing next to him. “So how does this work? Do I just tell you my problem and… You do what? How do you make them go away?” He asked, now that he was amused and the ‘Psychologist’ had grabbed his attention. 

“I help by offering some advice, a better way to see things, or even just to listen to you vent any frustrations.” Red explained, “No judgments, just say anything you want. I am here to listen. Not a word leaves this line.”

Those words tickled the detective’s interest. He sat up straight in his chair, now wanting to find out if her claims were true. He had experiences in the past with his friends, where they would promise that he could rant anything to them and they would listen. But in the end, that was never true. They would take his rants and rambles personally. He lost a lot of friends this way. Though with this ‘Red’ person, it might not be so bad. It’s just a stranger, who cares if she gossips to other people about him. And if he loses her attention through his boring rambling, then that’s another problem solved. 

“Anything, huh? Boy, do I have a lot to say! You better sit your pretty little butt down, because you’re going to be here for a while!” The heron stood up from his seat and started pacing. At first, he hesitated on letting loose, and even questioned what he could say to her. Perhaps he should speak about his dissatisfaction with the city and the local government. Because as much as he didn’t want to admit, he was somewhat glad that somebody in this blasted city wanted to hear him talk about how things can and should be better.

The avian started to ramble about it all. The city, the tourists, about how the people in charge are pouring money into the newly built area but the citizens of the old districts are getting little to nothing. 

“I believe your frustrations are valid, it is only right for people to expect help from their government, and I doubt the tourists are not hel-” Red’s comment was interrupted by the sound of a snore. Lyam’s heavy breathing signified how drained he was so the doctor let him rest.

The exhausted heron slept through the whole night. Nothing was waking him, not the sound of the cars zooming through the streets or even the sound of the phone making a loud clang as it dropped from his hands.