Poppy the parrot

 Elsie was a graphic designer who worked from Long Circular Road home. She was kind, creative, and always had sunflower seeds for Poppy, but lately something had changed. She stopped singing in the mornings. She skipped lunch. And she never, ever closed her laptop. Work had become an endless scroll of emails, edits, and exhaustion.

Poppy watched from her perch on the bookshelf as Elsie stared at her screen for hours, barely blinking, her coffee going cold beside her. She chirped, fluttered, and even danced in circles on the keyboard, but Elsie only smiled weakly and said, “Later, Pops. I have to finish one more thing.”

But “one more thing” turned into all-day marathons of busyness. Poppy knew something had to be done.

One gray afternoon, as Elsie typed away for the seventh hour straight, Poppy tilted her head and spotted the glowing power button on the side of the computer. It had always intrigued her, but now… it felt important.

She launched from her perch and flitted over to the desk. With a little hop and a determined peck, she tapped the button.

The screen went black.

Elsie blinked. “Poppy! What happen to you—?”

But before she could finish, silence settled over the room. No pings. No flashing notifications. Just the soft ticking of the wall clock and the gentle rustle of the trees outside.

Elsie stared at the dark screen. Then at Poppy. Then… she laughed. Really laughed for the first time in weeks.

“You know what, Pops? Maybe you’re right.”

That afternoon, Elsie made tea, opened a window, and let Poppy ride on her shoulder as they watched the clouds roll by. She took the rest of the day off, not because she had nothing left to do, but because she finally understood being busy wasn’t the same as being happy.

From that day on, Poppy became the Keeper of the Computer. If Elsie worked too long, Poppy would chirp her warning. And if Elsie ignored it? Well, let’s just say that little green beak was never afraid of the power button.

And so, balance was restored by a wise parakeet who knew that sometimes, the most important thing you can do is turn it all off and come back to life.