P for publication, that is. Tomorrow, Jana Bibi’s Excellent Fortunes gets released. Makes you think: while the books have been sitting in boxes in warehouses, have they gotten restless? Are they like prisoners waiting to get out of jail? Zoo animals trying to escape from their cages? Or are they like pet birds that seem tame enough until someone leaves a door open—and then, out they fly?

A few months ago, my sister Lee sent me this Victorian birdcage. I found a tiny parrot figurine to go with it—not an Indian ringneck, like Mr. Ganguly in the book, but at least it was green. It looked pretty forlorn in the cage, though, so instead, I placed it right outside the door. Both cage and bird are sitting on top of the refrigerator.

Photo credit: Betsy Woodman

In the book, Mr. Ganguly greets the customers coming into Jana Bibi’s fortune-telling salon in several different languages. The bird on top of the refrigerator doesn’t say a cotton-pickin’ word, at least not in my presence. It’s not flying away any time soon.

But it is performing a function. It’s sticking around to amuse me and provide inspiration. Well, back to work!