Valence was not an electron, but rather a canary that arrived in the rain.

He was
highlighter bright, with those beady drops of eyes that birds tend to have. He was
announced by a roll of thunder, and came plummeting in a streak of orange to land at his
girl's feet.

The girl fell off the bench, to her knees, and cradled the bedraggled creature in her
hands. Felt  him fragile and small, heart racing against her palms, sharp feet curled up
into themselves. Tucking him inside her shirt and folding her arms about her, she stood
up in a fluid movement and took her bird home. This is how they chose each other.

She was neither keen nor astute, and called him Sparky even though that wasn't his
name. But a bird is not a choosy companion, and they suited each other well. In all
fairness, she couldn't be expected to know that he was Valence- he refused to make a
sound. Finding this greatly distressing, she sang to him constantly which, despite her
good intentions, only served to distress the neighbours. The truth was though, Valence
just didn't speak- the noises he could make always seemed so inadequate.

It started with face cream, then it got worse. The bottles started lining up by the sink,
crowding the dresser. The girl spent countless hours grooming, and the canary drooped
in his cage. She noticed though, and hung up a mirror and a bell for him. The singing
stopped, the radio came on, and she danced self-consciously while waiting for the phone
to ring. It would probably be most accurate to say that it started with Andy.

The girl shook out the carpets. Singing softly under her breath, she fluffed up the
cushions on the sofa, and then sat by the birdcage eating strawberries, pushing a sliver
through to Valence every now and again. The bird however, had other things on his
mind, namely the "cheep" that was forming in his throat. And while he was trying to
figure how to let that noise out, the doorbell rang and Andy sauntered in arrogantly
confidant as if he owned the place.

There were days and weeks that followed, and Valence's dislike of that boy only
increased with the passing time. Then one fateful morning as Valence was hopping
restlessly about his cage, the girl asked Andy if he'd like to have Sparky perch on his
finger, and unlatched the little door keeping the electric creature trapped behind bars of
rage. He flew straight for the boy's head, jabbing at his eyes, and Andy flailed his arms
about wildly. There was an explosion of feathers and a strangled yell, and after long
short moments of confusion the boy clutched the canary in his hands, blood dripping
from his torn earlobe.

"I am going to turn you into a hat stupid.. bird..!"

The hat stupid bird pecked his way out of the boy's hands and flew out the window,
leaving behind a teary-eyed stupefied girl and a cursing boy. He flew out and up and out
of sight, screeching as he went. He screeched as his girl placated the boy, and screeched
as the boy returned to where he came from, muttering under his breath. He screeched
and warbled and trilled his mad jealous song- the girl had never known days could be so
long. The next day was silent and devoid of life and she couldn't quite say when the bird
had gone away.