8-Bit x Max : As Fast As She Can

That Golden Sunbird

Max POV
"Hey Max, why do you look so sad?" little Meg' voice chimed from across the room.

I wiped a tear away as I said, "Oh, it's nothing."

"Come on, Max. I can tell that you're sad," Meg argued as she sat beside me. "Please tell me what's going on. Does it have something to do with Surge?"

"No, no!" I hurried out, "Nothing's wrong with Surge. It's just...I went on another date, and all that happened was that I ended up scaring him away. Everyone who knows me only knows me as a superhero...and they're always so intimidated that I can't tell who's the one."

"Are you still searching for the one?" Meg asked as she fiddled with a screwdriver. "Maybe that doesn't exist. Maybe you have to be with someone who isn't perfect, because the one is too far for you to reach."

"I know, it's silly," I dabbed my eyes as I told Meg, "But I want to believe in destiny. I believe that things happen for a reason, not just randomly however we like. That's what Mom told me, before that one day came and took her away."

"You mean that day when your mother...passed on? The one with that one, unique golden sunbird?"

"Yeah, exactly." I murmured. I could still remember that day exactly...that fateful day of the golden sunbird...

That day, the street was buzzing with activity and it was exactly two years after Mum's divorce with Dad. As we strolled into the marketplace, I had asked her, "Mom, do you think you should've gotten back together with Dad? He seemd really apologetic when he called this morning."

Mom had taken a while to answer before she finally said, "I want to believe in destiny. I believe that things happen for a reason, not just randomly however we like."

And that very same day, she had fallen very sick with chromatitis, and passed on four hours later. It was still unclear how, but it didn't matter anymore. Because she was gone, and nothing could ever bring her back.

So all I had were the last words she had said. As I sobbed beside her, she said, "Max, don't cry. This is all part of your destiny. I've lived too long already, now it's my turn to give you a destiny. A future that you'll love."

"I can't love anything if you aren't there," I said between tears. But there was no response. Her chest had stilled, and she took one last, long breath before she fell silent. I had sat there and cried for minutes, hours, days. It was all a blur, and the next thing I remembered was leaving the hospital.

I had refused to see Dad when he came to take Mum away, because I hated him for not being there. And that would never change. So as I walked slowly back to my home, only one thing caught my attention. That was that golden sunbird, which had perched on a branch beside me and chirped softly, "Don't worry, Max. One day, Destiny will come for you."

Before I could respond, it had flew away, leaving me shocked and in disbelief. I had scoured the whole of Super City from that day on, but never found that golden sunbird again. And all I had wondered was whether he was right, and whether destiny would take its course. Until the day I met Meg and Surge, where I had seen it again.

"Max, don't worry," Meg hugged me tightly as she promised, "I'm sure that the one will come soon, Max. As fast as he can."