Girl who Speaks to Birds

Chapter 21

Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you. And the part of you that knows it was wrong to imprison them in the first place rejoices, but still, the place where you live is that much more drab and empty for their departure.

~Stephen King

___________________________

I paced anxiously in the cramped space - something that is not easy to do - shivering fearfully. I mean, I knew it was the only way to stay alive, but still, a collar. A freaking collar. Lucky me.

"Stop with the pity party, Madelyn."

"I'm trying. But minds tend to wander when there's nothing to do."

"Then try and sleep. You'll have a better outlook on the current situation in the morning."

I laid down, cold wind moving through the stall. I shivered, covering myself with my wings. I hoped that sleep would come, and eventually, it did. Unfortunately, I was awakened from the wondrous sleep world.

I looked at the source of the light. It was my father, who was holding a bronze pole in his right hand. In his left, he was holding a leash. Looks like the being treated like a dog is a constant. He attached it to the collar and started dragging me. I was still shocked. My father, the one who had cared for me all my life, was dragging me by the leash. Like a dog. A dog! He kept looking behind himself, looking at me. Because I was supposed to be so obedient and stay right behind him. Sure, sure.

"Madelyn, be careful. From what I've heard, punishment can be various forms of torture."

A question came to me after a few minutes.

"Wait. Did you know that this place was here?"

"No. Many centers nearly identical to this one are all over the world. There are many ones that are larger than this one, however. That's because they have more shifters there."

"Has anyone ever tried to stop the hunters?"

"Many times, actually."

"Apparently, they failed."

"Yes. But one small center was destroyed seven years ago when all the shifters worked together. But it was not heavily guarded; it was easily destroyed. It'd be much harder to destroy this place."

Ashlea had just given me hope to cling to.

"You will harvest the fruit from these trees, and dispose of the over-ripe fruits. If I see a single fruit in an incorrect spot, you will receive punishment." instructed my father, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yes, Dad." I said with a sigh.

"One more thing; you will call me Mr. Ruth. I hope you enjoyed being free; cause that's over."

And with that, he walked off. How could he change so quickly? He used to be so caring and loving. But he's changed.

"Perhaps he's always been this way. Certain things are very easily hidden, if you know how to cover up your trail with lies and deceit. "

"So you're saying that he's lied to me all my life?"

"It's very possible."

"But he's my dad!"

"There's such a thing as bad parenting, you know. Not trying to be harsh; I'm just telling it like it is."

I sighed and grabbed a basket, flying up to a tree branch. I plucked the apple and placed it in the basket. My mind eventually began to wander. How could my parents have lied to me? And all my life! Anger flooded my veins, and I accidentally put a dent in an apple. Well, they won't want it, so I'll have it.

I took a bite, the juices flooding my mouth. I sighed, taking another bite.

"I think they'll be mad if they see you eating their fruit."

"Well, who cares what they think? Besides, I'll just take a few more bites and then get back to work."

I finished the apple, wiping the juice from my mouth. Branches clawed at my legs as I climbed through the tree, filling the basket with the red fruit. Soon, the basket filled up, and I flew down, grabbing another basket. The cycle continued, until I had harvested all the fruit from the first tree. I wiped beads of sweat from my forehead, sitting down. My body ached in exhaustion.

"I doubt they'll appreciate it if you slack off."

"I'm exhausted."

However, I agreed with Ashlea. My muscles screamed in protest as I stood up. I sighed, grabbing a basket before flying up the tree. Peaches were the product of this tree, and I couldn't resist grabbing a bite. Mmm. I needed to get to work, however, and took the peach from the tree. I felt the soft fuzz of the peach as it left my hand and landed into the basket with a plop.

Then, onto the lemon trees, whose fruit was sour yet delicious. The texture felt rough in my hand as I picked each one and put it into the basket. Rough like my life right now. What, with my dad's lying and my being stuck in this stupid place! The lemon's juice seeped from the lemon as I squeezed it angrily. I didn't care how sticky my hands would be later. I was MAD.

"Bird-shifter!" shouted a voice "You're ruining the food!"

I looked down and saw that Mr. Jones guy.

"Oh, hello."

"Get down from there! " he shouted angrily. I leapt down, 'accidentally' knocking him in the face with a wing. He growled, most likely in anger, and squeezed my wing. I let out of a cry of pain, and he punched me in the face. "Now tell me why you were destroying MY property."

"Don't make him mad. Just apologize and be good. Do you want to be killed by him, or would you like to stay alive?"

I sighed. "Stay alive."

"I just got worked up over a few memories. I shouldn't have let myself get so distracted. I'm sorry." I replied, lowering my head.

After a long silence, he looked at me in a glare and said "Since you are a newcomer, I will not punish you severely. However, you will clean my office after you complete your current task." He squeezed my wing yet again. "You're lucky I'm not doing more."

And with that, he walked away. I finished harvesting the fruit, though I did take a few fruits for myself. Luckily, they didn't notice. At the end of the day, I drifted into wonderful sleep.

A/N- More stuff happens next chapter - just you wait! Prepare for an a - nope, not gonna spoil. But just wait!

Please share my story with your friends and family, and please, please, please comment and vote! You have no idea how much it means to me. Just press that star button. Please? For me?

I'll see ya in the comments! Bye for now!

~Pride_Heart