A Fairy Tale

Chapter 7

Agape

    The glint of something bright wakes me up. I moan in complaint and roll over until the backs of my eyelids turn dark again. I sigh and snuggle deeper into the covers, feeling soothed in their warmth. The pillows here above Mount Othrys smell like Earth after a thunderstorm. I push my face further in the fluffy pillows. A smell of water and wet dirt overwhelms my senses as I breathe in. It's the smell of the clouds when they turn dark as they fill their bellies up with water and let them go, drop by drop until they're empty again. Repeating the process and collecting more water for the next rainfall. I love this smell. My body begins to relax as my heartbeat slows. My breathing becoming more calm and relaxed. I can feel myself falling asleep once more.

    Without warning, my ears are attacked with a painful high pitched screeching. I quickly muffle the sound with a pillow and roll back over to see a silhouette in the middle of my window. I stay still as I reach behind me to grab one of my firm pillows. The figure is still screeching as I easily fling the pillow over my body and chuck it at the shadow.

     Dark brown and white feathers comically fly all around as the pillow hits its target.

"Ah-Ha! Got you!" I jump on my bed like a little girl and point at the bird glaring in my direction. "So what do you think Arcturus? Me-42, you-27?" I raise my eyebrow as Arcturus shakes his head and makes short low clicking sounds.

      He flies over to a small green and brown chalkboard hanging next to the window behind his wooden perch. His long charcoal talons pick up a white piece of chalk as he marks a line under the letter A with two semicircles on each side. I laugh as he takes the chalk and throws it against the board frustrated.

"Caw. Caw. Caw." I immediately stop laughing as he mocks me, bobbing his head up and down in a V motion.

"I don't laugh like that!" I grab another pillow and throw it at him. He reacts in time and flies up. As the pillow misses him he looks back up at me with a smug expression on his beak. He grabs the piece of chalk once more and draws a line under an A with an F forming wings on each side. "That doesn't count!" I laugh again as I get out of bed and rush over to him to retrieve the chalk. He quickly flies out the window, screeching in mock horror. "I have wings too you idiot."

      I'm just about to jump out the window when my hand brushes against something cool on the ledge. I look down. The leg I have halfway outside pauses, I lower my body off the ledge and stand on the cool ground inside. So it wasn't a dream. I touch the diamond bird with the edges of my fingertips, committing every curve and dip to memory. Looking at it closer, I realise the bird is actually a black capped chickadee. Its head almost forming a perfect circle with the rest of its body. The wings touch together at a point underneath it's tail that's sticking straight out.

    I remember Cronus telling me that the little bird would do anything I ask of it. I just have to use my voice. I lean closer and touch one of the birds' wings, willing it to open.

"May I see your wings little bird?" I whisper, curious if it'll work. Slowly the wings unfold. They reach from the birds mid-back to underneath its head. The way the crystal sparkles as the bird moves is breathtaking. Each feather is exposed, the crystal so thin I can see through them to the window sill below.  A blue, pink, and white crescendo of sunlight bounces off the bird and sparkles around the room. The bird shakes its wings a little more before it abruptly closes them.

"I was wondering where that came from," a new voice enters my head as Arcturus lands lightly before me, the huge flaps of his wings causing a warm draft to roll in. He cocks his head to the side, observing me. In unison we both look down at the bird shaped diamond. After a moment of silence he pecks it.