A Beautiful Lieby Sorenthehero117ChaptersChapter 2- Reality checkChapter 3- ReliefChapter 4- BlissChapter 5- MiracleChapter 6- BreakdownChapter 1- End of the fairy taleChapter 7- FearChapter 2- Reality checkChapter 2- Reality check It's been 2 years since my father died in a car crash. At 18, I was finally able to inherit his house and be able to live inside on my own as oppose to living on my uncle's basement. Living in Puerto Rico hasn't been easy since my parents passing. We've been struggling financially and my uncles even had to get second jobs in order to keep things in order. I've done my part by getting a job as well, which given the status of the economy was not an easy thing to find, but it still wasn't enough to help. I don't even pray as often as I used to. What's the point? My father is dead and nothing will bring him back, nothing will help our situation and nothing can lift my troubled spirits, and I certainly think praying won't do anything to help my situation. My faith in God still exists, but my trust in him died along with my parents. My life insisted of going to school for 6 hours, work at a local coffee shop for 8, go home and shielding myself away from the rest of the world. Since I live on my parent's old home, I have nobody to disturb me or bother me during my studies, especially during my finals week. Good thing too, because Psychology is a hell of a subject to study and is actually my favorite subject of all: the study of the human mind. It is ironic though; how I master psychology so well, but I fail at every other class given to me. I work really on this one class in particular, while I can honestly care less about the other classes, be it math, science or social studies. It's a well change of pace from the usual stuff that I read. After my father died, a lot of his old stories and books were given to me and since then, I've been reading them nonstop for the past 2 years. It made me feel at ease, and it reminded me of the wonderful times I shared with my father. I loved my father... And I miss him very much... I never even got to say goodbye, but I only hope he's in peace now. If there is a heaven, he belongs there and is resting now with my mom... Would I be allowed in Heaven? Is there a Heaven? I-I don't know anymore... It scares me to think of that, and yet at the same time... It intrigues me. Chapter 3- ReliefChapter 3- Relief I have just finished my report on the studies of Schizophrenia and began working on my essay for Creative Writing. Originally, I was gonna recite another one of my father's poems, simply because I was too lazy to write something on my own terms. Its funny, because I'm a very creative person when it comes to writing, but recently I just lost the will to write simply because I lack any inspiration whatsoever to write. However, today I had this weird idea for a poem, that came to me in the form of a bird. I've never seen a bird like that in all my life: its feathers were a beautiful crimson color that I have never seen. It almost looked like it was... On fire. Regardless, the grace and sheer beauty of this magnificent bird inspired a poem I had to write before I forget: Through fire and flames, she flies A crimson spirit takes the skies Away from the world Away from our reach This majesty flies through dawn's peak If I could follow this crimson beauty If I could sprout some wings and fly Would this bird love and accept me? Or would the bird cast me aside? Come little birdie come along with me Don't be afraid Don't you weep Ellis won't hurt you Ellis loves you kindly Ellis only wants you Ellis will treat you nicely This poem... It started off clean and simple, but as I kept writing, my words began to sound almost crazy. Like something that freaking Gollum would say in The Lord of the Rings. It felt like I switched personalities as I wrote this poem. Regardless, the poem turned out beautiful and after some proofreading and rereading, it was ready for my class. I wonder if the others will like it; I just wonder if they will look at me funny afterwards. This poem is just random. This bird... This very beautiful bird... Whenever I look at it, it inspires me to keep writing. I don't know if it has an owner, but the bird is always stopping by my window now, and has been for almost 2 days. I decided to let the window open to let the bird inside; I even had an old birdcage my father had when his parrot Ramón was still alive. That beautiful parrot didn't seem to have any ID tag or bracelet, and it didn't seem like anyone was looking for it, although a bird this rare-looking would have to have caught somebody's eye, but I digress. As I looked at the bird closely, I noticed it was a female. She was a very gentle bird: soft feathers, sweet, and just gave me this sense of joy and happiness that I haven't felt before. I don't know who this bird is, but until I can find any answers, I think I'll adopt her as my own pet... I even have a name for her, which for some odd reason is just coming out of my lips, like I'm supposed to give her this name. It belongs to her. From this day forth, she will be known as... Philomena. As soon as she heard this name, she gave a light "coo" sound, like she was both excited and relieved that this was her new name. I was excited too. I always wanted a pet bird. She served as both a companion and a source of inspiration and love. No more do I have to go to an empty house in the middle of the night. Now two people lived together and nothing could come between them. After a few minutes of feeding and grooming Philomena, it was time for me to sleep for the night. Suddenly I felt tired. Normally I don't get so tired anymore, or rarely even sleep, given thee circumstances, but now? My eyes are falling, my balance is weary and I just have to rest. I kissed Philomena on the head and left to bed, where I found myself sleeping in just a few minutes. No stress, no pain, no anger, no hate... What was going on? Why am I so tired? Where did this bird come from? After a few minutes of bliss... I really didn't care... For the first time in 2 years... I was happy... But for how long? Author's Note Sorry that this one took a while; I was suffering from bad writers block. Hope you all like it Chapter 4- BlissChapter 4- Bliss My eyes were shut, my mind was clear, my soul felt at peace for the first time as I laid in bed, and drifted into a long and heavy sleep. I could hear Philomena chirping a little as I let out a slight sigh and smiled as I ultimately found myself asleep for first time in 2 weeks of studying. I feel at ease... I feel blissful... I feel... Happy, but I don't know why. I didn't care... I was happy and in peace, and I can't explain why, but I think Philomena is the cause of my unexplained happiness. Why did this beautiful bird caused me so much happiness? Or better question: where did this bird come from? Many questions were on my mind about the mysterious whereabout of this bird. For all I know, she could belong to someone. A little girl who received her as a present; a bird enthusiast who found her in the forrest; a wildlife preserve employee who accidentally lost her as he was cleaning her cage. Another thing that struck my mind was that this bird looked almost perfectly groomed from head to claw. I don't believe anyone can treat a bird this greatly and just lose it unexpectedly. She might have been stolen from a very rich person and somehow managed to escape from the thieves' clutches. For all I know, Philomena could be royalty. I've been thinking too much about this. I tend to be a bit of a worrywart when it comes to things, especially when its something as serious as this. However, now wasn't the time to worry. Now was the time for me to go to sleep. I wonder what I'll dream about. Maybe I'll dream about hunting with my father again, or maybe I'll dream about questing on an epic adventure, either way, call me crazy, but I was excited to be able to dream again, and couldn't wait to see what I was getting myself into. Even if it were a nightmare, I wouldn't care. I just wanted to dream again; something I feel like I lost the ability to do since my father's passing. Finally it happened! As one would expect, I ended up in the middle of my dream, as opposed to the beginning. Like skipping scenes while watching a movie and starting at the middle of the second act. I found myself in a somewhat, familiar location. I was at the Yunque Rainforest where my mother used to take me as a kid to play. The feeling of being back at this forrest sent chills up my spine from an incident that happened one day when my mother took me here. I was walking around the woods when I fell down a couple of branches and landed on my face. I began to cry in pain as my left cheek started to bleed. Me, being a 6 year old at the time, I was terrified and cried so loud that birds got out of their nests and flew away. I was scared, alone and in pain... I wanted my mother to come back and take me home. It wasn't fun anymore, it was beginning to be a living night terror in the middle of the day. I was stuck there for 5 hours and didn't get rescued until it was already dusk. My mother wasn't there to pick me up. Instead, a ranger heard my cries and carried me to his squad car as I cried wondering where my mother went. That... Was when the ranger stayed silent for one whole minute and told me what happened. 'You're mother's dead son. We found her, a mile near the edge of the forrest, probably looking for you. It seemed she was running and fell down a ditch and broke her neck. I'm sorry son', and thats when my eyes widened. My heart was shattered. I wanted to cry, but more than that, I wanted to strangle this man. I'm just a little kid, don't even know how to tie my own shoes. How could he just lay this on me without even being gentile about it? Needless to say, I was angry; depressed, sad, but mostly angry And the worst part? This wasn't just an incident that left me scarred for life. This... Was the dream I was dreaming. Outside, I was shivering. Inside, I was screaming. As I would have expected, I ended up dreaming of laying on the ground, crying in pain, only here, I was already a full grown adult. 18, long hair, even had the same facial features. What was different, were the cuts and bruises on my face, which felt a little too real, for my taste. The forrest was more dark and sinister looking than I remember. I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping that somebody came to save me... But no one came. In my dream, I was suffering. I wanted nothing more than to put an end to myself. Then... Something unexpected happened... Something... I... I can't explain. What looked like a dark and sinister forrest was soon bathed in light as something was walking in front of me from a great distance. It looked like... A horse... Like a full grown horse walking towards me, or trotting towards me. It appeared to be a horse from a distance, but as it got closer, I began to notice something odd: a long horn on its forehead. I couldn't see it clearly. The extreme brightness made the creature look like a silhouette. I could only assume that this was a unicorn, which would explain the horn on a horse's head. Then I saw something that not even my father in his stories have ever heard about: this... THING... Had a horn AND A PAIR OF WINGS. I immediately began to cower as it grew closer and closer until all I could do was grovel on the ground. Expecting the worse, the shadowy horse-like creature stood in front of me as all of a sudden I could hear a voice: 'Don't be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you'. My eyes went, from shut tightly, to opening widely. This voice that I heard, who said it? Where did it come from? 'Are you... Okay?' The voice spoke again. It was the most beautiful voice I've ever heard: kind, gentile, and sweet. I reluctantly opened my eyes and looked at the horse-like creature and then... My heart stopped for a second. In front of me was, what I believed to be a 6 to 7 foot tall crossbreed between a pegasus and a unicorn. It looked... Like a she... Her body was pink and her mane looked like it had 3 different colors: gold, pink and purple. And she had... What I can only describe as a tattoo of a blue, crystalized heart and her eyes were violet like most of her mane. She was really beautiful from head to hoof, and actually looked somewhat regal for a horse. Her appearance took my breath away as I slowly worked up the nerve to speak.... 'W-What are you?', was all I could say. It sounded rude, but honestly, this was the first thing that came to my mind. Before she could even say anything, she leaned close to me with a smile. 'Does my appearance startle you?', she said in her beautiful, gentile voice as I looked at her, curiously, but intrigued. 'N-No... But... What are you? You're neither a horse, nor a pegasus, nor a unicorn, not that any of the last two exist. No offense', I said to her. She then gave a slight giggle and extended a hoof for me to grab onto and pull myself up. I grasped her hoof softly, but firmly as I helped myself up and noticed her body began to glow in a blinding light and a soft whisper was heard. 'If you want to know me more, come meet me in this exact spot. Please don't wait too long. I'll miss you", she said to me before she began to disappear. 'Wait... Who are you? What's your name? WHY ARE YOU HERE?', I began to scream as I found myself back in my room, in bed, at 10:27 AM on a saturday morning. Chapter 5- MiracleChapter 5- Miracle What on Earth was that? What kind of dream was this? This dream felt almost too vivid. But what was that mysterious creature? I-I can't get her out of my mind: her voice, her appearance, but what really got me, were her words: 'If you want to know me more, come meet me in this exact spot. Please don't wait too long. I'll miss you'. What was she trying to say? It felt like she was asking me to visit her in the forest where I saw her in the dream. I know its gotta be my imagination, I mean come on, 'Wake up Ellis, you were talking to a mythological hybrid'. I chuckled and decided to ignore it, as I finished waking up, feeling more refreshed and perked up than ever before. It felt good to be fully rested for once. I think I earned it after breaking my back studying for classes I'm most likely gonna fail, with the exception of Psychology. Why do I even bother then? Its not like I'm going to college or anything. Why bother? Its a waste of time and money considering I don't have anything to amount to. My saturday started like any other saturday: I wake up, make my bed, take a shower, have breakfast, dress up, and start the day, which on saturdays consist of studying, more studying, and more freaking studying. However today I felt somewhat more relaxed, and energetic. Instead of locking myself at my house studying, I wanted to go out for a jog. I don't know why, I just... Felt like running. I felt good, I felt fit, me being the skinny loser that I am, this feeling was incredible, but I don't understand why I'm feeling it, but I digress. I went up to my room and put on a pair of running shoes, shorts and a tank top, and ran outside to the sidewalk with a very geeky smile on my face as I stared at the long and empty sidewalk. Without even saying a word, I started walking fast... As I walked, I began picking up speed and started jogging... Before I knew it, I started running all over the side walk, feeling the cool winter air breezing through my face as I ran past every house in the neighborhood. After what felt like 2 hours, I looked up, not even breaking a sweat, as I saw what appeared to be Philomena flying out of her cage. She flew below and was able to keep up with me as I ran. I immediately began to question how she got out of her cage, but I was feeling the heat of the moment, and decided to just go with it until I couldn't run anymore. I never felt this good before. It felt great to run again. I always loved running, ever since I was a kid. It was the most fun I ever had by myself whenever I had nothing good to do. It was great to be back, and it felt even greater to have Philomena on my side, seeing as how she was my only friend. After circling the neighborhood for what felt like 4 hours, which is lesser compared to how many hours I clocked running as a child, I was tired and dehydrated. I began walking my way home with Philomena standing on my shoulder as she "cooed" softly. It sounded adorable and I couldn't help but giggle and pet her as I walked by and noticed my house nearby. I wanted to run, but I was too exhausted that I just wanted to lay down on the couch and watch a movie with my new bird. Around the other side of the road, a familiar face was walking down the road waving at me. My old friend Raul was here. I was pretty excited, because Raul and I were pretty close friends in middle school and lost contact when he moved to Orlando 5 years ago. As he drew closer, my face began to smile as he got close to me. 'Ellis buddy, how the hell are you?', he said after shaking my hand. 'Not much actually', I said to him. 'I heard about your old man last week. Nobody informed me and I wasn't aware. Sorry it took me so long to get here man', he began speaking in an apologetic tone as I lightly hugged him and spoke: 'Don't even worry about it. I'm just happy to see you again.', I told him smiling as he smiled again. I invited him to my house for a drink and as we went inside, we began to make conversation. Its funny how we talk for like 40 minutes and he mentions nothing about the bird on my shoulder. As a joke, I decided to bring her into the conversation, 'So... Notice anything new about me?', I said in a seemingly sarcastic tone as he replied 'No not really'. I chuckled for like 3 seconds and pointed at my shoulder and spoke, 'Notice the crimson colored bird on my shoulder?', and then he said, 'What bird?'. Thats when I started laughing. 'Come on, seriously. Look at the bird on my shoulder', I said with a smile on my face as he looked at me with a serious face, 'Ellis, what are you talking about? There is nothing on your shoulder.' Thats when I looked at him seriously as well, while at the same time, talking sternly. 'Raul, seriously: look at the bird. Her name is Philomena.', I said to him trying to get him to stop joking around. 'Are you doing Acid or something Ellis? There's no damn bird on your shoulder', he said with a very confused look on his face as I got a little mad. 'Raul, this isn't funny anymore', I told him trying to snap some sense into him as he looked at me, almost terrified and took my arm, pulling me to the mirror. 'Ellis, what do you see?', he said in an almost monotone voice. 'What do I see, what do I- Its us: you, me and-', I stopped when I gasped in sheer horror as I saw literally nothing on my shoulder on the mirror. Chapter 6- BreakdownI was frozen still as I kept looking at my reflection. I didn't even look into my shoulder to see if Philomena was still there. I was too scared to even blink. 'E-Ellis... I gotta go. I-I'll talk to you later', Raul said before he showed himself to the door and left. I didn't even look back to say goodbye. I was just... What the hell was going on? Why can't I see Philomena? Why isn't she there? But what really terrified me was the fact that... I knew she WAS there. I could feel her standing on my shoulder, her claws gripping it to hold on. I can smell her, I can hear her, I can sense her... Philomena was on my shoulder the whole time... Or... At least... I hope she is. I turned to my shoulder, eyes closed, slowly, as I peeked up to see my bird, hoping to God that this wasn't my imagination, and that she really was there. I was scared, I was shaking, and as I opened my eyes... Relief. The beautiful crimson bird was standing comfortably on my shoulder like normal, cawing and pecking her itchy feathers. I suddenly turned back to the mirror, and to my surprise, her reflection was back. Why is it back and why wasn't it there a minute ago? Many questions were on my mind, but at the moment, I couldn't care less. I was tired and hungry from my run so I placed my bird on her stand and walked to the kitchen to make myself a sandwich. Once again, I was feeling happy and excited, now I would feel happy and excited with a stomach full of Ham, butter and Bacon. I reached up to grab a knife and as I did, I began to spread butter all over a piece of toast. As I finished spreading the piece, I laid down the bacon and ham, and topped it off with one last piece of bread to cover it. Now it just needed to be reheated. After a minute or two and so, I finally began eating my sandwich, filling up my stomach with delight. I felt fat, which to me was always a good sign. Philomena has drifted to sleep now. How adorable does she look when shes asleep; Poor little bird. However, she looks, strangely weaker than regular. I didn't notice it at first, but Philomena was molting rapidly, almost as if she was sick or something. Maybe it was just my imagination or something, but it just seemed strange. Regardless, she's still looking pretty and healthy as far as I can tell. I just hope its nothing too serious, otherwise I'd have to see a vet. I went to her cage and gave her a little kiss goodnight on the head and went to take a shower after my long run. Inside the shower was where I did the most of my day-to-day thinking: what will I do tomorrow, what will I plan for next week, am I gonna have a great future, and many more thoughts and questions popped into my head, as I felt the cold water pouring down my body, washing my troubles away and cleansing my spirits. I can always find peace in here, surrounded by water, silence and solitude. Strangely enough, the thought of Philomena not being on my shoulder in front of the mirror and then being back again, never popped to my head. My guess is I didn't really wanna think for now, and simply wanted to relax myself. So thats what I did; relax. Relax and feel nothing but the water pouring. I had my eyes closed the whole time, which I normally didn't do because of fear of someone, or something peeking at me and stalking at me. Its childish I know, but I never was the guy who liked to take risks. So I slowly began opening my eyes again, and when I do, I slowly widen them and scream falling down on the shower. What is that walking outside my house? It looked like a strange bizarre animal or something. Regardless, it left me terrified. I didn't know what to do; I was so petrified, I didn't wanna leave. I could hear its footsteps and its breathing, and outside Philomena was screeching wildly. I was in a state of absolute fear. As I finally decided to get up, I put on a robe and made my way outside to see that Philomena was gone. I looked everywhere inside the house, but she wasn't there. There was no open door, no shattered window, there was no way she could have gotten out. Naturally, I dressed up and went outside to see if I could find her, but she wasn't there. All I could do was curl up and scream for her to come... No response... My best friend was gone. And for the first time, in a short, but great amount of time, I felt truly alone. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm usually not to quick to lose hope at a very hopeless situation, but for this moment, I lost hope quicker than ever before. All I could think to do was to curl up on the floor and cry... Just as I heard a familiar voice echoing out on the street. 'P-Philomena?' I walked out into the streets to see Philomena flying around and I got no choice but to follow her. I was so desperate, I didn't even get to my car to follow her. I was still energized, and I was really beginning to get used to running again. This time, I wasn't running out of pleasure or excitement, I was running to recover my best friend. I hope I can catch her in time before nightfall, cause I do not know if I'll be able to run the whole way back at the dead of the night. Author's Note Sorry this took so long to publish. I had a bad case of writers block, and I will admit, this isn't my strongest chapter, but I promise, I'll have more writing, more story and more continuity for this piece of work. Chapter 1- End of the fairy tale"Just because something isn't real... That doesn't mean... It doesn't exist" -Ellis Chapter 1- End of the fairy tale The sky is gone. The clouds cover in grey what was once a beautiful Easter Sunday, now blanketed by a dark and depressing rainstorm. Much could one least expect on a day of celebration and faith, but given the circumstances of recent events, what is there to celebrate? It has always been a family tradition on an Easter Sunday to gather around on a bonfire, roast a pig, have some s'mores and tell stories all ending with the rest of the family reciting a prayer. My father and I would always go out into the woods and hunt down elk and exchange funny jokes at each other over who can hunt the biggest elk in the woods. Good man, my father was. Wise, kind, strong, brave. Everyone always called him "Jonathan the Bard" because he always had a story to tell and a song to sing. Odd stories. Stories that one would never believe in a million years. Stories told... In the eyes of the dreamer, and not in the eyes of a believer. Stories that he called "fairy tales" and he had hundreds to say if not more. Stories about dragons and knights, monsters and goblins, dungeons and princesses and the famous "and they all lived happily ever after" which I never believed was possible, even by a dreamer. My father would always laugh at me and tell me that just because something isn't real, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist, whatever that meant, but he never failed me or disappointed me in anyway... He was the best at everything and was like a Hero to me... My heart was shattered when I heard news of his passing 2 days before Easter Sunday, the best time of the year for hunting. Instead of hunting or celebrating, today we mourn and bury the only person who ever loved me and cared for me after the passing of my mother... It was the first Easter Sunday, that I have ever been truly alone, and I believe... It makes the beginning of a life of solitude... A life without love. His last words to me were "Ellis, never forget: no matter how sad, scary or cruel life is, there will always be a happy ending". My father was right about many things, except for one... Real life has no happy endings... Only pain and sorrow. Author's Note I know the first chapter is short, but believe me, its gonna get longer and better. If you have any questions, feel free to ask at the comments below. Let me know what you guys think of the first chapter, its dark and tragic, but it will all piece together eventually. Chapter 7- FearChapter 7- Fear Its been nearly 5 hours since Philomena flew away, and I'm still looking for my feathery friend despite it darkening and me getting extremely tired. I'm starting to get really scared that I may never find her. I looked everywhere she might have flown to and tried every location she could be, but I also kept thinking "She's a bird, she can fly, she can be anywhere", which got me sad, as I began to ultimately lose hope of finding her. After what it felt like a whole week of looking for her, I fell down to the floor breaking down in tears fearing the loss of my best friend. After fearing the inevitable, at the peek of my slow ascend to happiness, at 4 in the morning out in the streets, I have finally lost all hope and accepted the truth: Philomena is gone, and I have no way of seeing her ever again. Slowly, I could feel my depression worsen as I cried my eyes out, relieved that no one was around to witness it. I decided to just stand up and walk home, but as soon as I did, I saw a glow emanating from what I believe was the entrance to the Yunque Rainforest. I immediately feel a shiver of fear running down my spine as I remember the dream I had last night, but something kept calling me towards this ominous glow. Thats when I saw her.... Philomena was there. I could see her flying towards the forest, I know its her, but why is she here? Now wasn't the time for questions: I had to go into the forest and find Philomena and bring her back home. This isn't gonna be easy for me, but for my best friend, it will all be worth it. I just hope my fear won't get the best of me. Author's Note Sorry for the short chapter, had very little time to write since I'm focusing on my studies in college as well. I'll try not to add so many short chapters, but at the same time, give me a break. I'm doing the best I can to make this the story I want it to be as well as enjoyable for all of you. Thank you. :)
Chapter 2- Reality checkChapter 2- Reality check It's been 2 years since my father died in a car crash. At 18, I was finally able to inherit his house and be able to live inside on my own as oppose to living on my uncle's basement. Living in Puerto Rico hasn't been easy since my parents passing. We've been struggling financially and my uncles even had to get second jobs in order to keep things in order. I've done my part by getting a job as well, which given the status of the economy was not an easy thing to find, but it still wasn't enough to help. I don't even pray as often as I used to. What's the point? My father is dead and nothing will bring him back, nothing will help our situation and nothing can lift my troubled spirits, and I certainly think praying won't do anything to help my situation. My faith in God still exists, but my trust in him died along with my parents. My life insisted of going to school for 6 hours, work at a local coffee shop for 8, go home and shielding myself away from the rest of the world. Since I live on my parent's old home, I have nobody to disturb me or bother me during my studies, especially during my finals week. Good thing too, because Psychology is a hell of a subject to study and is actually my favorite subject of all: the study of the human mind. It is ironic though; how I master psychology so well, but I fail at every other class given to me. I work really on this one class in particular, while I can honestly care less about the other classes, be it math, science or social studies. It's a well change of pace from the usual stuff that I read. After my father died, a lot of his old stories and books were given to me and since then, I've been reading them nonstop for the past 2 years. It made me feel at ease, and it reminded me of the wonderful times I shared with my father. I loved my father... And I miss him very much... I never even got to say goodbye, but I only hope he's in peace now. If there is a heaven, he belongs there and is resting now with my mom... Would I be allowed in Heaven? Is there a Heaven? I-I don't know anymore... It scares me to think of that, and yet at the same time... It intrigues me.
Chapter 3- ReliefChapter 3- Relief I have just finished my report on the studies of Schizophrenia and began working on my essay for Creative Writing. Originally, I was gonna recite another one of my father's poems, simply because I was too lazy to write something on my own terms. Its funny, because I'm a very creative person when it comes to writing, but recently I just lost the will to write simply because I lack any inspiration whatsoever to write. However, today I had this weird idea for a poem, that came to me in the form of a bird. I've never seen a bird like that in all my life: its feathers were a beautiful crimson color that I have never seen. It almost looked like it was... On fire. Regardless, the grace and sheer beauty of this magnificent bird inspired a poem I had to write before I forget: Through fire and flames, she flies A crimson spirit takes the skies Away from the world Away from our reach This majesty flies through dawn's peak If I could follow this crimson beauty If I could sprout some wings and fly Would this bird love and accept me? Or would the bird cast me aside? Come little birdie come along with me Don't be afraid Don't you weep Ellis won't hurt you Ellis loves you kindly Ellis only wants you Ellis will treat you nicely This poem... It started off clean and simple, but as I kept writing, my words began to sound almost crazy. Like something that freaking Gollum would say in The Lord of the Rings. It felt like I switched personalities as I wrote this poem. Regardless, the poem turned out beautiful and after some proofreading and rereading, it was ready for my class. I wonder if the others will like it; I just wonder if they will look at me funny afterwards. This poem is just random. This bird... This very beautiful bird... Whenever I look at it, it inspires me to keep writing. I don't know if it has an owner, but the bird is always stopping by my window now, and has been for almost 2 days. I decided to let the window open to let the bird inside; I even had an old birdcage my father had when his parrot Ramón was still alive. That beautiful parrot didn't seem to have any ID tag or bracelet, and it didn't seem like anyone was looking for it, although a bird this rare-looking would have to have caught somebody's eye, but I digress. As I looked at the bird closely, I noticed it was a female. She was a very gentle bird: soft feathers, sweet, and just gave me this sense of joy and happiness that I haven't felt before. I don't know who this bird is, but until I can find any answers, I think I'll adopt her as my own pet... I even have a name for her, which for some odd reason is just coming out of my lips, like I'm supposed to give her this name. It belongs to her. From this day forth, she will be known as... Philomena. As soon as she heard this name, she gave a light "coo" sound, like she was both excited and relieved that this was her new name. I was excited too. I always wanted a pet bird. She served as both a companion and a source of inspiration and love. No more do I have to go to an empty house in the middle of the night. Now two people lived together and nothing could come between them. After a few minutes of feeding and grooming Philomena, it was time for me to sleep for the night. Suddenly I felt tired. Normally I don't get so tired anymore, or rarely even sleep, given thee circumstances, but now? My eyes are falling, my balance is weary and I just have to rest. I kissed Philomena on the head and left to bed, where I found myself sleeping in just a few minutes. No stress, no pain, no anger, no hate... What was going on? Why am I so tired? Where did this bird come from? After a few minutes of bliss... I really didn't care... For the first time in 2 years... I was happy... But for how long? Author's Note Sorry that this one took a while; I was suffering from bad writers block. Hope you all like it
Chapter 4- BlissChapter 4- Bliss My eyes were shut, my mind was clear, my soul felt at peace for the first time as I laid in bed, and drifted into a long and heavy sleep. I could hear Philomena chirping a little as I let out a slight sigh and smiled as I ultimately found myself asleep for first time in 2 weeks of studying. I feel at ease... I feel blissful... I feel... Happy, but I don't know why. I didn't care... I was happy and in peace, and I can't explain why, but I think Philomena is the cause of my unexplained happiness. Why did this beautiful bird caused me so much happiness? Or better question: where did this bird come from? Many questions were on my mind about the mysterious whereabout of this bird. For all I know, she could belong to someone. A little girl who received her as a present; a bird enthusiast who found her in the forrest; a wildlife preserve employee who accidentally lost her as he was cleaning her cage. Another thing that struck my mind was that this bird looked almost perfectly groomed from head to claw. I don't believe anyone can treat a bird this greatly and just lose it unexpectedly. She might have been stolen from a very rich person and somehow managed to escape from the thieves' clutches. For all I know, Philomena could be royalty. I've been thinking too much about this. I tend to be a bit of a worrywart when it comes to things, especially when its something as serious as this. However, now wasn't the time to worry. Now was the time for me to go to sleep. I wonder what I'll dream about. Maybe I'll dream about hunting with my father again, or maybe I'll dream about questing on an epic adventure, either way, call me crazy, but I was excited to be able to dream again, and couldn't wait to see what I was getting myself into. Even if it were a nightmare, I wouldn't care. I just wanted to dream again; something I feel like I lost the ability to do since my father's passing. Finally it happened! As one would expect, I ended up in the middle of my dream, as opposed to the beginning. Like skipping scenes while watching a movie and starting at the middle of the second act. I found myself in a somewhat, familiar location. I was at the Yunque Rainforest where my mother used to take me as a kid to play. The feeling of being back at this forrest sent chills up my spine from an incident that happened one day when my mother took me here. I was walking around the woods when I fell down a couple of branches and landed on my face. I began to cry in pain as my left cheek started to bleed. Me, being a 6 year old at the time, I was terrified and cried so loud that birds got out of their nests and flew away. I was scared, alone and in pain... I wanted my mother to come back and take me home. It wasn't fun anymore, it was beginning to be a living night terror in the middle of the day. I was stuck there for 5 hours and didn't get rescued until it was already dusk. My mother wasn't there to pick me up. Instead, a ranger heard my cries and carried me to his squad car as I cried wondering where my mother went. That... Was when the ranger stayed silent for one whole minute and told me what happened. 'You're mother's dead son. We found her, a mile near the edge of the forrest, probably looking for you. It seemed she was running and fell down a ditch and broke her neck. I'm sorry son', and thats when my eyes widened. My heart was shattered. I wanted to cry, but more than that, I wanted to strangle this man. I'm just a little kid, don't even know how to tie my own shoes. How could he just lay this on me without even being gentile about it? Needless to say, I was angry; depressed, sad, but mostly angry And the worst part? This wasn't just an incident that left me scarred for life. This... Was the dream I was dreaming. Outside, I was shivering. Inside, I was screaming. As I would have expected, I ended up dreaming of laying on the ground, crying in pain, only here, I was already a full grown adult. 18, long hair, even had the same facial features. What was different, were the cuts and bruises on my face, which felt a little too real, for my taste. The forrest was more dark and sinister looking than I remember. I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping that somebody came to save me... But no one came. In my dream, I was suffering. I wanted nothing more than to put an end to myself. Then... Something unexpected happened... Something... I... I can't explain. What looked like a dark and sinister forrest was soon bathed in light as something was walking in front of me from a great distance. It looked like... A horse... Like a full grown horse walking towards me, or trotting towards me. It appeared to be a horse from a distance, but as it got closer, I began to notice something odd: a long horn on its forehead. I couldn't see it clearly. The extreme brightness made the creature look like a silhouette. I could only assume that this was a unicorn, which would explain the horn on a horse's head. Then I saw something that not even my father in his stories have ever heard about: this... THING... Had a horn AND A PAIR OF WINGS. I immediately began to cower as it grew closer and closer until all I could do was grovel on the ground. Expecting the worse, the shadowy horse-like creature stood in front of me as all of a sudden I could hear a voice: 'Don't be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you'. My eyes went, from shut tightly, to opening widely. This voice that I heard, who said it? Where did it come from? 'Are you... Okay?' The voice spoke again. It was the most beautiful voice I've ever heard: kind, gentile, and sweet. I reluctantly opened my eyes and looked at the horse-like creature and then... My heart stopped for a second. In front of me was, what I believed to be a 6 to 7 foot tall crossbreed between a pegasus and a unicorn. It looked... Like a she... Her body was pink and her mane looked like it had 3 different colors: gold, pink and purple. And she had... What I can only describe as a tattoo of a blue, crystalized heart and her eyes were violet like most of her mane. She was really beautiful from head to hoof, and actually looked somewhat regal for a horse. Her appearance took my breath away as I slowly worked up the nerve to speak.... 'W-What are you?', was all I could say. It sounded rude, but honestly, this was the first thing that came to my mind. Before she could even say anything, she leaned close to me with a smile. 'Does my appearance startle you?', she said in her beautiful, gentile voice as I looked at her, curiously, but intrigued. 'N-No... But... What are you? You're neither a horse, nor a pegasus, nor a unicorn, not that any of the last two exist. No offense', I said to her. She then gave a slight giggle and extended a hoof for me to grab onto and pull myself up. I grasped her hoof softly, but firmly as I helped myself up and noticed her body began to glow in a blinding light and a soft whisper was heard. 'If you want to know me more, come meet me in this exact spot. Please don't wait too long. I'll miss you", she said to me before she began to disappear. 'Wait... Who are you? What's your name? WHY ARE YOU HERE?', I began to scream as I found myself back in my room, in bed, at 10:27 AM on a saturday morning.
Chapter 5- MiracleChapter 5- Miracle What on Earth was that? What kind of dream was this? This dream felt almost too vivid. But what was that mysterious creature? I-I can't get her out of my mind: her voice, her appearance, but what really got me, were her words: 'If you want to know me more, come meet me in this exact spot. Please don't wait too long. I'll miss you'. What was she trying to say? It felt like she was asking me to visit her in the forest where I saw her in the dream. I know its gotta be my imagination, I mean come on, 'Wake up Ellis, you were talking to a mythological hybrid'. I chuckled and decided to ignore it, as I finished waking up, feeling more refreshed and perked up than ever before. It felt good to be fully rested for once. I think I earned it after breaking my back studying for classes I'm most likely gonna fail, with the exception of Psychology. Why do I even bother then? Its not like I'm going to college or anything. Why bother? Its a waste of time and money considering I don't have anything to amount to. My saturday started like any other saturday: I wake up, make my bed, take a shower, have breakfast, dress up, and start the day, which on saturdays consist of studying, more studying, and more freaking studying. However today I felt somewhat more relaxed, and energetic. Instead of locking myself at my house studying, I wanted to go out for a jog. I don't know why, I just... Felt like running. I felt good, I felt fit, me being the skinny loser that I am, this feeling was incredible, but I don't understand why I'm feeling it, but I digress. I went up to my room and put on a pair of running shoes, shorts and a tank top, and ran outside to the sidewalk with a very geeky smile on my face as I stared at the long and empty sidewalk. Without even saying a word, I started walking fast... As I walked, I began picking up speed and started jogging... Before I knew it, I started running all over the side walk, feeling the cool winter air breezing through my face as I ran past every house in the neighborhood. After what felt like 2 hours, I looked up, not even breaking a sweat, as I saw what appeared to be Philomena flying out of her cage. She flew below and was able to keep up with me as I ran. I immediately began to question how she got out of her cage, but I was feeling the heat of the moment, and decided to just go with it until I couldn't run anymore. I never felt this good before. It felt great to run again. I always loved running, ever since I was a kid. It was the most fun I ever had by myself whenever I had nothing good to do. It was great to be back, and it felt even greater to have Philomena on my side, seeing as how she was my only friend. After circling the neighborhood for what felt like 4 hours, which is lesser compared to how many hours I clocked running as a child, I was tired and dehydrated. I began walking my way home with Philomena standing on my shoulder as she "cooed" softly. It sounded adorable and I couldn't help but giggle and pet her as I walked by and noticed my house nearby. I wanted to run, but I was too exhausted that I just wanted to lay down on the couch and watch a movie with my new bird. Around the other side of the road, a familiar face was walking down the road waving at me. My old friend Raul was here. I was pretty excited, because Raul and I were pretty close friends in middle school and lost contact when he moved to Orlando 5 years ago. As he drew closer, my face began to smile as he got close to me. 'Ellis buddy, how the hell are you?', he said after shaking my hand. 'Not much actually', I said to him. 'I heard about your old man last week. Nobody informed me and I wasn't aware. Sorry it took me so long to get here man', he began speaking in an apologetic tone as I lightly hugged him and spoke: 'Don't even worry about it. I'm just happy to see you again.', I told him smiling as he smiled again. I invited him to my house for a drink and as we went inside, we began to make conversation. Its funny how we talk for like 40 minutes and he mentions nothing about the bird on my shoulder. As a joke, I decided to bring her into the conversation, 'So... Notice anything new about me?', I said in a seemingly sarcastic tone as he replied 'No not really'. I chuckled for like 3 seconds and pointed at my shoulder and spoke, 'Notice the crimson colored bird on my shoulder?', and then he said, 'What bird?'. Thats when I started laughing. 'Come on, seriously. Look at the bird on my shoulder', I said with a smile on my face as he looked at me with a serious face, 'Ellis, what are you talking about? There is nothing on your shoulder.' Thats when I looked at him seriously as well, while at the same time, talking sternly. 'Raul, seriously: look at the bird. Her name is Philomena.', I said to him trying to get him to stop joking around. 'Are you doing Acid or something Ellis? There's no damn bird on your shoulder', he said with a very confused look on his face as I got a little mad. 'Raul, this isn't funny anymore', I told him trying to snap some sense into him as he looked at me, almost terrified and took my arm, pulling me to the mirror. 'Ellis, what do you see?', he said in an almost monotone voice. 'What do I see, what do I- Its us: you, me and-', I stopped when I gasped in sheer horror as I saw literally nothing on my shoulder on the mirror.
Chapter 6- BreakdownI was frozen still as I kept looking at my reflection. I didn't even look into my shoulder to see if Philomena was still there. I was too scared to even blink. 'E-Ellis... I gotta go. I-I'll talk to you later', Raul said before he showed himself to the door and left. I didn't even look back to say goodbye. I was just... What the hell was going on? Why can't I see Philomena? Why isn't she there? But what really terrified me was the fact that... I knew she WAS there. I could feel her standing on my shoulder, her claws gripping it to hold on. I can smell her, I can hear her, I can sense her... Philomena was on my shoulder the whole time... Or... At least... I hope she is. I turned to my shoulder, eyes closed, slowly, as I peeked up to see my bird, hoping to God that this wasn't my imagination, and that she really was there. I was scared, I was shaking, and as I opened my eyes... Relief. The beautiful crimson bird was standing comfortably on my shoulder like normal, cawing and pecking her itchy feathers. I suddenly turned back to the mirror, and to my surprise, her reflection was back. Why is it back and why wasn't it there a minute ago? Many questions were on my mind, but at the moment, I couldn't care less. I was tired and hungry from my run so I placed my bird on her stand and walked to the kitchen to make myself a sandwich. Once again, I was feeling happy and excited, now I would feel happy and excited with a stomach full of Ham, butter and Bacon. I reached up to grab a knife and as I did, I began to spread butter all over a piece of toast. As I finished spreading the piece, I laid down the bacon and ham, and topped it off with one last piece of bread to cover it. Now it just needed to be reheated. After a minute or two and so, I finally began eating my sandwich, filling up my stomach with delight. I felt fat, which to me was always a good sign. Philomena has drifted to sleep now. How adorable does she look when shes asleep; Poor little bird. However, she looks, strangely weaker than regular. I didn't notice it at first, but Philomena was molting rapidly, almost as if she was sick or something. Maybe it was just my imagination or something, but it just seemed strange. Regardless, she's still looking pretty and healthy as far as I can tell. I just hope its nothing too serious, otherwise I'd have to see a vet. I went to her cage and gave her a little kiss goodnight on the head and went to take a shower after my long run. Inside the shower was where I did the most of my day-to-day thinking: what will I do tomorrow, what will I plan for next week, am I gonna have a great future, and many more thoughts and questions popped into my head, as I felt the cold water pouring down my body, washing my troubles away and cleansing my spirits. I can always find peace in here, surrounded by water, silence and solitude. Strangely enough, the thought of Philomena not being on my shoulder in front of the mirror and then being back again, never popped to my head. My guess is I didn't really wanna think for now, and simply wanted to relax myself. So thats what I did; relax. Relax and feel nothing but the water pouring. I had my eyes closed the whole time, which I normally didn't do because of fear of someone, or something peeking at me and stalking at me. Its childish I know, but I never was the guy who liked to take risks. So I slowly began opening my eyes again, and when I do, I slowly widen them and scream falling down on the shower. What is that walking outside my house? It looked like a strange bizarre animal or something. Regardless, it left me terrified. I didn't know what to do; I was so petrified, I didn't wanna leave. I could hear its footsteps and its breathing, and outside Philomena was screeching wildly. I was in a state of absolute fear. As I finally decided to get up, I put on a robe and made my way outside to see that Philomena was gone. I looked everywhere inside the house, but she wasn't there. There was no open door, no shattered window, there was no way she could have gotten out. Naturally, I dressed up and went outside to see if I could find her, but she wasn't there. All I could do was curl up and scream for her to come... No response... My best friend was gone. And for the first time, in a short, but great amount of time, I felt truly alone. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm usually not to quick to lose hope at a very hopeless situation, but for this moment, I lost hope quicker than ever before. All I could think to do was to curl up on the floor and cry... Just as I heard a familiar voice echoing out on the street. 'P-Philomena?' I walked out into the streets to see Philomena flying around and I got no choice but to follow her. I was so desperate, I didn't even get to my car to follow her. I was still energized, and I was really beginning to get used to running again. This time, I wasn't running out of pleasure or excitement, I was running to recover my best friend. I hope I can catch her in time before nightfall, cause I do not know if I'll be able to run the whole way back at the dead of the night. Author's Note Sorry this took so long to publish. I had a bad case of writers block, and I will admit, this isn't my strongest chapter, but I promise, I'll have more writing, more story and more continuity for this piece of work.
Chapter 1- End of the fairy tale"Just because something isn't real... That doesn't mean... It doesn't exist" -Ellis Chapter 1- End of the fairy tale The sky is gone. The clouds cover in grey what was once a beautiful Easter Sunday, now blanketed by a dark and depressing rainstorm. Much could one least expect on a day of celebration and faith, but given the circumstances of recent events, what is there to celebrate? It has always been a family tradition on an Easter Sunday to gather around on a bonfire, roast a pig, have some s'mores and tell stories all ending with the rest of the family reciting a prayer. My father and I would always go out into the woods and hunt down elk and exchange funny jokes at each other over who can hunt the biggest elk in the woods. Good man, my father was. Wise, kind, strong, brave. Everyone always called him "Jonathan the Bard" because he always had a story to tell and a song to sing. Odd stories. Stories that one would never believe in a million years. Stories told... In the eyes of the dreamer, and not in the eyes of a believer. Stories that he called "fairy tales" and he had hundreds to say if not more. Stories about dragons and knights, monsters and goblins, dungeons and princesses and the famous "and they all lived happily ever after" which I never believed was possible, even by a dreamer. My father would always laugh at me and tell me that just because something isn't real, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist, whatever that meant, but he never failed me or disappointed me in anyway... He was the best at everything and was like a Hero to me... My heart was shattered when I heard news of his passing 2 days before Easter Sunday, the best time of the year for hunting. Instead of hunting or celebrating, today we mourn and bury the only person who ever loved me and cared for me after the passing of my mother... It was the first Easter Sunday, that I have ever been truly alone, and I believe... It makes the beginning of a life of solitude... A life without love. His last words to me were "Ellis, never forget: no matter how sad, scary or cruel life is, there will always be a happy ending". My father was right about many things, except for one... Real life has no happy endings... Only pain and sorrow. Author's Note I know the first chapter is short, but believe me, its gonna get longer and better. If you have any questions, feel free to ask at the comments below. Let me know what you guys think of the first chapter, its dark and tragic, but it will all piece together eventually.
Chapter 7- FearChapter 7- Fear Its been nearly 5 hours since Philomena flew away, and I'm still looking for my feathery friend despite it darkening and me getting extremely tired. I'm starting to get really scared that I may never find her. I looked everywhere she might have flown to and tried every location she could be, but I also kept thinking "She's a bird, she can fly, she can be anywhere", which got me sad, as I began to ultimately lose hope of finding her. After what it felt like a whole week of looking for her, I fell down to the floor breaking down in tears fearing the loss of my best friend. After fearing the inevitable, at the peek of my slow ascend to happiness, at 4 in the morning out in the streets, I have finally lost all hope and accepted the truth: Philomena is gone, and I have no way of seeing her ever again. Slowly, I could feel my depression worsen as I cried my eyes out, relieved that no one was around to witness it. I decided to just stand up and walk home, but as soon as I did, I saw a glow emanating from what I believe was the entrance to the Yunque Rainforest. I immediately feel a shiver of fear running down my spine as I remember the dream I had last night, but something kept calling me towards this ominous glow. Thats when I saw her.... Philomena was there. I could see her flying towards the forest, I know its her, but why is she here? Now wasn't the time for questions: I had to go into the forest and find Philomena and bring her back home. This isn't gonna be easy for me, but for my best friend, it will all be worth it. I just hope my fear won't get the best of me. Author's Note Sorry for the short chapter, had very little time to write since I'm focusing on my studies in college as well. I'll try not to add so many short chapters, but at the same time, give me a break. I'm doing the best I can to make this the story I want it to be as well as enjoyable for all of you. Thank you. :)
