The Purpose of Life

Chapters

My Horrible Past
A Change For The Better
The Purpose Of Life

My Horrible Past

I threw my phone violently at the floor, cracking the screen as I did so, but I didn't care. The first girl who I actually thought I had a chance with in months had just broke up with me, and, in my life situation, this is exactly what I didn't need. I pulled at my hair, frustrated with myself, I was just losing too many people in my life.

I'm Daniel, and my life is pretty much complete misery, but it's not like anyone cares. My mother and father were killed in a car accident when I was only eighteen, my younger brother, Alexander, half my age, at nine years old was even more devastated than me. Both of our lives had taken a turn for the worst since then.

I remember everything perfectly.

I was studying excessively for a test I had to take for my final in my Senior year in high school, when the home phone a couple inches to my right rang.

"I'll get it!" I shouted so that Alexander could hear.

I picked up the phone without caring much, probably just a solicitor, I thought to myself.

"Is this Daniel Lewis?" a man who's voice I didn't recognize said.

"Yes, this is him. Who is this?" I asked suspiciously.

"This is Andrew Clark, chief of police at the NYPD, and I'm afraid I have some very bad news." he said.

My heart skipped a beat. This had to be something serious; the chief of police doesn't just call to talk about unimportant things!

"Daniel, I'm afraid that your mother and father were just killed in a high-speed automobile accident, as well as the other driver. They are being kept at..." He cut off as I dropped the phone.

This couldn't be happening. My parents, dead, just like that? No, this had to be a misunderstanding, but how could the deaths of three people be a misunderstanding? I felt tears welling up at the corners of my eyes.

"Hey Dan, I was just about to..." Alex stopped as he saw me crying.

"Wha, what's wrong? I've never seen you like this!" he said.

I couldn't tell him, it would be too much. But he was my brother, they were his parents too. I hesitantly decided that he would have to know.

"Uh, Alex, I just received word that, that..." I stammered.

"What is it! I wanna know why you're so sad!" he said firmly.

"Mom and dad, they.. they're dead." I said as more tears started flowing freely down my face.

"No, no. It can't be! You're lying!" Alex said as I told him the truth. However, I could tell by his expression that he believed me.

He ran out the door, and that's the last time we talked until another tragic event happened.

Alex had been diagnosed with cancer.

I had been seeing him every day since then, but I knew it was only a matter of time until, until... I refused to think about it.

We had no relatives; I was the only one he could trust to always be by his side.

It had been four years. At thirteen years old, Alex had so much more to live for, but he was only given 4 months after the chemo therapy. He was small, so it wouldn't take long for the disease to spread. Also, he was still saddened by our parents' deaths. All this did was shorten the time he had to live.

It had been 3 months since Alex had received chemo. He still has time, I thought to myself.

I was visiting him in the hospital one day. I wanted to encourage him to live on, to not worry, that everything would be alright. But we both knew this wasn't true, and I would never lie to him.

He was smiling at me as I walked in, but just this looked very painful for him.

"Dan, I need to tell you something." he said quietly.

I leaned closer to him.

"You were the best brother I could have ever asked for, and I want you to know, that I will continue to love you, no matter what." he finished with a few small coughs.

"You too, buddy." I choked out.

Alex slowly closed his eyes, and the small rise of his chest slowly stopped.

I stared in disbelief, got up and left.

I got home and laid down on my bed, refusing to believe what had just happened. After what seemed like ages later, I finally accepted the fact that my little brother was dead.

I couldn't live like this, with no family. I couldn't take it anymore, I thought as I drifted off.

A Change For The Better

I had no dream, just the image of Alex's death replaying over and over again, right in front of me. I felt immense sadness whenever it got to the part where he told me how he felt about me. When it finally ended, I slowly sat up, not wanting to live another day of this misery. I looked carelessly at the tree in front of me, and-

Wait, a tree?

My half closed eyes snapped open, and if you asked me how, I wouldn't be able to explain it, but there I was, in some sort of forest. There was foliage everywhere, and the constant sound of birds joyfully singing to each other.

Joy. There's something I would never feel again.

I also noticed that I was completely naked, and, not knowing where the heck I was, this made me very uncomfortable. Along with the feeling of horrible loss, I was also on display to whatever, or whoever lived in this unknown place. Honestly, this was the last thing I needed in my current situation.

Then I heard a rustling in the bushes, and I couldn't describe what I saw next.

A small, almost toy-like yellow pony with light pink mane had emerged, eying me frightfully. I could see its fright through its large blue eyes. Since I had no idea where I was or what I could do, I stupidly said "Hello?"

Wow, look at me, talking to a pony, how ridiculous.

"Um.. hi." the pony said in an almost inaudible voice.

Oh my God, did that pony just, talk? I must have been imagining this, but it felt too real. I decided to just keep going with whatever was happening.

"Hi, my name's Daniel, and I have no idea where I am or how I got here. Could you please explain to me where I am?" I asked desperately.

It looked at me carefully, and I saw the doubt in its eyes. Its wings opened slowly, as if it were about to fly away.

"No! It's okay, I won't hurt you, I just need to know what is going on." I pleaded.

The pony, which I was guessing was female, slowly made eye contact with me.

"Hi, I'm, Flu, Fluttershy, and you're in a small forest just outside of Ponyville." said Fluttershy carefully, confirming my thought that she was female.

"Ponyville? I'm afraid I've never heard of it." I said.

It was now obvious to both of us that I was hopelessly clueless of where I was.

"Oh dear, I don't know where you're from, but you're definitely not from anywhere here in Equestria." said Fluttershy, obviously starting to get a little freaked out.

Having never heard of such a place, I agreed with her, and told her where I was from.

"New York? Please forgive me sir, but I've never heard of that."

I was now sure that returning to my hometown was hopeless, even if I didn't want to.

"That's, that's okay." looking away sadly. Just thinking about the town where I had lost my family made me want to cry.

"Are, are those tearmarks?" Fluttershy asked as she examined me closer.

"Um, yeah, It's a long story. Look, I'm sorry for wasting your time." I said sadly, expecting her to go.

To my surprise, she had actually come closer, and she said.

"Mister, I shouldn't have been so afraid of you. No non-peaceful creature is so polite, or cries."

"Thanks Fluttershy." I said. She thought I was polite, and she was the one calling me sir and mister!

"Mister Daniel, I see that you had nowhere to go, and, I wanted to know, if you would allow me to take care of you, at least until the rest of your family find you. I take care of animals after all." she said with all of the courage she could muster.

"Um, thank you very much." I said as I relaxed slightly.

"Okay, my house is this way" she said as she started walking.

When she saw that I wasn't moving, she said, "Is something wrong, sir?"

"Oh, it's just that I'm used to wearing clothes, if it isn't too much trouble." I said nicely.

"Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't know. I could make a simple outfit for you when we arrive." she offered.

"Thanks, that would be very kind of you." I said as I slowly got up.

"Your welcome, mister, I won't look, I promise!" she told me.

"Again, thank you, and Fluttershy, you can just call me Dan, don't feel the need to be so formal." I said with a smile, cringing slightly as I remembered that's what Alex used to call me.

At least now I had something that cared about my well-being. I thought to myself, this is definitely a change for the better.

The Purpose Of Life

As we emerged from the thickest of the leaves and foliage, we entered a small clearing. I saw a small house that looked very similar to a tree with the vegetation growing on the outside. There was also a calm little stream running under a small bridge, and there were small animals scurrying around in and around the trees. There were also many bird houses hanging from the branches that didn't already have a naturally-built nest resting on top of them.

"Wow Fluttershy, this place is so, peaceful." I said.

"Thanks Mist- Dan, I'll show you inside, and then I'll get right to work on making you some clothes to the best of my abilities." she said shyly.

Before I could respond, we were inside of the living room. The place had a warm feel to it, and I saw several small rabbits and mice looking uncertainly at me from small holes carved into the walls, just for them. One of them, a white rabbit was shaking his small head.

"Angel! Treat our guest kindly. I know he looks different, but that doesn't give you any reason to be mean to him!" Fluttershy said firmly.

Angel just turned stuck out his tongue and went back into his hole.

"I.. I'm sorry you had to see that, I've just been told that I have to be, more assertive." she said instantly returning to her previous shy attitude.

"Oh, that's quite alright with me." I said with a soft smile.

"Ok, Dan. Oh! I almost forgot, I need to show you where you'll be sleeping!" she said.

Fluttershy lead me upstairs and showed me to what looked like a spare bedroom.

"This is where I usually sleep, but you can sleep here while you're staying with me. I'll.. I'll just sleep on the couch." she said kindly.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to cause you to have to do that." I said, just as kindly as her.

"Please Dan, I insist." she said.

Before I could say otherwise, she was walking back down the stairs, telling me that she'd make my clothes as she was doing so.

About an hour later, Fluttershy returned with a pair of smoothly-sewn brown pants and shirt in her mouth.

"I'm not used to making outfits for animals your size, so I'm dearly sorry if it doesn't fit." she said apologetically.

I smiled as she handed me the clothes and I put them on. They fit perfectly, and now that I was covered up, I didn't feel so embarrassed.

"Oh thank you Fluttershy, you're so nice!" I said happily.

"You're welcome, Dan." she said softly, blushing.

She then looked out the window in the room.

"Oh, I didn't realize the time, you should really get ready to go to sleep. I can even try to ask my friend Twilight help you find your family, since you aren't from around here and she is very quick to find solutions to problems like these." she said quietly.

My family. In the recent turn of events, I had almost forgotten. A small tear rolled down my face as the pain returned.

"Dan, what's wrong? Is it something I said?" she asked innocently.

I didn't want to ignore her or lie to her, and I felt that she should know, so I told her.

"Fluttershy, I don't have a family." I said painfully.

"Oh my. Wha, what happened?" she asked, with a small strain in her voice.

"My parents were killed in an accident years ago, and my brother, Alex, who was only thirteen years old, died of a slow and painful illness." I said, feeling a soreness in my throat as I cried even more.

I fell onto the bed, not able to stand as this new wave of sadness fell over me.

"I'm, I'm so sorry, Dan." she said, tearing up herself.

I looked at how sad I had made her, and through my tear-obscured vision, I saw how a creature as kind as her was so rare to come by. She had hardly known me, and was crying with me over my parents' and brother's deaths. Before I knew it, Fluttershy embraced me, her wings wrapping around me as she cried with me. This is what I hadn't experienced since my brother died. Someone who actually cared about me. We pulled away from each other.

"Thanks, I needed that, Fluttershy."

"You're welcome, Dan, and if you ever need to talk to me about something, I'm here." the natural shyness in her voice was still audible, but she talked to me as if she'd known me for a longer time than she actually had.

"Goodnight Dan." she said as she slowly closed the door behind her.

"Goodnight." I said as my eyes slowly shut.

I woke up to the humming of Fluttershy downstairs and the scent of something very sweet. As I made my way downstairs, the smell grew stronger, and I saw Fluttershy at a stove, cooking.

"Good morning Dan, I wasn't sure what you liked so I boiled a lot of edible vegetables together in a homemade sauce." she said as she put the food onto a wooden plate and motioned for me to sit at a small table.

As I waited for the vegetables to cool off, I thanked Fluttershy for her kindness and hospitality.

"It's nothing, really. I'll always help an animal in need!" she exclaimed.

After I finished my unbelievably tasty breakfast and thanked Fluttershy, I felt like I owed her something.

"Um, Fluttershy? I feel like I need to repay you after all of the help you've provided to me. Is there anything I could help you with?" I asked.

"Well, I could use some help with hanging up some of my newly painted bird houses." she offered.

"Okay, that sounds simple enough." I said as I accepted her offer.

We went outside to one of the many trees surrounding her house. I was placing one of the birdhouses on a branch when I heard Fluttershy gasp.

I turned around quickly, and saw her looking at something, as I peered closer, I realized that it was a dead bird. I was relatively unaffected by it, because I had seen so many birds dead on the street back home. However, I knew that Fluttershy would be upset because of her care for animals.

"Oh what a shame." she said sadly, digging a small hole and placing the bird in it.

As she buried the bird, I could hear others singing.

Her blue eyes lit up.

"The birds are singing? But one of them just died." I said, not understanding how these birds could possibly be happily singing when one of them had just died in front of them.

"Yes, but they, like all creatures, they continue to live happily for the rest of their lives even if they lose someone dear to them." she said.

Then it dawned on me. These birds had lost someone they loved, yet they weren't going to be miserable for the rest of their lives. They accepted the fact and moved on.

I couldn't do anything to go back and stop my parents or brother from dying, and being so sad about it that the misery ruled my life was pointless. I was actually happy to be alive, no matter what tragedies I had faced in the past. The purpose of life was to happily live on, not being hindered by tragedies forever, and to enjoy it.

I was so glad that I was free of this misery that I thought would last forever. I turned to Fluttershy, smiling and said, "So, about the birdhouses."

She smiled as she had realized I had overcome my devastation.

The End