Wonderful Lies, Fruitful Truths

Soarin glided through the sky, feeling the air brush on his face. He loved flying; it made him feel like there were no worries in the world. Soarin gazed down, seeing rows upon rows of apple trees. He was here.

A familiar anxious knot hit his stomach when his feet hit the ground. He sighed uneasily, his hands trembling against the jewelry box. He anxiously fiddled with the box, flicking the top. Soarin shoved the jewelry box into his jacket pocket. All of this fiddling would surely wear down the fine carving.

All he had to do was apologize and give Zephyr the box. And if he was lucky, Zephyr would fall for him all over again. Soarin groaned, shaking his head. There was no need to get his hopes up; this wasn’t about romance. It was about reconciliation.

Soarin strolled through Sweet Apple Acres, his fingernails digging into his knuckles. He just needed to get this over with, then the aching guilt in his chest would fade away.

“What’re you doing here?” Someone asked, disgust lacing their voice. Soarin turned on his heels, his eyes landing on an old lady. She was hunched over, glaring at Soarin.

“Oh, hi! Have you seen Zephyr?” Soarin asked, giving a kind smile. The old lady narrowed her eyes, a nasty scowl creeping on her face.

“You best get going now.” The old lady warned, hobbling on her cane.

“Pardon?”

She lifted her cane, the bottom popping off. Was the inside of it hollow? Soarin crouched down, staring at the cane curiously. Sure enough, the interior was empty. Who hollows out a cane?

The lady lifted it to the sky, gunshots firing a round. Soarin scrambled back, clamping his hands over his ears. It was a gun!?

A bird fell from the sky, blood oozing from its chest. Smoke bellowed from the fresh wound. Its wings still twitched, and its beak hung open. If Soarin wasn’t careful, that would be him.

“Get outta here! I don’t wanna see your face!” She exclaimed, aiming the cane-gun at Soarin. Soarin put his hands to his chest.

“Woah woah, I just wanna talk to Zephyr!” Soarin defended. The old lady stomped her foot, her finger grazing the trigger.

“I’ll give you to the count of three.” She hissed. “One…two…”

“What’s going on, granny?” Big Mac interrupted. The lady, presumably Granny, tilted her head towards Soarin.

“This little thing is trespassing.” She snarled. She closed one eye, readjusting the gun. Her hands had a light tremble, presumably due to old age. “Should I shoot ‘im?”

Soarin’s breath hitched, and he met Big Mac’s gaze. At this point, he wouldn’t be surprised if Big Mac told her to pull the trigger. Soarin was nothing but horrible to him before. If he wanted him dead, it wouldn’t be a shock.

To Soarin’s surprise and relief, Big Mac put his hand on Granny’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle him.”

Granny frowned, placing her cane back on the ground.

“If he tries anything, go for the throat,” Granny instructed, hobbling off. Soarin peaked behind Big Mac, watching the deranged old lady leave.

Once she was out of sight, Soarin sighed in relief. He looked back at Big Mac, giving him a nervous smile.

“Thanks for calling her off.”

Big Mac crossed his arms, glaring at Soarin. If he stared any harder, Soarin was sure that he’d evaporate on the spot. He lowered his head, trying to avoid Big Mac’s gaze.

“What’re you here for?” He asked gruffly.

“I…I want to talk to you and Zephyr.” Soarin admitted. Big Mac eyed Soarin, his face scrunching with disapproval.

“Nope.”

Soarin’s face dropped.

“Come on, man, I just want to have a civil conversation,” Soarin explained. Big Mac’s gaze remained hard. Soarin inhaled sharply, nearly choking on his saliva. There was really no getting through to this guy, was there?

“Mac? What’s going on? I saw you run off.” Zephyr asked, peaking around a tree. Soarin’s eyes lit up.

“Zephyr.” Soarin sighed. It was so relieving to see his angelic face. Zephyr’s eyes were terror-filled, and he clung to Big Mac’s arm. Soarin took a weary step back.

“What do you want?” Zephyr asked, squeezing Big Mac’s arm. Soarin drew a shaky breath. His head raced with a million thoughts. No need to back out now; he needed to do this.

“I’m here to apologize.”

Zephyr’s gaze softened, and his grip on Big Mac’s bicep loosened.

“...Go on.” Zephyr aided. Soarin turned to Big Mac.

“Firstly, I’m so sorry for how I treated you at the picnic. It was completely uncalled for.” Soarin apologized. While Big Mac’s gaze remained solid and unruly, Soarin could see a glint of recognition in his eyes.

Soarin turned back to Zephyr, giving him another apologetic stare.
“I…I realized that I’ve been treating you wrong. I was a terrible boyfriend.” He admitted. Zephyr froze as if he was contemplating. He opened his mouth before quickly shutting it, shaking his head.

“Why are you telling me this now? You had years to apologize.” Zephyr huffed. Soarin frowned.

“Because…I still love you.” Soarin confessed. Zephyr’s breath hitched.

“Soarin, don’t…don’t do this to me.” He begged, rubbing his hand across his face. “You treated me like shit. You can’t just expect me to forgive you with a pitiful apology. I don’t want to fall for you again. I can’t do that to myself. I gave you my life! You gave me nothing but filth!”

Soarin’s breath wavered, and his chest felt heavy. Had he done all of that? Had he really made Zephyr feel that bad?

“I had no idea you felt that way. I’m…I’m so sorry.” His voice trembled. Zephyr pushed past Big Mac, leaning down to Soarin’s height. He was staring directly into Soarin’s soul, his hatred nearly burning his heart.

“Yeah, I bet you are.” Zephyr spat out. He turned on his heels, stomping off.

“Zephyr, wait.”

Zephyr huffed, turning around. He crossed his arms.

“What else could you possibly want.”

Soarin fished through his jacket.

“I also came to give you this.” Soarin held out the jewelry box. Zephyr stared at the box, his mouth gaping open. Zephyr furrowed his brows, and he gritted his teeth. He tugged at his sweater, letting out a shaky exhale.

“Just…go home, Soarin,” Zephyr instructed. Soarin solemnly nodded, placing the jewelry box in the grass.

“Goodbye, Zephyr.”

Soarin opened his wings, shooting into the afternoon sky. As he flew off, he could see Zephyr pick up the jewelry box.