Chapter 1View OnlineWhat's Missing?Chapter 1The portals to Equestria opened about six years ago. I was actually in High school at the time. It's actually kinda funny. Everyone was freaking out about it. But I kept thinking 'sentient ponies? How bad could it be?' Although I don't need to talk about that. I walked off of the buss with my bags and my stick. I walked up to the nearest being that could speak English. I tapped them on what I assume was a shoulder. "Hey, pal quit poking my head!" Says the what I am now assuming is an earth pony due to the height. "Sorry about that, I just need to be pointed in the direction of the gates to the portal." I say to whoever it is. "Well friend you seem kinda stupid. Can't you see you are at it?" I contorted my face into one of annoyance. "Well miss no I am not stupid you obviously haven’t met any blind humans before but, that's alright you didn't know so all is forgiven. For future reference if a human shows up with blacked out glasses and a walking stick they are either really weird or they can not see." After I said I was blind she gasped and apologized a lot. She then asked me for my papers and I pulled them out of the outside pocket of my backpack. She shuffled them around and then handed.....hoofed? I don’t know. She gave them back to me. She then pressed a button with a beep sound and the gates open to my right. I head towards the sound. I secure the lanyard that is attached to my walking stick around my wrist. I can tell that I went through the portal because my hair all over my body stood on end and my whole body was tingling. When I got all the way to the other side the tingling stopped. "Hay Brandon, how have you been?" Asks a voice that I recognize as my friend Cloud Smasher. "Hey Cloud, I've been decent enough. I wish you could have come and visited me in the hospital. (Damn racist hospital. Never using them again)." I said whispering to him at the end. "Ya its a darn shame when you cant see your best friend in the hospital because they have rules against allowing ponies in. Hopefully you don’t have to go to the hospital again soon. You seriously need a less dangerous job!" He said to me. I smirked at that. "If I just followed my own rules. I wouldn't be messed up in the first place. Besides who else is crazy enough to study Terran birds close up?" I then flinched remembering the last study I was doing. My friend noticed me flinch because he quickly changed the subject. We talked for a few more minutes about what was going on recently. The Griffin nation has been more friendly and has even started talking with the human government about having multi-species sports. After a while he walked me to my hotel. We said our goodbyes and I climbed into bed. I pulled out my phone and activated the voice feature. "Dani set alarm for 7:00am." I said to the phone. "/Did you say set alarm for 7:00am?\" "Yes." I spoke clearly in the direction of the phone. I set my phone down on the night stand and got under the comforter. I soon drifted off to sleep. /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\/)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /)(\ /) I woke up to my alarm in a cold sweat breathing hard. It was the same dream that had been haunting me since the incident. It repeated over and over in my head while I'm asleep. 'I'm watching some Eagles. I crash to the ground and all I see is red then nothing.' I get up and make my way to the bathroom and take a shower. After getting out I get dressed and practiced my lecture. I was asked to lecture about the birds on Terra because most Equestrians still don't know anything about Terran animals. I cleaned my face. I moved back into the room and put my clothes on. My shirt felt kinda funny but I didn’t pay it any mind. I grabbed my glasses, phone and my walking stick and left out the room and made my way to the main desk. I told the desk clerk that I would be back later and left. I already knew the way to the local college lecture hall. When I walked in I heard some giggling. I just kept going I missed the podium with my stick and walked right into it. After I righted myself I got up to the podium. "Ahem, hello to all of you who came here today. I am here today to talk to you all about the birds of Terra. If any of you have a question just say 'Professor Cadaret' because I can not see. Now any questions before I begin?" I say into the darkness. "Um...Professor Cadaret? w-what do you mean you can't see?" Says a gentle female voice. "Ah, there is the question I was hoping one of you would ask. I am blind." this got many gasps. "You see my dedication to the birds had some......complications. There was an accident during my time observing the American Bald Eagle. All I remember was watching them then losing sight of one for a minute. Then I was on the ground with one on top of me. After that all I saw was red for a few weeks. Now all I see is darkness." I heard a few murmured words. "And that everyone is why I walked directly into the podium." I say as I pat the podium and laugh a bit. "Professor Cadaret your shirt is backwards" says a kind of cocky female voice. There were some giggles and a few who started full on laughing. I fixed my shirt. "Alright now that none of you are feeling bad for me lets get on with my lecture." My lecture went on for a few hours. I had finally started getting real questions half way through other than 'what is it like being blind' and things like that. After I was done they all left and I just made my way outside. I located someone or....somepony and asked directions to a restaurant. He gave me directions to.....one of the 'Hungry Griffin' restaurants. I headed to the restaurant and heard some loud music and raised voices from inside. As soon as I approached the door I was knocked over by a large furry body. It just sat on my chest. "OH YEAH, WELL I WOULDN'T WANT TO EAT IN YOUR CRAPPY RESTAURANT ANY WAY!" Says an Angry female......something. "AHEM, excuse me miss but you mind, oh, I don’t know, GETTING THE HELL OFF OF ME!" As soon as I say this she flinches but doesn’t do anything other than turn around on my chest and I’m assuming looking at me. "Oh shit....um how long have I been sitting on you dude?" "Since you got thrown out the restaurant, now! would mind getting off me and helping me up?" She does what I ask and I start brushing myself off but then I freeze. She didn't have a hoof it was more like a claw or.......talon. "Excuse me miss but what are you?" "Duh, I'm a griffin." "Sweet, I haven’t met any griffins yet. My names Brandon. What’s yours?" I said sticking my hand out in front of me. "Names Gilda." She says shaking my hand. "So what’s up with the shades, the cane and the fancy clothes, are you some kinda human pimp?" I was shocked at first but then I burst out laughing, so did she. We continued laughing for a few minutes until I finally composed myself enough to speak. "Woo, I haven’t laughed like that in over a year. No I'm not a pimp, hehe. I'm a college professor and I'm blind." "Oh, why haven't you laughed in a while? College professor eh.....sounds kinda like a pansy job. Also how did you go blind?" She said seeming just as courious about me as I was of her. I gave a sad chuckle. "First things first why did you get tossed out of the Restaurant?" I heard something like scratching and a sound of gurgling. "Well, I kinda forgot my money at home so they tossed me out before I got to eat." "Alright come with me I'll pay for your meal and we can hang out and talk some more." "Sweet, hay you're alright." She says to me. "And you seem cool enough c'mon lets go." I said We headed to the door and went in. Author's Note This is part the first chapter of one of my new fics.
Chapter 2View OnlineWhat's Missing?Chapter 2We both walked into the restaurant. The whole place got quiet except for some music being played from somewhere. Someone walked up to me. "What do you want?" She said to me in a hostile tone. "Food and I"m paying for hers as well." "Fine." She said. "You wouldn't mind leading me to a table, would you?" I ask Gilda. "Ya no prob bud." She says to me as she grabs the end of my stick and leads me through the restaurant. She sets my stick down on something." I put your cane on a chair." "Thanks Gilda." Someone came up to our table. "What 'll y’all have?" says a kinda grouchy female voice. "I don't know, what do you have?" I ask her. She snickers. "What human? Can’t read?" she asks me in a condescending tone. I gave an evil smirk and responded. "Only some brail I'm afraid." "Oh looks like we got a tough one." She said. "Only if you count tough as someone who went through massive amounts of pain for over a year and is actually so used to it that it doesn't bother them enough to be a problem anymore." "Oh and what could have happened to you to cause such pain with humans having such cushy lives." She said once again in a condescending tone. At this I smirk again and remove my glasses. I hear at least two gasps and one scream from the female waitress. “Whoa you have no eyes!” Gilda shouts. “Yep, my old job was really dangerous. So dangerous that I lost both my eyes and my left hand was ripped apart, they obviously fixed that but, still. Anyway, what do you have to eat?” “W-w-we have some r-roast chicken?” Says the waitress. I smiled and replaced my glasses. “That sounds good to me thank you and I apologize for having shown you that.” She then pats my arm. “It’s a-alright Ah shouldn’t have insulted y’alls intelligence.” I stuck out my hand. “It’s alright, are we cool?” She put her talon in my hand and shook it. “Ya we’re cool.” “What are you having Gilda?” I ask her. “OH!....uh…. I’ll have the chicken too.” Says Gilda. “Alright, Ah’ll bring’em out in a few minutes.” The waitress says to us. The waitress leaves somewhere. We just sat quietly for a few minutes. Things were getting awkward. “BOOGA BOOGA!!!” I exclaimed. I heard someone jump and scurry away. “What the heck was that about?” Asked Gilda I gave a week chuckle. “There was an awkward silence…. I tried to make it funny instead. I guess it didn’t work.” “Well, I guess it was kinda funny that you scared the owner away when you did that.” “HAHAHAAHEEEEW wow that’s hehe really funny.” I couldn’t stop laughing. Gilda started giggling with me then after a little bit she started full on laughing and it sounded beautiful….wait a minute did I just think of a different species as beautiful? “Well now that the awkward is gone, what do you want to talk about?” “How about how you lost your eyes?” She says to me. “That’s a little much for the first date isn’t it?” I ask her trying to be funny. “WHOA, HAY, WHAT!?” She asked raising her voice in surprise. “Hey take it easy, I was joking.” Then I thought for a minute and frowned. “Is there something wrong with me? Am I not good enough to date?” I asked starting to lower my head continuing my joke. “What NoNO nonono, It’s nothing like that! I w-was just meaning it, it, I…..” She was freaking out now. “HAHAHAAA, you shoulda heard you. You heard me say I was only joking…..or do you actually want to go on a date with me?” I say a bit more seriously. She doesn’t say anything for about a minute. Oh gosh she really does want to go out with me. I think to myself. I clear my throat. “Well, want to date me?” I ask her bluntly. “Yeah.” She replies equally blunt. I give a grin. “Okay we’re dating now. SO, I suppose I could tell you about my eyes.” I go on to tell her I was watching some Eagles out in the mountains of Terra. How I lost sight of one of them. Then how I was on my back and one of them was pecking and clawing out my eyes. How for a few weeks I only saw red and after that only darkness. I told her how they had to reconstruct my hand with surgery and how lucky I was that the Eagle didn’t fly off with the pieces of my hand and that my best friend from college, Cloud Smasher, was there to get me away from the Eagle and get me help. I then told her that I was in the hospital for 8 months. Then in rehab and taking classes for blindness for two months. After that I got a job with the colleges of the United States sending me to Equestria to teach classes about Terran birds. Which leads us to now. “Wow cool, I found a guy with a job.” She says in a joking way. We both started laughing. Our food had arrived when I was in the middle of my story. I now went to take a bite of my chicken and it was warm feeling but had a nice crispy seasoned skin. The inside was tender and juicy. We eventually finished our meal. I paid the place and we both left. I told her where I was staying and that if she wanted to tomorrow that we could hang out again. We gave each other a quick hug and parted ways. I am now in my bed and setting my alarm for tomorrow, thinking about my first day here. Yeah it’s nice here I think I’m going to like it. Author's Note Second chapter in same day.
Chapter 3View OnlineWhat's Missing?Chapter 3*BEEP BEEP BEEP* "UUUGH!" I groan out as my alarm goes off in the morning. "Alarm off." I say sleepily. I push the blanket off of me and swing my legs off of the bed. I get up and go to rub my eyes but end up jabbing a finger into my eye socket. "OW!" I exclaim. I do that sometimes when I just wake up I forget that I don't have eyes anymore. I make my way to the bathroom and start relieving myself. A few sounds from the kitchen area get my attention. I finish up and zip my pants. Slowly I start walking to the kitchen. Upon reaching the kitchen area I stick to the wall and put my face towards the kitchen doorway. "WHOSE THERE!" I shout into the kitchen area. I hear someone jump and something hit the floor. "Jeez dude you didn't have to scare the crap out of me." Said Gilda. "Gilda? How'd you get in here?" I say confusedly. "Oh that, well I told the front desk that I was your girlfriend and they gave me a key. I thought I would come in and make us some coffee." She says. "Do you know where a towel would be?" "Yeah there should be one in the closet in that direction." I say pointing to my left which I think is back towards the bathroom. She starts walking away with soft clicking and thuds which are her paws and claws. "What fell?" I ask into the dark. "What?" She says from somewhere else. I wait for her to walk back and ask again. "Oh yeah that was one of the plastic coffee cups. I said I was making us coffee." She says as she walks past me her tail brushing past my arm. "Ah cool, Dani what time is it!" I yell into the other room. "/It is 7:47am.\" Says my phone from the bedroom. "Ah cool about 40 minutes until I need to be at the University." I say to myself out loud. "Hey Gilda do you have anything to do today?" "Uh, actually no I don't." She says sounding a bit nervous. "You alright?" I ask her. "Y-yes. Lets just say I don't have a job so normally I just hang out." She says continuing being nervous. "Whoa, you don't have a job? How do you get money?" I ask starting to feel bad. "Lets just say my parents were rich and I inherited all of both of their things when they passed away." She says to me getting a bit of sadness in her voice. "Oh, uh then how about you come with me to my class this morning?" I ask her quickly trying to change the subject from something that obviously makes her sad. "Alright, Lets start heading out." She says. I agree with her. I gather my things from around the room. My phone was still on the night stand. I grabbed it and shoved into my left front pocket. My wallet was right next to it (the only reason I really need it is because my ID is in it) I put it in my right front pocket. I look for my suitcase and pull out a shirt and put it on. We just sit and talk after I am ready. After a few minutes we go to leave the rooms. "Wait there's something off about your clothes." She says to me. I tilt my head to the side and ask "What's wrong with them?" "Hmmm, Oh I know your shirt is backwards." She says in an enlightened tone. I face palm and fix my shirt.I can't believe I did it again....at least Gilda caught it instead of one of my students. We head out into the hall way and down the hall to the main desk area. "It's the local branch of the Terra Natural University, right?" She asks me. "Yep, it sure is. Maybe they will keep me for a few years if they think I'm good." I say in an optimistic way. "Maybe. Wana get there fast?" She asks me in a sort of devious way. "Sure are we going to take a carriage or something?" "Hehe nope just follow me." She says grabbing the end of my stick and leading me outside. "So how are we going to get the-HEY WHOA WHAT?" She had let go of my stick and gotten behind me. She Ducked down and went under me so my butt was around her back behind her wings. "Just sit down you dork. I'm going to fly us there." She says confidently. I comply with what she says but am very nervous. She then has me lean forward and hook my hands around her neck, but not tight enough to choke her. She tells me I'll be fine and tenses up her legs. Suddenly she jumps and starts flapping her wings. I am definitely scared but this is also fun. We continue up for about a minute then we are flying steady for a few minutes. Soon I start to feel her banking in a loose curve downward. I feel us going down in my stomach. It is so amazing the feeling of flying even if I can't see it. We eventually land on the ground. I carefully let go of her and try to stand up but end up falling backwards because my legs just don't want to support me. "You alright, I didn't scare ya did I?" She says in a kind of mocking voice. "YA.... BUT THAT WAS TOO AWESOME FOR ME TO EVEN CARE!" I say finally showing my excitement. "IS FLYING ALWAYS LIKE THAT?!" "HEHEHE Ya it's awesome isn't it?" She says with a confident tone. "Anyway were here." I go to get up off the ground and as I do she extends her claw to me to help me up. After I am standing up I lean down and place a quick kiss on her claw. She takes her claw back and keeps quiet for a few minutes. "AHEM, want to go in now?" I ask her to bring her back from wherever she went. She grabs my stick again and leads me up the steps and into the building. I'm so proud of myself I only tripped once. We then walk into the halls that contain the class rooms. "It should be lecture room number 56." I tell her. we eventually reach the room and I she opens the door it gives a kind of whining screech. There was talking going on on the other side. Gilda grabs my stick again and leads me into the room. Upon entering the cocky voiced female from yesterday yells out. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE GILDA!" Author's Note I hope you all like the new chapter. Also am I getting any better with details and describing what he feels?
Chapter 4View OnlineWhat's Missing?Chapter 4Oh great. "Alrighty then, you two come with me." I say and turn around and walk forward. I walk directly into the door. I shake my head from the impact and reach around for the door knob until the door opens from someone else. "Thank you, now come on you two." I say as I walk out the door into what I think is the hallway. It smells like old books Once I walk all the way through I bump into a wall. I turn around and hear hooves and talons clicking and clopping on the obviously wood floor. After they get close enough they both get in with me and shut the door. What I didn't realize was that it was the instructor supply closet. All three of us are crammed into a closet that is supposed to be used for extra boxes of chalk and paper. I now have feathers in my face, a hoof up against my knee and what feels like a talon touching my man area. I let out a sigh and say "Well this is interesting...Gilda could you move that just a bit. Maybe you can start touching that after we've been dating for longer than a day." The talon moves and I hear a quiet mumble that went along the lines of 'not in front of her'. I give a light chuckle and say "Alright, what exactly is the problem?" The mare I learn was actually best friends with Gilda back when they were in flight school and her name is Rainbow Dash. Gilda was extremely mean to Rainbow's new friends. "Now, what is your side of this Gilda?" I ask her. "All I wanted to do was spend some time with her. Around her new friends I can't be as...emotional as i wanted to be. I just wanted a friend to talk to about my parents passing. I-I-I just wanted to be alone with my friend." I hear some sniffling and reach behind me for some paper. I maneuver my arm in front of me offering them both some. I feel them both take some. "Are all three of us cool here now?" I ask them. "Yeah I think we're cool." Says Rainbow. "Yeah, but I'm going to still have to apologize to your friends." says Gilda. "Well, I came here with one of them. You remember Fluttershy?" asks Rainbow. "Uh, no which one was that?" "Yellow pegasus, pink mane and tail. You screamed at her after she ran into you." "Oh...yeah." "..." "Can we leave the closet now?" I ask them. They both start laughing. Someone opens the door and we walk out . As we were walking out Gilda asks " Why did you bring us in the closet in the first place?" "I...thought it was the door to the hall..." I replied to them. The entire class burst into laughter. I crossed my arms and pouted then loosened up and started laughing too. I started laughing so hard that I had to lean on my walking stick. After I calmed down I calmed down the class and started teaching. While I teach Gilda said she was going to sit with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. After the class I hear two sets of hoof steps and the click thud of talons and paws comming towards me. "Hey B, Dash and Fluttershy are going to join us for dinner, but it's my treat this time." Gilda says to me. "But if you start doing that I'll probably start feeling like I'm only using you for your money." I say while making a pouty face. "And if you are the only one paying I'll feel like I'm not pulling my own weight." She starts back at me. She is starting to get when I'm messing with her. "Alright, alright, hehehe. So, where are we going?" "How about the same place we went yesterday?" Gilda asks me. "Do they serve food there that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershe can actually eat?" I ask her. "Um...my name is actually F-Fluttershy..." "Sorry miss." I say to her. Gilda pipes up with "Yeah they have a vegetarian menu there too." "Okay, is it alright with you two that we go to the Hungry Gryphon?" I ask the two mares. "Eh, it's cool with me. What about you Flutters?" "Oh...um...y-yes that sounds f-fine to m-m-me." She says quietly, whispering near the end. "She's cool with it." Says Rainbow. "It'll be kinda like a double date." "Well, I've never been on a double date before." I state as a matter of fact. "Get used to it B, you are going to be doing a LOT of things you have never done before." Gilda says to me. I give a scared look. "Some of those things won't involve whips and chains will they?" I hear what sounds like someone getting slapped and then three voices laughing. I start laughing too. When we all calmed down I say "Come on everyone lets go." I walk through the door. "....What is with him and that supply closet?" Rainbow asks then starts laughing. Gilda follows me and starts leading me by my walking stick. We exited the building about a minute later and started heading towards the restaurant. Author's Note If anyone sees a mistake let me know because I did this on my Galaxy Player.
Chapter 5View OnlineWhat's Missing?Chapter 5When we exited the University Gilda was still leading me. Upon stepping onto the stairs I fall forward onto Gilda making her fall as well. We tumble down the small flight of stairs with her ending up sitting on my chest. I let out a groan and say "Well that was a bit unpleasent." Gilda groans too and replies with "Yeah, are you good?" "Yeah I'm fine, are you alright?" I ask her. "Oh, yeah, sure I'm fine." She says. I hear what sounds like two somethings with wings. By how softly the sounds are the wings are smaller than Gildas. "Oh my are you two alright?" Says Fluttershy with more confidence but still softly. "Yes were fine Fluttershy. Although I have a feeling of deja vu." I say to them. "Deja who?" Asks Rainbow. "Deja vu, it means having the feeling that something happened already." "Like what?" Asks Gilda. I give a wide grin and say "How did we meet?" "Ehehehe, um...I got tossed out of the restaurant and landed on you." She replies a bit quietly. "Aaannnd what are you doing now?" I ask. "...Sitting on you...again." she says. "Hehe, Can we get up now?" I ask while starting to laugh. She quickly gets off of me and helps me up. Gilda grabs my walking stick again and starts leading me through the streets. We stop at a shop on the way that sells small trinkets and sculptures made of glass. The store smells kind of like lavender. I stay near the front of the store. Eventually someone with hooves comes up to me. "Hello there, can I help you find something?" Says a nervous mare. "Oh no, I'm fine. I'm just waiting for my girlfriend and our friends to finish looking around." I say to her. "Are you sure you don't want to look around?" She asks me. "I would if I could miss, but I would have to be able to see to be able to look." I say to her. "Oh my goodess...you're b-blind?" She asks me. "Yes I am miss..." "G-Glass Doll." She says. "Why don't you go get them fixed? Equestrian doctors are able to heal blindness." I frown a bit and say "I would Miss Doll, but that isn't an option. If there were anything left of them then maybe I could, but since there isn't I am just going to have to continue with no sight." I say back to her sadly sighing at the end. "I'm sorry I brought it up. Why don't I help you pick something out for your girlfriend to make it up to you?" I move my hand to my chin and start scratching it while thinking. Eh, why not. "Alright, but I am still paying for it." I state as a matter of fact. "So, who is your girlfriend?" She asks me. "Her name is Gilda, she's the gryphon I came in here with." I tell her. She goes off into the shop somewhere. After a few minutes she comes back. I hear a jingling sound that I know is unicorn magic. She approaches me slowly. "This should be something nice for her. Hold out your hand." She says to me. I hold out my hands. She places a small glass figurine in my hands. I can feel the tingling of the magic and then it disappears leaving only the small glass figurine in my hands. I start carefully feeling around it. It is obviously a small glass gryphon, but the amount of detail I can feel on it is amazing. I can feel individual feathers on the wings and head. The talons each have small segments. Plus it is still warm. The features on it are so small that they would break if you arent carefull. "This is amazing how do you get so much detail on something so small?" I ask. "I have a great attention to detail." She says. "I made it look as close to what she looks like as I could." I smile and say "How much is it?" "Hmm, about 20 bits, but I'm gift wraping it for free." She states as a matter of fact. I pull two coins out of the pocket that I keep the silver bits. I hand them over to her and she trots off to go and wrap it. After another few minutes she comes back and gives me a small wrapped box. "Thank you Miss Doll. I appreciate this a lot." I say to her while smiling. "You are very welcome. Mr..." "Brandon Cadaret." I say to her. "I hope to see you around sometime Mr. Cadaret." Says Glass Doll. "And I hope to 'hear' you sometime Miss Doll." I reply to her. She lets out a light chuckle and trots off. A few minutes later I hear the clicking and thiding of Gilda walking towards me. "Hey B...I see you bought something." She says to me. "Yes that is a gift for you, but you don't get to open it till after dinner." I say to her. "Aaww, fine. But you don't get desert then." She says to me in a joking way. "Heheh, alright but you may change your mind later and want to give me some sugar." I say to her joking right back. I hear two sets of hooves come towards me and Gilda. They stop a few feet away . "Hey G and Prof B. What's that you got? Did you get your girlfriend a present too?" says Rainbow. "Eyup, what did you get?" I ask her. "I got my fillyfriend a cu-uh...awesome little bunny sculpture..." She says. "Thank you so much Rainbow. I love it sooo much." says Fluttershy. "Oh um, I mean y-you didn't have to." "Heh, it's cool Flutters, I wanted to get it for you." Rainbow says to Fluttershy. "Aww." says Fluttershy. I hear a quick but quiet smack sound. They had probably just kissed. I cleared my throat to get everyones attention and said "Why don't we head out to the restaurant now?" The three of them agree. Gilda grabs my cane and leads me out of the shop. We walk for another few minutes and end up near the restaurant. It smells great. We all walk into the restaurant and the ambient noise stops. Author's Note BOOYAH TWO IN TWO DAYS!!! I got an extreme amount of inspiration in the past few days.