Bird Boy

Date: 2/20/2019

By Lambertz

I remember this one in chunks, and it kept switching between 1st and 3rd person, so the narrative will be all over the place. I remember soaring over a snowy field. I was following a path to my destination, but the path didn't confine me, like it did most others, I merely used it for guidance to find my way home. When I did get home, there was someone waiting for me. Not my mother, as I'd hoped, but a group of boys I knew. We didn't get along. They were accusing me of something, I don't remember what, but I know I wasn't guilty. Initial hostilities turned into violence and I was struck down. They hit me again and again as I lay on the ground, until something scared them off. I just lay in front of my house, in the cold, until my mother came back from running her errands. She was horrified. She demanded to know who'd done this to me. I don't know if I told her or not, but I knew there was nothing either one of us could do about it. She knew it too. I was soaring over the field again, but this time it was arid and hot. All the plants that used to live in it were dry and crumbling. I knew I was escaping from something bad. I knew the place I had just left was dead, and I knew I would die too if I stayed behind. So I took off, never looking back, in search of life. The group consisted of four friends, seasoned in the art of adventuring and looking to unravel a great secret. The party leader, a young woman with shining armour, was the first to spot the boy. He was short, and wearing oversized black and purple robes. A shock of white, curly hair sat atop his tanned face, framing his hawkish black and yellow eyes, and stopping just before the black scarf he used to hide the lower half of his face. The robes were so large on his small frame they almost covered the entirety of his mottled brown wings. The young woman and the boy got to talking. It seemed as though fate had brought them together, for they were seemingly searching for the same thing, and they both possessed information the other needed to proceed. She begrudgingly agreed to let him join the party, albeit only temporarily and under the strictest of supervision. The boy didn't seem to mind, he was content to have found someone who could make his search a little easier. We approached a cave, just as the map had said we would, and the warrior signaled for us to stop. Neither she nor the witch could make sense of the writings on the map--the others didn't even try--and were just about ready to brush this whole avenue of investigation as a dead end. I knew there was something they were missing. Something inside the cave. I could see, or feel?, a faint glow coming from within it. So I followed. The warrior called out for me but I wasn't listening, I just kept walking. The rest followed me inside, cautious at first, but seeming to take comfort in the fact that I looked like I knew exactly where I was going. I didn't--not entirely--but I would never admit that. After a couple of twists and turns, I dropped down into a hole on the cave floor. When I hit the floor and looked around I found myself in a room. It's only exits or entrance points seemed to be the hole in the ceiling I just came from, and a pair of tall double doors. I opened the doors and saw stretched out before me the ruins of a large building, like a library of sorts, with a sparkling pool of turquoise water in the middle. Grass grew in large patches on the floor, sometimes replacing it entirely, and ivy curled around the bookshelves. The whole space was lit as if with bright sunlight, which seemed impossible, but I could not discern a real source of light apart from the pool. The rest of the group dropped in behind me, and we proceeded to explore the building in awe. The warrior was keeping a close eye on me, though, I think she was getting suspicious. I walked over to the witch, who found a mostly intact bookshelf and was busy piling up dusty tome after dusty tome onto her arms, excitedly calling out the subjects of each book. Eventually, my attention was drawn towards the sparkling pool in the middle of the room. It was sunk into the ground, square in shape, and there were cracked stone steps leading down to it. I approached alongside two others. The second our feet touched the first stone step, we saw a translucent figure appear at the edge of the pool. As we continued downwards the figure became clearer. It was a woman soaking her feet in the water, resting a sword on her lap. She invited us to swim alongside her. We felt compelled to do so. There was a whoosh and a screeching sound--the warrior had thrown her weapon at the woman, whose image shattered on impact, leaving behind only the ghostly sword. The pool immediately shifted from a rich turquoise colour into a deep, glowing purple. The witch rushed down to inspect the water, followed closely behind by the rest. She reached her hand into its surface and pulled back immediately after making contact, describing the acid-like burning sensation she felt when her flesh touched the purple liquid. The warrior cautiously dipped her sword, when nothing happened to it, she tried the same with her finger. She also pulled back instantly and clutched her hand tightly, warning us not to follow her example. I, however, had a different feeling about the water. Before anyone could stop me I had plunged my hand into the pool. It felt soothing and energising at the same time, like electrifying mint. I dipped my other hand and cupped some water in my hands, splashing it on my face and bringing it up to my lips to drink. The others watched dumbfounded. I knew I had just put my secret in peril but finding this water was too great an opportunity to pass up. I stood up and shook my hands off excess water, watching as the warrior step back in shock as a few stray drops found their way onto her skin. I mumbled an apology and started turning away. She stopped me and demanded to know how the water hadn't hurt me. I couldn't tell her the truth, and we both knew any attempt at an excuse would have been a lie. Still, I lied to her face with something convincing enough to sound reasonable to the rest of the party, and even though they believed me, I knew the only reason she didn't strike me down right then and there was her determination to find out the truth at a later date. The last thing I remember, as we moved on to exploring the rest of the ruins, was the feeling of the dark secret festering inside me. I'm not sure if i was abstaining from revealing it to protect myself from what they would do if they found out, or to protect them from me and the darkness inside.