part0031

Cool, refreshing wind tugged my hair as I sat on the sill of the open window, drowning out the heat of the midday sun. The soft strumming of Argus’ and Rylan’s acoustic guitars filled the room, and the smoothness of their voices filled my ears. With a quiet, relaxed sigh, I leaned back and gazed past the small balcony and watched the people of the city drift by. This is what it had been like all day. I forgot how slow life was when you had nothing to do.

Growing bored with the environment outside, I paid attention to life inside the house instead. Zane and Blaze were at the shop, doing some extra project work when they should have been utilizing the one day the shop closed every week, to do something else with their lives. Ryoko sat with Genesis, near Argus and Rylan, and casually watched them play. Seda meditated in the corner close to me, and then there was Raikidan. He sat on the corner of the couch closest to me and read. He had stolen the book from me when I hadn’t been looking, and it was the only reason I was by the window. I hadn’t felt like fighting over it with him. It was a waste of energy I just didn’t have.

Readjusting to a “normal” life was much harder than I thought it would be. Genesis was even surprised and insisted I not take any assignments until I’d recovered. I was on my third day of rest now, and it didn’t feel like I was doing much recovering. I have to go back to working tomorrow. I can’t just let myself sit like this.

I went back to looking outside, although it wasn’t all that great to look at. Everything here was lifeless and dull. It smelled bad, and the small amount of plant life that was spread about looked dead compared to life outside the city walls. The ground was covered in hard asphalt, and the dirt you could find was soiled with who-knows-what.

I missed the forest. I missed the bird songs and the softness of the grass between my toes. I missed the sounds of the rain splashing against the leaves and the endless room to run without stopping. I missed the crunch of the leaves underfoot and the feel of winter snow that came up to my hips. The city was never really my home, but then again, neither was the forest.

I had only small amounts of time to enjoy so many simple things in life. I would relish the day I could have those again, but deep down I knew that would never happen. It’s… not my destiny…

The sound of tiny fluttering wings echoed in my ears. Turning, I spotted a small songbird perched on the railing of the balcony. Slowly moving my hand out, I called to it quietly with quick tweeting whistles. The little bird tilted its head back and forth and jumped about on the railing until it fluttered over to me. It landed on my fingers and chirped at me. I could feel the fragility of its legs and the quiet beat of its tiny heart. With a small smile, I brought my hand closer to me and gently stroked its chest. The tiny bird chirped and puffed itself out in delight. A happy giggle escaped my lips, catching the attention of the others.

Genesis gasped quietly. “Eira has a birdie.”

Slowly she slid off the couch and made her way over to me. She placed her hands on my leg and peered up with her curious child-eyes. I lowered my hand so she could get a better look. She lifted her hand, but stopped and looked at me apprehensively. I nodded and she reached out and stroked the bird’s belly the same way I had done. The bird closed its eyes and puffed out more.

Genesis giggled in delight. “How are you doing this? How are you able to keep such a timid animal so calm and get it to sit on your hand?”

I shrugged casually. “Just a trick I was taught.”

“By a friend from outside the city?”

By Xye… I smiled at her. “Yeah, by a friend.”

The bird stretched its wings and fluttered off my hand. I bit my lip and held my hand to my mouth.

Raikidan slowly lifted his gaze from reading and looked at me. “That bird is on my head, isn’t it?”

I nodded, trying hard not to laugh. He really didn’t look at all amused by the idea of a bird on his head, and I had to admit he looked absolutely ridiculous with it there.

“Get it off,” Raikidan ordered. I couldn’t help but laugh now. Not only did he look stupid with it there, but he refused to remove it himself. “Eira, I’ll kill it if I try, and I don’t think you want that.”

I sighed. He was a stick in the mud.

Getting up, I moved over to him and attempted to convince the bird to hop back on my finger. The little bird puffed out and moved around on his head, attempting to dodge my hand. I narrowed my eyes and whistled to it. The bird didn’t respond.

Raikidan growled. “Get it off now!”

Startled by Raikidan’s anger, the bird flew off his head and flew into the kitchen.

“Nice job, Raikidan,” I muttered before going into the kitchen.

The tiny bird sat in a far corner, its flight instinct in full control. I whistled to the little creature several times, but it remained unresponsive to my coaxing. Thinking of another strategy, I reached within myself, finding a warm pulsating sensation.

“Why do something like this for a silly little bird?” the voice hissed. “It’s just a stupid bird.”

Whenever I reached for this energy, the voice always had something to say. I didn’t care what it thought of the bird.

I whistled again, but this time laced a little spiritual energy into the sound. That should get it to calm down.

The enhanced sound traveled and twisted its way around the tiny creature, calming it. I approached and coaxed the tranquil animal onto my hand, where it chose to go about preening itself.

Genesis beamed a smile at me when I exited the kitchen for the windowsill again. I ignored Raikidan’s gaze and sat back down. Genesis leaned on my leg to watch the cute creature in my hand.

Once the bird was satisfied with its preening job, it chirped once and then flew out the window.

Genesis pouted. “Aw, bye birdie.”

The two of us gazed out the window, watching the tiny bird disappear into the distance. She then ran off suddenly, making a dash for my room. My brow furrowed. What is she up to?

Today had been a bit difficult for her. She was having one of her “child” moments, where she struggled to act more than her perceived body age. It happened quite often in the past, and I was a bit disappointed they still hadn’t figured out how to prevent it at this point.

Genesis returned, a small oak box in her hands.

“What did you take from my room?” I asked.

She shoved the box into my hands and then pulled her hands behind her back, looking away as if embarrassed. Brow raised, I focused on the wooden container, running my fingers over it. It was beautifully crafted, and the gloss coating barely existed now, showing its age. I ran my fingers over the symbols engraved on the curved lid and flat face of the body. I didn’t know what they said, but they looked nice. They remind me a lot of the special code Jasmine developed for me to use…

I opened the box. It was lined with violet silk, and inside rested an object wrapped in more silk. Reaching in, I pulled out the object and removed the cloth. In my hands I held a beautifully crafted pan flute with symbols carved into it similar to the ones on the box.

I looked at Genesis. “Why did you dig this up?”

She looked at her feet, digging her toes into the floor. “I want you to play it. You only play it when you’re in a good mood, and I thought the bird put you in a good enough mood to play a song.” She looked up at me with big pleading eyes. “Please?”

I smiled, unable to refuse. “Okay.”

Closing the lid, I placed the box on the floor and held the flute up to my lips. Exhaling slowly into the pipes, I began playing a tune.

At first the notes were random as I tried to recall how to play. As I remembered, the notes changed into a melody. Argus and Rylan put down their guitars and sat back in their seats on the couch to listen while Genesis sat down happily under the sill and looked up at me to watch. I closed my eyes as small bits of my memories flooded to the front of my mind. As they did, the tune of my playing matched the memories. The song was about my life. It was about all the hardships and trials I had gone through. It was about the good times with my comrades and the bad times with blood staining my hands.

It was the only thing I could think of to play. I didn’t mind much. Although I hated my memories, I knew bottling them up was killing me more than actually remembering them. Playing them on this pan flute allowed me to tell others without verbally telling them. I didn’t have to worry about their responses or whether I’d be ridiculed. I didn’t have to worry because most didn’t know what the song meant.

I played like this late into the night. My story was never ending, and so was my song.

I placed the box carefully into the drawer of my long dresser and ran my fingers over the engraving one last time just as my bedroom door slammed shut. Oh boy, what’s wrong with him now?

“Where did you get it?” Raikidan demanded.

I looked at him. “Get what?”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

My brow furrowed. “Are you talking about my flute?”

“Of course I am!”

My brow remained creased. “Why are you yelling?”

He looked taken aback by my question, hesitating before offering an answer.

I pursed my lips and then started rummaging through my dresser. “Are you still mad about the bird situation?”

“What? No—what is with you and that bird? It’s just a stupid bird.”

Xye’s words so many years ago came unbidden, like so many other memories did from time to time. But it was Raikidan’s words that halted my rummaging. “Birds aren’t stupid.”

I resumed my aimless searching, but at a slower pace, dark emotions twisting in my chest. “They can fly where ever they want. They don’t have to listen to anyone. They don’t have to sit in some cage as a pet for another’s amusement. They’re free.” I closed the drawer and changed my clothes into something more sleep-oriented before I headed for my bed, not looking at him. “That makes them smart.”

Raikidan remained silent, his intense gaze following me.

I jumped onto my bed and got comfortable. “Now, based on your silence, are you calm enough to tell me why you’re so uptight about my instrument?”

Raikidan’s brow furrowed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“That’s not what I asked from you.” I didn’t care for his “apology.” I didn’t believe it for one second. It’s not like he really understands how it feels to be caged.

Raikidan frowned at my rejection and then leaned against the door. “Those symbols written on the box are in my kind’s tongue.”

I leaned my hands over my knees, slightly interested, though trying not to be so obvious about it. “Okay, so that justifies getting angry at me?”

“I wasn’t…” He sighed. “I wasn’t angry. I’m sorry. I should have approached that better. Our language is predominantly spoken, so it’s not common to find items with our language on it.” He looked at me. “Would you please tell me how you got it? It’s important to me.”

“My mother gave it to me. She found it on some excursion. She thought I’d like it.”

Raikidan nodded. “I see.”

“Can you tell me what it says?” I knew I shouldn’t engage in this conversation, but I couldn’t help myself.

“On the box is, ‘Lazmira sa xruzk .’ On each pipe of that flue, ‘zity, gyexy , lgunum , ziaeza , lynyvuma , ziaeza , fulkis .’” Raikidan paused for a moment. “It translates to, ‘Lazmira, my child,’ meaning the box is for a female dragon as a gift from their parent. The flute words are ‘love, peace, spirit, loyalty, serenity, strength, wisdom.’ Single words that go together in some way I don’t understand at the moment.”

I curled up. “Well, now you have your answer. It’s just a coincidence that I have it.”

Raikidan sighed and flipped the light switch, plunging us into darkness. I closed my eyes, a lingering memory haunting me before unconsciousness took me.