Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Written December 23rd, 2008

I hesitantly lifted my floor and planted it firmly a few inches from where it was, just so the sun could glare intensely at my nails. It was doubtless that I cannot recede. I already made the decision and my wings were tingling with agitation, with eagerness. They involuntarily twitched; I sighed and smiled at them, not that they could see. I slowly enfolded them, but in my excitement, then suddenly bursted open and stretched to their full length, the way they haven’t stretched for centuries. A stray feather hovered gleefully and glided down to the dirty grass floor of the opening in the forest. The wings, they were imply so beautiful, so elaborate, so exquisite. Each feather stood up like a soldier on alert, ready to operate when instructed, and now was their time. I couldn’t wait any longer. Placing my other feet into the clearing, I ran from the dense treetops and launched myself into the air.

Light-heartedly, I shot straight up. The wind brushed slightly across my cheeks and my legs, kissed my fingertips and stroked my arms. I was delighted. How I missed the wind, rushing through my body and sailed alongside me as I soared. Nothing was better to become a part of the breeze, to let it dominate my soul. It carries you far, far, away to unknown places. Laughter escaped from between my lips, the laughter of children, of a child. The view from up here is so magnificent; you could see every tree and every bird that rested on their uppermost branches. You could see animals roaming the forest floor through the crevices between the branches of two trees; you could see… four hunters, armed with rifles and arrows.

I gasped in horror. They were human men, walking clumsily and noisily in the human way through the forest. The nearby animals pushed their offspring into the deepest corner of their home, and hoped the hunters were not scavenging for their fur. Lucky for them, the hunters are looking for something different.
With no obvious place to hide, I was in plain view against the clear blue sky. Panicking, I dove down and skimmed about the treetops. One of the hunters must’ve seen me as I descended, for I heard a husky voice say: “There it is!” and probably pointed a stubby finger in my direction.

I don’t like being referred as “it”. I’m an animal, not an “it”, or rather, a majestic animal. Flying in an unusual pattern to confuse them, I increased my speed to the max.

But I didn’t outwit them. Humans don’t go running around in suits of armor anymore like the old days. The can create machines that land on the moon, conjure moving and talking pictures, and cups of ice that never melt. They’re masterminds at technology, but also masterminds at destruction. No, I didn’t outwit them at all, they outwitted me.

Herding me closer to another group of hunters, I violently fluttered my wings, only to catch myself more attention. Each on of the men deliberately pulled their bow, as if I couldn’t see what they were doing. They aimed and fiercely released, and about a dozen arrows darted towards me. Fortunately, none of them were very good shots. I’ve faced people who could shoot someone directly in the eye when they are in a good distance from their target. Dodging them easily, the arrows kept diving for me, until finally, one struck my left wing and one pierced into my breasts. Cursing, I fell mutely through the treetops, my wings striking against the shark braches as I went. The bright feathers upon my breasts were now stained with my blood.

The men ran over and stared at me intensely.

I stared back, my eyes full of the sorrow I was now trapped within.
One of the humans looked at me with empathy for a few seconds, but after a slight thought, the eyes immediately changed back to hatred.

I thought back to the wish I made right before I took off. ‘I want to fly again, just one last time.’ At least I was granted that wish, my one final wish. My eyelids were heavy, and they began to close.

“You idiot!” one the men said, smacking the back of another man’s head. “You killed it! We could have made a fortune by capturing this. We could be famous by catching this phoenix!”

Stupid, selfish, greedy humans.