The Caged Bird

This was actually an English assignment of mine. So enjoy!

‘The future can change,’ she always said, ‘The only thing set in stone is the past’. She could see the future, that was her gift, but she always tried to change it – interfere with it.

“Protecting my family and my friends is worth more than my life,” she said to me as we sat around the dying embers of the fire. The others were inside the mouth of the cave, sleeping. Night had fallen and the moon and embers supplied faint light. We were along the outside of the mouth, just the two of us.

“I’m going to die today,” she whispered to me, but she looked at the embers, “I’ve seen it in a vision. If I don’t die, then we all die.”

She knew when she was allowed to interfere and when she couldn’t, but she kept trying. She was strong, nothing fazed her, and when she was horribly beaten, she stood back up no matter what. She wouldn’t stop until the second she died. Maybe that’s why everyone liked her, no, that’s not right. That’s why they adored her, respected her and maybe even feared her, a little. But above all that, she was our sister at times, our mother at others, our confidant, our ‘partner in crime’, our guardian angel, our leader and more importantly, our friend.

I had opened my mouth to say something against her statement, I don’t even know what, but she must have seen me from the corner of her eye.

“No ‘buts’!” She snapped and lifted her eyes to take me in, “No matter what happens, if I don’t die before any of you, than we all die!”

Her eyes fell on mine, silently begging for me to understand, to help her.

“I’ve been trying my whole life to change things out of my control. I’ve been trying to change destiny for the better, this time I get a chance!” She pleaded, “I have the chance to choose how I die. I’m going to die protecting those dear to me, not what destiny has written for me.”

I didn’t say any thing; nothing I could possibly have said then would have changed her mind. She’d made her decision. Nothing was going to sway her.

“I’ve been blessed to have been friends with you all... Thank you all for everything,” she came over me and gave a brief hug.

“You’re in charge now. Look after them. Tell my family I said bye.”

After her departure, the tears slipped down my face. In a way, I was happy that she chose how she was going to die, she was finally going to be free of her fortune-telling burden, but I was upset too. I wanted to spend more time with her. I didn’t try to stop her, even though I could have.

Maybe if the others where awake, they would have talked her out of leaving, but me by myself, I could do nothing. Maybe I trusted her in that she’d be happy and doing what she thought was right, but that didn’t stop the guilt I felt. Like a bird in a cage watching another fly free outside the bars, I watched her travel far away. A voice travelled along the wind. It was hers; she was singing a song about never being alone, about sweet memories, about believing, about never giving up. The others from inside stirred and came to the opening, naturally drawn to the sweet voice and the bittersweet song. There was a smile on her face, I could tell that. If she was going to die then, she was going out with a smile. A moment later there was complete silence. No voice, no melody, no rustling, no wind.

Nothing.

What do you think about the story? Is it too childish?? That's what my teacher said, and some other stuff that really made me feel lousy...

Anyway! Hope you enjoyed the story!


Just to clarify... This is one of my worlds, so all copyrights, reproduction rights and ownership belongs to me, Memphis Wilson. Thanks for understanding