《The Day the Earth Spoke Back》 Part 1 If I try, I can remember that last week most vividly. After all, who wouldn''t remember the last week before everything ended? But now that we are in a better place, why would I want to remember? At least the end didn''t begin on a Monday. Thank God for that. 8:45 am on the Tuesday after Fourth of July was the beginning of the second week of my accelerated summer Psych 101 class. And I already regretted being in that class. This was as expected; I hated psychology. I had managed to avoid taking it during my 1st year of community college. But that fall I would be going into my 2nd year and I could avoid it no longer. So I had this bright idea that I would take the accelerated summer class and get it over with which would allow me to focus on more important core classes. Yet even knowing that my "not-too-distant future self" would thank me, I still wished to already be in that future that would never come. At 8:30 am that day, I was already settled into my seat, away from the window and closer to the door. I was content in waiting for class to start as the other students began trickling in. ¡°Did you hear that there hasn¡¯t been any new wheat harvested this season?¡± one student asked the other as they walked to their seats. ¡°That¡¯s old news¡­" the other replied, ¡°They have been worried about this since this spring.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the point.¡± the first pressed, ¡°Don¡¯t you find it hard to believe that there hasn¡¯t been any new growth or harvest of wheat anywhere in the world? Wheat is a worldwide commodity! This has never happened before! The government has been trying to figure out why no wheat has grown this year.¡± The second student gave a shrug as they sat down, ¡°There is no reason why it shouldn¡¯t have grown. It has been raining very well by all accounts. Nothing they have checked so far has malfunctioned. Be that as it may, it¡¯s not like we¡¯ll starve. The government has made that very clear; we have a large storage of wheat.¡± ¡°Tell that to the grocery store¡­.¡± It had been in the news since the spring and even I found it hard to believe. The wheat they had planted had not yielded any crops and now that harvest season had come and gone people were getting antsy. Despite government assurances, wheat products were flying off the shelves left and right. It was hard to snag any for yourself if you weren¡¯t first, second or third in line. I had wondered what would happen if next year the wheat still didn¡¯t grow. If the problem still persisted, would it eventually lead to a famine? Thankfully, at that time, Professor Collins walked into the room before I could continue that trail of thought any further. I almost groaned when I saw him; my right eye twitched ever so slightly. Here. We. Go. But then a tall, young man calmly entered with a backpack slung over one shoulder. It wasn¡¯t uncommon to have newcomers as late as the second week of class, so there should have been no reason why he shouldn¡¯t have been just another face. And yet he wasn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t so much as look at anyone as he made his way to the last row. He sat down, pulled out his books, and promptly turned and looked out of the window. I snatched my gaze away and stared at a page in my textbook. But at that moment, I saw no words. I blinked and shook myself. I didn¡¯t know then what I know now, otherwise I would have understood very keenly what was happening. This young man''s aura was different; when he entered the room, I couldn¡¯t help but to be captivated. His hair was blue. So, at the time, I told myself that it was the blue hair that held my attention. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. It was a pretty cerulean blue, so anyone would be hard-pressed not to look twice. ¡°Alright class! We will take up where we left off after I take attendance.¡± For once I was glad to hear the Professor¡¯s voice: it helped me forget about that newcomer. I replied when he called my name. Then the Professor called, ¡°Avi Monarch.¡± ¡°Here.¡± This deep, baritone voice made me look up. It was the newcomer. I couldn''t help but to sneak another peek over my shoulder at him. Still, he was looking out of the window. ¡°It says you registered Friday, so this is your first week.¡± Avi looked at Professor Collins and answered. ¡°This is correct.¡± ¡°See me after class to go over the work you need to make up from last week. For now, since you are new, I will ask you to make a formal introduction: your name, your major and then answer this question: ¡®What do think is the key to solving life¡¯s problems?¡¯¡± Avi didn¡¯t say anything for a moment. I know. I know. It takes a moment to collect yourself after being asked one of those ¡®What is the meaning of life?¡¯ kind of questions. However, it seemed that he had gathered himself because he opened his mouth to answer but Professor Collins interrupted, ¡°Oh yes, I forgot. You must stand up, and you have less than 5 minutes to answer.¡± There were about 15 people in this class. We had already faced that question. I felt bad for him having to do this on his own. I turned to look back at him, as did many of the other students. It didn¡¯t look like he even batted an eye as he stared into space for a moment before standing, ¡°My name is Avi Monarch and my major is undecided at the moment. The key to solving life¡¯s problems is to realize that you cannot solve a problem you did not create.¡± I think I saw Avi¡¯s knees buckle to sit down, but Professor Collins waved at him to keep standing as he pounced, ¡°Explain that!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but to wince. It was like watching a lion stomping at his prey. Even from behind his glasses, I could see that familiar gleam in Professor''s eyes. Avi was silent for a moment, ¡°Some problems are of your own doing. Those you can probably solve. But there are bigger problems that you have no hand in making, and it¡¯s arrogant to think that you hold the key to solving said problems.¡± Avi sat down. My head bobbed absently. I felt that I understood what he was saying. The question was so general. What problems were we talking about? We needed to know that before we could think about how to solve them. Then, if it¡¯s in your power to do something about it then you get to work, if not then it may be unsolvable for you. ¡°But if everyone thought that, no one would try to solve the bigger problems.¡± Ugh, here we go. I should have known that Adam Tweedle would have something to say. He always had a comeback. He was a psychology major and relished getting into debates. If there had been a teacher¡¯s favorite in this class, I guarantee it would have been him. Avi¡¯s head slowly turned towards him, ¡°There is nothing wrong with trying, but you should be able to recognize there are problems that are beyond your ability to solve.¡± Adam¡¯s eyes narrowed, ¡°So you advocate quitting if you can¡¯t do it? If that was true, Albert Einstein would not have accomplished what he did. ¡®It¡¯s not that I¡¯m smart, I just stay with problems longer.¡¯¡± ¡°And yet the same man also said, ¡®The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results¡¯.¡± I almost choked trying to stifle my laughter; but Avi continued without missing a beat, ¡°That particular problem was solvable for him, and he solved it despite taking a long time. But the Professor asked an open-ended question. He cannot expect a specific answer to something so open-ended. We can debate the mechanics of each problem as they come. For instance, how to get from here to the other side of the country is solvable. Trying to achieve world peace is not.¡± ¡°And yet people have won Nobel Peace Prizes.¡± ¡°And yet still I don¡¯t see a utopia....¡± Professor Collins clapped his hands once before stroking his white beard. Adam Tweedle simmered down, but I could see he was still itching to continue the debate as he turned back to face the front. Most of us when faced with the likes of Adam Tweedle chose the easy way out instead of arguing. Whether people don''t know what to say or, like me, they just don''t care enough to get into it, it usually ends. But now it seemed that Adam had met his match. I know that it pleased the Professor to no end to have someone else in class who was willing to debate. ¡°Very good. Very good. Let¡¯s turn to page 30.¡± I absently flipped to the assigned page. As far as I was concerned, in a very short time, Avi had managed to make a lot of good points. I snuck a look back at him; he was looking out of the window once again. He appeared to have been unruffled by Adam Tweedle and I had to mentally applaud him for it. At least his answer about solving life''s problems was way better than mine. Eager to get the spotlight off of me, I had just replied, ¡°Use your brain.¡± When asked to expand on that answer I threw out something like, ¡°People panic when faced with a lot of problems. So if they take a moment and not let emotion affect them and then think, the solution is there.¡± Of course Adam Tweedle got me too, ¡°What about when the answer is not there or not solvable, then what?¡± ¡°Then you seek clarity.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°That depends on your belief.¡± And then I sat down. Maybe this Psych 101 class had a silver lining after all¡­. Part 2 That spring I had a work study at the campus library. When summer arrived things were slow. Most of the time I wasn''t doing as much filing or checking out people like during the fall and spring months. I used the time to do my homework if I had any. And I was going to start on the research paper that was due at the end of the semester. I sat at the front desk looking at the books I had grabbed from the shelves. I was on my way to put back a book that I felt was not going to help me. When I turned the corner of the book¡¯s shelf home, I was shocked to see Avi staring at the shelf before him. I admit it; I froze a good few seconds, unsure about what to do. But then he gave me a glance before turning back to the shelf. I wasn¡¯t sure why he was just standing there so still. Quietly, I assessed where my book should go and then returned it to the shelf, only inches from the one he was staring at. I swallowed. Why was I so nervous? There should have been no reason to be. Just as I put my book up, Avi pulled one off the shelf, ¡°You are in Psych 101 aren¡¯t you?¡± I nodded. Why was I tongue-tied? Then he turned and looked fully at me as he asked, ¡°Have you started on your paper too?¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. For some reason, my voice caught as he stared at me. Maybe it was his dark and fathomless eyes. Or perhaps the mysterious aura he had. It also occurred to me that his cerulean blue hair stood out beautifully against his bronze skin. Girl, get it together. I finally cleared my throat as I found my voice and an answer, ¡°Yes, I started last week, actually. I¡¯m still trying to get the information together.¡± ¡°Oooh¡­.¡±, he bobbed his head once, suddenly breaking the spell of his eyes. I exhaled a breath I didn¡¯t notice I was holding as his eyes slid from mine. My eyes dropped to the book he was holding. ¡°I don''t think that book is good. It¡¯s not deep enough for this paper, though you might find something¡­.¡± Avi promptly returned the book to the shelf, ¡°Thank you for saving my time.¡± I could have sworn I saw a small smirk flash across his face. I turned, and I noticed through a space where a missing book belonged that someone was standing in front of the desk looking around. I gave an apologetic smile to Avi, mentioning that I had to return to work. I promptly checked the student out then returned to my own paper. I had actually forgotten about Avi until I felt someone standing in front of the desk, making me look up. He had three books and his student ID card sitting before me. I gave a small smile and checked him out. ¡°Thank you, Nya.¡± He said as he accepted his ID back, ¡°I will see you next class.¡± I smiled as he picked up his books, ¡°You''re welcome. See you.¡± Returning to my own books, I continued trying to make heads or tails of what I was reading when I stopped suddenly. The Professor did not call on me today, thankfully, and Avi was the only one that introduced himself¡­. So how, then, did he know my name? Part 3 Mr. Greenwood was our upstairs neighbor; he had a German Shepherd named Rocky. I gave a sigh as I pulled up and parked the car. Mr. Greenwood was playing fetch with his dog. While Rocky was probably the most disciplined dog I¡¯ve ever seen, I still had a healthy dose of fear of him. I wasn¡¯t particularly a pet person, at least not where cats and dogs were concerned. Puppies and kittens I could deal with. They could be cute, but I still didn¡¯t have any desire to pet or cuddle them. But it was moot point in my opinion because puppies and kittens grew to be dogs and cats that were huge. I especially disliked it when dogs'' owners allowed them to roam free, assuming that everyone their dogs came across actually wanted to be bothered. Rocky wasn¡¯t currently on a leash, so I was perfectly content to sit in the car until they were finished. Although Rocky had never ran up on me, that didn''t mean he wouldn''t. Thankfully, Mr. Greenwood recognized our family car and called Rocky to him, putting him on a leash before walking him a little way down the sidewalk, and I took it as my chance to get into the house. ¡°Good afternoon, Nya! Your parents still doing okay?¡± ¡°Good afternoon! Yes, they are doing fine, thank you!!¡± I returned as I walked up the path and to the front door. My eyes glanced at the open window upstairs across from us. Mrs. Madison always kept the window open. She even took the screen out. Never did that window seem to close unless it was raining or snowing. In the winter time, more often than not, the window was still cracked. I unlocked our apartment door, 704, and went inside. I was more than happy to be able to live at home with my parents while I attended college. I didn¡¯t think I was missing anything other than dorm drama. Plus, it just made sense to save that extra several hundred dollars per semester for a dorm. Tuition by itself was high enough. ¡°Didn¡¯t get home fast enough to beat Mr. Greenwood and Rocky before they came out, I see.¡± My mother quipped as I came in. ¡°Had you gotten here five minutes earlier, you would have been clear¡±, my father added from where he was sitting and looking out of the window. I shut the door and locked it, ¡°A slight backup on the freeway.¡± I saw my dad¡¯s head bob as he said, ¡°He always keeps the same schedule which means he should be going in¡­.in¡­.my point exactly.¡± My father said just as Mr. Greenwood called Rocky to the porch and they went into their apartment. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°We are having catfish today!¡± my mother announced. ¡°I know. I could smell it from outside in the hall.¡± I was kicking my shoes off before making my way to my room. I would get my bath and then eat. I didn¡¯t have to worry about homework; I had finished it during my work study. I entered my room and was greeted by my plants from their dedicated corner. I gave a wide smile as I saw their wide green leaves. I purposely placed them so they would be the first things I would see when I entered my room. ¡°Hello!!¡± I chirped at the plants, inhaling deeply. Our family had always had green thumbs. My Grandmother grew up on a farm but in time the city began to flood into that area. After she married at 20 years old, she maintained a garden growing all sorts of food. My Grandfather was more of a homebody, preferring to stay in the house than work a garden. So he largely left my Grandmother to it. I remember, as I was growing up, going to Grandmother¡¯s house for the summer. We had all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables. And then when she cooked!! Wow!! That was so long ago, but at times I could swear I still could taste her food. Grandmother believed in eating as healthy as she knew how, so she didn¡¯t cook that many sweets. But when she did¡­. It was Grandmother that brought me my first plant to grow and take care of when I was 18 years old. She had done the same for my mother. I got it as a present when I graduated from high school. I fell in love with flowers. They smelled sweet and released oxygen that kept my room smelling fresh. But Grandmother died. I missed her a lot so I would often find myself becoming melancholy. But before I could get too far down that melancholy road, something blue shimmered in my eyesight. I turned and looked at the brilliant cerulean blue feather that laid on my desk. I picked it up gingerly. I hoped that blue bird ended up being okay. I couldn''t believe it had been a little over a week since that random incident. It was the Friday before summer classes started. I was in my bedroom that afternoon, sitting at my desk, window open, when suddenly something hit my wall a mere foot from my head. Having a high sense of self-preservation, I tumbled to the floor with a shock. Was that a bullet? Was World War 3 happening? I wasn¡¯t on anyone¡¯s kill list, was I? I wasn¡¯t even on a friend¡¯s list, much less an enemy''s list. My mind raced as I crouched on the other side of my bed, still as a statue. My parents had gone away, which was why my mother didn¡¯t burst through the door. I waited and waited, but nothing else happened, as far as I could see. So I took the chance to get out of my room. My cell phone was on my dresser next to the window, I couldn''t get to it, otherwise I might have called 911. I crawled low on the floor to the door. I didn¡¯t dare to even stand up on my knees; I just crawled on my stomach. But then I saw a blue lump moving on the floor next to my desk, and I froze. Was that¡­.? It looked like a¡­.bird? I blinked as I could clearly see the orange beak as it roused itself enough to sit up and shake its head. Wait! Did a blue bird just come slamming into my room? Part 4 For a long moment, I wasn¡¯t sure what to do. There was an animal in my house. Hold on, was that the so-called bullet? My eyes caught sight of a light trail of red on my wall. I winced. Did the blue bird slam into my wall and knock itself in the head? That must have hurt. The blue bird stumbled to its feet before swaying and falling over, still shaking its head. Sensing there was no threat, I shifted to my knees and watched the blue bird. I was trying to figure out the best course of action. Should I call animal control? But then suddenly it swung its gaze towards me. And I saw the oddest thing. This blue bird had amethyst eyes. I had never seen such a thing. I was frozen in my thoughts. It was like my mind had gone blank as its gaze locked with mine. Amethyst eyes stared unblinkingly at me. I could have sworn that they had a peculiar glow to them almost like the shine of a crystal, more clear than a pool of water. The moments passed. I wasn¡¯t sure how long. It could have been mere seconds or it could have been ages. I remember vividly the feeling of being assessed as if my very soul/spirit was being read. And then it was over when the blue bird blinked and shifted its gaze away momentarily. But it was enough for the spell to break and I let out the breath that I was holding in. It looked around quietly from its vantage point before shifting its gaze back to me. Despite being hurt, I couldn¡¯t help but feel as though this bird had a noble bearing. Dignity flowed from it as it tried to get back on its feet. It seemed to try to fly because it tried to lift both wings but only one lifted. It winced as the other wing seemed to sag behind it. ¡°Are you okay?¡± I was surprised at my own voice. But as soon as I was aware of what I had asked, I wanted to slap my head for two reasons. First: Any idiot could see it wasn¡¯t okay? Second: Did I really expect an answer from a bird?¡± I rolled my eyes at myself then I realized that the blue bird was looking dead at me. It lifted its head as best as it could and I felt again the sense of being assessed. ¡°What? It''s a fair question!¡± I unexpectedly bristled from the non-verbal communication, ¡°You came slamming into my wall, scaring the devil out of me, I might add, and now it looks like your wing and/or head might be injured. You can hardly stand on your own feet. So of course I would wonder if you''re okay.¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Why? Why? I wanted someone to explain to me why I was monologing with a blue bird! I felt my face heat up and although my bangs were not in my eyes I moved them aside. ¡°Wait, are you laughing at me?¡± I asked when I realized that the blue bird¡¯s body rippled once. It stopped suddenly and went back to staring at me. Then finally it slowly cocked its head to the side. I asked, ¡°Is that any way to treat your host?¡± The blue bird with amethyst eyes finally gave a shake of its head before dipping forward once. I blinked. Was that a response? I didn¡¯t quite know what to do with that so I stood to my feet. I had barely taken a step when suddenly I heard a caw. I¡¯m sure I looked like an idiot but I dropped back to the ground and looked around only to see the blue bird looking at me. I swore he did some version of rolling his eyes at me. ¡°Was that you?¡± The blue bird nodded and my eyes narrowed, ¡°What? What do you want? You don¡¯t have to be cawing at me like that?¡± I snapped. The blue bird simply looked off for a moment. I thought it might have been ignoring me until I followed his gaze to my desk. Then the blue bird looked at me pointedly again before looking back at the desk. I stood and looked at my desk wondering what it could want. It was an average desk with my laptop, paper and pencils, a bottle of water¡­.WATER!! The question shot through my head and I looked down at the bird, ¡°Water? Do you want water?¡± The bluebird nodded solemnly. I clapped my hands, ¡°Wonderful! Water, I can do!¡± I spun on my heel and was almost out the door before I froze. Slowly I turned back around, ¡°Pardon me¡­.¡± The blue bird was still watching me, ¡°Did you¡­..¡± I pointed to the water on the desk and then back to myself, ¡°Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡± The bluebird blinked before nodding. ¡°Ahh¡­.I see¡­..¡± I murmured before making my way down to the kitchen. I decided on a round, small bowl based on bird baths I¡¯ve seen. I assumed they actually drank like that. As I poured out filtered water from the refrigerator I thought about it. How did I know it really understood me? All it did was nod and point with its eyes. I brought the small bowl back and sat it in front of the bluebird. Then I stared at it. It looked like it was going to start drinking but then just stopped and stared at me. ¡°Are you a jellyfish?¡± The bluebird shook its head. ¡°A snake.¡± Shake. ¡°A bird?¡± This time the bluebird nodded. ¡°Okay, you are a bluebird with black eyes¡­.¡± This time the bluebird paused before nodding its head once and then shaking it. ¡°But you are a bluebird with purple eyes¡­¡± This time the bluebird nodded. ¡°Amazing¡­.it actually seems self aware¡­..¡± I muttered. My mind went away somewhere; when I returned the blue bird was still looking at me pointedly. ¡°Ahh, sorry I¡¯ll leave you to your privacy.¡± I said scrambling away. I decided to go out and get a small towel while it was doing whatever it was doing. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was getting a bath or drinking but whatever. I suspect the bluebird¡¯s body rippled in amusement at my actions. Part 5 When I returned with the smallest fluffiest towel I could find, the bluebird was looking up at me and it was wet. I decided to ignore the fact that it was dripping water on my carpet and I set the towel down. I grabbed my phone off the cabinet before sitting down at the computer. How long did it take to mend a broken wing? I asked Google. This time when a caw broke my concentration I simply looked down. It looked like it was done, half of the water was gone, and it¡¯s much cleaner wing was resting on the towel. ¡°Am I correct in assuming your wing is broken?¡± The bluebird nodded. ¡°I was looking up information about it. I¡¯m not a veterinarian, but I can find one for you if you like?¡± The bluebird recoiled so violently it¡¯s a wonder that it didn¡¯t fall backwards. It alarmed me and my eyes went wide and I waved my hand, ¡°Settle down! I get it! No vets! Look, we don¡¯t have to do anything you don¡¯t want to do! Calm down!¡± The bluebird looked like it was in the midst of a panic attack then suddenly sagged in relief. I felt guilty. So I spoke softly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn''t mean to frighten you.¡± The bluebird shook its head. ¡°Anyway, it says here that I should carefully bind your wing. Is that what I should do?¡± I eyed it carefully. The bluebird eyed me and once again I got the feeling it was assessing me. It straightened and its amethyst eyes gazed at me. Then finally an eternity later, it gave a nod. I nodded and walked over to my dresser, ¡°According to research, it should be something in the realm of¡­.certainly not that¡­..¡± I muttered as I tossed things aside. Some things I tossed on the floor. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. After I was done, I picked the items up and turned to look at the bluebird, ¡°Anything catch your eye?¡± I held things up one by one until the bluebird finally settled on a purple loose scarf of mine. I tossed the rest of the stuff back in the drawer and closed it. I suddenly found myself extremely shy as I approached the bluebird and sat down, ¡°I want to apologize in advance. I¡¯ve never done anything like this before.¡± The bluebird moved its head in a gesture that I interpreted as, ¡®It¡¯s okay.¡¯ I was hesitant as I finally announced that I would begin. Like many girls I had often imagined that I was a Princess that could talk to and pet all manner of animals. It was strange to be this close to a bird. They usually fly away if you get to close, let alone if you try to touch them. Its feathers were soft with a lustrous shine. I was aware of its guarded gaze on me as I wrapped the scarf around the blue bird¡¯s body holding the wing snug against it with the scarf underneath the left wing allowing it to go free. I let out a breath as I finished and put some distance between us. ¡°How is that? Okay?¡± The blue bird dipped its head and I couldn¡¯t help but to smile. ¡°It says that it takes 2-4 weeks for your wing to heal. Does that sound about right?¡± The bluebird cocked its head. ¡°Not sure, huh?¡± I stood up, ¡°Well, not to worry about that. Ahh. Food. Are you hungry? It says that bluebirds like insects.¡± I waved this away. Even if I could catch insects, I wasn¡¯t about to. A shudder of revulsion ran through me. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­.There is no way. However it also says that bluebirds like fruit like grapes or cherries. How does that sound?¡± The bluebird nodded. ¡°Wonderful, grapes it is!!¡± By the time night settled I had found a small pillow and a blanket and got the little bluebird situated for sleep. I even washed and refilled the water dish in case it got thirsty overnight. I had finished my own routine and was in my pajamas. I checked the house and turned off the lights. This entire time the window was open so I went to close it only to hear a loud resounding caw. This time it startled me and I spun around with a growl, ¡°I told you not to do that!¡± The bluebird with amethyst eyes seemed to catch the moonlight and almost looked apologetic. I rubbed my chest once, ¡°I take it you want the window to remain open?¡± I didn¡¯t wait for an answer before walking over to my bed, ¡°You are lucky it¡¯s nice enough to have the window open.¡± I situated myself and looked at the bluebird, ¡°You good?¡± I managed to see the bluebird nod and I smiled, ¡°Alright, good night!!¡± That was Friday. By Monday morning, the blue bird had disappeared leaving only a single blue feather on my desk. So much for 2-4 weeks of recovery¡­. Part 6 ¡°So the question of the day is this¡­.¡± Professor Collins started and I nearly groaned. We had just spent the 1st half of the class in lecture and now the second was beginning. It always began with a question. ¡°What¡¯s more important: nature or nurture?¡± On cue, Adam¡¯s hand shot up as he began to talk, ¡°Both are important. According to research we have now. We have nature, our DNA that influences us. Then there is nurture, how we are raised plus the environment we live in.¡± The Professor nodded, ¡°Very good!! So then I¡¯d like to ask: If someone becomes a murderer, was it nature... nurture... or both? Or something else entirely? Beth?¡± I was just glad he didn''t call me. Beth cleared her throat before answering, ¡°It¡¯s still both, I think.¡± ¡°So some are predispositioned to want to kill?¡± ¡°Uh, well some have violent tendencies that others don¡¯t have.¡± Of course Adam interjected and, to my way of thinking, got waaaay too fired up, ¡°But we¡¯ve all gotten mad to that degree before, but we wouldn¡¯t go out and plan a murder or even commit one at the drop of a hat.¡± Beth looked around once before answering, ¡°So they came from a bad environment? Adam rolled his eyes, ¡°Then what about the proverbial rich boy who was bored and decided to kill? He had everything so that negates that argument.¡± ¡°So which is more important in this scenario?¡± The Professor interjected, ¡°How do we think about this individual? Avi?¡± I glanced behind at Avi who, as always, was looking out the window until his name was called. Although he turned and looked at the Professor, I wondered if he was paying attention because he took a moment before answering, ¡°Could be both and neither¡­¡± I heard Adam mutter, ¡°What? That makes no sense!¡± Avi smoothly continued,¡°....But I propose that it¡¯s neither.¡± The Professor gave a smile, ¡°Then what would it be?¡± ¡°A choice.¡± I perked up at this and tuned into the conversation for once hoping for elaboration. I hated to have anyone be on the spot that didn¡¯t want to be, but I had to admit I was intrigued. Adam turned in his seat to face Avi. Oh, now if Adam was so engaged that he would fully turn to face a person that usually meant the end of that person. ¡°But his choice is based on something.¡± Avi didn''t blink an eye, nor did he look at Adam. He continued to look straight ahead as he spoke, ¡°And that something could be a variety of things. He could be venting anger for an injustice he felt was done to him; he could have lived surrounded in violence and responded in kind; but then he could also have been bored and wanted to see what it was like to murder someone. Or it could be that he had no reason at all and it was just the choice he made. There are as many reasons as there are individuals and you cannot categorize them in the way you would like to. But all of that pales before the real question that has not been asked¡­¡± ¡°And what is that?¡± The Professor questioned, leaning forward a little. He looked positively happy at how this discussion was going. ¡°If this person''s choice was right or wrong. It doesn¡¯t matter why he decided to murder, what matters is that he made the wrong choice and it cannot be justified. Anything after that is immaterial.¡± ¡°But we want to find out why!¡± cried Adam, ¡°That''s what psychology is about.¡± Avi gave a sigh, ¡°It¡¯s very typical that humans want to know ¡®why¡¯ to everything and that is not possible. There are many things that you will never understand. So what difference does the ¡®why¡¯ make? In this case, one person killed another. It didn¡¯t have to happen. It shouldn¡¯t have happened. Does the ¡®why¡¯ do anything for the person that is already dead? The ¡®why¡¯ only suggests how to shift the responsibility around.¡± ¡°Explain that¡­¡± the Professor prompted. By then he looked like he was positively salivating . The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°As I said, why the person killed doesn''t help the one who is dead. The "why" in this case asks if he should be held responsible for the death of this person. Is it his fault that this person is dead? Instead of just saying that he killed someone and should be punished accordingly, the ¡®why¡¯ would question if the killer should even be pushed at all; and if so, how severely.¡± Huh; the man was articulate. Upon reflection, I agreed with Avi. I never would have had the courage to say what he said; and I could not have said it so eloquently. He was not ruffled. He just calmly stated his opinion. And he didn¡¯t allow himself to be hurried into speaking. I felt that was a worthy note to learn from. ¡°As I said, we need to consider all angles.¡± Adam repeated, ¡°Again, this is what psychology is about.¡± It was then that Avi turned his head to look right at Adam," Right and wrong have no angles. They just are what they are: ¡®right¡¯ and ¡®wrong¡¯.¡± ¡°There are shades of grey.¡± ¡°Which is nothing more than an excuse to be wishy-washy and absolve one of dealing with the consequences of the choice he has made.¡± Avi leaned forward, moved his hands from his lap and folded his them on his desk. ¡°Humans want to think they are smarter than they actually are. They think they can solve the mysteries of the universe. But the reality is that they don¡¯t understand one-tenth of those mysteries. The sooner humans understand that, the better off they will be. The reason humans have so many problems is because of these "shades of grey" attitudes. But I notice one thing: it¡¯s always "shades of grey" as long as they aren¡¯t on the wrong side of the track.¡± Adam bristled, ¡°What is that suppose to mean?¡± Avi tilted his head, "Tell me then which is higher, humans or nature?¡± ¡°Humans, of course.¡± For the first time, Avi looked around at the other students. When his eyes landed on me, he paused for a few seconds, ¡°What about the rest of you? What do you think?¡± When no one answered the Professor spoke up, ¡°Well, which do you all think is higher? This is also what psychology is about: the debate about what it means to be human.¡± ¡°I¡¯d go with humans too at the end of the day.¡± Most seemed to agree with that answer. Something compelled me to answer, ¡°I¡¯d say they both should be regarded as equal. But if I''m forced to choose one over the other then I have to say that nature is higher than humans.¡± I felt 20 pair of eyes turn to look at me. I glanced at Avi. I thought I saw the corner of this mouth turn up into a little smirk. He leaned back in his seat, his hands slid back into his lap, ¡°Oh?¡± For once I followed up without needing to be prompted, ¡°Humans and nature should be equal. But humans have long since gotten out of their place. The two should be like the circle of life.¡± Adam snorted, ¡°This is not the Lion King.¡± There were snickers. However, when I glanced back at Avi, he still had that little smirk on his face. Strangely emboldened by his reaction, I squared my shouldered and dared to glare at Adam, ¡°Did I break into a rendition of "Circle of Life"?¡± I retorted, ¡°Because humans think they are the "be all" and "end all" of existence, they refuse to work with nature and instead go against it. This is why nature is technically¡­.¡± ¡°Why though?¡± Adam interrupted, ¡°Why should humans work with nature when they have made great strides in history? Nature hasn¡¯t done anything. If it wasn''t for human intelligence we would still be in the Stone Age.¡± ¡°Are you so certain nature hasn¡¯t done anything?¡± Avi broke in, relieving me of having to respond, ¡°Who has kept, and still keeps, humans fed?¡± ¡°We plant and grow¡­.¡± Avi cut him off, ¡°Do you think if the ground didn''t want to birth food that humans could force it to? All of the planting in the world would be useless if nature didn''t want to bear fruit.¡± My mind went to the wheat supply. They had done everything and nothing was growing. What was that then? ¡°If the sun didn''t shine or the rain didn''t fall, your planting would be useless. There are many natural phenomena that haven''t occurred in hundreds of years. There are volcanoes that are dormant, ice caps that have not melted. What would happen if they decided to come back to life? And what about the animals? Humans use them for food. But what if they refused to be killed and eaten anymore? What would happen to humans then?¡± Avi spoke with an authority that sent a shiver down my spine. The room became quiet. Even the Professor didn¡¯t speak. But I heard something in his words: a dark promise. My breath caught in my throat and my heart pounded in my chest. I didn¡¯t know then that it was a promise of things that were to come. But Avi wasn¡¯t finished. His eyes flashed as he gazed around the room, ¡°The Earth has long tolerated the stupidity of humans. What if one day it demands it¡¯s just due? Would you have the nerve to ask it ¡®why¡¯? Would you try to engage it in your "shades of grey" argument? And when that happens, would you take sides with the Earth or with uncaring humans? If you would take care of the Earth it would respond in kind. If you won''t, then it will abandon you as you have abandoned it.¡± The silence stretched out across a very long moment. Adam Tweedle broke the silence first with a huff, ¡°You are speaking stupidly now. None of that would never happen!¡± The class began to chuckle nervously. Of course all of this stuff the new guy was sporting was nonsense. Wasn''t it? I stared at Avi as Professor Collins rapped his desk once, bringing back order. What he said sounded a lot like something my Grandmother used to say. She always said we should appreciate the nature that surrounds us. Although most people in city life depend on the grocery store for food instead of a farm or garden, they should still be grateful for nature. After all, the food in the store came from the Earth. And, even as a youngster, it bothered her fiercely to constantly see nature being shoved out of the way in favor of tall buildings and concrete. She declared that by wantonly destroying nature, people are throwing its kindnesses back into its face. And it will not forget. The Earth has memories that are millennia old; that are buried deep with-in itself. It will not forget its grievances. Part 7 I was packing up at the end of class when I noticed Mira walk up to Avi, flipping her long weave over her shoulder. I had the misfortune of going to high school with her. She was a cheerleader and, from my understanding, she switched boyfriends every other month. I never expected to go to the same college as her much less be in the same class. But it really didn¡¯t matter; she didn¡¯t know me anyway; fortune was truly fickle. It seemed she might have been working on boyfriend number X (and I couldn''t say if she currently had one). She leaned on the desk where Avi was languidly putting his stuff in his backpack. He didn''t stop or even look up at her. ¡°Avi, today¡¯s debate was quite hot!¡± she fanned her hand. I almost gagged at the innuendo dripping off of every word. Her friends snickered from the door where they were waiting for her. ¡°Maybe we can grab lunch and discuss things. I¡¯m quite interested in your theory about the Earth.¡± Avi stood and slipped his backpack over his shoulder. I admit I slowed my packing. I wasn¡¯t usually the nosy type but if Mira was going to make a show of it I figured it wouldn''t hurt to give her the gift of an audience. ¡°I¡¯m not eating lunch.¡± I winced inside. Avi didn¡¯t so much as glance at her when he replied. But, to her credit, she managed to keep going, ¡°Oh, then perhaps we can grab dinner.¡± ¡°I have no interest.¡± He walked out of the door without so much as a backwards look. I will forever remember the shocked look that Mira sported at that moment. Was this the first guy to turn her down? Amazing¡­ So imagine my surprise when I was eating my lunch before my work-study began and I heard a voice ask, ¡°Is this seat taken?¡± I looked up and saw Avi staring down at me. It was a wonder I didn¡¯t choke on my ham sandwich. I quickly took a sip of water before shaking my head, ¡°It¡¯s empty.¡± Avi took a seat across from me before opening his backpack. I knew that since I was sitting outside underneath my favorite oak tree that there were not a lot of tables in the area. But I looked around and noticed an empty one. So I was curious why he was sitting with me instead of over there, especially after shooting Mira down. I turned back to see him take the top off of his salad. It looked good, to be honest, but I noticed it didn¡¯t have meat on it. We were quiet as we ate our lunch. Strangely it wasn¡¯t awkward like I thought it would be. I was working on my chips, the last of my lunch, when Avi finally spoke, ¡°Did you hear the latest? A person in Latin America was found with a tree root wrapped around him like a python.¡± I nodded as Avi finished the last bite of his salad, ¡°I heard about that. It¡¯s all over the news. He was the boss of a logging company; they were working in the rainforest. And no one can figure out how it happened. They had taken photos of that part of the forest before they were to cut it down and the trees looked normal. But this root was all wrapped around him like a big snake. Everyone is going nuts trying to figure it out.¡± Between the wheat not growing and this tree root mystery, it seemed like everything was going nuts. Avi nodded, ¡°What do you think happened?¡± I swallowed a chip as his dark eyes watched me. He seemed to be waiting for something but I did not know what. So I answered honestly, ¡°How would I know? I wasn¡¯t there.¡± Again I saw the corner of his mouth lift up, ¡°A very true answer. Care to make a guess?¡± I shook my head, ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°A natural phenomenon not easily explained by the human mind, yet the answer is pretty straightforward. But most humans would never be willing to entertain such an idea.¡± I stared at him. Why did I have the strange feeling that he knew the answer to his own question? ¡°Which idea is that?¡± I ventured to ask as I began to put my trash into my brown paper bag. Avi stood up. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. He took my bag along with his salad box and answered, ¡°Maybe the tree was venting its anger at being cut down so that¡¯s why it killed him.¡± Nonchalantly he walked over to the garbage to toss everything while I sat dumbfounded. Then my response was to laugh. What Avi suggested would require that a tree come to life and become self-aware. I said as much when he came back to sit down. Avi''s shoulders rippled, "Yes, but how do you know that trees don¡¯t have a sense of self awareness? Can you say for certain that they don''t? Besides, are you certain that nothing in nature is self-aware?¡± I couldn¡¯t answer and I definitely couldn¡¯t say that trees are not self aware. I wasn¡¯t a tree after all. He was unashamed in what he was saying. How many others would have entertained such an idea let alone say it? He had a kind of courage that I couldn¡¯t help but to admire. And it was his confidence in his own words that I found impressive. He didn¡¯t so much as blink or think twice about what he said. I looked at him and he stared at me. For some reason my mind wandered back to that blue bird with the amethyst eyes which seemed to look straight into me much as Avi''s were right then. Before that moment in time, I would have said no to the idea of nature having awareness and then reacting to its surroundings. Of course not! It¡¯s not possible! But... wasn¡¯t that blue bird proof that nature is aware? ¡°Humans would say that such a thing as nature being self aware is not possible.¡± I finally answered pulling my eyes away from his. I looked at my phone. I had 10 minutes until my work study started. Avi continued, ¡°Is human understanding the basis for everything? Even nature? Nature existed before humans, so it stands to reason it will exist long after humans leave. Do you not agree?¡± I looked back at him as he asked, ¡°The real question is: will Nature find any human worthy of its time?¡± ----- My mind was full following that afternoon lunch with Avi. I made my way home and sat absently at my bedroom desk. "Will nature find any human worthy of its time? What would a worthy human be like? What would make a human become unworthy?" I didn¡¯t know why it affected me so deeply. My mind just wandered. "Are there criteria that humans could follow to be considered worthy? Even if there are, would humans choose to follow them?" I thought about what my classmate, Adam, mentioned: shades of grey. Avi said there is only right and wrong. There is nothing in-between so there is nothing subject to debate, as humans like to do. So, if there are criteria, what are they? I was actually quite curious. I twirled the blue feather in my hand. Perhaps Avi would know. It seemed like he would know. ------ After the next class period was over I quickly packed my things. I didn''t need to be so quick. As I made my way to Avi, he was still putting stuff into his backpack at a measured pace. It took me a moment to finally open my mouth, ¡°I...wanted to ask you something. About yesterday¡­.¡± Out the corner of my eye I saw Mira looking at us. Her nose flared in anger, but I forgot about her when Avi swung his backpack over his shoulder, ¡°Naturally¡­.¡± His response made me take a breath and blink. Why did I feel he had been waiting for me to ask? I stood there frozen in thought and was jarred when I heard Avi ask from behind me, ¡°Are you ready to get lunch?¡± I quickly turned to see that he had made his way to the door. He waited until I exited then followed me. Neither of us said anything until we were outside, under the oak tree, digging into our lunch bags. ¡°What was your question?¡± he finally inquired. ¡°You asked if nature will find any human worthy of its time. Well, what are the criteria for being considered worthy?¡± I watched Avi closely as I asked and was rewarded by that familiar smirk on his lips. ¡°You are rare indeed to ask the important question.¡± For once his eyes seem to lighten, the snicker he always kept down rose slightly. ¡°What do you mean?¡± He shook his head, ¡°One thing at a time. First, criteria. There is only one, but it¡¯s not easily explained. It¡¯s not as if you can just get a book that lists criteria and find it. This one criterion is in here.¡± he reached up and lightly tapped his chest over his heart. ¡°Like instinct?¡± I questioned. I almost thought his smirk might have threatened to become a smile, ¡°Precisely. Tell me how do you know what is right and what is wrong?¡± I thought about this for a moment, ¡°It''s how we were raised as kids¡­.¡± ¡°Then what about the ones who lived before you or the ones before them? How did humans come to know what is right or wrong?¡± I took a bite of my sandwich and chewed it slowly. Avi tapped his chest once again, ¡°It¡¯s built into the very hearts of humans. They instinctively know what is right and wrong. The only thing after that is choice.¡± I shook my head, ¡°It sounds so complicated.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not, really. Human minds want to complicate it because they want to ignore this instinct. They want to have their own definition of right and wrong: make their own rules. I¡¯m told that most humans prefer to be masters of their own destinies.¡± I paused before opening my bag of chips as Avi took another bite of his salad. Suddenly, out of the blue, I was perplexed, ¡°Why do you speak of humans as if you have no connection to them? Like¡­..¡± Honestly, I had no idea what I wanted to say after that. I just gazed at Avi. He was definitely a mystery wrapped in a taco then wrapped in an enigma. From day one, he never acted like anyone I had ever known before. He just boldly said things that ordinary humans would hesitate to say. Avi mixed his salad once, twice. ¡°Maybe because I''m not human.¡± Part 8 I swallowed, unable to comprehend what I should say to that. He was joking...right? Maybe he was a little...off? But, as always, he stated these words with such unwavering confidence that I could not help but to want to believe him. Yet his face was stoic as usual; so much so until I honestly could not decide if I should believe him. ¡°Did you like the present I left you?¡± I was jolted by this unexpected turn in our conversation, ¡°Present? What present?¡± I would have remembered someone like him giving me a present. Avi reached up and flicked his blue hair, ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me you threw away that blue feather I left for you.¡± My heart rate accelerated as I dropped my bag of chips onto the table. It¡¯s a wonder they didn¡¯t spill all over the place. The blue feather? From the bluebird with the amethyst eyes? I couldn''t process that! ¡°I see you aren¡¯t freaking out on me...yet. That¡¯s good. I don''t like humans that freak out but then again I don¡¯t like humans.¡± Were we seriously having this conversation right now? I couldn¡¯t help but to drop my head into my hands. My eyes scanned my lunch but saw nothing. I was trying in vain to come up with a coherent thought. I raised my head and looked at Avi who was calmly finishing the last of his salad. ¡°Your eyes aren¡¯t purple¡­.¡± I know. I know. But that was the first coherent thought that I could formulate at that moment. Without a word, Avi tapped the strange pendant that always hung around his neck. I leaned forward to get a better look at it. ¡°This keeps my true nature hidden from humans. It protects them from me and me from them. My true form would be a bit much for them to comprehend.¡± ¡°True form?¡± I echoed, ¡°You¡¯re a bluebird?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a bird spirit. So, yes, a blue bird is my main form. But I actually have another form.¡± When he didn¡¯t expound I didn¡¯t push. Instead I asked, ¡°Why are you telling me all of this?¡± Avi looked away. He didn¡¯t answer for so long. I thought he had no answer. But then he turned his gaze back at me, ¡°Honestly¡­I came to find out if what I saw, what I experienced, was real.¡± My eyebrows furrowed as he continued, ¡°When I found myself on your bedroom floor with my wing broken, I thought that might be the end of me. I never wanted to be at the mercy of a human but there I was. I could not transform nor could I fly. Since humans are so unpredictable, I had no idea what one of them might do to me in such a weakened state.¡± ¡°There might have been some who might have brought you to a vet.¡± I said as I recalled how the bluebird... no, no... I mean Avi, reacted to that idea. ¡°Would this have been before or after they saw I had purple eyes? And even if he did take me, would this vet have been a person that would not be overly fascinated by me and want to keep me as a science experiment or as a pet? And I assume this would have been before they discovered that I¡¯m quite self-aware. Then what?" "But, you see, you put two and two together quite quickly. I know you were fascinated by me and a bit scared, but you treated me with a lot of respect and allowed me to keep my dignity.¡± ¡°I was stunned, to say the least, about the fact that you did not respond like a typical human. And then...there is this fact: you withstood my gaze. For the brief time I was there, you took care of me. I read your aura; and it wasn¡¯t as broken as most humans. But, strangely, reading you was difficult. I can usually see the brokenness of a human soul quite quickly; but your soul is different. I needed to know why. These few days in our Psych 101 class let me finally see. You are different. Surely you realize this¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. I had a hard time breaking his gaze at the moment. Thankfully, he blinked and looked away. I was able to gather myself. ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­..¡± I finally drawled. I truly did not know what else to say. ¡°You obviously see things differently. You are able to go deep, beyond the surface of things when most humans are stuck there. That¡¯s what¡¯s so fascinating.¡± His words made me look back at him. His eyes shined and I swore that I saw them flash to those familiar amethyst eyes. Before I could fall too deep into those eyes, he spoke again, ¡°I¡¯ve been told that there are humans that are worthy of us spirits'' time; but I never believe that. This is my first time experiencing a worthy human.¡± I dropped my head and saw my phone. With a gasp, I snatched it up and tapped it to see the time. ¡°Shoot! I¡¯m five minutes late. Avi, I¡­.¡± I realized that was the last day of the week. I wouldn¡¯t see him again until Tuesday. I wanted to continue our conversation instead of going to work study. In an uncharacteristic display of thought, I considered skipping it and making my apologies later. I didn''t need to bother with that because Avi shook his head, ¡°There is an essay due next Tuesday, correct? I thought we could work on it together. I¡¯ll be over there in a bit.¡± I felt so relieved. I hurried to gather my trash but Avi waved me away, ¡°I will clean up. Go on¡­.¡± I thanked him before rushing to gather myself and head back to the library for my work study. Inside of 15 minutes, Avi joined me at my table. We were silent for a bit as he continually flipped his pen in his hand. He was the one to break the silence by reading the question we had to answer for our essay, ¡°If this was the last day of your life, would you keep the same plans for that day?¡± He sat back, ¡°A question to evaluate the use of your time and values?¡± My head bobbed, ¡°Seems like it.¡± I looked at him curiously, ¡°Do you have any idea what you''re going to write?¡± He barely paused as he answered, ¡°My answer is yes, I would keep the same plans.¡± I giggled, ¡°I think the essay has to be at least 500 words, Avi. Probably best to expound.¡± Avi turned his head to look at me. He blinked then dropped his pen onto the table, ¡°What will you write, then?¡± I sat back in my seat and thought a bit before answering, ¡°Life is too unpredictable to know what plans you would even have on that last day since you have no idea when your last day would be. So the only sensible thing to do is to keep on doing what is right and good like I do every day anyway; not killing or stealing¡­that kind of thing. So there would be no need for me to change my plans just because it''s the last day.¡± After I was done with my short monologue, I looked back at Avi and saw that familiar little smirk of his, ¡°I''m beginning to see why the spirits try to find humans like you, Nya. Your kind are worth saving if for no other reason then that they allow themselves to be saved.¡± My eyebrows furrowed. He was speaking in riddles again. I bobbed my head and he chuckled. ¡°You aren¡¯t very fond of humans.¡± I said slowly. ¡°I said that I hate them.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Why not? They''re selfish, arrogant, self-centered, self-righteous...disrespectful...¡± I kept nodding my head as he offered his list. Then he asked, ¡°Are you offended? You are human, after all.¡± I shook my head, ¡°You''re not wrong. Most humans are like that. I can¡¯t hate when you tell the truth especially since I¡¯m not that particular about them myself.¡± I gave a heave sigh, ¡°Humans exhaust me about 99% of the time... with their collective stupidity. But then you see flashes of goodness in some of them and wonder why that can¡¯t be their standard. But no sooner than you see that little blip on the goodness radar, some bad apples come along and ruin the whole batch...again¡­¡± ¡°You are quite enlightened concerning this situation.¡± Avi replied having long since rested his chin on his hand to stare at me. It was different and weird to have someone be so focused on what I had to say. ¡°Ahh, no, no no, no¡­.¡­.¡± I waved my hand, shook my head and felt a bit embarrassed by his words. ¡°Be that as it may, you should write down these thoughts of yours before you lose them.¡± I nodded and took his suggestion as a way out of the conversation. I had only written a few lines when I realized that Avi was sitting back in his seat, not writing at all, ¡°You aren¡¯t going to write anything on the essay?¡± Avi shook his head, ¡°I won¡¯t be here Tuesday.¡± My eyes went wide...my eyebrows rose up. ¡°Are you dropping the class?¡± I don¡¯t know why I was so alarmed. Strangely, Avi had unexpectedly made Psych 101 more bearable. Avi calmly looked at me for a long moment, ¡°In a manner of speaking. Write your essay, Nya. Don¡¯t worry about it. I have a feeling we¡¯ll see each other again.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not¡­.¡± I snapped my mouth shut and looked away. I caught Avi''s usual smirk from the corners of my eyes. Later, I would tell him off for letting me waste time on an essay that the Professor would never see. I could have saved that paper and that time. But I didn¡¯t know that then. Part 9 That Saturday started as any normal day. I came downstairs to see my mother putting away the groceries. She always woke up early on Saturday morning to go shopping, hoping to beat the crowd. She was usually back home before lunch. But this time I noticed that she had way more grocery bags than usual. I opened one and saw two bags of flour. Not bad. I opened another to find two more bags of flour. I found a total of eight bags of flour. ¡°Uh, ma¡­..¡± ¡°Yep!¡± Mom chirped was she whipped around the kitchen putting away groceries. ¡°I understand stacking up, but is there a reason for the eight bags of flour?¡± I asked as I helped to put away the groceries. ¡°You know there hasn¡¯t been any new wheat that grew this season, don''t you?¡± I nodded. ¡°While the world does have a large wheat storage and they say we don¡¯t have to worry about a famine, flour is flying off of the grocery shelves. I thought it would just be prudent to make sure we have some extra.¡± I nodded again. ¡°So, I figured it was time to handle that. There were only two bags left after I got my eight.¡± I forked an eyebrow, ¡°I¡¯m surprised you left those two. How kind of you!¡± ¡°Not really¡­..¡± Mom grinned, ¡°.....Ran out of coupons.¡± I burst out laughing, ¡°Ma!¡± With a grin, she shrugged as she put food into the refrigerator. I turned to the counter and saw of four extra large bottles of honey. This wasn¡¯t a surprise. Earlier that spring there was a concern about the very low, almost nonexistent, number of bees. I had heard that the beekeepers were flipping out. There were still bees in the hives but very few would come out to pollinate the flowers. PBS had done a special on it at the start of the summer. This seemed to be a worldwide problem. Honey had also been flying off the shelves in fear of a shortage. I¡¯m surprised my mother managed to find as many bottles as she did. We already had three large bottles in storage, not counting the one already opened. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. But Mom''s wheat and honey reminded me of what we had talked about this week in Psych class. What if the Earth decided to take back the things that humans have taken for granted? What would happen then? I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prick up. It was scary to think about. We have mis-used this Earth in so many ways. Was it finally going to do the same to us? But honestly, if it did I couldn¡¯t fault it. It took Humans a millennium to get to where we are now. There were so many times we could have done better but didn¡¯t. Collectively we didn¡¯t. Was it too late now? And then a radical idea popped into my head...well, maybe it wasn¡¯t so radical. The news about the logging boss who was found with a tree root wrapped around him like a python... could¡­could that tree have known of this man''s intentions?...known and fought back?...is that what happened? Naturally, trees could not come alive like that...I thought. That would be pure fantasy. But since I met Avi...wellll. If Avi was some kind of bird spirit that was self aware then what did that say about the tree? And if there were bird spirits, were there also tree spirits? Water spirits? Fire spirits? And if they all had the ability to be self aware¡­¡­? Fear washed over me as I took my usual evening walk around the park. I had thought about these things earlier in the day but now these thoughts were with me on my walk. I was suddenly hit with a constricting feeling. I couldn¡¯t help but to look at each tree as I passed by and wonder if it had this self awareness. Was it aware that I was walking by at that moment? Usually I relished a walk in nature; but on that day I became anxious. I found myself at my usual, most loved place. But instead of finding my usual peace I became anxious at being surrounded by trees. A bird flew overhead. It was not too close to me but its shadow caused me to duck slightly. I looked up to see that it had parked itself on a nearby branch and turned towards me. For some reason I calmed down as I watched the little bluebird. I felt a sense of excitement. We rarely saw bluebirds in our area so it was nice to see one again. But then I noticed the sun glinting in a way that made its eyes shine. I squinted and stared for a long while. Then my eyes widen as I realized that bluebird had amethyst eyes. I slowly walked closer to the tree. Although I was on the ground, a few feet below it, I expected it to fly away. Instead, it just watched me; it¡¯s eyes never moved. ¡°Avi?¡± In response, it ruffled its feathers and pushed off the tree branch. Before I could react, it had aimed itself at me but seemed to just hang in the air. I watched in wonder as it shifted and changed its shape right before my eyes. Its wings spread out to become arms. Its short legs lengthened and contorted. Its head shifted until finally a familiar man slowly glided downwards. His bare feet finally touched the ground lightly. I just stopped breathing. Instead of dark eyes, Avi¡¯s amethyst eyes shone. He was wearing all blue and his hair seemed waver than normal. I wasn¡¯t sure but he seemed slightly taller than I remember despite not wearing shoes. Avi gave a small smile, ¡°I said we would meet again.¡± Part 10 It took quite a while for me to find my voice, ¡°I...didn¡¯t expect it to be so soon.¡± Avi held me in his gaze steadily as he said, ¡°It will have to be now; time is limited.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Avi took a step closer to me, ¡°I will offer you a warning. Whether you heed it or not will be your choice.¡± His words made me shiver as I asked in a small voice, ¡°What kind of warning?¡± Avi was silent for a long moment as he gazed at me. I didn¡¯t break his gaze. ¡°I told you before that I am not fond of humans and I still hold true to that. But strangely¡­..¡± his voice trailed off. I saw his eyes shift side to side and, for a moment, I entertained the idea that he might have been embarrassed. ¡°You¡¯re¡­different.¡± He said before quickly adding, ¡°I told you this before. You clearly have the ability to understand things that many humans don¡¯t. That makes you¡­.less annoying.¡± ¡°Uh...thank¡­you?¡± I really wasn''t sure if that was the proper response. Avi continued, ¡°Be that as it may, I have decided I will give you this warning. Make sure you are at home tomorrow by 11:47 a.m. and that your doors are locked and your windows are shut. No matter what happens, whatever you see, whatever you hear, do not go outside for any reason. Do not open your door. Do not open your windows.¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I swallowed and whispered, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°This is my warning, Nya.¡± Avi said sternly, ¡°If you heed it then you will be able to see me again. If you choose not to¡­..¡± Why did I sense an impending threat? Not necessarily from him but that something big and life altering was about to happen. I could feel it in my bones. I mulled on it and convinced my parents to stay indoors and not open the door. Even if it had turned out to be nothing, it wouldn¡¯t hurt anything. It didn¡¯t take much to convince them because they had no plans and the weather man had promised a snow storm. If it was anything like they said, no one would be going anywhere. Wait...a SNOW STORM? ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you?¡± my mother asked. ¡°A snow storm in the middle of July? No, ma, you did NOT mention this.¡± I finally managed to blurt out. And just because I needed to verify this with my own eyes, I looked it up on the weather website. And sure enough, they had been tracking a snow storm. I had never heard of such a thing in my life and neither had my parents. When I pulled the curtain back the next morning, there it was in all its glory; a grand total of six feet of snow. I swallowed. What had happened? Even staring at it, I still could not comprehend snow in July. I looked at my clock. 9:52 a.m. I washed up and wandered out of my room and was not surprised to see that my mother was already up. I didn''t know why but a sense of paranoia overcame me. I spent a lot of time wandering through the apartment checking the door and windows. Not that we had many. At 10:38 a.m. my dad came wandering out. We had a quiet breakfast that lasted until 11:15 a.m. The closer it got to 11:47 a.m. the more nervous I felt. At 11:40 a.m. I was practically running all over the place making sure to check every nook and cranny, making sure we were locked in and shut up. My father had settled into his favorite chair to read the newspaper and my mother had the news going as she washed the dishes. I watched the last few seconds tick by. ¡­..¡­.......5 ¡­¡­......4 ¡­¡­...3 ¡­...2 ...1 ¡°It¡¯s 11:47 a.m¡­¡±, I announced, quite unnecessarily I might add. Part 11 My dad glanced up from the newspaper to the clock, ¡°So it is¡­.¡± When I announced the time, I wasn¡¯t sure what I was expecting. When the clock changed to 11:47 a.m everything was silent. A whole minute passed, but I could not seem to find in it me to breathe a sigh of relief. Just as well because a familiar dinging sound came from the TV followed by a voice, ¡°Breaking news¡­¡­¡± Huh, I thought the news was winding down. ¡°In X City of X State, a mall has come crumbling down!¡­.¡± For once I darted to the TV to turn up the volume as my mother and father tuned in. The dishes and newspaper were forgotten as we watched the news. ¡°We are working to get a visual but wait, it hasn¡¯t come crumbling down. It has fallen through¡­a hole?¡± I could see confusion on the reporter¡¯s face, ¡°The ground has opened up and the mall has crashed down into the opening! Ahh, we have visual. Let¡¯s go to Susan McCollins onsite.¡± Even I was trying to figure out what I was looking at. A giant hole was in the middle of the ground. I didn¡¯t see any mall. Susan McCollins appeared onsite, ¡°We have reports from witnesses that say the ground itself just opened up. It felt like an earthquake, but no one expected it to swallow the mall. Here is footage capture from a cell phone.¡± It was strange and horrifying. The buildings didn¡¯t collapse; the ground beneath had given away suddenly and it went crashing straight down. It had fallen so far down into the ground that the top of the mall couldn¡¯t even be seen...at least on camera. Then there was more breaking news, ¡°We are receiving reports that similar things are happening to major building across the county. Wait, we are getting a report of¡­..tree roots pulling down a building?¡± I could see confusion on Susan McCollins face, ¡°We will continue to cover¡­.¡± Then we heard a scream that made us all jump. My dad threw down his paper jumping to his feet. I huddled next to my mother. ¡°What was that?¡± I whispered loudly. ¡°Down boy!! Heel!!¡± I heard a scream and then a loud growl. ¡°That sounds like Mr. Greenwood!¡± My dad cried. We reflexively looked up at the ceiling above us. ¡°What is going on?¡± My mother asked. ¡°Stop it, Rocky!! Heel!!¡± I barely heard the yell over the ferocious growl. My dad moved to the door but Avi¡¯s warning rang in my head. I pulled away from my mother and leapt the distance to grab my father¡¯s arm. ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± ¡°Mr. Greenwood might be in trouble!¡± my father snapped. ¡°Avi said not to go outside!¡± ¡°Who is Avi?¡± If my father had decided to go out anyway, he was stopped by loud bangs on the window that did not stop. I shirked and stumbled backwards. My father absently reached back to steady me then he went to the window and moved back the curtain. He was horrified. Why were birds continually flying into the window? I saw the flutter of a million wings. Through my fear I saw something wrong with their eyes. To me, they looked mad, like they had a lifetime of rage to vent. I could feel their murderous intent. The only thing protecting us was a thin slice of glass. Would it eventually break? Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. I heard another scream that sounded a few pitches higher. A thought went through my head. Mrs. Madison always kept her window open. What would those murderous looking birds do to that woman? ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± My mother almost wailed. My father yanked me along and wrapped both of us in his arms. Now that the shock was wearing off, fear was beginning to set in and my eyes were barely able to form a tear. Then suddenly a breath of fresh air permeated the room. It quieted my mother and my father looked bewildered as he gave a strong sniff. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late.¡± A familiar voice spoke over the den of madness happening around us. We looked up to see our closet door opening from the inside. ¡°Avi!!¡± I cried. He stepped out. I wondered how he could possibly fit in there with all our coats; but I digress. I could see that our closet was no longer our closet. The fresh air became stronger, making me smack my lips as if I could taste it. It came from our closet. Through it, I could see the summer like pasture. Its green grass glittered like jewels beckoning us to come. ¡°Let¡¯s go¡±, he gestured backwards, ¡°There is no reason to stay here anymore.¡± I was the first to move towards him with no hesitation; and my parents followed clutching to each of my arms. I turned back to see Avi shutting the door behind us. The door he had opened looked like our closet door from inside the apartment, but after he shut it, the door became pretty, white and ornate. Definitely not a closet door by any means. I¡¯m not sure how long we stood there; but finally I couldn¡¯t help myself, I threw my arms around Avi and hugged him tight, ¡°Thank you!¡± The madness that had taken place quickly became a distance memory; as if it never really happened. The longer we were in this place, the lighter my heart felt; the fear was washed away. Avi might have been startled; it took a moment before I felt him hug me back then he patted me lightly on my head, ¡°I told you that you would see me again if you heeded my warning.¡± ¡°Uh...what just happened?¡± My father asked; he was dazed. He had to be because if I hugged a strange guy that he never met and he didn''t say anything, he was out of it. I pulled back from Avi. My mother was looking at us curiously, ¡°Who is this?¡± She looked around, ¡°Where are we? What just happened?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I asked¡­¡± my father said as he became aware of Avi standing next to me, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, who are you?¡± Before Avi could answer, assuming he was going to, a cry rang out, ¡°Nicole! Nya! Bill!!¡± We looked up and I almost choked on my spit to see an elderly woman running towards us with the spryness of a 20 year old. ¡°Mother!!¡± my mother cried out; she was the first to process this happening. And then suddenly I was caught up in an embrace that included a familiar scent that I remembered from my childhood. I was yanked around for a while before the elderly woman peered into my face with a wide grin that was missing that one tooth, ¡°Is that my Nya? My, you have grown! You are so beautiful!!¡± I blinked, ¡°Gr-Gra-Grandma?¡± I sputtered. My grandmother was dead but she looked exactly as she did in the photos and in my memory. ¡°You¡¯re dead¡­¡± I blurted out. My mother slapped me on the shoulder and I quietly apologized. My grandmother waved her daughter away, ¡°I know. I don¡¯t exist on Earth anymore but neither do any of you. I¡¯m just happy that we get to see each other again.¡± ¡°Where is father?¡± my mother asked grandmother, looking around. Grandmother rolled her eyes, ¡°Lazy as jack. He decided to see you when we come back. He didn¡¯t want to be involved in collecting ¡°drowning pools.¡± Grandmother did air quotes, ¡°His words not mine¡­¡± Translation: Grandfather did not want to see us cry. ¡°I¡¯m so confused right now!¡± I murmured. My Grandfather was here too. I turned back to Avi who had been silent up until now. Grandmother turned to Avi with a smile before bowing her head deeply, ¡°Thank you for bringing my family.¡± Avi nodded back. I looked around and saw that there were many people coming through various doors. There were all manners of people, speaking different languages. ¡°Humans who have managed to befriend the spirits are allowed here. Right now Nature has grown weary with humans so it¡¯s venting its anger.¡± Avi explained. My father ventured to ask, ¡°What if you don¡¯t befriend the spirits?¡± Avi just looked at my father for so long that we eventually put two and three together. Well, nothing good came for those who did not befriend the spirits, that¡¯s for sure. I felt unexpected pity for those who could have befriended them but either chose not to or just clung to their false notions that spirits don''t exist even while staring into the face of one. Nature shouldn¡¯t have had to go through all of this just to make humans pay attention. But perhaps that was humans'' failure ¡­. Fin.