Pigeon-Brain

Grey static swirled around me. Oh great- I thought- although it seemed to murmur all throughout the static as if I had spoken it. 

Ahhhh… I couldn't resist relaxing a little. After all, if this is my border to the afterlife, I think I'm allowed to take a break. 

All of a sudden, and without a reasonable morning (how rude) I was disturbed in my slumber by a mild pinging sound- the kind a Wornus pigeon makes, just more ethereal.

Not wanting my spirit to be pecked by a pigeon, my eyes shot open. Instead of a persistent and hideous bird, I was met with a small orb of golden light. 

Great- now i'm being bothered by a pigeon spirit- find your own afterlife, free-loader! 

"Ping- Ping- Pinnnnng!" It pinged. Or something like that, I wasn't paying attention and I don't speak ping.

"Ugh- fine, what do you want?" I groaned, apathetically.

As a response, the circle stopped buzzing about and gave me what I could only assume was a glare, a glare that said- 'geez what's with the attitude.'

Surprisingly, I think this was a bi-lingual pigeon ghost as it now spoke "Hey kid." It paused to wait for my shocked expression to fade. Its voice was somewhat feminine, but was entirely detached from all sense of maternal instinct. Honestly it sounded like it was going to sell my soul for a profit- who knew pigeons were so brutal…

The ugly orb spoke again- "I'm tryna give you advice, so listen up."

At which point I took a confident stance, which was an interesting process. Trying to stand on static void after-life mush is like doing a trust fall, there's something solid there you just gotta trust- you know? It's kind of like an invisible floor- must be easy to trip, its gonna be hard to do my morning runs here…

Anyway! Back to the topic at hand, I struck my confident wide-pose- my arm outstretched and my hand balled, with one finger unfurled (you guess which one). My notorious pose of defiance was paired with a vintage piece of advice that triumphs all!

"Nuh uh- stranger danger."

"Eh." The pigeon replied.

"So who are ya?" I innocently asked, because I'm an angel (innocently).

"My name is Alexandra Zynus, Oh poor youth look upon your saviour." She said with an overbearing regal confidence.

"Who?" I asked- totallyyyy aloof.

"Alexandra Zynus" she shot back.

"Who?!" I asked- totally unaware.

"The person who wrote that book!" She blistered with rage at my idiocy.

"Which one?" I asked- completely blanking, I mean totally blanking. I definitely had no clue who she was 

"Mana manipulation" she declared, losing hope.

"Nah- that was a person!" I spat, with honest aloofness.

"I am a person- a spirit person! Also, your dreams, some of them are my memories- from my perspective!" Zynus flung this knowledge at my ignorant brain with outrage. However, I was merely unbothered- I mean I was dead after all. Why would I care?

"Not possible- they're not pigeon shaped." I mocke- retorted in compassionate disbelief.

"Eh- are you insulting the outline of my soul?!' She somehow must have taken offence to my honest and good intending actions.

"Maybe…" Ignore this- this wasn't me. Simply, an accident on the page.

"Can we just get back to business?" The pigeon person, Zynus, requested.

"Fine, not that it matters, we're dead after all." I confessed, mainly to myself. Saying it out loud is like accepting a big secret, it feels kind of strange…

"Nuh-uh-uh. Maybe I am-ish. But you're not~" the filthy avian ghost teased.

"Wait- really?" I asked, with honesty- for once.

"Yep- so if I can just tell you this advice-" She stopped speaking, I don't know why. It could be that someone (me) interrupted her as she was talking. No clue who could be randomly rambling as the cool ghost lady is talking. No clue.

"Shut it Mya." I actually listened for once, and while I didn't say this- I thought in my head 'try me, bird.'

"So- as I was saying." Spoke the bird-ball- in hindsight, Zynus' spirit looks nothing like a bird- but she chirps. "You must remember what you have learned."

"Huh?"

"Just take the advice!" As Zynus spoke a gust of wind blew me out away from the static fog. A rush of inertia hit me, and a mild amnesia as I awoke…

Zynus, huh… what a compassionate bird. Still- how much can one prevaricate!

Anyways, as my eyes adjusted to seeing again- I recalled how I was knocked out, through my own stupidity. I pushed aside my self-deprecating disappointment and began to focus on what I was seeing.

It was Eliot's face, fresh with a pang of worry, ripe with urgency, and drenched with the fresh terror of a storm. It was nice, looking up at him. For the most part, as much as he was drenched in rain, he held at least a portion of sweat to accompany that. Yuck- he must have run around the forest to find me… how sweet.

He was on his knees and leaned over with both his hands on my shoulders, respectfully, I might add. 

I was quite happy- he was really worried, and shouting something at me, but I hadn't quite prepared to listen to him yet. I exhaled and smiled up at him- I'm kind of glad I matter enough that he would break that mask of composure he always wears. I like his worry.

His hands were much larger and rougher than mine… and their placement on my shoulders held such a demanding fear. He put a large bit of weight into them- accidentally I think- either way, it made me view him a little differently.

The post-wakening haze had begun to wear off, so I prepared to be proactive- for once.

Re-adjusting my pose, to appear cuter, I prepared my ears to listen to him.