Chapter-14: Under The Sun
Darkness cradled Diego as he drifted toward an unknown space. It pulled him in closer and blinked at him with a spark. There, up ahead, a light beckoned and he moved toward it. He reached for it and shielded his eyes and lost himself to another place.
Diego found himself on his back, on a dirt floor. A thick white fog crawled all over his face and body. It smelled of peppermint candy as it hovered in place and tickled his nose. The sweet smell forced Diego to sneeze and to rub his throat. His movements swirled the white fog as he turned onto his side and sat up. He searched all around and found no one.
The space around Diego did not extend far, at most seven meters in diameter. He stood and continued to inspect his environment. Above him, bright light entered through a ceiling of puffy white clouds. While all around him, a fog wall shimmered and moved in slothful waves from top to bottom. Curious, Diego reached out to the grey and black fog wall. It felt elastic and cold. Puzzled by this rubbery boundary, Diego thought aloud to himself and asked,
“Where am I? What is this place?”
A delicate voice spoke up from behind Diego. It said: “You’re in the reality of echoes, welcome, traveler.”
Diego jumped at the sound. He spun around and searched and inspected the place once more. Yet, he found nothing.
The voice laughed and said: “Closer, look closer, I’m down here.”
Diego’s attention shifted downward. Movement, Diego saw some movement within the white fog on the ground. A small object, bouncing in small hops, caught his attention.
The little bouncing thing continued on, saying, “Raise your right forearm, Guerrero. Make a perch for me.”
Diego did as instructed and asked: “Like this little voice?”
A small bird rose up, leaving streaks of white fog trailing behind as it perched on Diego’s forearm. The little bird’s head turned this way and that way, its eyes blinked and its small beak chirped at the air. It said,
“This is a fine perch, thank you. It’s good of you to visit. My name is: Chulel Emilio Quetzal. But, you can call me Chuey.”
Diego froze in place, at a loss for words. A talking bird? He thought as gawked at the little creature on his arm. This can’t be real.
Chuey sensed Diego’s skepticism and double chipped at the air. “I’m as real as you are here.” It said as it flexed his claws on Diego’s forearm.
The minor pain in his flesh snapped Diego out of his stupor; and, he managed to gather his composure. Charmed, he observed the details of the talking little bird and smiled.
Chuey had small red feathers from his mid chest area down to his legs. His upper chest, and the rest of his body, had a mixture of green, dark emerald and blue feathers; and in the middle of his inner wings there were white small feathers. These could only be seen from the front or from below when his wings were extended.
The top of Chuey’s head had a plush of thin short feathers, lime green and yellow. He controlled these head feathers up and down, from a Mohawk position to a slick back downward position. Most striking of all, the bird’s emerald blue tail extended to a ridiculous length. Each tail feather measured at least a meter.
A myriad of questions, concerns and ideas raced in Diego’s mind. It was difficult to grip one and reply to the little green bird. In the end, Diego managed to start with the most relevant.
“What did you say? What is the reality of echoes?”
Thank you
I appreciate your time in reading this blog post. Next Monday I will upload the next part of chapter fourteen, from my first novel: Guerrero of Passions.
Total Consciousness 