Authors Notes: I originally wrote this story in year 6, but I entered it in a young writers competition in year 7 and came first in the senior division. I do, however believe that it needs a facelift.
The Ghost Of Pedro
The wind ruffled his beautiful golden feathers as he rose and fell with the wind. A sense of freedom seemed to wash over him. "We Eagles are perhaps one of the most majestic and beautiful of all animals", Pedro thought to himself. And he was probably right too. The morning air was so refreshing. Pedro spotted his prey and he prepared to dive at the poor unsuspecting field mouse, when….. "Bang", Pedro's world plunged into darkness as he fell. The last thing he saw was a very pleased human face smirking at him. Pedro was distraught at how pleased the human looked at ripping the life from such a proud creature.
The students entered the dull, lit room and gazed at the interior. They began pouring into the room like a colony of ants. They started to wander about, staring at the cases of trophies and other prizes that the winery had won over the years. There was quite an impressive array of awards and pictures of the founder of the winery. Few students remained focused on their task.
Soon they all wandered over to a particularly frightening, stuffed Eagle sitting on the mantle piece. A small light sat on the wall behind it, illuminating its chilling appearance. All the children began to gape at the Eagle and make comments about it. Pedro's feathers no longer had their once golden appearance, but they looked rather dull and sad. Glass eyes replaced his original ones. He was not proud any more.
A foolish young boy decided to touch Pedro's claw to prove his bravery. But it was not bravery he displayed but stupidity. The boy reached out his filthy, sweaty hand and tapped the Eagles hooked talons and then recoiled, as if the bird was about to bite him. The moment his skin had touched the razor sharp talon, it awakened something within Pedro… His ghost!
The human boy who touched Pedro's talon was going to pay for what he did. He did not harm him, but how dare that horrible creature lay his dirty finger on Pedro's perfectly curved talon. "It was a human who killed me", he thought. Pedro wanted revenge and soon. Nothing could compare to the horrible pain of death. Only a ghost could know how painful it is and that is the reason why most want vengeance so badly. Ghosts are the spirits that don't cross over because they have unfinished business on earth and Pedro was not leaving the earth without justice.
Some of the children began to perform a play and were leaving the stage area. This was Pedro's chance. The human boy was standing right underneath a light bulb. Pedro thought that he should use this opportunity to take him out. Pedro simply stared at the light and it fell to the ground and shattered. Pedro was strangely relieved that it had missed the child. He decided that if he killed the boy, it would make him no better than that human who shot him down. "Maybe I should just scare them all a bit", thought Pedro. He knew exactly how he was going to scare the little humans.
The lights flickered and the only one remaining lit was the red glass behind the huge shelf full of wine bottles. Pedro thought that the colour red was so menacing, it was sure to terrify them. There were a couple murmurs from among the students, but they did not seem very scared. Obviously this was not frightening enough. This puzzled Pedro, although he was not very satisfied with the outcome. There are other ways to scare humans and Pedro was not about to give up just yet!
This was Pedro's final attempt to panic the humans. His plan was simple, as soon as the boy touched his talon again, he would ruffle his feathers and screech at him. Seeing a dead Eagle come back to life would scare the boy silly. If any of them started rambling on about a dead Eagle coming to life, they would end up in a nut house. "Perfect!" thought Pedro. This was, perhaps his best plan yet.
Pedro's heart raced with excitement and impatience, as the boy's finger edged closer and closer. Pedro could see all the dirt under his finger nails. "How disgusting", thought Pedro. "They don't even clean under their talons. No wonder they are always so blunt!" The filthy finger grew near and then it gently tapped Pedro's wing. Pedro screeched his loudest and jerked forward to meet the boys shocked eyes. The humans screamed at the top of their lungs. Pedro thought that it was the most horrible noise he had ever heard.
Pedro spread his wings. It was very hard and he could feel his muscles strain. It had been years since he had flown, but he was still as graceful in flight as he used to be. His feathers seemed to become golden again. His eyes were functioning perfectly. Pedro was reborn. He spotted a young girl cowering in a corner. Pedro thought that she needed to be reminded of his power and the fact that he had been robbed of his life by her kind.
"I'll give her a scratch across the face with my claws", Pedro decided. He drew nearer to the girl and stopped to hover above her. She had tears in her eyes. "Please don't hurt me", she yelped and took in a sharp breath. "What did I do to deserve this?" The girl whispered. Then Pedro realised, it is not fair to punish these humans for something they did not do. Not all humans are bad. Some are kind and would never think to harm any creature, big or small. Pedro simply turned his attention toward the large double doors. He looked at the girl and screeched, whilst nodding his head in the direction of the closed doors. The girl smiled slightly. This told Pedro that she understood what he wanted.
The girl briskly walked to the doors and nodded as she opened them with a creak. Pedro flew out. He was grateful for what the girl did. He was free once again. Pedro displayed his gratitude by catching a mouse for the girl to eat. As he dropped it at her feet she seemed to look a bit disgusted. "I'm such an idiot", thought Pedro, "every Eagle knows that humans don't eat mice!" the girl looked up at the cloudless sky and thanked Pedro any way. She knew what he was trying to do and thought that it was very good of him. Pedro would never forget that girl until the day he died (again).
Authors Notes: So, there you have it… Any feedback would be great and suggestions for improvement even better! I have some ideas of my own as to how I will improve the story, but I would like to hear from a more impartial source.
