Chapter Four
Free as a bird
It's the next best thing to be
Free as a bird
I ran through the jungles of Peru. "Where are you?" I called. "Where are you?" It wasn't long before he was at my side. We ran, together.
Home, home and dry
Like a homing bird I'll fly
As a bird on wings
We were free from life's traps. The world was in slow motion as we stumbled towards it, light as feathers, free as birds. The world was ours. We could do anything we wanted to do, and we would always—always—do it together.
Whatever happened to
The life that we once knew?
Can we really live without each other?
It least that's how life used to be, before my parents and my psychiatrist and this very building and all the doctors and nurses, the morons who proclaimed me crazy, took it away. What would they take away next? Would they take him away? If it was possible, they would. Maybe they were why I was going crazy.
Where did we lose the touch
That seemed to mean so much?
It always made me feel so…
He was still here, for the time being, and I smiled. He smiled back to me, with his eyes. His eyes were always smiling, even now, in times of despair.
Free as a bird
Like the next best thing to be
Free as a bird
We were back, again. Running wild, through the jungles of Peru. Running free. Maybe it wouldn't be long. Maybe I only had to cling to that tiny grain of hope, and soon, we would be free again…
Home, home and dry
Like a homing bird I'll fly
As a bird on wings
"We'll be home soon, my panther," I whispered. "You just wait." He ran off, beckoning me to follow. "I can't…" I murmured. "Not yet… soon…"
Whatever happened to
The life that we once knew?
Always made me feel so free
He looked so sad and helpless, that I wanted to cry. Why? My panther needed me. He couldn't be happy until I was free from this prison. Until we both were. Until then, I could only dream that I was…
Free as a bird
It's the next best thing to be
Free as a bird
Free as a bird
Free as a bird
Free…
"Checks."
I sat straight up with a start, and the nurse in the doorway gave me a strange look before continuing down the hallway. I sighed. It was only a dream, and I wasn't back in Peru, and I certainly wasn't free. I looked down at the floor, and I felt a small surge of happiness. My panther was still here, at least. And I was determined not to let him go.