And, here is an epilogue! A word of caution to you psychology-types out there... I may or may not have my facts/ terms quite right. Just give me a break for at least trying my hand at it!

Epilogue

"You're someone who is different, but who wants to be the same as everyone else. And that, in my view, is a serious illness. It causes neurosis, psychosis, and paranoia. It's a distortion of nature, it goes against God's laws, for in all the world's woods and forests, he did not create a single leaf the same as another. People go against nature because they lack the courage to be different, and then the organism starts to produce Vitriol, or bitterness, as this poison is more commonly known."

"Every individual uses a unique set of coping mechanisms for dealing with stress. Some of the more unhealthy mechanisms include dissociation, repression, projection, and displacement. Depending on the severity of the stress, a more extreme coping mechanism may result."

Elaine Wilkins was in a university classroom, teaching a lecture on coping mechanisms within the brain.

"Dr. Wilkins?"

A curious student raised his hand. Elaine nodded at him.

"What makes people use different coping mechanisms? Not all of them are bad, right?"

She nodded at the student's curiosity. "Correct, Danny. Some coping mechanisms such as sublimation, adaptation, and altruism are not unhealthy in the least. People choose the mechanism that is most comfortable to them... some are, I suppose, better than others."

"Dr. Wilkins?"

Elaine looked up at another student. "Yes, Amy?"

The girl hesitated. "Coping mechanisms help a person deal with current stressors, right?"

Elaine nodded.

The girl continued. "How is it that people can use coping mechanisms to deal with stress for a long time and even seem to be healthy... but, they snap from all of it later in life?"

Elaine was silent for a moment, considering the student's words. "The human mind is resilient machine. But, like a machine, it can only handle so many stressors before it begins to shut down."

Students looked up at her with confused expressions.

Elaine shook her head. "I don't mean physically..." She casually removed her glasses. "When I used to practice psychiatry, I had a patient who was a wonderful young man... loved to help others. But, he had been through a lot in his short life. Watched his parents die as a child, lost friends and nearly himself to a terrible cause... He always wanted to be strong for others and himself, and he had never truly dealt with the pain of everything that he had been through. When he arrived at the hospital, it seemed as though he was finally losing his mind... permanently cracked because of it all.

"He was like... a flightless bird, if you will. Despite how much he wanted to get better, to fly... he was so consumed by all the sadness, anger, and shame he had felt throughout his entire life that he could not. There would be days when he would seem completely normal, almost hopeful for the prospect of getting better. There were some days when he was completely catatonic, and a there were a few days when he was too violent to be left out of a straitjacket..." She said ruefully, fading.

The students were silent, taking in the terrible mental pictures.

"What happened to him?" A student finally asked.

Elaine was silent, lost in thought before she finally smiled. "It took some time and some investigating... but, he got better. He was actually the reason I decided to begin teaching," Elaine paused. "Because he finally learned to fly."

Just like a Robin.

Author's Note:

It's done NOW, I promise! I had to tie in the title of the story, of course.

Thank you, everyone for your support through this entire tale. This has been tremendously fun to write. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have.

Much love!