(Thanks to everyone for their feedback and support! Without further ado, here is the next chapter!)
Chuck and blues had hiked for days in the open grassland, in search of the Mighty Eagle. Chuck carried dried carrion meat, which they subsisted on this odyssey. The blues, now weary in their bodies, subsisted on their indefatigable willpower and spirit, which gave them enough strength to lead the pack as Chuck trailed behind. It was nearing the rainy season, but the dry season struggled to stay for a couple more days, leading to no liquid respite from heat but a warm, muggy sauna that lasted into the night.
As they sat by the campfire on their eighth night in the wilderness, Chuck questioned what they were fighting for. Was the goal of finding this nocturnal "genie in a bottle" really that significant, considering the hardship they had to go through to reach it? Maybe that is moral of this journey. Those who suffer will be duly rewarded, and received by the travelers with much gratitude. Gratitude and appreciation, deprivation and hunger, is what he learned this eighth night in the savanna.
The yellow bird gazed up to the night's twinkling lights, and was joined by the blues. The triplets created funny shapes in the stars, tracing with their beaks.
"I see a cloud!" Jim noted. The other three birds agreed.
"Hey, I see a slingshot!" Jay pointed out. The other birds nodded.
"I see a cave!" Jake said. The group was silent.
"Where? Don't bluff us!" Jay teased.
"No, really, like really, there is a cave! Over there!" Jake beak pointed to a small alcove underneath a hanging roof of sandstone. A small orange star illuminated it.
"There it is…" Chuck gasped in reverence. The four birds hurriedly packed their camping gear, and carried their fire in a wooden branch nearby.
As they approached the ever-increasing light, the blues pulled out a small can of pickled sardines to offer the Eagle. They had plundered it from the stores of the pigs when the birds invaded two years ago; the pigs hated sardines (they like eggs, of course), so they took no objection to this. "Take it, take it," they said willingly.
The first reaction as they entered was one of awe, then of despondence. The cave shined of gold and treasures, reflecting the light and making it almost impossible to see. But much to their grief, the Eagle was not there. Chuck didn't see him. The blues' didn't see him. As their eyes had adjusted to the bright of the cave, the expansive night had turned to black. Chuck knew he was there. He bellowed into the cave.
"Where are you, Mighty Eagle?" The echo was muffled by the many gold coins.
After a long pause, they heard a booming voice. "How did you know?" The sound was enough to rumble the entire cave to collapse, but the weak sandstone somehow stayed supported.
"Answer me!" The ground shook once more. The blues saw two of everything; twice as much gold.
This time a few pieces of sandstone mixed with gold in cave. Chuck trembled in fear, lowering his eyes and trembling ever so slightly. But it was a different kind of fear. It was a fear that empowered him, as if he was raised up to the divine as he lowered his eyes. He felt an understanding, not just knowledge. It was something that he had just pieced together in his mind since he was in his banishment. He stood head high, and responded.
"Because I have come to understand what is not seen, heard with the senses, is far greater than what one sees, hears with the senses. I have come to understand the power in hunger, the reward in suffering, and the material of emptiness. It is because of this that has led me to here…" His voice faded as he felt a long moment of silence in the cave.
"Congratulations, bird." This time the walls did not shake. A large figure approached them out of hiding, into the main cave. His face was jovial, yet wise, as could be seen from the worn blunt tip of his sharp beak.
"Whoa!" The blues whispered in unison. For a moment they did not speak or free themselves from the Eagle's gaze, for his prominence captivated their minds.
For Chuck, it was a different feeling, a more complex one. Though he definitely felt a sense of triumph, he also came to realize what may have been rudimentary yet forgotten, childish and simple: his actions directly make an outcome; every event can be traced to an action. His careless actions that led to his banishment were cause and effect respectively. But once he did not just "know" this, but "understood" it, he felt control over his life, like never before. He understood that other people did not matter; only he could make the decision, only he can control his own life.
The blues offered the Eagle canned sardines, which he gladly accepted, swallowing the contents of the can in one easy gulp. "So, what can I do for you?" He presented casually.
"I want a super slingshot that can fire four bejillion miles!" Jake said, still in awe.
"Can you make a super-duper laser blasting thingy for our eggs so when the pigs come it'll go pew pew pew pew!" Jay asked in one gasp of air, pantomiming with his body. His saliva sputtered in front of him.
"Now, now, boys," the Eagle calmed them down. "I chose to come into your dream because I know you want to have all these things. Now, boys, there is one thing I want you to know. You don't have to 'deserve' something or 'be the righteous owner' of something to get it. All you have to do is want it and wish for it. I don't reward those who choose to suffer in vain, for they do not receive award with genuine gratitude; they are too selfless, they do not respect themselves. I also refuse to grant wishes to those who are greedy, and believe they can get anything, even if they do not appreciate and love themselves. I chose to save you from your nightmare because you did not let that adversity get in your path, you did all the things you would do, as if you were fully recovered: you went to school, you played in the day—"
"You were there?" Jim interjected.
"Yes I was. I watch over all of you. But if you try to find me, I will disappear; unless you come here. As I was saying, boys, you acted like you were the way you wanted to be, even though you were in a less fortunate state. Therefore, I decided to save you from your nightmare, and guide you to my lair."
Chuck processed all this knowledge in his head. I can be who I want to be, Chuck thought. I don't need to be in a flock. From what I learned, I can be on my own and thrive, with the wisdom I have gained. I know what I am going to ask the Mighty Eagle for. "Mighty Eagle?"
"Yes, bird?" The Eagle turned to face the yellow bird.
"I wish to be liberated from the Flock forever." Six eyebrows came up. "Please escort the blues safely back to the nest in whatever way you see fit."
"So granted." The Eagle proclaimed without hesitation.
"If you do not mind me asking, Mighty Eagle," Chuck said, "Do you believe this is the best course of action for me?"
A brief silence followed. "As the Mighty Eagle, I do not judge. You are in control of your life, so I do not know if it the best choice for you. Only you know that. So I cannot answer that."
He turned to face all four of them. "Remember, since you have unlocked the location of this lair, you can return here anytime. Feel free to tell other birds about your time here, for they will never come here, they are unwilling; only the willing will find me here. I bid you farewell."
"Goodbye!" The blues said in unison. Chuck looked at his friends for one last time, and left the cave before they did.
(To be continued...)