The Serpant and the Bird

Night had fallen, finally.  She breathed in deep the night air, stretching her long body, drinking in the sound of the dark, gazing at the midnight sun.  She watched the winged creatures filling the sky and wondered what it would be like up there, swaying with the currents of mystery and watching the whole world from above. No, she thought.  Down here is my home.  This tree and the beauty of the bed it provides for me.  The smell of the earth beneath me, the feel of it sliding across my body as I travel through it.  This is where I belong, with the morning dew drops.

She was drifting slowly into the world of dreams when she heard it.  A sound that seemed far away to her.. a cry that wakened her soul.  It was so sad and so beautiful, that she marveled what it could be.  A shadow descended down on her, and she was afraid, but she remained bravely in her place watching him.  Had he seen her?  He was beautiful.  He seemed small, but then again not.  His wings were delicate and soft powered by small bones, a frame necessary for flying.

"Yes, I feel your presence".  He turned and looked deep into her black eyes, pausing for a moment before speaking again.  "Why are you afraid?"  He asked.
"Why are you not afraid?"  She replied.
"Why should I be afraid?"  he questioned.
"Because I am a serpent and you are a bird, and we are not the same".
"Why should this matter to me?  Would you kill me if I turned my back? Would you coil around me and steal my life's breath?" 
She pondered his question for a moment,
"If I were to close my eyes, would you puncture my body with your talons?  Would you rip away my flesh?"  She raised her head and moved very close to him.  Slowly... Smelling the air with her tongue, feeling the vibrations pass to down the back of her throat.  He was not afraid of her.  Somehow she knew she would not kill him. Somehow she knew he would not bleed her.

So, they gazed at the stars together.  A silent understanding passing between them.  They were different, but the same.  For reasons unknown she loved him, this creature who went against her nature. 

At early light she awoke alone.  When the sun went down, he came back again to sit with her, on that tree, under the blanket of night.  He loved her too..felt the need to share the same time space. The serpent knew she had to find a way to fly.  She raised her head up and asked,

"Night bird?, will you pick me up and travel with me on a journey?"  There was a long silence and then she felt his talons gently close around her.  She could feel the razor sharp edges of his claws, ever so close to her soft underbelly.  He carried her up into the air climbing higher and higher still.  The sounds of the world she knew so well faded beneath her.  There was only air and the tingling sensation of the wind brushing across her body.

The night bird wondered at her thoughts.  He felt the smooth vulnerability of her in his grasp.  He was a bird of prey.. She was from another realm, yet here they were breaking down borders and sharing the same world together.

They landed lightly on the land once again.  He looked around and realized this was a place had never been, in a grove of elm trees deep in the forest.

"Come back to me again tomorrow." She spoke to him with a strange tone in her voice.  He only watched her for a long moment then spread his wings wide, disappearing into the sky.

The serpent glided across the floor of the elm tree grove and then heard a voice,
"What will you give?" The voice said echoing in on itself.
"I love him."  She whispered.
"But you are a serpent and he is a bird."  Glowing gold eyes suddenly appeared, becoming larger until she could see the massive shadow of a great white owl emerging from the heart of the elm.
"Yes."  Said the serpent.
"What will you give?" He asked again.
"I can only give myself."  The serpent  held back the tears.  The white owl looked into her soul, his gold orbs searching every dark corner of it.
"Go to the fountain which holds the true essence of love and drink from it."
"Where can I find it?"  Out of the darkness, she heard running water.
"It is here.  Drink serpent." 

She drank that clear, cold water and fell into a deep sleep.  When she awoke, she rolled over and saw her reflection in the water beside her.  The reflection that stared back at her was not that of a serpent, but a bird...A night bird.