chapter one

A porthole opened and what seemed like birds began to get washed in. It was gonna be a long ride. 

Freetown was as cool as it used to be at night. The men sat in circle since it was a Small Village, surrounded with huge walls and guards on each gates. The women walked in group either to fetch firewood or to gather fallen fruits. 

A loud strike of thunder was heard and the people knew there was going to be a storm. From a distance, you could see people running to shelter. The rain lasted for a long time before coming to an abrupt stop.

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The morning came. it was bright as usual. the women quicky prepared themselves to fish for the rain that fell must have caused a flood in the sea. Robin watched from his window as he saw his mother wash her legs to join other women. she walked into his room and he quickly pretended he was fast asleep.

"take care of yourself." she said even though she saw him on the bed.

"don't leave home until mom is back." she said and walked out. he heard her footsteps fading and he quickly sat up. he walked to his window and looked. the women and gone far. he picked his bag and walked out of the house. he locked the door behind him.

he assured himself to reach home before her. he ran into the woods. he began to remember last night. while he was looking out his window. he saw lightning hit a big bird and it landed in the direction he was heading to. he couldn't sleep. he wanted to have history for catching the biggest bird in Freetown.

as he ran through the bushes, his heart pounded. he was nervous. he ran to an opening and was disappointed. no bird. he looked at his side . the leaves rustled and his happiness increased. he quickly pushed the leaves open and saw a colorful bird. half the size of what he saw last night and he got disappointed again.

"fly away you stupid bird. you not what I came for." he tried to chase it away but he got caught in the colorful eyes of the bird. it was beautiful. pink eyes, purple feathers, orange body, red legs and a green tail.

Robin squatted to admire the bird. its leg was tied to a grass. Robin untied it but the bird didn't fly. he checked to see if there was another barrier but there was none. it cooed and flapped it's wings.

"what?" he asked it.

"you want me to cuddle you?" he giggled and began to soothe the bird. it enjoyed it but later got uneasy and shifted back.

"what?" he asked again. the bird was just too beautiful to let go of.

it began to walk. Robin followed it. the little colorful bird walked to the beach. Robin stood watching the water flow. he stared at the bird. it kept looking at the bird. this mystic creature had taken him aback. he soon gave up and made to go. the bird cooed and Robin looked back. a lady was lying lifeless on the bank of the beach. he ran to her. her cloth was white and almost transparent. fair in complexion, black hair and nothing more. her hair fell free. it was wet.

Robin placed his palm on her neck. it was beating slowly. he put his head on her chest. her heart beat every two seconds. he thought she was almost dead and began to press her chest massively. she soon began to cough as water poured out of her mouth. she slowly opened her eyes. gold in color.

"hey!" he called.

her eyes were blurry and she didn't see him clearly. he carried her and headed home.

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placing her on the bed, he covered her with a dry blanket. she was too weak to open her eyes. she just slept off.

his mother soon came. he tried his best to stop her from going into his room but she finally got in. she sighed disappointedly.

"I warned you." she said.

"you know the consequences of housing a stranger without the village head's consent?" she asked.

"beheading." he kept his head low.

"now, you keep her a secret until she gets better and leave." she walked out.

he walked into his room and shut the door. he was just sixteen and didn't want to die a sad death. an early one for that matter. he walked to shut his window. the colorful bird flew in almost immediately landing on his face. he shrugged the bird into the bed on the lady's body.

"sorry." he held a sad look. he shut the window. he sat near her. she was almost dried up. he made to stroke her but the bird persisted. it kept on pecking his hand as he made to do so. he soon began to put up a fight with the creature. they exchanged blows at each other.

this continued for a long time until he heard a slight chuckle. the lady was already seated on one edge of the bed.

both of them came to her. the bird sat on her laps and she cuddled it.

"seems it's your pet. it loves you. it saved you." he said one at a time. she gave a light chuckle. the bird purred. he kept on staring at her and she stared at him. he took his face away. he was shy.

his mom walked in and she looked at her.

"you're awake." she said. she stared at Robin.

"food is ready." she walked out and closed the door. Robin walked out to eat.

after a few minutes of waiting for her at the table, he decided to check on her. she was back to her sleeping position. he sighed and walked back to the table.