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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 4201448" data-attributes="member: 8530">Chapter Two-hundred-ninety-two, “Little Birds”, Mid-to-late-July, 1882 After Kate leaves for England George Eastman takes Ruby all over the city, out to fancy dinners, theater, the opera, the finest dressmakers, even Tiffany’s and spoils her rotten. She does try to see her father and while they go out to dinner together, things seem tense despite the fact that her father is thrilled that she is now engaged to George. Ruby doesn’t complain about the spoiling but by the end of the trip she suspiciously tells George she is tired, and just wants to spend quiet time alone at home with him, planning their wedding and their future life together with her learning how to be a good wife. He takes her home and that is exactly what they do as they start their new life together. One bright day soon thereafter Ruby is slouched in a big soft chair that resides next to a large open window, her feet propped up on the footstool. Her eyes are droopy and she slowly wraps a sandy curl around her finger, a curl belonging to the small boy cuddled in her lap, quietly resting against her bosom. Whether he (or she) liked it or not, Ruby had immediately fallen in love with him and taken to cuddling and snuggling with him whenever she could. She felt it was her duty to make sure her brother grew up knowing he was loved, in her mind the largest thing that had been missing from her own childhood. Even though her mother was trying, Ruby knew it was hard to break old habits, rigid rules set by a society that no one should live in. Ruby’s bird, its cage positioned right next to their chair in the sun, starts singing his song, cheerfully chirping away, and the little boy in her lap raises his face to look up at her. “Sister, where did you get the pretty bird from?” Ruby smiles and continues to lazily twirl his hair around her finger. “George gave it to me as a birthday gift. Isn’t he lovely?” Benjamin nods and stares off at the bird as he sings. Time passes before the boy speaks again. “Do you think he’s happy living in a cage like that Sister?” Ruby is quiet, mulling her answer. “Well sweetie, it’s not an easy question to answer. He’s probably very miserable, thinking that he has to live his life in that cage. But he doesn’t really know how good he has it.” The boy looks up at her, obviously confused. Ruby says, “You see, a little bird lives a certain kind of life. It’s easy to dream that the world outside of the cage, the one he isn’t experiencing, is better; more exciting than the one he’s living in. In his dreams it could be anything and everything he ever wanted his world to be. But perhaps if one day he were to escape out of his cage, he would find it a much bigger and more dangerous world than he could even imagine. It’s hard to be by yourself and it gets lonely being that way. He sees there is no one there to look after him anymore he has to do it all by himself. He also could find that there are much worse kind of dangers out there, scary things, treacherous places and perilous adventures to be had, things he never considered. Bigger enemies who put his life in danger, sort of like a big eagle who could easily prey on him.” She pauses before continuing, gazing upon the bright red bird. “And maybe he realizes that his little heart could be broken so easily that in the end being outside the cage isn’t as fun as he thought it would be. That inside the cage, at least he was safe. At least he was taken care of. And he decides he could be happy, maybe not with everything he ever wanted, not with the freedom of being out of the cage but with the knowledge that he would be safe and loved within that cage. And if he’s lucky he finds a way back inside.” Ben listens intently, taking in every word Ruby says. He pauses a moment before he replies with a soft, “Oh. You’re so smart Sister,” before lying his head back down. Ruby laughs. She knew he didn’t know what she was talking about. Heck, she didn’t know what she was talking about half the time. “I don’t know about smart. I’m just able to tell a story I suppose. Now, I thought it was nap time…” She leans her head back against the chair and closes her eyes. She soon feels the boy cuddle up to her again and a few moments go by before she cracks an eye open to see that he is soundly sleeping pressed up against her. She smiles softly and takes a final peek at her little bird before closing her eyes again. This golden eagle was glad she finally found her way back home. Just a few miles to the south the rays of sunlight are shining through the trees as two men exit Malachi Haynes General Store, situated in a rural area southwest of Rochester, New York. They make their way through the forest carrying a heavy metal bucket. "Mighty nice of you to be doing this Miguel," says the store’s proprietor. Manuel Gonzales replies, "My son-in-law left the decision to me, this seems to be appropriate now that her lake is back." Haynes says, "It'll be private too, she'll be the only fish in it and nobody else will know. The Sheriff and his buddies now fish over in Round Lake in hopes of catching her." They get to the side of the lake. Haynes looks over at his companion and comments "Do you want to say anything?" The wizard replies, "An old Elvish expression comes to mind….Drizzle, Drazzle, Druzzle, Drome, Time for this one to come home!" On the count of three they turn the bucket over. The largest wide-mouthed bass that either man had ever seen flows out with the water and into the lake. She quickly swims away and Haynes loudly proclaims "Goodbye Old Walter.” A barely audible comment exits the elf's mouth, and thinking of his ’little bird’ he states, "Keep that ring safe Walter, it may still be needed some day." Final epilogue to follow </blockquote>

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