The Vultures in Disneyland

The Bicameral Consciousness - Part 2

35 years ago, it was a chilly morning in November. Felix was more excited than ever because it was his birthday. He remembered his father's promise of buying him his favorite toy on his birthday, which excelled the excitement even more. He went to the school but all he could think about was his gift, the one he had been looking at on his way to school every day. The one just like his friend, Luke, had. As soon as he returned back, he held the right hand of his father and dragged him. His father, amusingly, carried him on his shoulders and asked to lead him the way to the shop. Felix came down off his father's shoulders and ran into the shop. He picked the stuffed animal and jumped in joy. It was a dragon, a beautiful brown dragon who would make a 'trrr trrr' sound when pressed at the bottom.

Looking at the price, his father's face grimaced. The label showed 95 cents, which was way more than he could afford. However, Felix had already started playing with it. His father asked the shop owner to take back the toy and hide it from him. And when the owner did that, Felix cried and came to his father. "They say it is not for sale. We can buy another toy." He told him. But Felix didn't want any other toy. He ran to his home and started crying. His parents were trying their best to make him better but everything they did was in vain as they were culprits in his eyes.

Felix couldn't sleep, his dreams shattered, he couldn't think of facing his friends at the school the next day. He promised that he would show the dragon to his friends. It was already late, around 11 but he couldn't stop thinking and crying. But something appeared above his head on the ceiling. It was the dragon, the same one he so wanted to have as a birthday gift. The dragon was coming to him and they both started talking. Out of the blue, he placed the dragon on his palms and went to the living room. He wanted to surprise his father and wake him with that 'trrr trrr' sound. Sitting in front of his parents' bedroom, he pressed the bottom of the dragon. There was no sound, he couldn't believe it; Felix continued pressing it over and over again but the dragon wasn't making any sound. It was sucking up the sound of the room instead and once the room was vacuum, the dragon smoked fire. The bedroom caught fire, his parents were awake but the fire had already reached them. They started running across rooms but couldn't call out for help. No one would have heard them as it was silent, totally and literally. Seeing his parents burn, Felix couldn't control his laughter. He chucked in silence and all that could have been felt was his grin. The whole house burnt to ash and he woke himself up outside in the morning, holding the dragon toy that he so wanted.

Meanwhile, Allison finds herself tied on a chair inside a chamber. There's so much smoke inside that she can barely see.

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!" Felix approaches her singing the birthday rhyme. He is dressed in a cowboy costume. "What gift do you want, sweetie?"

"What is this?" Allison tries to unbind herself but fails. Her eyes are getting clearer vision now that she has spent some time inside. But what she sees drives her insane.

"This isn't real!! NO! THIS ISN'T REAL." She says pointing over Felix's shoulder. Allison sees the dragon flying over his shoulder, the same stuffed animal.

"Every bit of this is real. I told you before. It was the devil." He senses fear in her eyes. "But don't be afraid. He is a friend, a guardian angel. He will save you from the devil. Just like he saved me once." He looks at his dragon while saying it.

Allison is no longer herself, she is no longer feeling her face. Her legs, her whole body. But her curiosity should triumph over her fear, she knows that. She gathers every ounce of her courage and pulls her shit together.

"Why did you do it? All those innocent families and their children. Why did you kill them? "

"Because they hate us. They hate their own children. All we want is a little gift on our birthday and every parent who denies it will see justice. Can't you see?" Felix goes near her and puts her hand on her thigh, " I am helping those children. They deserve a gift on their birthday."