The Morning Song (UWOC)

1 - The Letters

"I see you are up early. Are you reading or writing?" Zubin asked me as he walked through the living area.

"Writing. One of the wild flock put out a challenge to write a letter to your younger self and then one to your older self. I'm gathering my thoughts on what I want to say." I mindlinked to him since he doesn't understand my spoken language.

One of the other bonded dragonets, Basil, had worked with his handler to create a translator device, allowing us to read the alien language of the Kymari. It also works in reverse so that we can write things, too. It seems redundant as we can all speak to each other through the mindlink, but boredom can make you do strange things.

The aliens that now inhabit this planet care for those of us who are bonded animals and ensure the wild flock is safe. Only the handlers of the bonded ones know we are sentient animals that can think and talk. Well, except for that one Elder...

"I bet you were a cute little gold girl when first hatched." He commented with a slight smirk. Kymari don't usually show much emotion and are the ultimate overthinkers. But with all the different alien races in the universe, they are the most polite and respectful. They don't have civil wars or theft or even drugs. They have been around for hundreds of thousands of years. It all still boggles my mind sometimes.

Here, I sit on a couch, playing around with a small computer with my little paws touching each letter, like texting on an old cell phone. I've gotten quick at it, too, as I had loved to write when I was human. Zubin doesn't know about that; it's a well-kept secret.

My old human memories are still there, showing me all the things I learned in school and the promising career I had coming to me. Top companies were scouting me for my skills in cyber security. I was Red Team—the hacker who broke into your system and then showed you how to stop others from doing it, too. I never thought for a moment that I would be kidnapped and turned into a mini-dragon the size of a house cat. 

It's been almost three decades, and I still see the irony. The formula used on us was sent down in a spaceship that crashed here on purpose by a small rogue band of aliens from Votak. A few years later, the governing body for the Votak race decided to wipe out the humans so they could use the planet to position themselves better on the outer rim of the Milky Way galaxy. 

The technology of these alien races is astonishing, and the Votaks had used a beam of deadly light that penetrated down through the earth's crust, so even humans that were underground were killed. It turned them all to dust. But it was only programmed to kill humans, so it passed harmlessly over us, as we were no longer human.

Once the Kymari found out about what happened to Earth, they were furious about killing off an intelligent species for no reason. They came and conquered the Votaks. And as with any winner of the war, they took over the planet, building massive cities with high walls to keep the animals out. We found refuge in a central park within the city closest to us. Because of the Morning Song, they noticed us quickly but never harmed us. They were like the bird watchers of old earth.

The Morning Song...hmmm.

"I believe I will write about the feelings of the morning song to my newly hatched self. We didn't feel it until after we broke out of the lab since there were no windows to let in the sunlight." I saw the anger appear on his face that he doesn't hide from me whenever I speak of my early years in a cage I could not even wholly open my wings in. 

"We don't need to be anywhere for a few hours, so you have time."

I nodded to him and turned back to my small device. Since there was always a possibility that a Kymari may read this, I will word this carefully.

*******

My dear Jenna,

Since I am you, I know of the terror you feel right now, hatching in a cage and not knowing what is going on around you. The mindlink to the others will help you as you learn from them. Don't despair; you will be free soon enough. You will find out a few surprising things about yourself when that happens. For one, you can breathe fire like mythical and legendary dragons. Another is the Morning Song.

Every day the sun will call to you, and your body will answer. Our pull to praise the sun and the start of a new day is programmed into our DNA, and very little can stop it. Words to describe this phenomenon are challenging, but I will try.

You will feel every joyous emotion you can think of and then some you have never felt. You will sing and dance through the sunrise as a new day has begun. The Morning Song will cleanse you of any depressing thoughts or anger at your present situation. We start each day with a feeling of wellness and completion of giving praise where it is due.

I know this sounds strange to you, but the Morning Song will heal all the wrongs done by the scientists. We live in a strange new world, but it is our world to do as we like. Embrace it and feel the blissful feeling of being alive.

--Jenna

*******

Dear older Jenna,

I genuinely hope you are still with Zubin and have made a difference. I have no regrets about being a bonded animal and hope you feel that same way after many decades. Since the Morning Song has never changed when I have thought about it, I will assume it still has the same effect. So dance and sing, my dear Jenna. Live your life to the fullest and give our love to Zubin. Like the Morning Song, he calms my soul like a parent or a best friend. I genuinely love my life now and have no regrets.

--Jenna

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Prompt one:

You write a letter to your younger self, then your older self.

(1048 words)