Girl who Speaks to Birds

Chapter 15

I flew up, up, up. Birds let out their calls, and I listened, trying to drown my fear in the noise. I flapped my wings rapidly, nervous energy coursing through my veins. I heard the sound of wind as I went faster and faster.

"Slow down, Madelyn. And while you're at it, calm down."

"How am I supposed to be calm? This must be torture for Caspian. You and I both know what he went through!" I sighed. "This is all my fault. I should've told Caspian, but I didn't. I was afraid. I made assumptions and kept the precious information from him."

I recalled my sixth-grade English teacher's words. Don't assume anything unless you're trying to prove that you're a bonehead. How those words came and bit me in the butt.

"You're not a bonehead, Madelyn."

"I know. It was just something that one of my teachers said. Whenever a student assumed something, she'd say that. I mean, it's been five years since she's been my teacher, but that's what comes to mind when I think about that specific teacher."

"Do you think about your teachers a lot?"

"Only the ones that have made a huge impact on me. I mean, all of them have, giving me knowledge and all. But the ones that impact me emotionally are the ones I remember. If you think about it, teachers shape us a lot. As of now, people go to school for seven or eight hours. That's a lot of time spent with the teachers and a lot of getting to know each other."

"You think about a lot of stuff, don't you."

"How can I not, when one miniscule decision can through the lives of many into turmoil? I should have been wiser in the decisions I made. And then there are the things I worry about, like diseases, getting run over, food poisoning, rabid animals. And that's only a few."

"There are many things to be afraid of in life. They differ from person to person. But there are also the things that are glorious and beautiful, the things we should embrace. Like family."

"Do you have any family?"

"No. Well, not exactly. A girl was about to die. Her body was barely alive, but her soul had left. I was able to save her, and I inhabited her body, living out the life she would've had. I guess it was a little selfish and all."

"If you think about it, it was being selfless. Imagine the suffering the family would've been put through."

"I guess so. And the life I lived there; it wasn't like an actual family. At the beginning of time, all of the spirits were created. Millions of shifter spirits, being able to be gifted onto an otherwise normal person. And if your parents were shifters, you received once right after birth. And then, sometimes spirits choose a person with no shifter bloodline. Like I did with you. But shifter spirits don't have families."