A Dragon out of Time, A Crash and Spyro Story

Chapter 7: The Power of Words

I had a name. The word was said often, usually spoken at me, and eventually this sound attached itself to me. My identification, my... self. As time passed and Spyro grew and matured, he began to understand the two orange creatures living with him more and more. They also had names: Crash and Coco. They, like how he learned to, respond to their names which defined them. The power of words was fascinating. They label things, gave meaning to concepts and ideas, could clarify or abstract, Command or question. Coco spoke these words, and Crash listened. But Spyro remembered the first word he ever heard, his name: Spyro. It came from the male, Crash. He has said it after Spyro emerged from the dark place. At that time, he only remembered the pronunciation of that word. He didn't know anything about that word until later.

Spyro was a Dragon. This word confused him. It labeled him, but it didn't define who he was, at least not directly. Coco only used that word when identifying Spyro in an indirect way. Eventually, Spyro deduced that this was the type of being that he was. Because Dragon had a similar meaning to it like Bandicoot did. Crash and Coco were bandicoots. And they were family. Like the word love, family had a very significant and deep meaning attached to it. These two words profoundly changed the emotions of Crash or Coco when used. They brought up feelings of tenderness, adoration, and trust between them when Coco used this word towards Crash. And then Spyro learned of family structure. Brother and sister, that's what Crash and Coco were to each other. But Spyro also found the words father and mother. Were Crash and Coco his parents? Spyro assumed so, but this conflicted with what he was. He was a Dragon and Crash and Coco were Bandicoots. Spyro was certainly part of their family, but something bothered him about the physical distinction between his parents and himself. Besides two different words labeling them differently, Spyro looked so different from them as well. They loved him and he loved them, too, but why wasn't he a Bandicoot and why weren't they Dragons? Why was he so different from those closest to him? It's why Spyro was determined to ask them. He was learning about language, but he wanted to use it to talk to his father and mother. Spyro practiced talking by himself, making sure he could pronounce words correctly and intelligibly. It was hard at first, and there was no way of knowing whether he was speaking correctly. He used Coco as his coach, repeating things she had said and tried to mimic the speed, pronunciation, and flow of her speech. After a couple of weeks practicing and perfecting what he wanted to ask Crash and Coco, he waited until they were both gather on the beach. As he approached however, he could hear they were talking. So he waited, seeing if he could learn anything useful from Coco's conversation with Crash. How Coco understood the things Crash was somehow communicating to her with his hands was still an enigma to Spyro, though.

"Today's the anniversary, isn't it Crash? Seeing you besides this shore confirms it."

[Neither of us ever knew our birthdays. I just thought I could 'celebrate' the day I lost her.]

"Crash, it's been two years since she died. Why do you do this to yourself? Force yourself to remember the pain you experienced when you lost her? You fixate on that day, you can't let go."

[I don't want to forget her, Coco.]

"You don't have to forget her, Crash. You just need to move on. She isn't your only family. I hoped, and still do hope, that I will be enough for you overcome your grief."

[Coco, that's not fair.]

"It sounds worse than what I actually meant. I will always be here for you, for as long as we're together. A shoulder to cry on, a friend to laugh with, a sister to love. Tawna meant all these things to you and more, and even though she's gone, I hope to be those same things, too, minus the... you know."

Crash allowed himself a chuckle before staring at the horizon again, listening to the waves crash on the beach before him. The sound was very soothing for Crash.

"Here, I made this for you."

Coco handed something to Crash, and he removed a paper covering the object. Crash stared at it, and then water began to drip from his eyes. Spyro had seen this before. Since then he learned what crying meant. Had Coco somehow saddened Crash?

"It-s b...eu-tfl" Crash tried to say. Beautiful... Spyro had heard that word describe the island. Beautiful didn't mean island, it instead described all that was nice and pleasing to look at about the surroundings. Was what Crash was holding as beautiful as the island? It must have been; Crash didn't speak frequently, and the moments he reserved to were not wasted.

"The portrait took me about a week to perfect. I hope it looks just like you remember her."

Crash set the portrait to his side and leaned over to hug his sister.

"I luv y...ooh" Crash said sobbing up. Coco and embraced her brother and shed a tear as well. This was exactly like the time they hugged after he emerged from the dark place. But now Spyro understood what was happening here. Love... Family... something he was a part of. He walked over to where his father and mother were standing and waited next to them. Crash let go of Coco upon noticing Spyro standing behind them. Coco turned to notice him as well. Spyro abandoned the questions he had for them today, instead he wanted to be a part of this moment as well.

"I love you both, too." Spyro uttered. This was the first time he spoke in front of Crash or Coco. He hopped he said the words right. He must of, because his words evoked even more tears from Crash, as well as a smile. Opposite emotions simultaneously displayed, it's what confused and fascinated Spyro about words and how they applied to the real world. He sat down next to his father and mother as the sun set in the distance.