An Event most Fowl

Chapter 1

The potions glittered, various colors brightening and dimming like fireflies were infused into the liquid.  Her hand glided over the labels as she mouthed them, searching for a particular one. She stopped and her eyes sparkled from the item she was so desperately looking for; a bright yellow concoction.

Biting down on her lower lip she reached out to grab it.  The distance between girl and potion narrowing with every passing second.

Her fingers brushed against the cool glass, causing a small smile to spread onto her face. But it was short lived as the creaking of a floorboard wiped it away. She stood frozen, her shoulders tense and her hand in mid-grab of the glass bottle. Her heart started to pound in her chest, reaching up and blaring in her ears. 

Thump thump...

thump thump...

thump thump.

She looked over her shoulder slowly, her eyes going wide.  She wasn't expecting her to be back so soon.

The girl's eyes flew open, her breathing harsh and her heartbeat pounding; although she couldn't quite remember why, as the dream was quickly making its escape out of her memory.  She struggled to swallow a lump that had built in her throat, a stinging pain reluctantly traveling down into the depths of her throat.  She swallowed again, this time the pain was more faded as she tried to replay what she could remember from her dream, but she could only remember that one scene.  Nothing else.  But she still strained her mind to try and remember more, wanting to remember more.  She felt like the answer was just inches away, just a few more seconds of focus would reveal everything. 

A harsh caw sounded off, pulling her focus to a different matter.  'What was tha-' Her thoughts started to question as she sat up.  Her eyes landed on the unfamiliar wooden coo coo clock  hanging on the middle of the wall across from her.  With every strike the stuffed crow let out a scratchy caw, counting up to the hour.

Its beady white eyes stared at her curiously, carrying a sense of life to them that shouldn't have been there.  Those eyes were the only thing lifelike about the bird, everything else was like a bad joke.  Its body looked crudely made, like a child's rushed art project: it had feathers sticking up every which way, making it almost look more like a pom pom than a bird; it's legs looked like they were made out of pipe cleaners; and its beak looked like a piece of fabric was just glued on without much thought. Its craft like look didn't bring her any comfort, instead it unsettled her.

After seven caws the bird settled back into its house.  Its unblinking eyes hidden in the inside of the clock, and its awful caws quieted tell the next hour.  With the disfigured toy no longer looking at her she was able to focus. 

It took her a moment before her eyes widened in realization. 'Where am I'  Her thoughts cried.  Her heart stopped for a moment, and confusion started taking over her entire being.  She began to look around the room frantically, hoping that it would strike some memory for how she had gotten there...hoping that it would strike any memory at all. 

But in the end, she couldn't remember anything else about herself.

"Who am I?"  She mumbled, looking at her hands. A possibility rose up in her mind. "This could just be a dream." She allowed her fingers to reach up and touch her face.  Testing to see if it was just a strange dream.  Her fingers pressed against the softness of her cheek, but that wasn't enough. She needed to go further, so she quickly pinched herself, her nose scrunching up against the pain.

But nothing changed. "I guess it's not a dream." She breathed out her disappointment and her hands fell to the bed, brushing up against the velvety fabric of the warm blanket.  She slowly looked down at the deep red colored material that laid on top of her. Her face relaxed as she brushed her fingers against it again, letting the texture hug her fingers and take her anxiety away for the moment.  She had never touched anything that soft before, but then again, she wouldn't have known if she had.