Dried Leaves and Broken Feathers

Chapter 5: The Mirror of Truth

"Now, my sweet child, this is the Mirror of Truth, give it all your attention."

When Mama summoned the Mirror of Truth, she brought Jojo closer to it. As clear as glass, the mirror disdained Jojo's identity. With her unkempt set of feathers, hanging like broken twigs over her body, the glory of this macaw was no more. Jojo still stared at her terrible self, anyhow.

As Jojo paid the mirror with slightly more attention, the image began to ripple, revealing Paul's beautiful build, complimenting his tail and a bold blue complexion. Then, the portrait of Paul faded into a beautiful landscape of the brook, serving as a sole reminder of Jojo's past. Sorrowful anticipation began to spread through her veins, which worsened as the image of Paul plucking one of his feathers appeared next. 

However, in an unforeseen corner of the reflection, a faint black line appeared, slithering towards the company. It was Deo! He then inched up a large tree, spying with his slit eyes on them. Then, on the other corner, a hunky figure appeared to walk towards them, growling with every step it took. So coordinated, both the puma and boa moved like synchronized shadows, ready to ambush the ill-fated new pair of friends. 

The next few seconds revealed the nasty roundup of animals, causing Jojo to shriek in terror. Although it was an unbearable sight, her macaw eyes were fixated to the ghastly foresight of the animals, she screamed louder and greater, meshed to the cacophony of the jungle wildest horrors. The amplitude and pitch of the macaw's screech induced Mama's flames to go out of control, automatically setting Paul's feather on fire. 

While Jojo kept her eyes shut in response to the traumatic vision, she did not realize that her beloved possession was now ash that carried no value. All her energy was drained from her. Then, she collapsed onto the marble flooring, unknown of the chaos that had occurred.