Once Alone

Lena

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul

The evening descended and Lena worked; from enclosure to enclosure, tending to the needs of those harbored within. She soothed the aches and pains of dragons, wrapped bandages upon luxere, settled the morose ventures of cloud wyrms, and hummed lightly under her breath all the while, undaunted and fearless. The hours whittled away and she thought nothing of it – no one to return to, save for her own apartment, and after winding down and waving to her sister’s once-companion amidst the Celestine canopies, she went to snag a few snacks from the main stores.

Or would have, had she not heard a wail. Stopping dead in her tracks, and nearly dropping the water bucket in her grasp, the youth’s eyes widened with alarm. Was it an animal, somehow harmed? Was it human? Given the noise, it could’ve been impossible to tell, but of a stern, strong spirit, she unfurled, leaving the water by the closest bench, and following the sounds. It had stirred several of the fauna too, and she could feel the ebb and flow of curiosity, panic, and upheaval; uncertainty beginning to build in her fingers as a result.

Only then did she see a person in the thicket of flowers, and was crouched beside them within an instant. “Oh my goodness, are you all right?”

and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all