The Pheonix

The Phoenix

The tapping from the inside of the egg grew louder. A tiny crack appeared on the shell, enveloping me with light as bright as a star. I could barely see. I squinted, and as I did, a small, fiery orange beak pecked its way out. My chest constricted with excitement as a smile broke on my face. “What was it?” I thought. The happy feeling in my stomach rose higher and higher. Suddenly, the light faded, and so did my grin. My ‘amazing pet’ was… A rooster. A plain, old rooster. A man gave me the egg and told me a magical thing would come out of it. It was probably a scam to get a lot of money from me. If only I had known that before. I angrily scolded myself and then sighed. 

I stroked the bird, and then I leaped back in surprise. The bird has caught fire, nearly roasting my hand off. “This was no ordinary rooster,” I thought. But if it wasn’t a rooster, then what was it? I carefully stroked it again, remembering to lift my finger off it regularly in case it caught fire again. “I think I’ll call you Blaze,” I murmured. The next day my new pet bird was equipped with a fire-proof cage, food, and warm water. Sadly, I could not give it any toys- they would all catch fire and burn. I was still mystified about what creature Blaze was, but I decided to ignore it. Unless Blaze set my house on fire, I didn’t mind him.

A month later, I was in an old library that I had discovered near the edge of my town, my nose buried in a large, dusty book called Mythical Creatures- from A to Z. As I gazed at the faded pictures, I found an intriguing article. I ran my finger down the lines and read- ‘The phoenix is a mythical creature that can rise from the ashes when it dies, making it immortal. Phoenixes can burst into flame and are usually red, gold, and orange. These rare birds, if they were real, would make excellent and incredibly loyal pets. ’ Suddenly, I gasped. Could Blaze be a Phoenix? Everything was slowly making sense.

 I rushed back to my house, running as fast as I could, and after some time, I paused, looking around. My house should be visible by now. And sure, there were houses, but I didn’t recognize any of them as mine. I groaned with frustration. Then I turned back to the forest and started running, my hair flying out behind me. I checked my pockets for my phone, thinking that maybe, I could check my GPS, but it was out of battery. Sweat began rolling down my forehead, and my hands started shaking.

Suddenly, I heard the flapping of wings, and I froze. Blaze appeared through the trees and turned right. Something told me to follow him. As he led me through the forest, I recognized my surroundings. Then, Blaze suddenly stopped, and I realized we were home. My face broke into a grin as I hugged Blaze and gently set him in his cage. From then on, we became the best of buddies.