Nature's Calling

A man's wife dies, so he becomes solitary, never leaving his cottage in the meadow until a strange package appears, and his life will never be the same.

            “Why did you do this to me?” Adam cried, falling to his knees before his wife, Evelyn’s, lifeless cadaver, the lush, green grass tickling his skin, too pleasant for the situation. “Why?” He raised his arms while a bird fluttered towards him, perching upon his palm. “Shoo! Let me be, cruel pest!” Adam roared, flinging the blue jay violently from his hand.

            Adam, alone for the first time in his life, trudged home mournfully to his cottage in the meadow. A tear trickled down his cheek as he sat upon the ripped couch. He threw the glass bird he had received as a wedding gift against the wall, the ear-splitting shatter echoing through the lonely cottage. Bursting into a mourning wail, Adam crumpled helplessly into the chair.

            Months passed by. He grew thinner every day, his ribs soon jutting out past his concave stomach grotesquely. Adam became a sickly pale. Not once did he leave the cottage.

            On the one year anniversary of the tragic death of poor Eve, Adam laid sobbing on his bed. Suddenly, a hollow thumping at the door made Adam jump. He hadn’t heard a noise he hadn’t made since Evelyn- He shook his head, trying to rid his mind of Evergreen's abiding presence.

            Hesitantly, Adam inched to the weak, cedar door. The rusty doorknob creaked painfully as he rotated it, ever so slowly. Suddenly, he swung the door open wide, nearly tearing it off its hinges, preparing himself for whoever awaited him.

            No one was there.

            Adam squinted his dull, gray eyes and stretched his neck, straining his vision to look as far as possible in every direction.

            There wasn’t a single human being in sight. One could only hear a bird chirp on the gloomy, dull, April evening.

            Glancing at his feet, Adam noticed a small, frail pile of petals, a splash of color unfit for the lonesome day. As he studied the flower petals more closely, Adam realized the foliage seemed to be wrapped around something. Gingerly, he picked the pile up, and unraveled the floral wrapping, revealing a beautifully carved stick, gleaming maroon in a ray of sunshine. Adam carried it inside, grumbling about ding-dong-ditchers while secretly admiring the glistening baton’s beauty.

            Adam continued to stay indoors, but would gaze at the timber, day and night, wondering who had brought it and why to him. Three days later, the same hollow thumping pounded against the cottage door. Adam yanked his stare from the stick and rushed to the door, stumbling clumsily over his own feet. He grasped the doorknob, anxiously swinging the door open wide.

            Once again, no one was in sight, and not a sound but the light breeze and melodious song of a bird were heard. Adam glared at the wide, emptiness of the plain. Sighing, Adam silently cursed himself for acting silly.

            He grasped the doorknob and began to close the door. Just before hearing the door pound shut, another thump sounded. Shoving the door open, Adam looked around expectantly but found nothing other than the same beautiful bird chirp.

            Curiously, Adam stepped out into the meadow, the dry grass clawing at his bare skin. He stumbled and raised his hand, still grasping the stick, to regain his balance. Unexpectedly, the sun suddenly raised high into the sky and returned to its nest in the west, looping through day and night again and again. The grass grew wildly, becoming a lush green, tickling his skin. The cacti grew taller, fruit bursting from their spike-covered surfaces. Flowers bloomed. The pages of a calendar tore from their packet and whipped past Adam, the wind roaring in his ears. Suddenly, he dropped his arm, and the violent progression stopped, leaving Adam gasping for breath as though he had seen his life fly by.

             The grass had returned to its former green moisture. The flowers were no longer dying. The sky was blue once more. A single blue jay fluttered to Adam, perching on his palm, chirping melodiously.

            Adam shakily raised the stick once more, believing it had been the cause of the overwhelming event. The sky, plants, and calendar returned to their earlier terrifying event until a single, melodious song of a bird cried out and everything became calm, the sky changing color, the wind lowering intensity, the growth of plants changing speed, and the beauty of everything changing to his will. All Adam had to do was wave a maroon stick and conduct the bird’s song.

             Adam and the blue jay, Avalon, became permanent companions. They conducted nature every day together and lived in the lively cottage of the meadow.  The world was gloriously beautiful once more. Avalon’s voice became stronger and more melodious every day until Adam finally recognized the lyrics of her song. “We shall let the child of nature be, until he discovers his destiny.”

Author's Note

It's amazing what a single picture can do. By merely glancing at a picture, I had the idea for this story come to me instantly. No, the picture I have used for this story was not my inspiration... I honestly have no idea where my teacher got the picture he had me write this story for...

Reviews

[Animal Lover <3]

Again, an amazing story. Yup, I've had that "OH MY GOSH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE!!!-GOTTA WRITE A STORY!!!" moment many many times. Gives you a good feeling, eh?

I loved it, but the use of some of the words were a bit distracting-was this perchance written for a school essay?

Yet another amazing piece of writing!

~Animal Lover

[Artiste de Mots]

Thank you! I love visual inspiration too. The writing just flows out of you, and if you have writers block, you just look at the picture again, I love it!

Yeah, it was. I definitely step up the vocabulary when it's for school...

Thanks again!

(Sorry this response was insanely late)

[JadeForever]

it would of been cool if the wife's name was eve...BUT STILL i think your really good with describing things..:D

[Artiste de Mots]

i changed it to eve :3 (i didn't want to have it be eve when i turned in because you know how school is with religion, but i've changed it now) thanks!