Capítulo 48: A Little Bird's Precious Gift (New Year Special Release)
1 January 2019
Chapter 48: A Little Bird's Precious Gift
Markisah has been waiting for a long time for the extremely clumsy creature to appear again. She knew if she waited long enough, the creature would've appeared by the Crystal-veined stream. Somehow, the creature loved the stream so much. It spent so much time at the vicinity of the stream during the majority of the day.
Today, as usual, she hovered around the stream area, trying to find the shadow of the creature from yesterday, before resuming her journey to fill up her belly. However, she coincidentally saw from afar the creature was being attacked by the descendant of the Crystal-veined Stream Lord!
Since she was so far away, she could only bitterly shake her tiny head and hoped that the snake could rescue the creature in time. She was quite fond of the generous being and would like to get acquainted with it. True to her hope, the snake had saved it at a timely manner. Markisah heaved a relieved sigh and continue flying towards her favorite spot.
After flying for more than an hour towards the south west direction, Markisah entered a secluded gigantic valley. Inside the valley, she went straight to an area which was elevated higher from the rest. However, it was not so high to be called a mountain. Over here, somehow, the normal canopy-like trees localized to a rainforest did not invade the valley or the surrounding hilly regions within, instead they were occupied with strange stunted trees sparsely. In certain locations, especially on higher grounds, herb patches interlaced with wild flowers could be found everywhere. The surroundings were covered with a slight whitish haze which gave it a surreal feeling. It was a sight to behold.
Although this region was very far from where Markisah came from, she will always return to eat fruits from here when she got the chance. She had stumbled upon this beautiful place unintentionally tens of years back. At that time, she was injured and stayed for a few days. After nursing herself back to health with random nibbling of herbs and fruits, she found that she became more aware about herself. It was an indescribable feeling! Since then, this place had been her secret hideout, her go-to favorite place. Even her bird friends were unaware of it.
Markisah landed on a hardwood medium sized lush tree. She lurked for a while and found what she was looking for. It was a bunch of light yellow fruits on a branch, cleverly hidden in between the leaves of the tree. The fruit from this tree was the one which gained her current awareness. Years of eating them made her ability to think to become much better. She could even count the number of fruits on the tree until one hundred. However, that was Markisah's current limit.
She started nibbling on one of the yellow fruits with her scarlet red beak with a happy expression. It was really delicious. Once finished, she bit on the pith and flew down to an empty location and planted it carefully after loosening the soil a little. She had done the same thing for so many years until there were so many similar-looking trees in the vicinity. She repeated her actions after finishing three of the fruits before she was full.
After a short contemplation, she plucked the branch with largest yellow fruit and held on the branch in between her beak before she flew again in the direction of the Crystal-veined Stream where the creature likes to hang out.
She hoped that this precious fruit could show her sincerity to befriend the creature she was fond of.
Furthermore, she thought that the fruit will help to cure the cluelessness of the creature. The being really needs it. After all it did help her gaining her current intelligence.
...
It was a few hours after Ara, the fish was gone. The aunty whose intelligence was being looked down upon by a tiny bird was busy instructing her two little pets like a boss. Once she knew how strong they were, it was stupid for her to work herself so hard. The snake and the fox were moving everywhere at the partially cleared bamboo grooves from yesterday's destruction. They were clearing the area and digging out the leftover roots of intact bamboos. Kuro used his strong jaw and pulled out whatever roots left and flinging random boulders to the side while Shiro was busy digging the base of random large trees at the fringe of the cleared location and cutting them nonchalantly with his wind attack into long wooden stakes. He looked like a sushi master slicing on a big tuna expertly. Hana provided them with instructions and diagrams by relaying them straight from her mind.
Previously, she was extremely appalled by the gory deaths of all the fishes inside the fish trap and was slightly upset for not being able to bring back any fish home this time. However, after a few minutes have passed, she could see a number of fishes entering the fish trap in a steady flow. Feeling incredulous, she could only shake her head while smiling at her windfall. Really, she felt being favored by the heavens in some way. It turned out the bloody smell had enticed the other fishes to enter the trap in droves. While waiting for her immersed pots and the stupid fishes to fill up the fish trap again, she pondered on her next 'agriculture' project. At the beginning, she was planning to clear the area outside her cave for planting. However, with how far the water source was located, she would have to travel again and again each time she needed to water her plants. That would be extremely tiring to this aunty!
Hence, once she had seen the cleared area, a thought has entered her mind! This place will be perfect for her little garden. It was very near to the stream. Since she will frequent the stream every day, she could easily water her plants here.
Their activities were interrupted by a flapping of wings behind Hana.
The two brothers started bristling their scales and fluffy furs when Hana calmed them down with a stern stare. [Gosh, why are they so fidgety!] She was so helpless with their extreme over-protectiveness. She didn't know it was all because she was extremely weak. A puff or a snort from a random spirit beast in the area would've KO-ed her just like that.
"Hello little birdy? How are you?" Hana squatted down beside the familiar little yellow bird, afraid of scaring it away. Both of her boys were rolling their eyes at her thoughts. In this forest, even a seemingly harmless plant could be potentially dangerous for her.
The little bird cocked its head in a lovely manner and placed a yellow fruit on the ground in front of Hana. It chirped cutely a few times, flapped its black highlighted wings and hopped to the back. Kuro narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the bird's actions.
"Is this for me? Are you sure?" Hana was slightly startled with the little bird's gesture. She turned her head to look at the brothers toiling at the ground not far from her to get a confirmation.
[She said, it's a present for you. It's beneficial for your mind.] Shiro's mouth twitched a little at the veiled insult. It implied that the bird was looking down on their mom's intelligence!
Hana brushed off the negative thoughts of her pets and gratefully smiled, "Thank you so much little one. We're friends, right? May I know your name?" Regardless of what the little bird thinks of her, it meant well and even had come all the way to give her this fruit.
Kuro sent over the meaning behind the friendly chirp unhappily. [It said its name is 'Markisah'.]
Hana introduced herself while smiling pleasantly at the cute little bird, "You can call me Hana. These two are Kuro and Shiro. They're nice. Don't be afraid of them, okay. If they bully you, tell me. I'll spank them for you." Hana joked with the bird while the snake translated every word unwillingly. Markisah was slightly startled with Hana's word but was extremely pleased with it.
"Thank you so much, little Markisah." She went over slowly and picked up the fruit. She was extremely happy that she was well liked by animals in this forest. She had always love animals since she was young. Hence, when a lot of animals started befriending her left and right, it left her with a sweet taste in her heart. There's really a silver lining in every cloud!
Observing the slightly oval yellow fruit intently, she realized it was a Bidara fruit (1)! No blemish on the surface, the size was as large as a tennis ball, implying that it was of a premium grade. She immediately went to the stream to wash the surface of the fruit and directly bit the fruit in front of her pets before they could stop her. The fruit was crunchy with a slightly sweeter note than she was familiar with. She made a happy expression while eating. It was truly tasty; just the right level of crunchiness.
The little bird on the side was feeling happy seeing how Hana trusted her and ate the fruit without hesitation.
After Hana finished up the fruit, she gently kept the pith in her pocket and thanked the bird again. She didn't know why, she felt a pleasant icy feeling in her head and her mind felt clearer. She even felt that the voice of Kuro and Shiro in her head were easier to be heard than before. Or was it just her imagination? From here, she knew that the little bird had given her something incredible. Hana was a little embarrassed for not being able to return the little bird's precious gift since she had nothing to be eaten on her person presently. She invited the little bird to come over her cave dwelling later tonight.
She would try to find something that her little friend might like.
...
Author's Note:
(1) Bidara fruit = it's the Malaysian word for "Indian Jujube". It's very different from the usual jujube from china. It tasted just like a crunchy sweet apple with a peach-like pith inside.
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