Today I have a story to share with you. A bit different to my usual drawings and stuff, but I thought I would put it up here and see what people think. Please critique if you think I could word it better, I would really appreciate the correction.
Spoiler
Yu sat with her back to the bars. As a prisoner in that same cell for three years, she was used to the rough, cold stone floor and the flaking rust that stained her uniform in streaks. She knew every lump in the mattress, every crinkle in her uniform, and every bolt and bar that held her in her cage, like an animal on display. Her whole world had been darkness for so long. The only light she knew was that of the small, barred window in the corner. A source of blessed warmth in summer, yet a harsh cold in winter.
It was winter.
A cold wind gusted, carrying the smell of coming rain and small motes of dust that speckled the sparse bed and chamber. Yu grimaced. The resulting mud would be a nuisance.
The wind, however, was the only freedom she had, and she revelled in it.
Yu stood up, knees cracking, and rubbed her back, feeling the bones underneath. She was thin; not from lack of food, but lack of freedom and joy in life.
“Hey, Yu,” the day guard entered, carrying a tray of food and smiling at the pun.
Lyra was one of the nicer ones, albeit her terrible sense of humour. Yu gave a small smile and took the tray gratefully, but did not answer. She never had. There was no reason to speak any more. If she did, she might tell them what she had done.
She could not tell them what she had done.
She could not.
Lyra turned and left, locking the three separate doors that led to a place she hadn’t been in years, a place she craved to go. Yet she would die here, lest she told them the truth.
But she could not tell the truth.
She. Could. Not.
Blanking her thoughts, Yu turned her attention to the lukewarm rice and began to eat slowly and deliberately. She wished for a release, something to take her mind off the years she could feel slipping away, like water through spread fingers. Time ticking by without her. She wondered if there was a God out there who would grant Yu her wish for companionship, one that had no need for speech. She prayed for a friend, as she had prayed every day for three years. She knew it was almost hopeless – yet a small hope is better than none.
Another strong gust of wind blew through the bars, stirring her tangled hair as she looked in despair to the solid concrete and thick bolts. Turned away from the sorry excuse for a window, she heard a sound and glanced back, surprised.
A small bird had landed at the bars, carried by the wind and rain. It gave a small cry and collapsed inside the cell, falling to the floor with barely a sound. Yu gasped and scrambled on hands and knees towards the small creature – the first she had seen since her imprisonment. Cradling the traumatised beast, she checked its wings and knew that one was broken. Its fragile bones were bent and shattered, and Yu felt an indescribable sense of grief for the poor animal as it lay there, cold and broken. Its tiny heart beat in her palm as she held it close, wrapping it in her long shirt in an attempt to keep it warm and dry. The bird, although awake, did not struggle and let Yu stroke it gently until it fell asleep, its heart beat slowing into a steady, light rhythm.
Yu stared at the beautiful embodiment of freedom that she held in her hands, wondering at its exquisite feathers, its resilience and its fragility.
And she knew.
She saw then that this was the friend she had been waiting for; a friend who would not speak, but sing a wordless song more beautiful than any phrase. A friend who could stay by her. Her little bit of a life she thought she’d lost.
Her innocence.
Yu opened her mouth and spoke.
“I think I’ll call you Mii, little one,” she whispered, her voice cracked and quiet from years of neglect. “Because it’s just Yu and Mii now.”
Yu stroked the little bird’s chest with a delicate finger, joy blossoming in her heart.
“You and me”.
And she smiled.
It's quite short and doesn't make much sense, but I wrote it to make me happy. I hope it does the same for you.