On the branches of a little tree, you can hear the wind. You can smell the air, the way the sun tastes, and maybe, just maybe, you can touch the skies if you try.
The mother's concern for its batch of offspring was greater indeed than the effort it needed to collect feed for them. In a few more suns, it would bear witness to its creations. The father, having gone to collect some feed a few suns back, had not yet returned.
Alas, that is the way of the wild.
The mother wouldn't shed any tears, for she had but one duty before her, and that was to make sure her eggs would hatch to be strong as her partner was. Day and night, through harsh struggle, it had worked tirelessly to protect its eggs from harm. Her feathers, once black as the night itself, now remained tarnished. However, the mother's eyes remained as bright as ever.
Indeed, the time wasn't too long, and the days passed quick.
A tiny beak cracked from within the hard shell of the egg, a tiny creature that looked wet, messy. A new being, born of the efforts of this hardworking mother. It wasn't alone, and surrounding him were its siblings, slowly emerging from their shells.
The birds, having just being born, instinctively called out to their mother for food, which they received promptly. She fed her newborns with tenderness and a deep love, as any mother would.
In the midst of this, a young bird looked around, tired, confused and eyes heavy. It tried to bellow, but found itself unable to make any noise at all. It tried to move, like it did before, but this new body was confusing to him.
This tiny, powerless body, where did it come from? Alas, nobody would explain to him.
Days passed, as the tiny creature tried to adjust itself to this new world. He had no work, no apparatus to haul all the day long. Simply, nothing more to do than gaze out of the nest hidden in the high trees out at the world below, watching the day go by; the nights even quicker.
Shi Bai felt like he could get used to this, now.
Even more days passed in a flash, some of the most enjoyable of Shi Bai's time. His body did not ache every night, and he had experienced the best feeling yet - flying.
This was Old Failure himself, wasn't it? The creature that toiled once, now up on the skies where he couldn't dream of being before. When freedom was a new concept, it was now his reality. Merely, he had to seek food now, as his mother's health seemed to be getting weaker by the day.
Most of his siblings had died out by now, or flew away to make their own nests. Shi Bai however, having a strong maternal bond, refused to leave the nest no matter how much his mother tried to shoo him away. You can put the bird in the bull, but you can't take the bull out of this bird.
The days passed, and Shi Bai's mother had finally given up on trying to kick this unfilial son out. She still looked at him with love, at the end of the day. Shi Bai was also getting better at hunting for food now, and had learnt to avoid all the threats. He even felt used to his new freedom, as he soared above the clouds at times.
One night, as Shi Bai tucked in, he could hear the sound of a flapping bird land next to him, one that sounded unfamiliar.
In the darkness of night, a keen eye glared through the blindness, staring at the nest that his bird parents had built. It seemed to be thinking of permanently borrowing this structure from the two, and it wasn't going to ask.
Almost immediately, the strange bird flew with great speed, grabbing his mother by the neck, and blood flew out from her neck as she looked towards Shi Bai.
Run.
She seemed to be saying.
Shi Bai could hear and see nothing except the strange bird in front of him anymore. A bull's rage came out in full swing, as he flew directly towards the strange invader.
As he got closer, however, the bird grew bigger in his vision. And he wasn't looking at Shi Bai, but behind him.
By the time his brain realised, he had already been grabbed from behind, blood spurting out from his neck as well. The bastard wasn't alone.
Nature wasn't very kind, you see. It acoomodated all within it, but it was indifferent, and harshly equal to all that lived in it. Shi Bai's thoughts grew slower and slower as it twitched within the bird's talons, trying to kick off, but to no avail.
If I had my old body, you would be dead.
Shi Bai had this final thought, before the blood loss went fatal, and he fell to the ground below, ending up next to his mother's mangled body. His body still twitched occasionally, but he was long gone.
Goodbye, you failure. We shall see you again.