The Third-Floor Bedroom

The Third-Floor Bedroom                                     4/25/15

It all began when someone left the window open, and in came a dove. Not just any dove: a magical dove. It came to heal all the people of the world, but it got stuck to a wall (how unlucky). 

 “Ugh!” exclaimed the dove. “How could this happen to me? I am, well, a bird, but still. I’m magic. I can talk. I’m different, unlike these other ‘birds’ on the wall. They’re only images.”

The dove squirmed, the dove squealed (which sounded shockingly human), but no help came, no means of escape formed. Its left wing, however, with the use of magic, could manage a full release from the sticky solution. 

And then a burst of light materialized. So luminous, so iridescent was its color and intensity that the dove had to cover its eyes to avoid being blinded. From the light appeared a wizard.

“Aha!” said the Dark Wizard. “You are at last caught. The Dove of Day, you are mine!”

“Oh my god,” stated the dove, “You are so melodramatic. Just get to the point.”

The wizard, slightly taken aback, resumed his talk: “Oh, to the point I will get. I assure you, Dove of Day. But wouldn’t you rather know—”

“No,” said the dove. “You’re a crazy, evil man, and I want no part of you.”

“Oh, how preposterous of you to doubt my intellect and purpose! Well then, I guess your demise will be occurring much sooner than expected.”

“My demise? Okay, hold up. I am good, and you’re evil. I am light, and you’re darkness.”

“Yes,” said the wizard, tapping his feet on the floor, “We already established that.”

“But it does not have to be that way.”

The Dark Wizard pondered and pondered. He considered. He calculated. “What you say is true, dove, but I don’t think that you would want to join me.”

The dove laughed. “No, what I meant is that you joined me; you could stop terrorizing the masses with your petty tricks of—”

Obnoxiously, he laughed, “Petty tricks? You think my acts of magic are petty?”

“Well, when you put it that way.”

“You see,” said the wizard, “Those other birds there were once like you.”

The dove gulped.

“Not magical, yes, but they were birds nonetheless. I have caught dozens in my search for you, and with you—with your power from the Great Wizard—I will finally be able to concoct the deadliest spell known to man: Ecliptic Nocturne.”

“‘Nocturne’ as in a musical composition?”

He blushed. “Give me a break. It’s hard to come up with a cool-sounding name.”

And while the two bickered and bickered, the dove slowly freed itself from the sticky solution. A little magic here, a little magic there, and soon the Dove of Day became liberated. 

“Anyways,” began the dove, “It was nice meeting you.”

“I wish I could say—” 

And the dove broke away, flying fast through the opened window. She (for yes, the dove was female) smiled, hearing the squeals of frustration behind her. Her name was Natalia. 

Natalia soared toward a familiar residence. In a flash of light, she appeared at the steps of the Great Wizard. The door broke in two perfectly down the middle, and there stood the Great Wizard himself.

“Ah,” said the Great Wizard, “Here at last.”

Natalia put her wing against the side of the house, saying, “Oh, whatever. It’s not like it was for that long. Maybe 20 minutes, and do you always have to be so dramatic with your entrances?”

“Yes, I do,” said the Great Wizard, snapping his fingers to mend the door. Not a trace of any crack lingered. “And 20 minutes is long enough. We could have saved a city by now—or even a world. Well, in any matter, we should do away with that fool of a wizard, so no more harm will come from him.”

“I don’t know if he’s really all that foolish, Eugene.”

“Do not call me by that name.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot,” said Natalia, smirking. “But he’s planning something diabolical, something big. Ecliptic Nocturne he calls it.”

And the two discussed the matter to its core, leaving no details out. 

Sighing, the Great Wizard stated, “There is only one solution: we must make a weapon of greater strength, greater power.”

“But would we be any better than him if we did that?”

“You do realize why you were given powers and who gave them to you, right?”

“Yeah, but,” Natalia hesitated. Then she spoke, “Fine. But it better be something with a heavenly flare. Maybe wings. Dove-like.”

And with that, Natalia and Eugene worked diligently, attempting to create a weapon of fantastical proportions. Day and night, night and day Natalia and the Great Wizard worked. It seemed as if they would never finish. (Until, of course, they finished. I mean it is a story; they had to—never mind.) An orb of magical qualities was created, featuring white wings.

“Done!” Natalia exclaimed. “It’s done.”

“Yes, no thanks to you,” said the Great Wizard.

“What!” shouted Natalia. “I acted as support. You know I don’t have fingers, but I do have magic.” She ruffled her feathers.

“Just joking.”

“Bad joke.” 

“Well in any matter, we can now free the birds from their bondage and eliminate him.”

Natalia and Eugene teleported to the dark wizard’s residence on the third floor. With their bickering somewhat finished, Natalia spoke, “This is it. This is the moment.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, Natalia.”

They both smiled, and the orb lit up, colors changing rapidly. One by one, the birds came back to life. From the walls, doves flew after changing from 2-D to 3-D. 

And light shone from nowhere. The Dark Wizard materialized. 

“No!” he yelled. “Not my doves!” 

“They were never yours to begin with,” said Natalia.

A light flickered in the Dark Wizard’s eyes, and he rushed toward Natalia. He made a swift gesture with his hands, but the Great Wizard was quicker. And ashes took his place.