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The Bird didn’t know much about anything.
But the Bird knew pain. The Bird knew suffering (And loneliness).
Everything hurt. Blood pooled in her mouth.
The Bird really wanted a friend, or to fly high. But instead of landing safely, it hoped to fall. Freedom, would be the greatest freedom a girl could get.
Galinda really wished for death
____
When Galinda was a sweet little girl, she longed to be a bird.
This was not very surprising. After all, A birds represented all that she strove for. Birds were beautiful, graceful, and most of all: Sang wonderfully! So every day, without fail, she would sit by her window waiting on the birds.
She liked them because when the birds sang, they filled the air with magic. Everyone would smile and cheer, and became so much happier when they sang (so it must have been magic). So Galinda really really wanted to be a bird. Galinda “The Good and Wonderful Bird Witch”, savior to all.
She drew countless pictures of birds. Many of those pictures, depictions of herself. Her cute form with wings or completely changed into a dove. She drew her dream day and night. She told told her parents (with unending determination) that she would get her wish one dat!
Galinda really wanted to be a bird.
____
“Elphaba stop! Please! You’re scaring me!” Galinda cried as her friend (one she considered her closest. One she looked up to) recited that stupid wing spell.
The smell of monkey fur and the sound of flesh tearing haunted her mind. To think that such an innocent wish was granted so horribly, so easily-
‘Monkey paw indeed.’ Galinda thought, morbidly and guiltily.
“Elphaba! Please just stop!” Galinda cried again and again, something was wrong.
The spell was finished and her friend stopped chanting. Something was wrong.
“Why didn’t that work? This can’t be the end, it just can’t-“ Elphaba panicked and-
“Elphaba?” Galinda called out uncertain.
Elphaba was so tired though, too tired to listen “Galinda please! I need time to think! What went wrong, how could it go wrong?!”.
“Elphaba?”
“Galinda please-“
“Elpha-AHH”
Elphaba turned, surprised at the dramatic change in her friend’s tone. Something was wrong.
There stood Galinda, pale and crying. Elphaba was about to ask what was wrong, but then it happened. Galinda started changing.
Mounds of her tissue, bone, and muscles started forming into a new mass on her back. Her legs, elongating and her bones thinning (hollowing, bleeding-). Her hair, falling out and replaced by feathers (Which pushed out of her skull, tangling with leftover hair). Her mouth, which wouldn’t form a beak, instead formed sharp teeth (They cut her tongue. Forever tasting blood and not candy or cakes).
Something really was wrong.
The emerald guards broke in, and it was time to move. Elphaba had noticed that like with monkeys, the spell worked on multiple things. Both a broom and Galinda were affected.
Off she went, soaring, and away. Away from her friend, her poor dying friend.
All Elphaba really wanted was to make a change.
_____
“Now what am I going to do with you?” The Wizard cooed as he preened the bird’s feathers The bird cooed back. It was born of pain, and pleasure was a new and welcome concept to it.
The Bird seemed to know nothing of its old life (Or perhaps it chose not to remember. Wanted to not associate itself with its old life.). A defensive mechanism in a way, to save itself from more hurt , and there was a lot of hurt.
Its body was poorly made, to say the least. Bones too weak to support its weight. Mass too heavy to ever fly. Vocal cords too screw up to talk. Voice too human for a birdsong. It would be perpetually breaking its bones, but it could still cry. A sad, pathetic, little thing (Like a child, in a way. Like Elphaba, in a way).
Ironic that such a talkative sweet girl could become such a sorry creature.
“Pretty bird, what am I going to do with you?”
A cage would be nice. A wonderful rose gold cage with pink and white pillows and blankets. He could keep the Bird (Not like anyone else would want that thing) and bandage it, feed it. One day he’ll teach it a trick! Maybe it could learn how to sing! Oh, this was a wonderful opportunity.
But there was much to be done. The city needed to get back on its feet, and Elphaba had to be found. The exact nature of the Bird’s future would have to wait. But for now he had a nice iron cage and some of his personal pillows, that would work.
“I’ll have to thank Miss Elphaba for the Gift. I have a feeling you’ll be a great investment.”
The Wizard had always really wanted a bird.
___
Fin.