Let, me, tell, you, bird, myth
It seems that those who are released to paradise are those who have sinned. I do not remember my crime, because it is an arrangement that those who land on the “star" have their memories erased. In my hand was a small notebook and pen, and on the first page was a brief note to myself.
“I am a surveyor sent to the contaminated area. After the satellite & will make seven tours of the contaminated area, the ship is scheduled to land at Point Epsilon for the return trip. I will be in charge of the survey items from index JY-053 to KH-090. There will be no other surveyor in the area this time besides myself."
Satellites & shining in the purple sky. Five rounds and exactly half a year have passed. I am just getting acclimated to the bloated vegetation that covers this entire planet. Rows of pristine-shaped yellow flowers pierce the heavens, where thick viscous blue ivy twists and twists around them. Ochre-colored trees, which blocked much of my view, rustled above my head with their pointed red leaves, and moss on the ground shone faintly. The flowers and grasses, as tall as I am, obstruct my path with their strong fragrance. It is hot and humid. But strangely, I do not feel any discomfort.
The only higher animals on the planet are birds. The only other animals on the planet are small insects and microorganisms that serve as their food source, and birds are the only species that reign at the top of the planet’s ecosystem. Even as I was doing this, I could see the birds looking down at me as I made my way through the forest. The birds on this planet are very quiet. I have encountered them many times, and when they see me, they quickly run away. I have never heard them chirping. My research goals include securing birds, but even if I set traps, they are rarely caught. They are very smart. They just stare at me from a distance, eyes, eyes, eyes. And the quiet flapping of their wings. I guess they are assessing me, who is clearly different from the rest of the planet. I have had many eerie nights since I arrived here.
The reason I left my familiar research point and moved deeper into the forest was because I heard an unfamiliar sound. It was the first time I heard a high-pitched sound in this quiet world where nothing makes a sound except the occasional breeze. It echoed intermittently for a while, echoing throughout the forest. I decided it was a bird call. As mentioned earlier, this was the first time I had heard birdsong on this planet. I had the feeling that I had a good thing going if I fulfilled my job as a researcher. My memory of that part was also missing, but the hope that something good would happen was clear in my mind, and that was all I had left to guide my actions at this point.
I came to an open area. Trees were growing as if avoiding something, forming a circular plaza. It was quiet. There was no wind, and no birds that seemed to be the owners of the earlier sound were in sight. However, this square, unnaturally formed on this planet where plants are regrouping, was unusual in its own way. I walked to the center of the circle to take a record. It was then.
Puiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii…….
It was the sound I had just heard. Followed by the sound of rustling and wind. There were many! They can be heard from all directions. The sound of wings is clearly getting closer. Birds that had not been allowed to approach me no matter how many attempts I made were coming this way on their own. I could understand that something unusual was happening, but I couldn’t decide what to do .
Soon I found myself surrounded by birds. Birds, birds, birds everywhere. Vividly colored birds of all species. Some flew in the sky, some ran on the ground, big ones, small ones, red ones, white ones, blue ones, birds, birds, birds, birds. I was exposed to a great number of gazes, and I was stuck in the middle of it. The birds had no aggressive intentions, but they clearly recognized me. The birds sucked in their breath.
The earth trembled. All the birds began to sing in unison. Colorful figures bloomed in my field of vision. The sounds became colors, shapes, and movements that were directly transmitted to me. Soon the chorus of birds began to become more regular, and something was about to appear before my eyes. It shuddered and trembled, appearing and disappearing, disappearing and reappearing. The song of the birds gained momentum. Waves of sound surged in, and I had no choice but to cover my ears, trying desperately not to be caught off guard. But I knew I had to find out what this “something" was in front of me. My instincts were screaming at me to do so. Little by little, the “something" began to take shape. Among the things I knew, it resembled a “ghost". The shape was unsteady, shifting and bouncing from beginning to end, and yet it was cloaked in a thick atmosphere. The “something" was clearly trying to tell me something.
“H, h, h, h, h, hey."
The pattern of the sound waves changed constantly, and the “something" began to speak to me.
“Hel, hel, hel, hel, hel, hel, hel, hel, hel, hello, uh, uh, I’ve been waiting for you."
I could only stand still, unable to believe what I was seeing before my eyes. The birds never cease their chorus. Black birds, green birds, brown birds, medium-sized birds, round birds, sharp birds, a great number of birds are gathered together, and the waves created by their chorus are activating “something".
“I, I, I, I, I, I am a……a, a, a, I have no name."
“I, I, I, I am, I am, I am, I am, I am, I want to, I want to, I want to, I want to, I want to, I want to, I want to talk to you."
“I am a life, living organism by sound, organism by sound, organism by sound."
I am one step closer to “something". I don’t know why I can understand what it says. This is not a sound. I am confused. Something other than language is emanating from the “something". And that “something" is being raised by the singing of the birds. The pattern of the birds’ chirps, their echoes, are what activate the “something". The “something" has moved momentarily across the plaza. “Something" appeared in the place where the birds’ voices echoed each other. Something" came back to me, and it began to speak again.
“Le, le, le, let me tell you about bird myth."
“I give you the myth of the bird, the bird, the star, this star, is the bird, the star."
“But the first thing was not a bird, nor a bird star, nor a bird, nor a bird star."
Some of the birds perched in the trees were buzzing and approaching me. Then they opened their beaks wide and started singing again. I felt no noise. The singing of the birds, which covered my field of vision, so that I did not even know where they had been hiding, was in such profound harmony that it seemed as if they were playing a symphony, with a complex structure. The chorus had a development. And “something" kept talking to me along with its smooth movements.
“Fir, fir, fir, first, I, I, I, we, we, we, we weren’t birds."
“We, have, lived, in, peace, for, a, long, long, time.
“We, are, told, that, we, have, known, a, very, high, civilization."
“We loved, we loved, we loved, we loved, we loved, we loved, we loved, we loved, we loved, we loved, we loved, we loved each other."
Understanding flows directly into my brain. I wonder if it is some kind of synesthesia, the way everything seems to glow from a few moments ago. My surroundings are so vivid that I feel as if I am fainting, as if I have removed a couple of filters from my brain, as if I am being shown the “source" as it were, and my hearing is becoming more and more sensitive, and the sensation of sounds being reassembled in my ears and mixed again in my brain is so pleasant that my breathing I feel my breathing become deeper and more natural. I already feel that I have to hear this “something" out.
“We, were, attacked, one, day."
“We, have, begun, the, war."
“We, used, to, win…"
“But, the, enemy, has, sent, a, terrible, evil, spirit, into, our, stars.
“It is the viper’s viper, the viper’s viper, that turns every living thing into a bird."
“At, first, they, all, turned, into, chickens. It, seems, that, they, are, a, type, of, bird, that, is, considered, to, be, edible, among, the, life, forms, on, the, enemy, planet."
“After, many, of, us, were, captured, in, order, to, solve, the, planet, of, enemy’s, problem, of, food."
“We, ran, away. Those, who, were, slow, to, escape, were, sent, to, the, enemy, planet."
I have little knowledge of this planet, let alone the planet itself. All my memories have been erased. Therefore, I have no criteria to judge the truth or falsity of what this “something" is telling me.
The birds were quiet for a moment. At that moment, “something" disappeared, and the vivid landscape that dominated the scene before my eyes faded away. But it was really only for a moment, and before I could recover myself, the next movement began. A long, thin sound came from a small, black bird, and in response, a large lapis lazuli-colored bird tittered and chirped in high pitched tones. Before I knew it, “something" had manifested again, its body floating past me, translucent and shimmering.
“I, will, tell, you, the, story, of, how, we, became, the, birds."
“It, was, a, sound, and, in, the, beginning, a, song, of, a, demon, and, the, one, who, heard, the, sound, began, to, change, its, shape, into, a, bird, in, a, flash.
“The, sound, of, the, devil, was, in, the, starry, night, and, the, sound, of, the, devil, was, in, the, starry, night."
“We have become all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, birds."
“Birds, everything, chickens, everything."
Tot-tot-tot, there was something coming out of the square. It had a white body with fine legs and a red crown-like head. The bird chirped. It had a distinctive rhythm.
“This, is, the, chicken."
“We, were, all, chickens."
“But, now, most, we, are, not, chickens."
“We have tried, we have tried, we have tried, we have tried, we have tried, we have tried, we have tried, we have tried, we have tried, we have tried, we have tried, we have tried, we have tried, we have tried, we, have, acquired, diversity, through, trial, and, error..
I look around. A great variety of birds. A diversity so unnatural. The few knowledge I have been given about the different characteristics found in each habitat. Clearly, there are birds here that should not fit the vegetation of this planet. And birds that look like nothing I’ve ever seen before. I felt a chill.
“We, were, turned, into, chicken, by, the, song, of, the, devil."
“That, is, to, say, the, sound, has, the, effect, of, changing, the, form, of, the, soul."
" If, our, appearance, changes, by, song, then, surely, we, can, change, our, appearance, with, our, own, songs."
The volume of the chorus of birds swells. There are too many sounds to call it polyphony. I do not have the wisdom to name this music.
" However, we, have, not, yet, succeeded, in, turning, into, anything, other, than, birds."
“I, was, born, before, that."
“I, am, the, birds, themselves, and, we, are, the, birds, themselves, and, we, live, among, them."
“Considering, the, level, of, civilization, on, the, enemy, planet, it, is, thought, that, the, technology, to, transform, living, things, into, birds, was, achieved, by, chance."
“With, the, technology, of, the, enemy, planet, it, will, still, be, impossible, to, figure, out, about, us."
Birds have gathered. My vision was somewhat hazy. The birds seem to be overlapping each other. The chorus continued. The waves of sound they make undulate, become birds themselves, become something else, run through the square, and dissipate into the sky. Each leaf trembles and the sound reverberates throughout the forest. I feel like I’m going to get drunk. I felt my body vibrating in a strange rhythm. Not just my body, but every cell in my body seemed to be moving in an undulating motion. Dizziness covered my entire body, goose bumps appeared, my whole body was on fire, and a pleasant sensation shot up my spine. And “something" is still talking, taking mysterious steps. Something is coming from within. The birds’ voices became more excited.
“We, do, not, want, to, be, disturbed."
“But, no, matter, what, we, do, we, cannot, be, contained."
“It’s, like, an, instinct. We, sin."
“We, cannot, forgive, the, enemy’s, planet, nor, can, we, forgive, your, planet."
“To, live, as, a, bird, is, not, a, bad, thing, at, all."
“We, became, able, to, understand, the, wonder, of, the, life, of, birds, for, the, first, time, when, we, became, birds."
“To, be, a, bird, is, therefore, not, a, bad, thing, at, all."
“No, matter, what, we, do, we, cannot, erase, the, hatred, we, have, for, you."
“You, will, be, demon."
“We, are, mindful, of, the, way, to, make, you, demon."
“And, it’s, already, over."
My body exploded.
When I came to, I was lying in a darkened plaza. The place was quiet and still.
Was it a dream? No, what was it, in the first place?
As is my habit on this planet, I look for the satellite & first thing when I wake up. I don’t know how much time has passed. But I saw a light in the sky that was different from the satellite &. It is moving at high speed. That’s how I knew that I was now on the seventh tours. I jump up in a hurry. I have to get to point epsilon. I leave the square. I looked back to see if there were any birds, but they were nowhere to be seen.
A spaceship came to take me back to my home planet, and I was retrieved. I was subjected to a thorough examination and was eventually released into the ship. It will be a while before I can return home. For some reason, I feel very light. I feel like singing a song. When I reach my planet, I will breathe the air of my home and sing a song as much as I can. I hear that good things will happen to me when I return. I hear that my past sins will be erased. I don’t know for sure, but I, had, such, a, bright, bright, feeling.