by Billy Miner
I looked at the ceilings, which had a complicated but functional structure to them. It must have taken hours to put this factory together. Each object was carefully put in place to support the heavy roof and the machines that created the material for houses, wheels, plows, and pans. Never before had I considered the complexity of such a lowly appreciated job, but now, I was amazed as I tried to picture all the educated men who contributed to the work.
Back to reality. Where did my bird go? Aha! It flew out of the factory on the other side. Gotcha, Frits! Don’t think you can escape. I am right behind you.
Entry 4: The Meadows
I left the building. Somebody opened the door for me.
“Thank you very much,” I said.
I don’t know why I said it that way. I just did. Oh well. Continuing my chase, my clever bird Frits led me to the meadows behind the factory. It was a few hundred feet away, but once I got there, I could not believe my eyes.
After the two epiphanies in the previous locations, the picturesque sight of the flower fields was another reminder of the pretty world I lived in. The pastel colors of the various tulips, begonias, sunflowers, and dandelions was an unforgettable experience for my eyes and mind, which had been in the dark for so long. I inhaled the fresh scent of the blossoming floras and sighed, feeling vibrant and energized. The soothing sounds of chirping birds and rustling leafs calmed my soul.
I picked a flower. I don’t know why. I was never a big flower enthusiast, but for some reason, being out of my self-made cave made me open my mind and enjoy nature more intensely. I delighted in the smell of the pure flower bud as I thought of the miracle of the plants in the countryside, which sporadically grew without a worry in the world, relying on the environment to take care of them.
The feeling was wonderful. I hadn’t felt like this for a while. Every tiny flower added to the gorgeous scenery before my eyes. I contemplated the meaning of each and every living thing in the course of life, figuring that even the smallest creatures had their purpose, and that life would be incomplete without each individual.
I knew I was unique. I was important, and for some reason, I had neglected my potential. I promised myself on that meadow field that I would find more purpose in life and start doing things that would help me grow, just like the flower.
I fell backwards in the tall grass, breathing deeply and peacefully, resting my fatigued body as I enjoyed the balance of the warm sunlight and the soft, cool breeze. I watched as some of the flower seeds were tossed by the winds and were carried to other parts of the fields. I had nowhere I had to go; I was just happy as a clam, looking at the blue sky and the white clouds, trying to find shapes and counting them like a child counting sheep.
But then I came to my senses. I was getting a little dreamy, but I still had my mission to think of. I looked around and spotted the bird on a sunflower.
I got up as quietly as I could, sneaking up on him and getting ready to assail him like a lion in the tall grass on its prey.
I looked… I clenched my fists and…
JUMPED!
Missed.
The blue bird was smart. It saw me coming. Bummer. It flew away in a different direction. And my chase continued…
Entry 5: The River
I followed my finch to the area where the meadows stopped. It flew to a big branch on a tree towering over the Miner River. I saw the bedrocks in the flowing water, as well as the red sand on the river bed, and the birth leaves on the tree. My blue bird was showing the way to the blue river.
I didn’t consider myself to be a big philosopher until the bird chase, but after contemplating the tiny significance of a flower seed, a lot went through my mind when I noticed the fast water current.
The river was wild but controlled. In my depression, I had always said that I didn’t need anyone. I was better off on my own, or so I thought. I was perfectly okay and didn’t want any help.
But now that I saw the river flow, I was reminded of my own weakness. The human body is so dependent on water. If we don’t drink for a few days, we die. It’s just a given.
I picked up a pebble and looked at the river. Then I swung my arm backwards, twisted my wrist a certain way, and bounced the pebble on the water.
One, two, three, four... five time!
Nice!
I can do better than that.
One, two, three, four… ow… that’s too bad. Oh well.
Frits was watching. I knew he believed in me.
I bounced another one.
One, two, three, four, five… six times! Yes!
I was being completely spontaneous today. I didn’t know what got into me, but I liked it. I was feeling alive and well. I took off my shirt but kept my pants on. Then I jumped into the freezing water.
“Whaaaah! It’s so cold!” I cried out with a smirk on my face.
I loved it. I shivered, but it was as if I had let go of the past, as if the accident, the depression, and the loneliness were all gone.
Suddenly, something interesting happened. Frits had decided to fly towards me and land on my head. The water was up to my waist, but my pet bird was sitting on my head.
This was it.
This was the moment to snatch it.
I counted in my head… one… two… three!
I lifted my arms to grab him.
Missed again.
The funny thing was that it didn’t even annoy me. I was okay with it, eager to find out where this silly finch was taking me next. He must have had something in mind, seeing that he deliberately decided to guide me to these locations. At least, that’s what I thought.
Or was it all some big coincidence? Maybe Frits didn’t do anything on purpose and I just happened to get caught up into these thought-provoking situations. I had no clue, but I was curious where it was flying off to so quickly after the water.
I jumped out of the water and looked back one more time, thinking of the natural resource that had inspired me to reconsider my dependence on simple substances such as water. It surely was interesting to go to all these places I hadn’t seen in years.
Frits flew higher and higher. What was he up to this time?
Entry 6: The Church Tower
I watched in awe as I saw my finch fly to the highest point in town: The church tower. How I was going to get up there, I didn’t care yet. I just wanted to see what the bird was doing all the way over there.
I ran towards the plaza, the square in front of the church. A few giant statues of living examples were displayed outside the church, as well as flamboyant decorated leaded-glass windows and patterned bricks and rooftop peaks. It was a pretty sight, something a lot of devoted masons had worked on during its construction.
I went inside. The atmosphere was peaceful. A serene silence was as overwhelming as an obnoxious noise could have been. It hit me: The purpose of life, the assurance of an afterlife, my commitment to be a charitable human, and the faith I had long ago forsaken but which had been rekindled by my appearance in this sacred building.
Again, I wondered if this bird of mine was up to something, if it wanted to remind me of the things that mattered most. Whatever his motives were, I was feeling a spiritual sense of belonging. I felt special again and knew there was much worth living for.
I pondered those things for a few moments. It felt good to let my mind wander off and forget about my problems. I saw them in a different perspective.
However, I was still somewhat focused on finding my favorite finch, ready to jump on it and place it back in its cage, where it belonged.
“Hello?” I shouted.
I heard an echo. That was fun!
“Hello!” I shouted again.
“Hello!” the echo answered back.
“What’s your name?” I shouted
“What’s your name?” it echoed.
“I’m an idiot!”
But before I could hear the echo call himself an idiot—which would have been hilarious, right?—I heard a voice behind me.
“You’re an idiot,” the man said.
“Wh-what?” I asked as I turned around.
“You’re an idiot,” the man repeated. It was the pastor. “Don’t you think you’re a little loud for being in a church? You’re disturbing the peace here, silly.”
“S-sorry, pastor,” I said.
“It’s okay. I forgive you, son. Just keep your voice down for a while.”
“Thanks, pastor,” I said.
But I wanted more. It had been a while since I talked to people.
“Hold on,” I said. “I have a question. What do you think the best way is to get your life back on track after having been down for a while?”
“Well, that depends,” the pastor said. “I don’t think I should tell you what to do, since everyone’s circumstances are different, but it always helps to pray and to ask forgiveness for your wrongs. We all have a need for progress.”
“Yeah, I know. I have just been throwing my life away for a year or so. I never came outside and I was feeling sorry for myself.”
“Then I suggest you find out what your passion is and start doing something to break that cycle of laziness,” the pastor answered. “Perhaps serving others would be a good way to start.”
He was right. I had to start doing something and help others. I would figure out a way to do that sometime in the near future. But for now, I still wanted my bird back.
“Thanks, pastor. I’ll think about it,” I said.
Where did that animal go?
I waited until the pastor was gone. He walked around the corner of a different room, after which I snuck into the hallway. A giant, winding staircase was going all the way to the bell tower. If there was any chance of finding my finch, it would be through here.
I ran up the stairs and arrived at the bell tower. The bells were bigger than I was. They looked magnificent. Some sacred symbols referring to scriptural passages were written on the walls. The view on the village was pleasing to my eyes, which I noticed when looking outside the windows.
“That’s Frits!” I blurted out.
He was sitting on a ledge on an angelic statue on the roof.
“Hey you!” I said. “Why are you trying to get away with me? Are you trying to show me something? Are you trying to help me?”
He chirped, and somehow, I hoped my pretty bird really understood me. But whether he did or not, I was going to grab him and bring him home. I had had a spiritual awakening of some sort, and I was certain that this was the end of it.
I leaned over and reached out with my arm.
“No!”
I missed again. Frits flew off, this time downward… down to the village homes.
Crazy bird! What does it take to fetch you?
Entry 7: The Neighbor’s House
Instead of following my pet immediately, I just watched from the rooftop, the highest point in town, and tried to see where it was going. My finch became smaller and smaller, and I hoped it wouldn’t go much farther or I would lose sight of it.
There! I marked the house in my mind that it landed on. That’s where I needed to go: That house over there!
I ran down the stairs and through the church, accidentally knocking over the candles in the pastor’s hands.
“Ouch!”
“Sorry, pastor. I’m in a hurry,” I said as I flashed by.
As I opened the church doors and ran outside, I think I heard him sigh and mumble in the distance, “He really is an idiot.”
I didn’t care. I knew I was being a little childish and clumsy in his building. I’m sure he was okay with it.
I ran and ran. I knew I would recognize the home the bird flew to. I knocked over another person’s… uhmm… things… (no idea what they were: I was too rushed) and arrived at the right location.
I knew this place.
It was my neighbor’s house.
I looked for my bird, but couldn’t find it. Then I heard another chirp. The window was open. It must have gone inside.
I knocked on the door.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
I carefully pushed against the door and it opened up. When I walked inside, I noticed the house was empty. Wasn’t this where my neighbor lived?
I walked to the table in the living room. I saw the painting on my wall.
It was my dad!
What the…?
What was going on here?
Then I remembered. It all came back to me. I had put away what happened in the back of my mind, trying to cope with the loss of my father.
The accident…
It was at work, at the steel factory. My mother had died long before then, but my dad would drop me off at school every day when I was a kid before heading to the factory. I had grown up. My dad was always there for me, even later, in my twenties. But one day, he didn’t return.
I was worried. I had walked up and down to the factory several times, trying to find him, but with no luck. When I came home, guards from the authorities were standing at my door. They asked me if they could come in. They told me what happened at my dad’s job.
“I’m terribly sorry, young man, but we have sad news. Your father was moving around steel plates outside the building when a creeper attacked the factory; you know, one of those weird, green creatures that we find in the vicinity sometimes. We don’t know why. We just think it panicked, but we have no idea where it came from. Your father tried to protect others and pushed someone away to prevent a giant steel bar from dropping on him. You can be proud of him. He saved that man’s life… but he lost his own. Again, I am sorry for your loss.”
As I stood there in my neighbor’s, I realized that my dad had been my neighbor since my eighteenth birthday. He had bought the small house adjacent to his, making sure I could always come over and ask for anything I needed. Since the accident, however, the house had been empty. Trying to forget, I pulled back, quit my job, and pretended nothing was wrong.
“Dad…” I sobbed as I looked at the beautiful painting a professional had made of his face.
“I am so sorry, dad. I have been a slob, a no good layabout. I have locked myself away from the world, because I couldn’t face the fact that I lost you.”
I knew nobody was there, but somehow, I believed there was a chance my dad could hear me.
I cried for a good two minutes and sat down and the worn couch in the corner, processing the reality of my loss in my mind.
Suddenly, I heard a chirp.
“Frits!” I said as I watched my favorite pet fly to me and sit on my shoulder.
I didn’t even try to catch him anymore. It felt like he would follow me home, and he did. I walked to my own home, the one next door, and simply put him back in his cage.
Finally, I had him back, my favorite finch, the only one I had relied on in the past year.
Entry 8: My Finch Again
The next day, I had renewed energy. Frits the finch was doing tricks again. He flew back and forth from one corner of the room to the other. He chirped and flapped his wings. It was helping me to be in a cheerful mood.
After a little playing around, I took initiative. I went to the village and contacted some construction workers, and within a month, the two houses were built as one house. They opened up a wall, attached a new one, and worked for hours on the new floor and the sturdy ceiling between the two homes. It was amazing what they could do in so little time.
The unified house became my favorite place. I always had the curtains open from that point on, allowing lots of light to come into the rooms.
I visited with people in the community, making new friends.
I attended an hour of church every week, although I have to admit that I sometimes fell asleep during the sermon.
And I got a new job! I started a successful business and opened a new pet store in town.
Because of all these things, I knew my father would have been proud of me.
However, let me make one thing clear: Yes, I
sold lots of animals through my new pet store, but there was one animal I never sold: My favorite blue finch, Frits.
THE END
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Minecraft Story
An Exciting Minecraft Story
By Billy Miner
Copyright @2015
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