WELL DONE! Fiction TRANSFORMATION by Robin Prince Monroe

It was only out in the farthest upper pasture that fifteen-year-old Emrys could let go and run. When he ran full-out his mind went into a hypnotic flow and the earth could no longer hold him down. Once he lifted off he was no longer aware of the fiery sunshine on his face, or the force of the wind brushing back his wavy, auburn hair. His mind went somewhere else entirely. Only his little, fuzzy, white dog, Zephyr, could bring him out of the trance that gave him so much joy.

Actually, Zephyr, was not a dog at all… well by earth standards he was. He looked like a dog, sounded like a dog, and when around humans, acted exactly like a dog. But in reality Zephyr was Emrys’ guardian, his best friend, and part of an elite force of the Royal Watch from their home planet, Lumin. Zephyr was commissioned to keep Emrys safe and on track, and that was a big charge for such a little nondog. 

Emrys and Zephyr snuck out of the house earlier than usual because Mrs. Driscoll had gone to the grocery store, a chore that would take her most of the day since they lived so far out in the country. Mr. Driscoll was at an auction in a nearby county hoping to pick up a couple of piglets and some chicks to add to the coop population that had dwindled in the past month. He had no idea why his chickens kept disappearing. It quite upset him.  So before he left early that morning, he’d taken great care to shore up the fence hoping to solve the problem.  

It was a bright summer day with a light breeze out of the north perfect for letting go. And with Zephyr at his side that’s exactly what Emrys did. He let go and ran. As he gathered speed he could feel the tall grass swishing across his legs, and the damp ground cool on the bottom of his tough, bare feet. The air smelled of dirt, rain, and sunshine, but when he rose high above the lacy summer clouds its aroma changed to the sweet freshness of star dust.

“Hold back, Emrys!”, Zephyr’s normally sing-song voice was gruff since he had become a dog. He growled it out, “Hold back, boy! It’s not time.” 

Emrys whole body vibrated when he neared transformation speed. It was almost impossible for him to hold back when that happened, but he had to. There were so many depending on it, and many more who didn’t know they were depending on it. He couldn’t let go. Not yet. 

The only way he could hold back was to start thinking about earthly responsibilities; education, farm chores, and the fate of mankind. By the time his mind got to farm chores he was no longer above the clouds and when the weight of mankind’s fate came to mind he’d have crashed down if he hadn’t been holding on to Zephyr. 

They just made it. Emrys had gotten home and had finished feeding the last of the barn animals when his parents arrived. Mrs. Driscoll pulled her Rambler in first, with Mr. Driscoll in his ancient, green truck close behind. 

For all intents and purposes the sweet couple had become Emrys’ parents when they found him in the same field from which he and Zephyr had just returned. He was a tiny newborn when Mrs. Driscoll heard him mewing in the tall grass. When she went over to see what she had heard, she found him tucked in a seagrass basket and wrapped in a silver blanket. Zephyr was standing over him staring up at her with a penetrating stare.

They never talked about it, not even once, but somehow they knew that he was their long-awaited son, and that the furry, white dog was part of the package. They never talked about it, when in the middle of the night they heard a tiny giggle and found him reaching up for the stars that twinkled through the skylight above his crib. They never talked about it, when at only seven months old, he stood up one day and ran across the room, having never walked or even crawled. They never talked about the fact that each morning when Emrys woke up his eyes were a bright aqua-blue and by the time he went to bed they’d be so dark that they were almost black. They never talked about any of it. They just loved. They loved this beautiful, strange child and they loved him with all their hearts. A gift, a blessing, were the words they used when others commented on their lovely fair skinned boy with otherworldly eyes.

In just over a week Emrys would turn sixteen. The Driscolls weren’t exactly sure when his birthday was, so they chose to celebrate it on the date they had found him, April 22. 

He never had many friends. He had been verbally bullied most of his short school life. He’d probably have been physically attacked too if it weren’t for Zephyr and his mighty growl. Anyway, he’d already learned all that school had to teach him. So he stayed home and continued to study by reading everything he could get his hands on. 

Emrys did, however, manage to find one friend.  Danica and her mom lived in the woods in a small, pink house that was down a dirt trail not far from the upper pasture. Danica had been bullied at school too, so she was homeschooled now. 

Emrys discovered Danica one day when he was heading home after a practice flight. Fourteen and tiny for her age, he spotted her curly, blonde head in the distance. When he moved closer he could hear her tinkling laugh and was immediately drawn to the shy smile that reminded him of the starlight that he loved so much. Emrys and Danica had both spent most of their growing up safely tucked away and alone except for their animal friends, Zephyr and Silverbird, Danica’s noisy pet bird.

The Driscolls usually celebrated quietly, just the three of them. But they wanted Emrys’ sixteenth to be special, so they invited Danica and her mom down for a picnic and some birthday punch. Zephyr wasn’t happy about that. April 22, Earth Day, was the very day of Emrys’ transformation. Emrys insisted that a celebration was exactly what he needed before flying into… who knows what… for what reason? 

He knew deep down in his heart of hearts, that he had to make the giant leap into Transformation. And he knew, as well as he knew the stars, that if he didn’t, it would be disastrous. But he didn’t know exactly what was going to happen, and Zephyr either couldn’t tell him, or didn’t know himself. All Emrys knew was what Zepher had told him. Lumin and Earth were connected, had always been connected. Like twins who can feel each other’s pain the two planets felt the best and the worst of the other, and Earth was in a murky place right now. Truth had become difficult to find on Earth but like stubborn glitter it gleamed in the muddy mess, and as long as it did there was hope.

Earth’s gray air hovered above oceans full of plastic and poison. The minds of most humans were filled with the garbage of confusion and division, and their hearts were smudged with charcoaled hate. And all of this darkness was dimming the light of Lumin. The twin planets were depending on Emrys' flight to bring light.

The week before his birthday Emrys and Zephyr were feverishly working on a plan to get Emrys to the field at just the right moment. And they were making practice flights every time they had a chance to slip away. What they didn’t know is that Danica’s mom sat in her attic window watching and making plans of her own.

When the day finally came, Emrys and Zephyr were confident about the adventure ahead and relieved that their purpose would finally be realized. All they had to do now was get through this dinner, wait for the Driscolls to settle into their books, then go out to do the evening feed. Everything was ready for the transformation flight. The atoms of earth were trembling in anticipation. 

Danica and her mom, Lilith, arrived at the Driscoll’s farm with a basket full of bread, a flask full of berry wine, and a fresh apple pie. Emrys’ parents welcomed them at a weather-worn, outside table. 

Mrs. Driscoll ladled beef stew into her best blue and white bowls and passed them around. They each tore a piece of the dark bread that Lilith had baked and slathered it with freshly churned butter. The adults talked of birthdays they remembered, and of happier times. Danica and Emrys were chatting quietly too, while Silverbird and Zephyr eyed each other under the table. They finished the meal with a slice of the delicious apple pie. All except Lilith who claimed she didn’t have a spec of room for it.

By the time dusk settled over the group they had fallen into a deep sleep. All except Lilith, and Zephyr who had realized too late what was happening. He was feigning sleep until he could decide what to do. 

When Lilith believed that they were all immobilized she stood up, ran across the yard to the field, and flew up into the sky. A sooty smoke emanated from her. It filled the air with an odious stench and covered the ground with ashes. 

It’s all over, Zephyr said to himself. Emrys transformation time has come and gone. Lilith brought the transformation of darkness. Earth and Lumin are forever shadowed.

They slugged through the rest of summer. Danica stayed at the Driscoll farm, the only mom she ever knew had apparently abandoned her. Fall came in hard, threatening a long, cold winter. Zephyr grew older and grumpier. The farm was failing. There was little to feed the animals and less to eat since dark clouds constantly covered the sun. A heavy sadness and tired spirit hung in the air squeezing out all joy. Emrys escaped the new darkness by climbing into his books after he finished his chores. His friends and family worried as he pulled further and further away from them for worlds that words sketched in his mind. But the end of September brought a few weeks of Indian summer and with the warmth came, for Emrys, a renewed desire to fly. 

He wasn’t sure he could anymore, and he was pretty certain Zephyr had grown too old to steady him back to earth. So even if he managed to get up into the air it was more than likely he would crash back down. The most compelling reason not to try was that the whole purpose of it had been thwarted. But he couldn’t shake it. The books were no longer enough to hide from the darkness that was smothering him. Soar or crash he had to try. 

On the evening of September 29 Emrys slipped out the back door leaving Zephyr sleeping on the hearth and Danica in the kitchen helping Mrs. Driscoll clean up after their meager supper of bread and tomato gravy. What he didn’t know was that Silverbird was watching. 

Emrys’ step lightened as he tread up the rocky road to the upper pasture. He had missed flying. He needed to breathe the sweet stardust air above the pewter clouds that now always covered the sky. 

Just one more corner and he’d be there. He could hardly wait. When he came around that last bend Lilith was there waiting for him. He could tell it was Lilith, but she had become obese with greed. A blanket of dank, angry hate covered her like sticky molasses. Her once lovely smile had become a frozen snarl. 

“Stop! Stop right there! Right now!” Her voice rasped out of her plump, chapped lips. 

“Why do you care what I do? You have already won.” 

But Lilith stood tall and fat blocking the way. When Emrys tried to go around her she drew a giant knitting needle from her sleeve and lunged for him, aiming for his heart. Just as he was about to be pierced, Zephyr, Silverbird, and Danica appeared out of nowhere and jumped Lilith knocking the giant needle away and pushing her down the steep road. She rolled to the bottom of the hill, her crash echoing with a thud.

With only a nod of thanks, and a new urgency that he didn’t understand, Emrys ran the rest of the way up the road. His friends followed. When together they finally reached the pasture, he turned to them and asked, “Why? Why did you come to help me after I had let you all down?”

Zephyr answered with one word, “Hope”. 

Emrys’ eyes filled with tears as he looked back one last time. Then he turned and ran full-out across the field. 

And he let go. 

When he did he rocketed up. His head shattered the ashen sky. Glitters of light fell around him like snow, and a rainbow exploded over the world. 

Then iridescence returned to Lumin. Brilliant color painted the Earth. And a bath of truth illuminated the universe. 

Emrys never returned. He could no longer hold back. Instead, he flew from planet to planet eating up the darkness, transforming it to light. 

He had finally, completely, joyfully, let go.