The following day, my mother came to my home; with a basket. Instead of knocking, she came in. She saw me sleeping in bed with a bucket of vomit next to my side and she woke me up.
"My son, I've brought you medicine and food," she said with a soft voice but a hint of maliciousness. I arose and looked over at the basket that she brought. I saw a bowl of soup and a small, glass bottle of 'medicine'. The bottle seemed so innocent, it looked so clean. It was a facade. It was a brown bottle, it had a small, round, white cap on top of it and it looked so clean on the outside, yet on the inside it was hell.
I then pushed my mother away and stumbled to the bottle of medicine. I opened it and chugged it down.
"Control yourself, take only what you need!" My mother said before ripping the bottle from my hands. She looked down at it and saw it was empty. She started to visibly fret. She then went and quickly grabbed a cup of water and gave it to me. She instructed me to drink it and I did so. I felt as the water mingled with the poison and my stomach let off a growl. I thought that I was hungry so I went to eat the soup and my mother didn't stop me. I quickly downed the soup. My mother then sat me down and did what she did yesterday. At first, I didn't feel the effects of the potion but later on, it struck. After my mother left (1 hour after I was poisoned), my fingers felt as though they were on fire. It felt like I was in hell-fire. It burned worse than a million suns. My digits then practically started becoming dust. Out of the hole that was left, a new bone started emerging with small lightning or thunder surrounding it. The bone was then engulfed in skin and fur. I then realized it was the digit of a monkey. Though I was tired, I leaped out of bed. 'This is too real to be a dream!' I thought to myself. Cato knew something was wrong and leaped onto my arm to smell my digits. I ran to my water bucket and threw it onto my face as a means to 'snap out of it' but it didn't help. The pain was now gone but It felt extremely uncanny. It moved like a normal digit but it felt hairy and skinny. It felt as though the slightest bit of force would snap it in half. I stood in the house for about 20 minutes before the process repeated and my human digits came back. It left and came back in the same way: Burning pain, turning into dust, emerging as bone, and then engulfed in skin and other textures. I ran out of the house once my finger was turned to normal and sprinted towards where my mother lived. I arrived and started banging on the door but suddenly my illness struck and I started throwing up. Little did I know, my mother was not home. No, she fled towards the witch's direction but not to the witch. She went into hiding.
"Hey! Lazarius!" My step-father shouted, "Long time no see, son!". I always disliked him and this was no different. I ran past him, up to the hills to search for my mother yet I was not in luck. Suddenly, my foot started to burn and I knew exactly what was coming. I laid back onto the cold, wet grass and what happened was not what I was expecting to say the least. My foot turned to dust as usual which made me scream. Instead of bone growing from the hole, the limb of a cockroach grew out of it. I was petrified at what I saw. A gigantic, insect-like limb on the body of a man. The pain went away and I was left with the limb of a cockroach for God knows how long. Its scaly texture made a cracking noise when I tried to move it and it had a putrid smell. It was brown and large yet hollow. It felt like a single raindrop or a pebble could shatter it in a million pieces. It had tiny, little hairs emerging from its scaly texture and pus leaking from the bottom; I had already cracked it somehow. It felt much worse than the digits of a monkey. I tried to stand up but the fragile leg would break if it carried my body weight. So I crawled down the hills in private so that no one would see me (for if they were to see me, I would be accused of witchery and be put to death!) I reached a corner from where I could peak and look at the streets without my leg being visible. In that moment I understood how that lame beggar felt. However, I had a chance of becoming normal but he didn't. I felt his suffering for a brief period, how his life was day by day. I felt it in a single moment. I felt it once but I could not imagine how it is to be like that your whole life! I must've waited around that corner for hours before my normal human leg came back. I held in my screams and as soon as it came back, I went to the merchant and bought food for myself and Cato. I ran back home before my limbs would become something else. I was very afraid of being accused of witchery so I tried to hide my mutations. I arrived home and was greeted by Cato barking at me and licking me. He jumped on me and knocked me on the floor and started licking me. This is why I love dogs so much. I was gone for not even a day, yet he was still excited when he saw me and was grateful for my presence. Humans, on the other hand, they need a reason to be excited. Love is not a reason for them, they must benefit from my presence in a way. They must gain something. This is in human nature of course and I am in no way saying that dogs are of more worth than humans yet I am saying that dogs love men more than some humans do. Dogs are indeed man's best friend when it should've been humans themselves.
I then jumped on my bed and my illness was gone. Sure, I was poisoned and became a mutant but at least the illness was gone! I went to sleep, 'Perhaps it is but a figment of my imagination. Maybe I ate something, a rotten potato or a bit of uncooked meat. It is just a disorder of the stomach. Yes, that is what it is. The medicine functioned but the soup must've not been cooked properly!' I thought to myself 'I shall sleep, and remember this as nothing but a bad dream!' I then went to sleep.
I woke up, covered in sweat. I had a dream, a bad one. I don't recall what it was exactly but I remember that it was bad and painful. I looked down at my right arm and it was likened to that of a bear! It was gigantic and furry. Hair was spanning from my shoulder to my hands. It was a horrific experience. I felt the sharp claws that I had at my disposal but could not utilize; I was not yet used to it, or perhaps I was too afraid. Cato, being himself, ran to my arm and started barking and biting it at it. I barely felt any pain due to the thick fur but I was afraid that my neighbours would wake up and accuse me of witchery. So, I kicked Cato away. I didn't know what to do with my bear hand and I couldn't even hold a glass of water or pick myself up. I simply laid there, crying. I contemplated suicide; 'What if I... What if I simply kill myself?' I asked myself. To be fair, I wasn't wrong. If I had simply ended it all, if I had simply wrapped the rope around my neck, if I had simply jumped off, if I had simply raised the bottle and drank, it would've all been over. I wouldn't have had to suffer so much. Hell, I should've done so when my wife died; but no, I chose to live, I chose this destiny. I chose my own life. No one else, no one else chose this for me. I built my own life, brick by brick and yard by yard. I had no help whatsoever; but... does that mean that I didn't need it? Oh hell! Everyone needs help. Humans were never meant to be lone creatures. We were meant to be in packs, in groups you may say. And the people in that group help each other regardless of their relationship. Think about it, if you saw a dying man on the street, wouldn't you call for help? Yes, you would; but I am asking... WHY? Why would you call for help? You never knew the man and most likely never will, Yet you still decided to help him. Isn't that funny? We help total strangers and move on with our lives. Other creatures would eat this dying member, but we humans... are different. We work together to strive for a better future for everyone. If one is happy, then so is the following one (Yet there are exceptions of course. If the most evil bastard is happy for destroying a society, everyone else is angry and sad but him). I wonder how humans would be if this was not the case. Would we be cannibalistic? Would our societies and empires ever exist? Think about it: An empire is simply just a colossal group of men and women working together and striving for a better future. Nothing more, nothing less. Wars occur so that one side can live longer than the other. Humans quite frankly could not survive by themselves. We need companions, WE NEED HELP! And only we can help each other. The world would be much more advanced if we had knowledge of this and understood it properly.
At that time, I had made up my mind. As soon as my arm would return to normal, I would grab my dagger and kill myself. 20 minutes passed and the right arm had returned to normal. I dragged myself out of my bed and walked over to my dagger. Cato was hanging onto my leg, almost as though he was asking me or commanding me to not do it. Nonetheless, I grabbed the dagger and put it to my throat. I shed a single tear and was about to slice until my arms instantaneously disappeared. It was peculiar because usually a burning sensation would come first and then it would progressively fall off; but this time it all fell instantly. Both of my arms turned into those of an eagle (or wings). I had large, feathery wings! Each feather was its own, single organelle. They were a mixture of white and brown and they were huge. They smelt like a soup of flesh and blood. They had the texture of the feathers of an eagle. They were too big to be contained in my domain so they were pushing against the ceiling and the wall. I walked outside because it caused me pain. As soon as I had exited the door, the wings started flapping and I felt my body raise. I was flying! I was the first man to ever fly in the history of Rome! Hell, in the history of the whole world! I felt scared and anxious yet also intrigued and astounded. I saw as the ground went further and further away from my feet. I tried to push myself down or to control the wings but it was simply impossible. My wings started flapping harder and louder which attracted the attention of my neighbours. They came outside and looked up. By that time, I was deep into the atmosphere and I was nothing but a silhouette, a hollow silhouette.
"It's a bird!" Said a pedestrian.
"No, it's an eagle!" Replied another.
"No! It's neither! It is a witch!" Added another one. Turmoil had broken out between them and sooner or later the whole neighbourhood arose to watch the flying witch. I was left stationary in the sky for a while so that the people could see me; I was a spectacle for them. At that time, I had wished that the wings would've failed and dropped me, I wished that I would've died.
Suddenly, the wings started dragging me across the sky and I was flying at immense speeds. The cold wind was pushing up against my face and froze my shaggy beard. I could even taste the atmosphere! I was moving so quickly that I could barely make out where I was. I was then upon the tip of a mountain. I could see the beautiful blades of grass as they danced to the howls of the wind. The moon shone like a diamond in the sky upon the river that was flowing at the foot of the mountain. I was then taken to a gorgeous, lavender field. The flowers seemed to span forever and their smell was like the smell of a perfume integrated with the royal smell of heaven. Oh, how the beautiful, purple color blended with the outstanding moon! 'If I did kill myself... would I have to give up all of this?' I asked myself, "Give up all of this beauty because of a mere poisonous trick!" I shouted. I then crashed down into the field and started crying. 'How could I have ever thought of doing such a thing!?' I shouted, 'I vow...' I added. I looked forward with determined eyes and a one-sided grin. My eyes were like a tiny flame that was continuously growing. 'I vow to find this damned cure!' I screamed. Suddenly, I could control the wings and their movement. I don't know how it just felt like moving your arm. I had control for the first time. I flew through the sky, inexperienced of course, like an eagle that is about to kill its prey. I flew over to my home and saw that my neighbors were still there. I remained stationary for a bit and just observed them. They were all talking and murmuring about the sight they had seen not long ago. I flew sneakily behind my house and entered. I then put on a big coat and walked outside,
"What's going on?" I asked with weary eyes and dry lips.
"We saw a bird." Someone said, "Perhaps even an eagle; but it was giant. It could not have been a mere beast of the sky." They added whilst getting closer. I became cautious and took a step back,
"It must've been a witch!" The jump scared me. That pedestrian started laughing with a raspy voice. The rest joined. I then went back inside and slept.
I woke up the next day to find a bottle of wine on my bedside table. I saw a little paper inside. I had thought that it was mold or a contamination of some sort. I gently smashed the bottle on the table. I saw as the wine spilled freely. Going in every direction that it could and flowing as far as it could. It wouldn't stop flowing and kept going, without rest. As if it had a goal in mind. I then saw a piece of paper or a scroll of some sort amid the broken glass, 'What the hell?' I asked myself whilst tilting my head slightly. I picked up the scroll and opened it; it was a map. I recognized my home as it was marked and I saw another mark. On the westernmost point of the Roman empire. 'What the hell?' I thought, 'What is this mark?' I added. There was some writing on the back of the map that I had noticed:
"When all seems lost and darkness spreads,
Follow the sun where it gently sets.
Beyond the end, on nature's line,
There lies the cure you wish to find."
'Follow the sun where it gently sets?' I asked myself, 'Beyond the end, on nature's line? There lies the cure you wish to find. What in the hell could this mean?!' I was getting frustrated. Suddenly, my right foot started to burn and it became dust. I fell on the floor and watched as the foot of a duck grew in its place. I was getting more and more frustrated. I tried to stand but I was yet to be used to the delicate foot. I then crawled to the map that was soaked in the wine and got a hold of it. I spent 20 minutes on the ground, in a pile of wine. I was facing west and it clicked. The puzzle was saying that the cure was at the westernmost point of the map, and the mysterious point was towards the westernmost point of the map, and the sunset on the west as well! I pushed myself up and walked towards my bed. Suddenly, my foot came back the same way it left. I wasted no time in getting dressed in the baggiest clothes that I could find. I wore a massive robe with a giant hood on top. Under it was a thick jumper or shirt and baggy trousers. All of this was to conceal my metamorphosis of flesh. I grabbed all my cash and ran to the blacksmith to buy a grand sword. I then bought the sword and went home where I would plan everything for the adventure.