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| The birds even sing on cloudy days. |
Rosa looked out over the hills. There wasn't even a shepherd in sight, just a few birds. Perfect. She sat down on the side of the hill and pulled out her sketch pad. As a kid, Rosa had run all over these hills. Now as an adult, it was kind of fun to run over them again and sketch what she saw. It was better to be out here, where the cell reception was spotty, than at home, anyway. No matter that her drawings sold and made decent money, her father wanted her to get a real job. He didn't see how much time and effort it was to make these drawings and sell them online. All he saw was her drawing, using the internet, and biking into town to the post office.
Sighing, Rosa pushed those thoughts from her mind and began to draw what was in front of her. Soon, she'd have enough saved up to move away. Until then, she drew not only because she loved it but also for her own sanity.
"That's really good."
Rosa jumped. She had sworn no one had been around before, and she definitely would have noticed this handsome man.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
"It's fine. I just didn't know you were there."
"So when did you start drawing? You must have started very young." he asked.
"Yeah, I drew some as a kid, but I actually started studying it a few years ago. That's helped a lot."
"I guess so." He smiled at her sketch pad. "May I sit?"
"Sure."
Without really realizing it, Rosa started opening up to this man who liked her drawings. It was nice to talk about her art without judgement. After awhile, Rosa realized she needed to get home. "What's your name?" she asked, embarrassed that she didn't know.
"Conrad," he said with a smile.
"My name is Rosa."
"Will you be out here again tomorrow?"
"Probably," Rosa replied, trying not to blush.
"Then I'll try to come find you again."
Rosa smiled and turned to go back home. She realized that she could walk Conrad back toward town, but when she turned around to find him, he was gone.
Every day, Rosa went out to the hills. She got some drawing done, but she was more interested in seeing Conrad. Eventually, she realized she was in love with him. Rosa had been working on sketching him. When it was finished, she gave it to Conrad as a gift.
"This is wonderful," he said, looking at it in awe.
"So are you," Rosa said, blushing. "I love you."
Conrad looked up from the drawing at her. "And I you."
Their first kiss had to be passionate, born from these words. He pulled her to him and Rosa wrapped her arms around him. Rosa's heart was full. She felt like she was flying! Then, with a lurch, Rosa realized she was flying. She broke their kiss and looked at Conrad. There were two black wings coming out of his back, flapping.
"Don't worry. I won't drop you."
Terrified, Rosa looked at the ground below. Reflexively, she closed her eyes and tightened her hold on Conrad. This didn't make sense. None of this made sense. How could he have grown wings? And how could he be carrying them both? It was impossible, yet here she was. Rosa kept her eyes shut until they landed.
She slowly opened her eyes and loosened her death grip on Conrad. "Welcome to my home," Conrad said.
"Where are we?" Rosa asked.
"I call it my nest. I'm renting this house for awhile."
"Awhile?"
"Yes." Conrad stepped back a pace. "I suppose I should tell you who I really am."
Rosa stepped back, too. Her hand strayed to the phone in her back pocket. She wondered if she had signal out here.
"I am a man and a condor," Conrad began, his wings disappearing.
"The bird?" Rosa asked.
"Yes," Conrad replied.
"Have you been cursed?" Rosa asked, her find full of old tales.
Conrad said nothing and looked away for a moment. "I can't stay in one spot for too long, but I want to stay here as long as I can. With you."
Rosa smiled, then stopped. "But how will I get home?"
Conrad's smile fell. "Once you leave, I have to leave too and I can never come back here."
Rosa stared at him. "If you hadn't just flown me here, I would never believe this."
"I know," Conrad replied. "It's crazy. Magic often is."
"So it was a curse," Rosa said.
Conrad was silent for a moment. "Let me show you my house," he said.
Rosa knew it was foolish, but she still trusted Conrad. The more he explained, what he would explain, the more it made sense to Rosa. After all, she loved this man and he loved her back. She knew he would never lie to her.
So, Rosa sent a text to her dad saying she was going to be gone for awhile and not to worry. It took about twenty minutes to send and Rosa didn't bother waiting for a reply before she turned her phone off. "What about my things?" she asked.
"I can get them tomorrow when your father is at work," Conrad replied. "I'll fly there as a condor and get them for you."
"Thanks," Rosa replied, still unsettled by his dual nature. Still, she forgot it quickly over dinner and had no objection to snuggling up next to him to sleep that night.
Over the next several weeks, Rosa found herself falling more in love with Conrad. After all, everything she knew about his soul was still true. It was just also true that sometimes he had feathers. She missed the outside world, but she got enough signal on her phone to keep up with most of her friends, and Conrad had a laptop with internet access. Although, this was also too slow to be worth using most days. Mostly, they spent time together and Rosa was able to draw as much as she liked. It was a peaceful life.
Then, one day, Rosa realized she was pregnant.
"You're pregnant? That's amazing!" Conrad said when she told him. "I'm going to be a father." He looked at her. "You're going to be a mother."
Rosa looked away. "How can we get him baptized?" She thought for a moment. "And how are we going to get married?"
"I didn't know that was important to you," Conrad said.
Rosa found herself nodding. It hadn't bothered her before, but now that they were going to have a child...
"I'll go talk to the priest," Conrad said. "There's no reason he can't come up here to marry us."
"You've got to ask me first," Rosa pointed out.
"Oh, right," Conrad replied. He took Rosa's hands in his. "Will you marry me?"
"Yes!" Rosa yelled. She kissed him and cheered.
The priest Conrad brought up to marry them wasn't one Rosa knew, but as long as they were married, she was happy.
It seemed like forever and yet no time at all before she was giving birth to a son. They named him Eduardo and he lit up their lives. One day, while she was watching him sleep, Rosa realized that her father needed to meet Eduardo. She realized she missed her father very much. It had been about a year since she'd last seen him. Still, she knew what Conrad would say. If she left this house, she could never return.
"I'm sure one little trip couldn't hurt," Rosa thought. She knew where they were now and it was only half a day's journey to walk home. Rosa thought about this for the next several days. It distressed her to keep it from Conrad, but she knew what he would say and she didn't want to hear it.
So, one day, when Rosa knew Conrad would be gone all day, she packed a bag for the baby, tied him around her, and set off. It was a long walk with Eduardo on her and his bag got heavier and heavier. Still, Rosa used to walk much farther than this carrying all of her art supplies and a lunch. She only had to stop to feed Eduardo a few times before she made it home.
"Rosa!" her father yelled.
"Papa!" Rosa cried. They hugged, being careful not to squish the baby.
"Was I not invited to the wedding?" her father asked carefully.
"No, but very few were," Rosa said. "My husband has a curse on him."
"A curse?"
"It's an expression." Although she believed in it now, she didn't want to explain to her father. Rosa unwrapped Eduardo a bit. "Meet your grandson, Eduardo."
As soon as he saw his grandson, Rosa knew all was forgiven. They spent the best afternoon together that they had in ages. "Can you drive us home?" Rosa asked as the sun was beginning to set. "I want you to meet my husband."
"Of course!"
Rosa could have asked him for anything right then and he would have agreed. They loaded up the car and Rosa gave her father directions. The road didn't go all the way up to the house, but it would be a much shorter walk. When they started the trip, Rosa was happy, but the further they drove, the more distressed she became. When they finally ran out of road, Rosa leapt from the car and ran to the house.
It was still there, but all of Conrad's things were gone. He had left that first drawing she had done of him on the bed with a red rose on top of it.
Rosa collapsed. How could she have been so stupid? He had told her not to leave!
It seemed like ages before she felt her father's comforting hand on her shoulder. "Oh, my dear," he said.
"He didn't want to go," Rosa choked out. "It's his curse. He told me so."
"Of course he did, my dear." They stayed like that for a moment or two before Rosa finally pulled herself up from the floor. She looked around at the wreckage of her life and then at her son, sleeping peacefully in her father's arms.
"I think," Rosa took a moment to pull herself together. "I think I need to come home."
"Of course, my dear. Of course."
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