text: Jonathan Moore. That was me, a 19 year old guy who lived with three cats. I was currently flying. Yes, flying, and not in an airplane or helicopter or whatever you might be thinking. I was floating up in the sky, chasing after a bird that stole my favorite watch. It was like something out of a cartoon, really. A little magpie snatched the shiny watch that I had accidentally left out on my front porch. When I had gone out to retrieve it, the bird came up out of nowhere and took it in his little black beak. Right now, I was flying above a forest and close behind the bird. I was about to reach out and grab at the bird when he dove down into a large pine tree. I slowed down and stopped right in front of the pine needles of the tree. The magpie was much smaller than I was, of course, so it could fit right in the branches easier than I could. I assumed that it had a nest, and didn't want to mess it up, so I slowed down. "Come on, dude," I sighed. "Can I have that back, please?" Saying please didn't help. The bird peeked out of the pine, looking smug that he had obtained the object. I brushed my messy brown hair out of my face. I had never flown while chasing something. That was fun, I thought. What wasn't fun, however, was that the bird wouldn't let go of my possession. Through the tree, I spotted a small nest made out of leaves and branches and similar objects. Among them was my watch, the magpie's most recently acquisition. He cawed at me as if he was laughing, then flew away. Jokes on him, I could probably reach through the branches and grab the watch back. I reached in, but couldn't quite make it. Okay, jokes on me, I guess. I backed up, still floating, and tried again. This time, I shoved the branch out of the way. Somehow, the nest was fine, and I could finally reach the silver watch. When I got it out, though, I realized that the glass was broken. I frowned, upset, and put the watch back in the nest. The bird came back after a few moments and stared at me. "It's okay, I guess." I told him. "You can have it." He tilted his head as if he were confused and chirped again. He probably didn't like me being near his nest, I decided, so I floated down to the ground. I sat down on a large stone and rested my feet on the grassy flooring of the forest. Flying always made me tired, and it was nice to rest. I was still kind of upset that I had lost my watch to a silly bird, but I'd get over it. A loud chirp came from behind me, making me jump. The magpie stood on the ground in front of me, watching. I felt like he was making fun of me. I pulled out my phone and took a picture of the bird, saving it for future memories. In the background was the tree where his nest was located. "Are you lost?" A voice came from behind me. I turned and found that the voice belonged to a young girl, probably 14 or so. She had noticeable curly ginger hair and freckles. She was also wearing overalls, and no shoes or socks. I shook my head. "No, I was just.. Taking a walk." I hadn't told anyone about how I could fly, and I wasn't about to start. It wasn't as if it were an everyday thing, either. She'd probably think I was joking. She squinted her eyes suspiciously. Then she said, "But, um, I saw you up in the sky." "That's pretty odd. I've been, er, down here the whole time. Walking. Like I said." I don't know if you could tell, but I was a great liar. "No," she said with surprising confidence. "You were in the sky. Like, just now, too. I was watching." "Oh." This whole exchange was pretty pointless. Our conversation paused (thankfully) as the magpie screeched again loudly. I forgot that he was there. His loud chirping made us both look over at him. The girl smiled at the bird and said, "Hey, Samantha." "Samantha?" I looked over at the bird, confused. I wasn't aware that the bird was female. Then again, I shouldn't have assumed. Sorry, Samantha. "Yeah, she's in my classes." Wait, what? I took a second to reply. "You lost me." "Sam," the girl gestured to the bird. I looked at the girl. "Right, uh-" "What's up, Rebecca?" I turned, and the bird was gone. In its place was a girl with blonde hair and a hoodie. Her hands were in her pockets and she glared at me. She looked upset with me. "..Uh, wait, so you're a bird?" I asked quietly. Samantha didn't reply. Instead, Rebecca laughed. "Yeah, she's a shapeshifter," Rebecca told me. "She's only told me, though. You can't just go around telling anyone. You know that." "Oh, me? Yeah, sure." I agreed awkwardly. "Wait. You stole my watch?" I didn't mean for that to be a question, since I knew she really did steal my watch. It came out that way, though, so I guess I was asking now. Samantha looked at me with a frown. Then she spoke, showing her teeth and revealing that she had colorful braces. "Well, yeah. It was broken. I was going to fix it, until you started to follow me. It really freaked me out. Even still, I feel like you're a creepy man." She kept messing with something in her jacket pocket, which sort of concerned me. "I didn't know that shapeshifters existed," I explained nervously. "I thought you were just a bird." She didn't seem like she believed me. Rebecca stepped over by her side and whispered something to Samantha. I watched as they communicated, and Samantha eventually relaxed. I took out my phone again as they spoke, texting my friends to let them know I may be late to the event I was supposed to be going to. All of a sudden I heard, "Okay, now give me the pepper spray." My head snapped up. "What?" I barely caught it, but I saw Samantha hand Rebecca the object that was in her hoodie reluctantly. She looked over at me with what looked like contempt. I would be scared, but I was kind of busy being proud of her for not trusting strangers. It was the sort of thing I would teach my future kids. The only thing I wondered was where she got pepper spray. "Alright," Rebecca smiled, interrupting my thoughts. "Now, the man can leave." I put my phone away. "I can leave?" I didn't know that I had to get permission to leave. "You legally have to," Samantha let me know professionally. "Please leave the property, sir, you are trespassing and I can call the authorities." "Okay," I replied, standing up. "I will leave." "Bye," Rebecca gave a friendly wave. I started to fly up. As I was leaving, I heard Samantha say, "Don't come back." When I got up to the clouds, I realized that I had left my watch with the girls. Oh well, I thought, they could have it. As I sped back home, I thought about the experience. The watch, Rebecca and Samantha, and the fact that I could easily have gotten pepper sprayed... That's all :) (1,260 words)