"Hey," Zesta met my dejected gaze, her green eyes -ever so bright- still shining with encouragement even as I felt like giving up, "You know you can succeed, right?"

I only shrugged, the seemingly unconquerable obstacles that lay between me and my goal weighing down on me like boulders. "I'll probably fail a hundred times before I do," I sighed.

"Well, one hundred's a lot.." Zesta replied, a small grin showing on the edges of her beak. "So you'd better start now!"

With the support of her shoulder as Zesta nudged me back to my feet, I straightened, stepping forward to walk determinedly across the grass.

Dashing alongside me, Zesta flicked her comb enthusiastically -a red flash against the cloudy sky- and with a spark of excitement I felt my heart begin to beat with a renewed strength.

Sure, there were bound to be challenges, I had no doubt of that, but though the journey ahead would be anything but easy I realized that -no matter how tough the steps or how repeated the failure may prove to be- it couldn't possibly be all that bad- not when I'm blessed to have this cheerful friend at my side!