I stepped outside, taking in the smell. Birds chirped, and the wind blew softly. I looked at the barn that my parents referred to as the animal sanctuary. According to my parents, they take care of sick and injured animals and then release them back into the wild.

I had told them many times how I wanted to help out, but they denied me that privilege, saying that I wasn't old enough. I'm freaking fifteen! How much older do I have to be?

I sighed, sitting down on the bench. It was a pretty cool bench, actually. It was between two trees. One was still living, and one was cut down because it had died. One of the ends rested on the stump. As I was sitting there, I heard the birds chirp and the wind whistle, and saw a squirrel look at me with a certain curiosity.

"Hi, little fella." I cooed. He scampered up the tree, taking glances at me as he ran.

"Weird," I muttered. And it was. I doubted that I had ever seen such a display of curiosity in such a small animal.

You're probably wondering what's with all this rambling about pointless things, and I agree that it's quite pointless. Well, it seems that was. The thing about the squirrel is quite important. But, I'm getting to the most important part.

I had been sitting there, just wondering, waiting. Waiting for what? That, I did not know, but I waited.

Then, I heard a distressed chirping. A songbird chirp. And it sounded like it was hurt. Maybe, just maybe, this is what I needed to prove that I was ready to take care of injured animals! After all, I had tried everything else, from pet-sitting to dog walking, to volunteering at the animal shelter. If that wasn't experience, then this was.

The chirping was still there, and I stood up, searching for the source of the noise. I walked around the yard, looking for the bright reds and yellows commonly seen on songbirds.

Just as I was about to give up, I saw a canary in the grass, chirping. It's wing was bent at an awkward angle. Probably broken. I carried it over to the bench, where it continued it's chirps. Now, to make a splint - or something to hold the wing in place.

What happened next was the really weird, really important thing.

The canary spoke.

Yes, I said spoke.

"Hello, Madelyn," it began "Do not fear. All will be alright. Be calm."

The canary glowed a shocking yellow and became something. Became a spirit. The body had become a spirit. And that spirit was coming towards me.

All went black.

____

What I did not know is that the little, broken winged canary had changed me. Not mentally, but physically.

____

"Madelyn..." A voice said. I struggled to open my eyes, but I did. It was my father, looking at me. My mom was there too.

"What happened?" I asked.

"We walked out into the front yard and you were laying there!" exclaimed mom.

"Oh," I replied "Well, I'm sure I'm fine now. I gotta get to school. There's a test today!"

"We called the school, and they know you're not coming in today. You can take the test tomorrow."

"Alright," I said, sighing. I didn't want to have to go to study hall and finish my test tomorrow, but hey! At least I got to miss a day of school. The sunlight from outside my window shone brightly, and though I needed to be at school, and I wasn't feeling bad, I had to stay home. Well, every cloud has a silver lining, and this silver lining just happens to be a book.

Mom and Dad left the room, and I stood up, reaching for my book. The eagle bookmark was still in place, and, if I remembered correctly, there were one-hundred seven pages left to read. That is, out of the four-hundred nine pages total. I knew I was going to regret blowing through this book, but to be honest, I didn't give a crap.

The book cover was the second book in my favorite book series, Maximum Ride. I'd have to thank Trinity for introducing me to them. Yep. Once I had read the first book, I went out and bought the rest. Don't judge me, I'm obsessed. And a bookworm. Always a bookworm.

I turned on my radio and opened my book to the bookmarked page. I started reading, but my mind drifted to the thought of the little canary who had glowed, had become a spirit, had went inside of me. Probably just a dream, I thought to myself, and went back to my book.

Soon, I had finished my book. I looked up at the clock, closing my book. The clock read 12:02. I tossed my book at the foot of my bed and laid my head down, listening to the music that was playing on the radio. I'm not saying which genre of music, it's none of your buisness.

At 12:05, Dad walked into the room.

"Hey, Madelyn!" greeted my Dad "How are you feeling?"

"I wasn't feeling bad in the first place." I answered "In other words, I feel fine."

"So, I've got to head to work, and I won't be back until around five-thirty. Will you be fine until then?"

"Yes, Dad." I said, sighing "I've been home alone before; I'll be fine."

"Do you have your phone?" asked Dad.

I nodded.

"Okay. See you then. Bye, Madelyn."

"Bye."

My phone buzzed after a few minutes, and I picked it up. It was a notification from the WritePad app. It was my friend, Trinity. She had private messaged me.

'Why aren't you at school? I miss you.' it read.

I quickly typed back 'Fainted this morning, parents made me stay home. I'm fine. Finished book 2 of Max Ride.'

The reply came quickly back. 'Cool. Teacher coming, bye for now.'

I sat my phone on my bedside table. Then, I heard a voice. Not from outward, but inward. Inside my head.

"Hello, Madelyn."

A/N- So, I started a new book. The Wild Side is on hold until I finish this. Don't worry, it'll be done before the wattys end. Yes, yes I am entering this in the wattys. And I update this every 2 days. And yes, yes I did start reading the max ride series. IT'S SO GOOD!

Sorry, fangirl moment there. But, I gotta go. Vote, comment, and I'll see you in the next chapter! Bye for now!