THE MONOLITH
It was true what the others had said. It did exist.
In the limbs of last week it had seemed so unlikely, an impossible bounty ready to deliver. It had ruffled the feathers of the elders for sure, sent them into sputtering diatribes against the laziness of youth.
"You were given two wings and a beak for a reason," they berated.
"Why shun the gifts we were given for the promise of an easy meal. The work of pulling a worm from its whole is half the satisfaction of the meal!" they proclaimed.
Still, he had known it was out there and he had sought it out. It had taken a while, bit there it was before him. The Monolith. The promised bounty.
He stared up at it, almost in awe. A great shiny filled with seeds. With food.
He hopped forward hesitantly, edging in closer, then finally leapt upward with a flap of his tired wings.
He touched down on the small perch and pecked at the seeds. They were delicious, an exotic blend that filled him gizzard with an explosion of flavor.
He had known the promises land was out there, bit not even his wildest dreams had prepared him for this.
He was so focussed on the delicious meal that he didn't notice the sleek shape prowling below, ears flattened to it's skull, fir bristling.
By the time it leapt at him, it was too late. His senses had been dulled by too much food. He could already feel the teeth closing around his fat belly before he realized the price he would pay for this dalliance.
The elders had been right. There was no such thing as a free meal.
The Monolith slowly receded upwards as he tumbled to the ground in the jaws of the cat. The world and all its mysteries, all its promise, slowly faded away.
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