No one expected that bird, an exotic specter that seemed to emerge from the pages of a fantastical tale. It was a vivid mosaic of emerald and sapphire feathers, its form both delicate and imposing. Until the moment it landed on her chest, the world had been a monotonous churn of routine for Elara. She had been sitting on her usual park bench, the one under the shade of the ancient oak, with her sketchpad resting on her lap. The afternoon sun filtered through the leaves, casting dapples of light that danced across her pages.
Elara was an artist by passion and a dreamer by nature. Her days were filled with the strokes of charcoal and the hum of creativity that sometimes ebbed and flowed, but never abandoned her completely. But lately, she had been adrift, her muse seemingly lost in the cacophony of daily life. That was until the bird appeared, an unforeseen harbinger of change.
