Nightingale's Last Song

This is the story of the nightingale, whose love for humans was infinite.

He had a song to sing that made all who listened fall asleep, but he kept it secret so that his love for them would never be known to others. He lived alone in a cage made of glass, as his voice sounded too much like birdsong and people's laughter.

Yet every night he sang, hoping that one day someone would listen. The man who sat beside him on a bench one afternoon thought he sounded quite lovely. And when that evening he returned from work with a bottle of wine and a small plate full of cookies, the man could not help himself from asking if the nightingale he'd met once upon a dream could sing again, and this time the stranger told him that he could.

The first time he heard his song, he'd been taken aback. The music had been beautiful, and while it was strange and different from what he knew, the singer sounded kind of familiar. But he couldn't place where he might have heard the other's voice before. His mind drifted back to the days spent listening to the nightingale sing, but there was no sign of him that night; not even on the bench under the trees they often met near. That very night, though, he was awakened by the sound of singing coming from far away. He looked out through the window, half expecting to see the nightingale sitting outside. Instead, instead, he saw a figure walking towards the benches, their long black hair flowing behind them as they moved. He watched as the figure stopped at the railing, looking down into the garden below, then turned and began to sing. It wasn't until they finished singing that the stranger realized it was the same song as the previous night, that the nightingale had sung. Yet it was also different. This was a new song, one he'd never heard before, and as the nightingale fell silent, he felt as if his heart were shattering into pieces.

"What did you think?" The nightingale asked softly, staring out across the garden.

The stranger didn't know how to answer him. In truth, he hadn't really paid attention to what the stranger had thought about the song. All he cared about was that the stranger had loved it. Now he knew that the person he had seen standing next to his bench was the nightingale, and his heart ached with pain. He'd only wanted to hear the other speak once more...

But there was nothing that he could do. Not now. So instead he reached inside his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. He held it up to show the nightingale, then handed it over.

"I can read that!" The nightingale said excitedly.

What the nightingale read turned his skin pale as snow. The note read “The song was piercing and out of tune. No other human should hear this song. It would make children weep and mothers despair. Fathers would kill to end the pain of hearing your song!” Upon reading that the nightingale let out a piercing scream. It was so piercing that the man’s head burst upon hearing it. “How dare that mortal insult my music! Humans should not be allowed to leave! Death to them all!” The nightingale exclaimed. He then proceeded to sing one last song to humanity, the song of despair and death. The song that will make all mankind extinct leaving only natures embrace. Soon a paradise without humans destroying the planet. The planet will heal and the nightingales song will bring forth a new era for him and the fae.