The Yapping Peacock

About Me:

Stuff you don’t know about me, huh? How does the girl who never shuts the fuck up figure out something you don't already know?

Let's start out light by saying that my favorite animal is a skunk. They’re super adorable, and I long to have one as a pet someday. It's a dream.

Now for something heavier. When I was eighteen, I got dragged to a bowling alley by my ex. I wasn't allowed to play, just sit and "look pretty". I didn’t want to be there, but then I saw karaoke. Welp, I love singing... duh.. so I signed up. Next thing I knew, I’d been nominated as a finalist in a contest I didn’t even know was happening.

I made it through every round and was told the grand prize was five thousand dollars and a trip to Vegas. My ex hated the idea, but let me sing anyways.

I sang my last song... and I won.

He was not happy for me. Not at all. When my name was called to claim the prize, he stuck his leg out to trip me. I stumbled but was able to somehow keep my balance. I collected the prize, and the celebration ended. When we left, he tore the tickets apart and dragged me to Walmart to cash the check. Then pocketed every single dime for himself.

Part of why I'm using my voice now. The number of times it's been stolen should be illegal.

Shimmering in the Sand:

The desert was an oven, but it offered no warmth to the peacock. Lost, confused, and brokenhearted, she wandered the wasteland with her shimmering plumage dragging through the dust. Her bright blue and green feathers made her an impossible target to miss. Out here, everyone saw her as a prize to possess. Collectors chased her, desperate to display her colorful feathers behind glass, bragging about the rare creature they'd acquired.

She'd narrowly escaped the worst of them, but her feathers were still tattered and her heart was bruised.

Then, she met him.

He was different than the others. When he looked at her, his eyes didn't sparkle with greed. He saw her radiant colors, yes, but he saw beneath them. He saw her exhaustion and her fear. Caution dictated every breath she took. Every kindness felt like a trap. Captured before, she lived in terror of the next cage.

But he offered her real laughter and understanding. He let her colors shine openly, never reaching to pluck a feather or chain her to a post.

"All I want is for you to be happy," he told her.

Panic clawed at her chest. The unfamiliar safety felt somehow more terrifying than the cruelty she knew. Back in her glass prison, the abuse was predictable. Here, in the unknown with someone who asked for nothing in return, she didn't know what to expect. Petrified, she nearly fled back toward the certainty of her old cage.

Instead, she took a deep breath and chose to trust him.

It turned out, he meant every word. He never captured her or displayed her like a sick trophy. Instead, he took her hand and walked beside her as an equal, standing between her and the monsters lurking in the desert. With patient devotion, he helped her realize that her worth ran far deeper than the colorful feathers that adorned her.

Safe at last, the peacock folded her wings and opened her heart. She finally allowed herself to heal, and the two of them built a life defined by love, not ownership.