My name is Sam Canton. No, I don’t expect you to know my name. I am really nobody important. I have no big accomplishments and my life is rather quiet, but I like it this way. It is simple and peaceful…or so it used to be. You know how people often say that there is one moment in your life that changes your entire perspective of the universe? I had never really put much faith in that statement. Up to that point, I was like every other person on the face of the Earth. I got up, ate breakfast, went to work, came home, and went to bed. The same constant grind day in and day out for 5 days a week. My weekends were filled with junk food and videogames, and then a jog around the city would be thrown in somewhere in there.
My job kept me pretty busy, seeing as I was a Lead Programmer for a well-known videogame company. I loved my job; making videogames that would be played by thousands was so rewarding to me. Most people would never know who I really was, but that didn’t matter. I was not one to bask in the spotlight. I preferred to just sit in the background and allow others to take that responsibility. I was a quiet person, not really one for chit-chat and small talk. I preferred the quiet of my work. My bosses were always impressed with the quality of my finished tasks.
“Sam,” they would always start, “you are really going to go places in this industry. Why one day you could end up owning this company!” I would blush a little at this praise. I knew I did good work, but I hated when people pointed it out. I preferred to just fly under the radar, and I liked it there. But not too long ago, something happened that made me question my entire being. It was a moment in time that I would never forget about. One that that I would tell my children and grand-children about until the day I left this place. You know how people often say that there is one moment in your life that changes your entire perspective of the universe? Boy, are those people right.
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The day that changed everything began just like any normal Saturday. I would wake up around 2:00pm after a long night of gaming. I would slowly make my way into the kitchen and grab myself a cup of black coffee before sitting in my favorite chair and flipping on the TV. I was not a big TV person, I preferred movies and videogames. Every once in a while I would stumble upon something interesting, however today was not one of those days. I heard a snippet of a news reporter talking about some new discovery that scientists had made in the field of wormholes, but I turned off the tube before the segment ended, not really caring. I had nothing planned for today other than playing more games, but I saw that it really was a beautiful day outside. I didn’t really feel like gaming right then so I got dressed and headed outside for a walk. I just kind of wandered along the streets, not really caring where I was going. The noise of the city was always a pleasant sound to my ears. The honking horns and yelling people always brought a smile to my face. Not many people would be comfortable here, but this was my home. I was so happy today. The warmth of the sun felt good on my bare skin as I continued to make my way aimlessly. There were a lot of people out, walking their pets or pushing their little ones around in strollers. Kids with balloons in hand walked past with their parents, smiling up at me as they walked by. I would smile back at them as I continued my wandering. I always liked kids; they seemed to always be so happy and full of life. It would bring back memories of my childhood. I would go to the park with my parents, go fishing with my father, and even go to the zoo with my mother. Those were some of the best memories I had of them. They had passed away about 10 years ago, but I would never forget them. Every once in a while I would think about them and wish they were still here. I broke my train of thought as I noticed that I was by one of my favorite parks to go to when I was a kid. I always liked this park over all the other because this one had a lake in the middle of it. I always wanted to feed the ducks and swans that swam around, always liking the pretty colors that they had. Oh, I drug my parents here so many times. We would always start out with feeding the birds, and then we would stop by the ice cream vendor and get an ice cream cone. My parents would always get pistachio ice-cream and I always got chocolate. Then we would go sit by the lake and watch everyone playing in the park.
I felt a little tear start to well up in my eye, and I quickly wiped it away. I thought to myself, your games can wait. Why not take advantage of this day and just go relax by the lake like you always wanted to do as a kid? I quickly changed my direction and began to head into the park. It was not a long walk to the lake, and the park seemed even busier than I had remembered. It was full of families having picnics, couples on dates, dogs chasing balls and Frisbees, and Grandparents just walking along enjoying life. I smiled as I thought of all of the good times that I had here as a kid. I suddenly stopped in my tracks as I heard a familiar sound. It was faint, but the sound was unmistakable. I quickened my walk across the grass and reached the top of a small hill. There in the middle of a large roundabout was the very same ice-cream vendor that had been there when I was a kid. I broke out into a huge grin as made my way down towards the now much older man serving a line of customers, all yelling out their orders. I stepped in line, and it wasn’t long before the last kid in front of me was served. Her mother put down the money and they both wandered off towards the playground.
“Well hello there sonny!” said the grizzled old man. He wore a huge grin on his face as he looked at me from under a couple of big, bushy eyebrows. “What can I get you?” I thought for a moment, and then answered,
“I would like a double scoop of chocolate ice cream please!” The old man’s smile grew even bigger as he grabbed a cone and began to scoop the chocolaty goodness onto the cone. I was so happy inside as he put the second scoop on top and handed it to me.
“That’ll be two dollars, sonny.” Said the old man as he stretched out a wrinkled, shaking hand towards me. I dug into my pocket, pulling out my wallet, and handed the man two one dollar bills. The old man continued to smile at me as he put the money away and said, “Have a great day!” I thanked him and then quickly moved aside as a couple anxious boys rushed up to the cart. I heard the old man say, “Now, what can I do for you boys?” as I slowly made my way out of earshot. I slowly began to lick the chocolate treat I had in my hands as I once again made my way along the concrete path towards the lake. The ice cream was just as good as I had remembered it as I finally reached the edge of the lake and sat down on one of the benches that were scattered around. I sat eating my cold treat and watched everyone taking advantage of this gorgeous day. There were people swimming in the water, paddling around in boats, or just sitting and watching like me. After a few minutes, I finished my cone and decided it was time to head home. As I began to make my way along one of the many paths, I heard a faint whimpering sound coming from a group of bushes. I figured it was just a couple of kids trying to scare people as the passed by, but then I heard it again. It sounded like crying. I slowly made my way over to the bushes, crouched down, and slowly pushed a branch aside. I lept backwards, falling on my butt as my mind tried to wrap itself around what I had just seen. No…I must be imagining things, there is no way… I slowly got on my knees and crawled back over towards the bushes. I took a moment to take a deep breath, and then slowly pushed the branch aside. The creature inside gasped and tried to push itself farther into the group, but it seemed to be stuck. Its pink hair and tail were all tangled up in the branches. It was shaking fiercely and tears were rolling down its cheeks as it continued to try and push itself away from me. I sat there in shock, trying to think of what I should do. Should I call the police? Maybe Animal Control? But as I sat there looking at this pathetic creature, I felt a longing to try and help this poor animal out. I began to slowly inch my hand forward as I started to talk softly to it.
“It’s ok, I won’t hurt you. I just want to help you. See? I'm not a bad man. I just want to help get you out.” I was only a foot away from the creature as she renewed her efforts to try and back away, but the branches were so tangled around her now that there was no way she was going anywhere. Not without my help at least. Its whimpering grew louder as I was only half a foot away from it. “It’s ok, I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to help you.” I continued to try and sooth it as I was mere inches away from its head. The creature stopped struggling and sat there shaking like a leaf as I made my first contact. Its body was soft! It felt like the fur on a teddy bear! It felt so smooth and warm as I just left my hand on its head, not daring to move it for fear I might frighten it further. The tears continued to flow down its cheeks as I began to slowly untangle the first branch from its light pink hair. I had never seen an animal like this around here. It had yellow fur and bright pink hair and tail, and it looked almost like a very small horse. As I got each branch untangled from its hair, I continued to marvel at this magnificent creature. She was so beautiful! I had never seen a more beautiful animal! I finally got the last branch removed from her hair and started to make my way down her body to work on its tail. But I had only gotten a foot down when I was surprised yet again! For there on either side of its body was what appeared to be a set of wings! I didn’t know what to think! My first thought was, this is the strangest bird I have ever seen. I could feel the creature continuing to shake fiercely as I continued to make my way down her body to her tail. It was the same color as its hair, and just as beautiful. I started to untangle the branches until I had finally removed the last one.
“There you go, good as new!” I said to the creature. It looked at me, and then bolted out of the bush. I started after her, and then stopped as I saw it lying on the ground. It was trying to spread its wings, but it appeared one of them was hurt. It was also trying to stand, but one of her legs also appeared to be hurt. I felt sad at seeing this creature like this and I knew I had to do something. I slowly walked over to it and picked it up in my arms. She felt so warm and strong, but she was continuing to shake and cry. It tried to squirm its way out of my arms, but I held it tight. “It’s ok; I will take care of you! Please, stop moving! You might hurt yourself more!” After a moment, she seemed to settle down, though the shaking increased. “I am going to take you to my house. We can get you fixed up there.” I made my way out of the park, trying to avoid as many people as possible. I heard one little girl yell out,
“Mommy, that man has a little pony! Look mommy, look!” I began to walk faster back towards my house, taking side streets and alleyways to avoid people staring at me and my strange cargo. I finally got back home, got in through the door, and quickly shut it behind me. I let out a loud sigh as I finally could breathe easier. I slowly took the creature in my arms and laid her on my couch in my living room. It tried to immediately get down, but I held her there. “Just stay here, let me go get my first aid kit. I can help you feel better.” I once again touched its head, trying to reassure it that I meant it no harm. I smiled as I slowly got up and walked to my bathroom. What have I gotten myself into this time? I searched the bathroom cupboard for the kit, grabbed it, and then slowly made my way back into the living room. My heart skipped a beat as I stopped midstride and looked at the creature on my couch. It was fast asleep, with its head resting on its front legs. Its pink hair cascaded along the side of the couch like a pink waterfall. It looked so peaceful, and I almost forgot about it being hurt. As I began to bandage up its wing and set her leg, I couldn’t help but try and guess as to what this creature was. It was certainly no bird like I had ever seen. After I got it taken care of, I walked over to my computer and began to type in characteristics that this creature had. It looks like a pony, it has wings, and it looks like nothing I have ever seen before. I typed in pony and wings into a search engine and hit enter. Immediately I was bombarded by page after page of Greek mythology and legends. I clicked on the first one and began to read:
Pegasus is one of the best known mythological creatures in Greek Mythology. It is a winged horse usually depicted as white in color. In the 20th and 21st century, it appeared in movies, in fantasy, in video games and in role playing, where by extension, the term Pegasus is often used to refer to any winged horse.
Hmmm…so it is a Pegasus! But they are suppost to just be myth! Could they really exist and no one knows about them? I turned around and stared at the Pegasus on my couch. Of course! How could I have missed it? With all of the video games I play, how could it have slipped my mind? But as I continued to stare at this creature that should not exsist, I couldn’t help but start to worry. What do I do now?