You wake in the tower. The air is cold. It smells of dust and old stone. You are naked. You are cold. The light is grey. It comes through the narrow slit. You look at your hands. They are smooth. They are young. But they feel heavy. You know why. You are the Keeper. You have been the Keeper for a thousand years. Or maybe just a few days. Time does not matter here. Time is a thing you eat.

The Great Bird is in the cage. It is white. It is still. Its eyes are closed. It looks like a stone. It looks like snow. It has not moved. You remember when it sang. The song was gold. It lit up the dark. You remember the first day. You were a girl. You were afraid. You were hungry. The Bird gave you warmth. It gave you light. You gave it your name. You gave it your voice. The contract was simple. Stay. Watch. Do not let the light die.

You have stayed. You have watched. The light has died. Now there is only the bird. And you. And the stone walls.

You walk to the cage. The bars are iron. They are cold. You touch them. The metal bites your skin. You do not feel pain. You have not felt pain in a long time. Pain is for the living. You are not alive. You are a shadow. You are a function. You are the Keeper.

The Bird shifts. Its feathers ruffle. A low sound comes from its throat. It is not a song. It is a groan. It is the sound of something breaking. You lean in. You look into its eyes. They are open now. They are black. They are empty. You see yourself in them. You see your own emptiness. You see the years. You see the silence.

You want to scream. You cannot. You have no voice. You gave it away. You gave it for the light. You gave it for the warmth. Now you have nothing. You have only the cage. And the Bird. And the memory of what you were.

The memory is sharp. It cuts. You were Eleanor. You were a woman. You had a face. You had a body. You had a life. You had a lover. His name was Thomas. He smelled of rain and earth. He touched your hair. He held your hand. He said, "Stay with me." You said, "I will." But you did not stay. You came here. To the tower. To the Bird. You wanted something more. You wanted to be important. You wanted to be eternal. You thought the Bird would give you that. It gave you time. It took your life.

You are furious. The anger is hot. It burns in your chest. It is the first thing you have felt in a long time. You are not a shadow. You are a woman. You are Eleanor. You are young. You are strong. You will not be a Keeper. You will not be a slave. You will take back your voice. You will take back your life. You will break the contract.

You look at the Bird. It is watching you. It knows. It always knows. It waits. It has waited for a thousand years. It expects you to fail. It expects you to stay. It expects you to rot in the tower with it. But you will not. You are smarter. You are quicker. You are human. Humans have tricks. Humans have wits.

You look at the cage door. It is locked. The key is in the Bird’s beak. You cannot reach it. You cannot climb the bars. The iron is too smooth. You are too weak. You are too cold. You are a prisoner. You are a fool.

You sit on the floor. The stone is hard. It hurts your knees. You do not care. You think. You must think. You must find a way. You look at the walls. They are thick. They are old. There is a crack in the mortar. A small crack. A thin line. It looks like a vein. It looks like a path.

You move to the crack. You press your fingers into it. The stone is loose. You pull. A piece breaks off. It falls to the floor. It makes a small sound. The Bird watches. It does not care. You pull again. Another piece. Another. You make a small hole. It is not big. It is small. But it is there. You can see the outside. You can see the sky. It is dark. It is night. But it is free.

You look at the Bird. It tilts its head. It seems amused. It seems sad. You do not care. You keep working. You pull the stones. You dig the hole. Your fingers bleed. The blood is red. It is warm. It is life. You smear it on the stone. You smear it on the bars. You are making a mark. You are leaving a sign. You are not alone. You are here. You are real.

The hole gets bigger. The air changes. It is fresher. It is colder. It smells of wind. It smells of grass. It smells of rain. You can hear the wind. It is a low moan. It is a song. It is the song you lost. It is the song you gave away.

You stop digging. You look at the Bird. It is still. It is white. It is cold. You hate it. You love it. You are angry. You are tired. You are ready.

You reach into the hole. Your arm goes in. It is dark. It is tight. You push. The stone scratches your skin. You push harder. Your shoulder aches. Your back aches. You push until you cannot breathe. You push until you feel faint.

Then you are through. You are on the other side. You are outside. The air hits your face. It is sharp. It is clear. It is cold. You are naked. You are shivering. You are alive.

You look back at the tower. The window is small. The hole is small. You can see the cage. You can see the Bird. It is still. It is waiting. It is not coming after you. It does not need to. You are already gone. You are already free.

You walk away. The ground is hard. The grass is wet. It sticks to your skin. You do not care. You walk. You walk faster. You run. You run to the edge of the hill. You stop. You look back. The tower is far away. It is a small black shape. It is a pin. It is a dot.

You feel light. You feel empty. You feel full. You feel nothing. You feel everything. You are free. You are free.

But the freedom is heavy. It is a stone in your stomach. It is a weight on your chest. You look at your hands. They are shaking. They are dirty. They are bleeding. You are not clean. You are not pure. You are human. You are flawed. You are weak.

You remember Thomas. You remember his hands. You remember his voice. You remember the rain. You remember the earth. You were happy. You were safe. You were loved. You left it all. You left it all for this. For the tower. For the Bird. For the light.

The light is gone. The light was a lie. The light was a trap. You were the trap. You were the bait. You were the Keeper. You were the cage.

You are not free. You are lost. You are alone. You are cold. You are hungry. You are naked. You are young. You are old. You are nothing.

You sit in the grass. The rain starts to fall. The drops are cold. They sting your skin. You close your eyes. You wait. You wait for the end. You wait for the dark. You wait for the silence.

The Bird is in the tower. It is waiting for you. It knows you will come back. It knows you are a Keeper. It knows you are bound. The contract is not broken. It is only paused. The chain is not cut. It is only stretched.

You are not free. You are a ghost. You are a shadow. You are a memory. You are a mistake.

You open your eyes. The rain is still falling. The world is grey. The world is cold. The world is empty.

You stand up. Your legs are stiff. Your muscles ache. You look at the tower. It is small. It is far. But it is there. It is waiting.

You turn back. You walk toward it. You walk slowly. You walk steadily. You walk back to the cage. You walk back to the Bird. You walk back to the light.

You are the Keeper. You are the cage. You are the Bird. You are the chain. You are the oath.

You are home.