Unforgettable Journey (1/1)

On a beautiful summer morning, Jiyong set the gift from his friend on the table. One of his great companions gave it to him just minutes before with great enthusiasm. Jiyong thanked him and couldn't wait to open it. The gift was a bit heavy, making him very curious as to what it contained. He wasted no time in opening the box and looking inside.Brownies.It had been ages since Jiyong last saw brownies, and he engulfed three pieces immediately. They were delicious. Jiyong savored the strong chocolatey body, and the sweet aftertaste. Nothing was better than brownies in the morning according to Jiyong. Just then, he remembered it was Wednesday, a very special day. Jiyong leapt from the table, spread his wings, and flew to the top shelf to get his keys, and shoved them in his pocket. The bird-man ran out his door and turned right.A particulary ugly little parrot-woman opened the door of her treehouse to take her daily dump, and just missed Jiyong. A spot of white stained the ground beside him and he was absolutely disgusted. He hated it when other creatures shat in his presence. So, he did what any other creature would do: shout at the parrot-woman."Hey!!" Jiyong looked up. "Watch your shit!!""Sorry," the parrot-woman squawked. "You don't have to be so anal."Jiyong shook his head in frustration and walked on. Other creatures seemed to always get on his bad side whenever he went out. The horse-people seemed to try to run him over, the lions would roar their loudest, and the watch dogs gave him the stink eye. Seriously, it made Jiyong want to just explode on the jungle dwellers. But his mommy had always told him to be kind, so that's what he did, hard as it may be.As if from another cruel deal of fate, a horse-man neighed extremely loud as he was crossing an intersection and began to shout at him. A watch dog watched the whole thing and came to dog them."What's going on?" the watch dog flashed his collar."This stupid guy crossed the street as I was coming in fast," the horse-person put on a long face."I'm sorry," Jiyong looked down. "I was just...on my way to the...you know.""Ah," the watch dog nodded. "It's not that far, right?""Yes. It's only a few blocks of trees away.""You may go."Jiyong thanked the watch dog and skipped along. The watch dog asked the horse-man if he was alright, and the latter just said that he was as healthy as a horse. Jiyong was thankful for the watch dog's help, and was glad to be on his way to there again. After all, his special keys would unlock the treasures awaiting. The jungle was a bustle of creatures rushing to wherever they were headed. It was easy to get lost in the midst of them, but Jiyong knew the way well."Such a pretty young bird," a voice from one of the shadows called out.Jiyong stopped in fear and looked to the right. Indeed, there was a ragged old creature sitting in the shadows."Are you talking to me?" Jiyong's eyes widened."Yes," the retired watch dog stood up. "What's your name?""I can't stay," Jiyong's little heart grew scared."Come on," the watch dog smiled. "Want something nice?""Nice?""Something doggy style.""Like what?""Nevermind, airhead."With that, Jiyong continued skipping to that place, wondering what the hell that "nice doggy style thing" was. Oh well, it wasn't like Jiyong wanted to bend over backwards (or forward) to find out what it was. Retired watch dogs were usually pathetic and whimpy anyway, and required a lot of work to stand fully. Jiyong didn't like to put the extra effort to keep an old watch dog roused. He was happy to have gotten out of that situation easily.So on the bird went, skipping his cute talons on the jungle floor, when another mishap was unfolding. From one of the treehouses came a rolling hippopotamus who was quite an ignoramus singing a sweet serenade. This ignoramus of a hippopotamus, who was referred to as Aunt Fanny, sang as she bounced along. Her booties were huge. She had seemed to buy them from a run down shoe shop, as they were sagging and losing their shape. It was unfortunate since they were obviously once beautiful to look at, hold, and be inside. That wasn't the problem, however.The hippopotamus was walking in the direction of that place, and blocking Jiyong's way. Her sagging booties swung from side to side as she walked much too slowly for the poor bird's taste. If he were a ruder bird, Jiyong would've took these booties in both hands and shoved the ignoramus to the side. But no, he had to try to remember that this hippo was a lady, an older one, and that would be unacceptable. He much preferred to have his own booties taken, but let's not talk about that.Jiyong was that much closer to reaching his destination when the hippo finally took a turn, and he couldn't be happier. It was the day when he was expecting something great from there. Surely, his wait for this amazing treasure would be worth it. After all, only he could open this box and take its contents.With his destination finally in sight, Jiyong's little bird heart jumped in joy. It wasn't that long a journey from his house, but he was so excited that the walk there seemed too long. But now, he was so close that he broke out into a light trot. The world around Jiyong became an unnoticed blur, and that was a bad thing to do in a jungle. For as he was trodding along..."Get out of the way, you little idiot!!"Jiyong was shocked to find that a horse-man was charging forward and couldn't stop so suddenly. The bird-man was hit with a surge of fear. A spark of desperation had him leaping forward, and he swore he could feel the horse-man's side brush against his feet. The horse-man stopped several feet past Jiyong, and he went back."What's the matter with you," the horse-man shouted. "You trying to--Jiyong?"Jiyong looked back and smiled."Hey Youngbae," Jiyong waved. "You nearly killed me.""What the hell were you doing running across a busy street?" Youngbae put his hand over his heart. "I could have ran over you, and that would be the end of it.""Well, I'm okay. And by the way, thanks for the brownies.""You're welcome," Youngbae chuckled. "I can see you had some.""I gotta get going," Jiyong stood up and brushed himself off. "I'll see you later."Jiyong made the rest of the way to that place without any more problems like that. He couldn't believe he let himself get carried away like that. Jiyong opened the doors to the building and made his way to his personal treasure box. The wait had been killing him, and he enthusiastically took out his keys and opened the box...Nothing."Damn it," Jiyong muttered. "Mail must be slow." That evening, Jiyong picked up his phone and dialed the familiar number. The line rang several times before Youngbae answered."What the hell were you thinking, Youngbae?" Jiyong went right to the point. "Never put weed in my brownies again. I thought I was a fucking bird."...