© J.B. Norman — Published by Emona Literary Services™
“Oh, bless your heart,” Egeria wearily says to the parrot. “Y’all can’t just fly up to somebody and tell ‘em you want a cracker. Y’all need to keep in mind the reciprocal nature o’ the Social Contract governing interactions between people. Or, uh, people an’ parrots, as the case may be.”
“Egeria,” Amara asks, her bewildered gaze shifting between her cousin and the parrot, “what in the world are you doing?”
“Gosh, Cousin Amy, me an’ Paulinus here was just talkin’ Philosophy,” Egeria explains, as if they could possibly justify why she’s arguing with a bird.
Amara stares sceptically.
“Well,” Egeria, “Paulinus here seems to think it’s sufficient to just want a cracker. Whereas, I’m of the mind that ya gotta yerself worthy of the cracker first. And all I’m seeing is one naughty bird with his soul all outta whack who won’t get his Spirit in there and rule his Appetites.”
Amara stares sceptically.
“He’s a parrot, Egeria,” Amara mutters.
“An’ he should be being the best dang parrot he can be,” Egeria counters. “An’ not just some cracker-crazed bottomless pit.”
“Just give the poor thing a cracker, Egeria,” Amara insists
“Tell ya what,” Egeria says to the parrot. “Y’all at least prove to me ya been listenin’, and I’ll give ya a cracker. We been over this and over this, so I want y’all to tell me the three parts o’ the soul.”
The parrot tilts his head.
“Come on, now,” Egeria urges.
“Reason,” the parrot squawks.
“And?”
“Spirit,” the parrot squawks.
“And?”
“Appetite,” the parrot squawks.
Egeria happily claps her hands.
“Good job, darlin’!” she exclaims.
She leans in close to the parrot.
“Now, don’t go blabbin’ or nothin’,” she tells him in a conspiratorial whisper, “but y’all are better at this than Cousin Amy is.”
“I’m standing right here, Egeria!” Amara exclaims.
“Want a cracker!” the parrot says.
“I did promise y’all a cracker,” Egeria says, reaching for a cracker and offering it to the parrot.
As the parrot happily munches on the cracker, Egeria continues her discourse.
“Now, we’ve gone and rightly established that the Soul got that there tripartite division,” she says. “Now, assuming that the individual Soul is a microcosm o’ the City at large, we find that the City must logically have the same tripartite division.”
She looks up at the parrot.
“Ya follow me so far?”
The parrot just happily continues munching on the cracker.
“Now, the Great Sage Zardax himself is the most influential thinker for this here well o’, well, thought,” Egeria continues. “An’ he said that just like the Soul’s got Reason, Spirit, and Appetite, the City’s got the Guardians, the Soldiers, and the People. An’ just like the just Soul is fundamentally balanced and popular orientated, the City’s got to be just the same. You still followin’ me?”
The parrot just happily continues munching on the cracker.
“What do you think, Cousin Amy?” Egeria asks, turning towards her cousin.
Amara is dozing by the window, resting her head on the arm propped up an elbow.
More Realmgard Short Scenes here.
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