Phantasmagoria

She was a strange creature, half woman, half bird, with the head and upper body of a beautiful woman and the lower body of a hummingbird and a seagull. She lived in a world that was just as strange and unreal, full of bizarre shapes and colors that were constantly changing. She flew freely through the skies, aimless and carefree, until one day she fell into a

Cases

A dark shadow fell over her as a huge net fell from the sky and caught her. She struggled and screamed, but it was too late. She was locked in a cage attached to an airship piloted by a man who introduced himself as a professor. He said he was a researcher who wanted to explore the secrets of this world, and she was

His most valuable find.

He called it his “Phantasmagoria.”

She was disturbed and scared. She didn't know what to think of the professor who had kidnapped her. She was trapped in a web of lies and secrets, and she couldn't escape. The professor explained to her that he would take her on a journey to explore the wonders of the world. But she sensed that something was wrong. She had to find a way to escape this nightmare world and find out the truth. She would fight to regain her freedom and uncover the professor's secrets.

She hated him and his cage that took away her freedom. She longed for the sky and the clouds, the wind and the sunlight. She cried and begged, but he did not listen to her. He said he wanted to study her and understand what she was and where she came from. He said he wanted to help her see her true nature. He said he wanted to show her something.

He led her to a mirror that hung on the wall of the cage. He told her to look in it. She did so reluctantly and was frightened. In the mirror she did not see herself, but a completely normal woman, like those who lived on earth. She wore clothes and shoes, had hair and hands. She looked like one of many.

She didn't believe him. She shook her head and screamed:

"No! That's not true! That's a lie! I'm not a human woman, I'm a Phantasmagoria! I'm free and happy! I want to get out of here! I want to go back to my world!"

"That's you"

, said the professor.

"This is your true form. You are not a phantasmagoria, you are a human woman. You only turned into a bird woman because you got lost in this world. This world is not real, it is just an illusion created from your dreams and fears. You locked yourself in a cage because you were afraid of reality. But I can help you to free yourself. You just have to believe in yourself."

But the more she protested, the more her reflection changed. Her wings shrank and disappeared, her feathers turned to skin, her claws turned to fingers. She felt her strength fade and her soul die. She became what the professor wanted to show her.

She gave up. She accepted her fate. She became a human woman.

The professor smiled contentedly. He opened the cage and let her out. He said:

"Welcome to reality."

She followed him obediently. She had forgotten who she was.

They boarded the airship that was supposed to take them to another world. A world that the professor called the "real" world. A world that she did not know and could not understand. A world that frightened her.

She looked out the window and saw her world for the last time. The world she loved and missed. The world she thought was an illusion. She saw the shimmering colors and shapes that were constantly changing. She saw the other beings that were like her, half human, half animal. She saw the sky and the clouds, the wind and the sunlight.

She felt a stab in her heart. She felt a longing that she couldn't explain. She felt a spark glowing inside her.

She turned away and looked at the professor. He was sitting next to her and holding her hand. He smiled at her and said:

"You don't have to be afraid. I am with you. I will show you everything and explain it. I will give you a new life."

She didn't return his smile. She felt nothing for him. She felt nothing for herself.

She only felt emptiness.

She didn't know how long they had been in the airship. She didn't know where they were going. She didn't know what to expect. She only knew that she didn't want anything more.

The professor talked a lot. He told her about his world, about his work, about his plans. He told her about the wonders she would see, about the joys she would experience, about the love he would give her. He told her about himself.

She didn't listen to him. She only heard the sound of the wind, the roar of the engine, the beating of her heart. She only heard her own voice whispering to her:

“This is not your life. This is not your world. This is not you.”

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She tried to dream. She tried to forget.

But she couldn't.

She felt something inside her. Something that was stirring. Something that was resisting. Something that was remembering.

She felt her wings.

She opened her eyes and looked down at herself. She saw her legs turning into feathers. She saw her feet turning into claws. She saw her hands turning into wings.

She felt a pain in her back. She felt something detaching from her skin. She felt something spreading.

She felt her second wings.

She was a phantasmagoria.

She was free.

She jumped up and broke free. She ran to the window and smashed it. She jumped out and flew away.

The professor screamed and ran after her. He shouted:

"No! Come back! You're mine! You're mine!"

He reached for her and narrowly missed her. He fell out of the window and fell into the depths.

He was dead.

She was alive.