Caged in bars of water, the firebirds were kept in captivity as they were pets as they had amused the magicians who created them, the cages of water would extinguish them of their existence; they had no life force before this, no consciousness of the world before they were created, not only were birds formed, but other creatures kept as amusement for these men of magic and power. There were places of fire, fires that lived as a natural part of the world and had never been created by the minds of the magicians. For the warriors of fire, the birds were the lookouts in times of war, spies or hunters; they were embraced, loved, and coveted as companions and confidants; as the warriors passed on as their fires were and are extinguished in time, the birds of free fires were set free, they were different from the caged birds of the magicians, as they were part of nature. The magicians had repeatedly tried to capture, to cage these birds as bragging pieces to say they had more extraordinary powers than others. The sprites or twirlers of light, as some called them fairies, laughed at the magicians because they knew the skills in capturing the free birds of fire, and magicians didn’t know how to do this.
Tav felt dismal and dead, as it was an eternity in captivity, he was one of the created firebirds who was made, yet at times he swore that he remembered life before his creation. One day as if it were years, he tried to figure out a way to be free from the cage of water. He reasoned the core strength of his fires had a way of breaking the bars of water. There had been slight communication with water; then, suddenly, Tav could have entire conversations with the bars of water as they became friends. Eventually, when the magicians weren’t watching, the water bars lowered themselves, and Tav flew away to the outside world; it was a long while before the magician knew of Tav’s disappearance.
Tav was careful not to perch in the forest; otherwise, it would catch fire; he knew there were certain places where he could not go, and another dilemma came to him. He would search for other firebirds.
The firebirds like Tav were my creations representing the metaphor from other traditional spiritual traditions that used water to wash away impurities with water and fire. It was said whatever didn’t wash away with water was purified through fire. Fire had been used for cooking, keeping warm, and running engines; it was about the steam and combustion engines; although it wasn’t fire, the sun’s warmth towards the earth provided the energy as the driving force of life. The water wheel, washing to keep clean, and rains for the cultivation of crops. There were many uses for water and fire, a harmony to save the world going.
Robert J. Matsunaga
