There was once a guileless bird whose sole dream was to soar beyond the cage he was locked in.

He kept on fantasizing, wishing, praying, and who knows if it was by the benevolence of fate or a trick of destiny, he did get freed.

Without further ado, he flew as quickly and as far away from his cage as possible, only afraid that fate would change his mind regarding the bird's freedom.

The bird soared higher, higher, and higher; his chest filled with the strange feeling of exhilaration arising from deep within him.

For the first time, the bird met other beings, made friends, fell in love, and started dreaming, hoping for more.

He thought, "Nothing could ever make me feel happier."

He was right.

After so long, for another first, he experienced boredom from the tedious and dull repetitive events transpiring in his everyday life. "Isn't there anything new?"

The bird then experienced jealousy. "Why are they even trying to please that fox? I'm obviously better than him."

Slowly, the bird became cynical, as well. "That ox is definitely hiding his true nature from that crappy benign facade. He managed to trick everyone, but he can never fool me!"

.......

The river continued to flow, the wind traveled, and the stars unceasingly glimmered up in the sky; contrary to those, the bird never stopped changing as he experienced many more firsts in his life, both pleasurable and unpleasant.

Until one day, his smooth-going life had taken a sudden shift, for good.

His lover left him for another bird; worst, it was the bird that he hated the most.

A friend he trusted with his life stole plenty of his richness, then migrated to a far way sky.

Other acquaintances also avoided him; the bird's overbearing nature became cumbersome for them.

The next day, the bird was left alone.

More, more, and more. When someone asks for more, one must also prepare to become less.

That's the lesson the bird learned. But once he met another batch of friends, he, unfortunately, forgot that lesson.

Another cycle: Happiness, boredom, disappointment, betrayal...

Then another cycle...

Repeat...

The bird still never learned.

Then one last day, when the bird was so tired, so done from all, he wondered, "What is the difference between now and then? Would it have been better if I'd have stayed suffocated and isolated in my solitary cage before, only dreaming of the good things that I will never have? Or is my state right at this moment preferable, despite the concept of freedom that I once dreamt of, becoming the exact portrayer of wicked reality that kept on stifling the air I flew on?"

The bird never found the answer. All he knew was that he, from his birth, was destined to fulfill his life in solitude; confounded as to what could have gone wrong in his life. Why? Because right now, the bird is alone in its obscure nest, still expecting a friend to visit him before he breathes his last breath.