Suddenly, a mournful, echoing cry comes out of the sky above you. You look up into the endless field of blue and white and see the most beautiful bird you've ever seen, soaring high above you. You follow it with your eyes until it glides down to a tree branch about ten feet ahead of you. It flaps it's huge wings and tucks them next to it's body as it aligns. It has a mixture of emerald green, gold, ruby red, and sapphire blue feathers that glitter like jewels in the sunlight. It's breast is covered in gold feathers, and it's feet are soft and elegant and not scraggily at all. It's talons are smooth and sharp. It's head is ruby red and it's beak is long and gold. It's eyes seem like a rainbow that sparkles with intelligence. You could stare into the bird's eyes for hours.
You stare at the bird some more. It cocks it's head and... smiles at you? If that's the right word. Then it opens it's beak and utters the most beautiful bride cry you've ever heard. It speaks of wide open skies, lush green pastures, and freedom. Then it smiles(?) at you again and flaps it's wings, flying again and swooping down to you. You jerk back instinctively at first, but the bird simply aligns itself on your shoulder. It smells like perfume. It stares at you again and you are hypnotized. It reaches it's long, elegant neck down towards your front shirt pocket and snatches your keys. You're so transfixed you don't even notice.
Then it utters another cry, but this one is not beautiful. It's mean. It's right in your ear and it sounds mocking. Triumph, even. It flies off your shoulders, your keys dangling innocently in it's long beak. "HEY! COME BACK HERE!" you yell, looking up at the bird as you chase it. It soars higher into the sky, being careful not to open it's beak, lest it drop your keys.
As you chase it, you continue to look up, not seeing where your feet are. Somehow your body seems to tell you when to jump over a stream, when to dart to the left and when to duck with you still looking up at the sky. The sun is going down and the sky turns yellow to orange to pink to red. It gets later and later, sunlight still shining on the bird, more beautiful than ever now in the fading light.
Suddenly, the bird begins to descend. It flies lower and lower in the now dark black and flaming orange dusk sky. It swoops down suddenly, keys still in beak, and it lands on a gnarled tree about two feet higher than you can reach. You are suddenly drawn back to the world around you and you stop.
You're in the middle of a field of dead grass, brown and yellow. On three sides around you lie black mountains, rising like spires in the twilight. Behind you is a forest full of tall, dark trees. It's just then when you realize how dark it's gotten. A mist has jumped up and you realize there's only about twenty minutes of light left before it will be considerably dark. The bird, however, seems to glow like a night light in the dark. It's body shoots out jets of colored light. It's rainbow eyes have turned a hellish red and it smiles evilly at you.
It opens it's beak and lets out a screeching noise, like a demon from hell. You felt blood trickling out of your ears and clap your hands too them. You watch in horror as the beautiful feathers fall off the bird, revealing feathers black as midnight underneath. It's beak and legs turn gray and a huge, very devilish-looking bird sits on the tree before you. It tosses you back your keys and you catch them.
As if you're going to need them now. The bird screeches again and flies off into the rapidly darkening sky, leaving you alone in a strange, dark place many, many miles from anywhere you recognize.