It was THE best sensation. Yes, that's how I would describe it, a sensation. Not everyone could've had the opportunity to grow wings, much less actually have them work, but yes, it was simply wonderful.
Twelve hours ago, I was sitting on a wooden crate, caressing the feathers that were forcibly implanted into my back. I stood up abruptly and thought to myself, since I had wings that, thankfully, I was in top condition, I might as well use them. As I walked through the forest into a clearing surrounded by giant sequoias, my wings kept twitching, as if they wanted to reassure me that they're still attached and that I have a reason to jump off the tallest trees in the world. I had stumbled, I remember, at the top. A slender branch had just enough stability to support my weight. Up there, I felt alone and I felt like there was nothing that mattered, and in some way, it took my breath away. Amazingly, that was what made me jump off that branch.
Suddenly, fear gripped me and it felt like I was in shock. Open your wings, I had whispered to myself, catch the air, use wind resistance. But by the time I finally came to my senses, the ground was merely a couple meters away. I'd braced myself for the fall and rolled myself into an upright position. My feet landed flat on the floor, white pain seared up my leg, from my heels, to my ankles, through my calves and striking the top of my knee.
I don't remember much after that, just that I lay there, curled into a ball with tears stinging my eyes and my vision slowly fading and turning black. I know I remembered that I wanted to fly, because I hadn't noticed IT while I was in fear, but now I had collapsed onto the cold hard earth blanketed with leaves bight with autumn colours and I thought about IT. What's IT, you ask? The air whipping my hair, making it feel like a crown of steamers, the whooshing sound it made as it flew by my face, the way it made me feel as light as paper and most importantly the freedom I had been longing for unknowingly. That was IT, and I knew I wanted more, which gave me the willpower I needed to dust myself off and climb that tree again.
This time, I took about forty minutes climbing that tree, about four times as much as the first time. Scowling to myself, I once again heaved myself onto the exact same branch, and once again I jumped off, this time with more confidence. But yet, I wasn't able to unfurl my wings on time and crashed to the ground another time. But I was gleeful that my wings spread about a quarter of the way, taking away most of the pain caused by landing. By and by I climbed the tree and by and by I tumbled down, but each time, I was able to open my wings a little more. After the sixth time, I was truly fatigued and I leaned against the sequoia, and sighed. Glancing to my right, I caught a speck of something familiar in the middle of red and mahogany. Picking up the fragile piece of sequoia bark, I examined it.
Slowly, I bent my knees and prepared to lift myself from the branch one more time today and as I started extending my legs, the scrawny twig I had stepped on seven times snapped, leaving my knees to buckle and let me fall. Panic made my heart race and I noted that this was the most thrilling fall yet. Heck, there was no way I was letting this end. Grinning like an idiot, I knew this was my war to win. My brilliant white wings unfolded and light blue shadings that I never noticed before appeared, glinting in the sunset. I wasn’t done yet. Summoning all my strength, I beat them against the fluff-like wind. With speed and overwhelming joy, I shot upward and hit nothing but pure contentment. Bringing my wings up, I stayed up there, watching the trees swaying in Wick Wood and I’d sighed, my feathers rippled as the light air blew little breaths on it.
England is beautiful, New Forest national park along with it. I stayed about five or ten minutes. Curfew was at seven. You might be thinking, eleven hours of practicing for five minutes of flight? So not worth it. But here, coming from an aves-human hybrid, it definitely was.
So now, I’m lying on my bed covered with wrinkled, pink-purple sheets typing and longing to sneak out and fly again. …Nah, if there are people like us, there are probably vampires out hunting or something. Wow, that just turned the whole world upside down. Did that mean there were unicorns and zombies, too? Great. But now I’m getting sidetracked. Anyhow, the gift of flight was really comforting, because even if there was all that stuff out there, I had my powerful wings. Hmm…the gift of flight, I like the sound of that, and to all of you reading this, I sure hope you don’t have to get anything surgically implanted, but if you’re ever offered the chance to fly, take it, it will be
Sen. Sa. Tion. Al.
