Flying High
By Sarah Monroe
The cool night air bit into my flesh painfully, but I ignored it. That’s what I got for
wearing just a tank top with my jeans and Vans. From the roof I was perched on, I
could see into the rooms of every house in the town. I could see parents tucking
their young children into bed, a mother nursing her baby, and a family watching TV
together.
I hadn’t had a family like that since I was five.
Unfurling my large golden wings, I ran and jumped off the edge of the roof,
and flew high and fast. The cold breeze slid along my feathers, and I felt the relief
that only came with flying. I turned east, back to the beach where I was supposed to
be. Once landed, I kicked off my shoes and let the still-warm sand run between my
toes. A tall, silvery figure approached me.
“Skye, where the hell have you been?” Wrath asked me testily. The angry scar
that ran from his cheek to shoulder was the same silver as his hair and eyes in the
moonlight. His wings matched.
“I want a family.” I told him, ignoring his question. “I want parents that love
and take care of me. I want to live a normal life.”
Wrath sighed, impatiently pushing the long hair out of his face. “You know
why you don’t have a family – they died in that fire when you were five… just like
mine, and just like Luke’s. And say that we did get adopted before we escaped from
that damned orphanage, what would your new parents do when they saw your wings?
Would they freak out? Would they sell you for money? Yes, because you’re a freak
of nature! No matter what you do you’ll always be the outsider!”
I’d been holding back tears during his speech, but now they flowed in hot
streams down my cheeks. Wrath was right, which made it worse. I hated it when he
was right… which was often. Anyone who saw our wings would sell us to the
media, or worse, to some science laboratory. We’d either be stared at or dissected.
And my family… Oh how I missed them. The mother and father that I had
faint memories but no photos of, and the unborn brother I never had a chance to
meet. Fire was my worst enemy for taking away my 5 year old world. But then
again, I would never have met Luke and Wrath without it. The latter I could deal
with not knowing, but the former… well, that was something I didn’t even want to
think about.
As if knowing I was thinking about him, Luke came into view from some trees,
and I noticed for the first time how long his beautiful golden hair had grown. I
looked down at my own chocolate-brown hair and saw that it had grown longer too,
almost to the small of my back. At that moment, I didn’t care. Luke must’ve seen
the melancholy expression on my face, because he came over and wrapped me in his
arms.
“We should leave…” Was all he said before letting me go, unfurling his wings
and leaping into the clear night air.
I followed, and Wrath too. We didn’t fly in any sort of organised formation;
we just went wherever. Wrath, being twenty and the oldest, was of course the fastest.
But then again, we were all pretty fast, so it only took around fifteen minutes to get
from the Gold Coast to Brisbane. Yes, we were on the east coast of Australia.
Night in the city street was absolute bliss. People were everywhere, and all the
lights were like brilliant stars close to Earth. There was so many noises and activity,
I didn’t know where to look. It was exciting… no, exhilarating. My senses were in
overload. The scent of curried chicken from a nearby restaurant, flashing lights on a
hotel sign, car horns beeping away, the feel of the humidity that curled my hair…
We reluctantly found our way to the museum at South Bank, where we were to
meet someone under the life-size whale models that hung from the ceiling. A strange
note we found in China Town, Melbourne, had told us to.
We waited, and waited, and waited, until I felt like I was going to fall asleep
on my feet. But then a small girl of about eleven came up to us, which was quite
unexpected. Someone so young shouldn’t have been out alone, and at night especially.
“Hello, my name’s Emily.” The young girl told us in a high, sweet voice. Her
hair was golden brown, and her eyes a bright blue. I thought I saw a flash of white
wings on her back, but couldn’t be sure. That is, until she said: “What you just saw
is real. I’m just like you – nephilim – the offspring of humans and angels.” Emily
flicked back her golden hair and smiled wide. She was adorable. “I’m also Luke’s
younger sister… Or I should really say half-sister, because we have different human
mothers. But now, Luke, our daddy’s been waiting a long time to find you. You’re
all welcome to come back to my house, because really, he wants to meet all of you.
It’s rare for there to be so many nephilim in the same area, and around the same
age…”
The three of us stood staring at this young girl, who though talkative,
unknowingly answered the question we’d been brooding over the last few weeks –
What are we? But now that there was an answer, what was there to do? Was there
some sort of purpose in our lives… Like a reason half-breeds like us even existed?
But really, we had nothing to do but follow Emily back to where Luke’s angel
parent was waiting.
I wanted to look for my real dad next. Whoever he was, and wherever he was,
I would find him.
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Sarah is from the Gold Coast, Australia. She writes under the pseudonym Vanessa Belle
check out her facebook page HERE
Keep up the writing, Sarah! We look forward to seeing more of your work! (*cough* guest post)
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As always, drop in and visit my website!
www.TheNeverChronicles.com
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