Jackson was never really known much for his athletic ability.
He knew this pretty well.
Despite all the caretakers telling him that he had nice long legs that could help him run, Jackson found he was much better at falling than he ever was at running. Any time he'd play with other kids in the neighborhood or tried some of the sports played by the local schools, he found that it really wasn't his thing. It was like he wasn't used to his body.
He was pretty limber. He was pretty tall compared to most of the kids his age. But it was like his bones were growing faster than the rest of him could catch up. It left him looking pretty weak looking. And it was almost like Jackson wasn't used to the height himself at that age. He was prone to tripping a lot. The kids often made fun of his unathletic ability and his skinny weak appearance. But Jackson never really let it bother him. Because he wasn't all that interested in athletics either.
But there was one thing.
One thing Jackson was good at was that he could do numbers on those around him.
Trees.
The orphanage sat in the middle of the dense forest close to the capital. The woods were fast and stretched east of the city. It was about an eight-minute walk to reach the capital. Due to this, Jackson found that his closest neighbors and friend resembled the trees he could see out his bedroom window.
And damn could he climb trees.
He was always so fascinated with them, that even when he was learning to crawl outside, he would hold to the trunk of trees to balance. And as soon as he could carry himself he would try and itch up them.
Jackson was always made fun of for his height. But trees? Trees were meant to be tall. Trees were taller than his orphanage, and any other kid. The trees were pretty because they were tall.
And although Jackson had always experienced the world a little higher than the others, he found the view from the trees especially breathtaking. Nothing felt better than being able to peer at the ground from 15 feet away. It sometimes felt like nobody could understand. Just how amazing the trees were and how fun they were to climb and explore.
Jackson might not have been able to play soccer or throw a ball very well, but he could run miles around the other kids his age when it came to climbing trees. His long arms and lighter weight gave him the advantage to come through trees pretty easily.
It was a shame that most of the kids Jackson's age couldn't climb trees with him. Most of the kids weren't allowed to go near the forest near the capital. It was sort of known that it was bad news. Jackson never really knew why, but it kept kids away from the trees he dearly liked.
Jackson couldn't read, but he could read the script in the lines of the oak.
The trees became his safe place. WHevener the caretaker was too much, or the younger kids at the orphanage were getting on his nerves, he would often retreat to the trees. No one gets to the height he would climb. He was able to console himself in the trees until it was time for dinner. He'd go up there and think all day. Sometimes talking to the rabbits below and such.
But not every day was so lucky.
There was one tree that Jackson found to be his favorite.
This tree in particular was south of the house. It was a lot taller than the rest and full of long gentle branches filled with countless amount of beautiful free leaves that would fall weak and brittle in the winter. This was Jackson's favorite tree to climb because it was one of the most difficult. He had to be careful on each branch to not break it, but it was also quite the climb. It took forever to climb, but once near the top, there was one particular branch that held strong enough to support Jackson's weight. He would sit up there till the air was too cold for him to take.
He didn't climb it very often because the caretakers always hated when he would climb that high. So he would save it for special occasions or when the caretakers were busy with someone else.
This day, in particular, there was a water leak in the bathroom. The caretaker was trying to woo the handyman as he repaired the sink. It had been some months since he had been able to climb a tree in particular. So he took his chance to escape.
The air was warm and damp. It was in the dead middle of summer and the humidity stuck to your skin like lotion. Jackson found his body heavier when he climbed up each branch of the tree. but he found himself even more accelerated as he climb up to each and every branch, finally making it to his favorite spot.
When he reached it, he exhaled a large breath he felt he had been holding. Glad to finally be there. The air was thickening above, and it felt like the wind pressed against the sweat on his forehead, cooling him down.
He smiled widely down at the land before him, the rest of the world below him looking so tiny.
If he peaked in front of him, he was barely above the roof of the orphanage. If he tried hard enough, maybe, just maybe, he would be able to leap onto the top of it. Jackson didn't dare dream to try to. Of course, it was too dangerous of a leap. And even if he did manage to get to the top of the roof, then he would have no idea how to get down.
Jackson relaxed into the center of the tree, gazing out onto the roof, imagining what it would be like to actually be on top of his roof for a few minutes.
Jackson heard the shift in some leaves next to him. There were also a lot of animals near the woods. More of them only came out at night. There was nothing to be scared of. It was mostly rabbits and squirrels which were far more scared of him than he was of them. He assumed the noise was probably them.
But when he turned to look, he was face to face with a whole new thing.
On the branch adjacent to him stood a huge, huge bird. It was dark, almost black. Jackson hadn't even noticed it in the shadows if it weren't for its bright orange-looking eyes that peered right at him. The bird must have been at least four feet, seeing how as it perched on the branch, he looked way bigger than Jackson in his sitting position. He had a long narrow beak that touched the soft part of his stomach. It stood with its neck in, staring directly into Jackson's eyes.
Jackson sat completely in fear. He had never seen a bird this big. He had no idea they even existed. The bird didn't do anything for a second. It stood so perfectly still that for a second there, Jackson assumed that the bird wasn't even real, or that he was seeing things.
But in the next second, it moved. It stretched its wings out, which made him four times bigger. Jackson swore for a second that the wingspan was twice his size and that in a second, the wings would make him whole. All he could see for a second was the bright blue pattern under the windows of the bird, as it shook its wings out.
Jackson yelped loudly and threw himself backward, any attempt to get away from the fucking terrifying thing and save his own life. He had never felt such fear before.
Throwing himself backward was very stupid. Because in the mists of his fear he had forgotten where exactly he was. On a tree. Many many feet up. Jackson hadn't even the time to process the action before gravity took control. He hadn't fallen out of a lot of trees. Usually, Jackson is a lot more diligent than that. But now he was fullying falling, crashing into dozens of branches.
His back hit the weak branches are they crumbled against his weight, slowing him down but not stopping him by any means. The sharp branches tore at his clothes and skin as he reached out to try and quickly grab whatever branch was under him.
It felt like he was falling forever, the panic making each second an eternity. He grasped out in a panic, trying to reach each branch but failing. His hand found one of the branches near the bottom, gripping it with all his might. The gravity pulled his feet down but his hand kept sturdy to the branch for only a few seconds before this branch came down as well, causing Jackson to fall the rest of the three feet.
He hit the ground and let his feet tumble as he rolled. He looked up, the wind knocked out of him, trying to grapes any kind of breath while his body stung from the sharp pain of scratches all over his arm. But he lived.
Jackson looked up in disbelief once catching his breath. And once gazing at the top of the tree, he could still see the large bird staring down at him all cocky.
The blood drained from Jackson's face as he scrambled to the ground. "MARY!" He cried out to the caretaker as he fled to the scene terrified.
Jackson never went back to that particular tree.
