Take these broken wings
“Harry, it’s time for school”, Anne said softly, knocking on Harry’s door.
“Yeah Mum, I’ll be right down.” He heard footsteps descending down the stairs and he sighed. He really didn’t feel like going to school. It’s not like he had friends anyway.
After his coming out had backfired, the few friends he did have had left him. Now everyone only knew him as the gay fairy. It wasn’t like he got bullied. He just got ignored. But that was even worse. Being ignored feels like not existing, being invisible but not temporarily. No one can or wants to see you. It makes you feel worthless, like you could die and no one would care. It leaves a numb feeling and a gaping hole.
Harry sighed again and trotted down the stairs, bag slung over his shoulder.
“Good morning baby. Do you want me to bring you to school?” Anne asked, handing her son a bowl of cereal with milk.
“Thanks Mum, and I’m walking. I like a bit of fresh air to wake up in the mornings.” He downed his cereal quickly and kissed Anne’s cheek. “Bye Mum. I’ll see you after school.”
“Bye baby, have fun!” He smiled at her. If she only knew. He closed the door behind him and started the walk towards school.
Every day, Anne offered to drive him to school and every day, Harry declined her offer. He preferred walking and being alone with his music. He put in his earphones and played his Ed Sheeran playlist. He still had twenty minutes before first period started and it was only a five-minute walk.
But when he passed the dark alley halfway, he heard sobbing. Loud sobbing because he could hear it over Ed’s voice. Should he go in and see why someone was crying in such a dingy alley like this? He paused his music and hesitantly set one foot in the alley.
Go back, Harry, don’t do it. It could be a mad rapist’s trick to lure you into the alley, a little voice in his head whispered.
Keep moving, it’s not like anyone would miss you. And maybe whoever’s in there needs your help, another voice whispered.
“Hello? Who’s there?” he called out. The sobbing grew quieter and Harry walked further into the alley.
Go back now you still can.
Keep moving. They need your help.
Harry was determined to find the crying person. A little further down the alley, a soft glowing light was visible. It was like an invisible, illuminated person was rocking from side to side, trying to calm themself down.
“Hello? Are you okay?” A hiccup sounded and Harry was suddenly faced with a person. A boy with soft features, a flower crown on his head and wings. Soft glowing wings. So that’s what he’d seen. On a closer look, the boy also had pointy ears and sparkly pixie dust was falling rapidly off his softly fluttering wings. He looked like one of the fairies Harry had seen so many times in his fairy tale books.
“Hey, are you okay?” He gently placed a hand on the boy’s knee and felt the boy shaking like a leaf. “You don’t have to be scared of me. I won’t hurt you.”
The boy slowly lifted his face out of his hands and looked up at Harry. Harry’s breath hitched at the sight of red-rimmed blueblueblue eyes swimming with sadness. Damn, this boy was pretty.
“How do I know you will not hurt me?” the boy asked softly.
“You’ll just have to trust me”, was Harry’s answer.
The boy scoffed, rubbing his eyes with his tiny fists. “Why would I trust a human? They do nothing but destroy this beautiful planet.” He had successfully managed to wipe the tears off his face and now seemed interested in whatever Harry would reply.
