Fly With Your Heart

Chapter Seven

     I woke up and stretched my wings. A moon later, miraculously, my feathers had grown back. Although they weren't as shiny as before, I was glad to see that I looked like an adult golden eagle now. I walked out of the pine box and shook myself. The dew that settled on the grass sparkled in the morning light. Kinosew was waiting on a branch above me.

     "Good morning Kîsik. Are you ready to begin?"

     I climbed onto a branch in front of me. "Ready as I'll ever be!" Kinosew nodded, and picked me up in his talons. He lifted me up to his branch, and I regained my balance. He jumped off and flapped to the closest one.

     "Now copy me." I took a deep breath, and jumped. I lifted my wings and flapped them, reaching the perch. I landed smoothly and looked to Kinosew. He bobbed his head excitedly. "Good, good! Did you feel the air pass through your feathers?"

     "Yeah, why?"

     Kinosew waggled one of his wings, motioning to me to turn around. I did, and he pointed to my tail feathers. "You can control the air flow around your body using your wing feathers and your tail. Let's focus on your tail. How do you think you turn?"

     I twisted my head back and looked at my tail. "With this?" I asked.

     Kinosew nodded. "Spread them out and angle them left, and right. Yes, yes! When you lower the left side of your tail, you'll turn left. Lower the right side, and you'll fly right." I tried it out, turning my tail feathers. Kinosew glided down to the farthest corner of the cage and instructed, "fly to me."

     I surveyed the path. There were three branches between him and me, each one lower than the first. I jumped off and reached the first branch. I repeated this process until I was standing next to my cagemate.

     He whistled in joy. "Fly back up the same way." I sighed, and fly-hopped up from branch to branch. As I went, I remembered something Kinosew had said. He had said that he needed to understand the saying 'fly with your heart' before he flew. I was now standing at the second-last branch. The final one was a wingspan away, and higher than my head. I don't think I can do that, I thought, I don't know how to fly, so I can't get up there.

     "Kinosew, I don't think I can make it." I said hesitantly.

     He frowned. "Of course you can! You just have to –" he cut himself off and clamped his beak shut. I tilted my head, confused.

     "What do I have to... do I need something?" I asked, and Kinosew shook his head.

     "Remember the saying 'fly with your heart'. I know, you're hearing it being repeated to you again and again. But you have to understand, Kîsik, that you can practice 'till the day you die and never once will you fly if you don't understand what that saying means." I nodded solemnly. I looked at the last branch, and sighed as I glided down to my stump. Kinosew sighed as well, and went back into his box.

     I glanced up at the sky. New, dark gray clouds had rolled in. They hung low, and the wind blew strongly above me. For a moment, I thought I saw three golden birds circling above me. "Yôtin? Atâhk? Waskôw? I asked. I blinked, and the dots were gone. Just my imagination. I looked down at my talon. The string the Featherless Creature had tied was there, along with a new, shiny ring. It showed that I belonged to them, and that scared me.

     I had once thought of myself as free, a proud bird, ruler of the sky. But that was back when I was a chick, and now I was here. I remembered how it felt when I jumped from the nest. I had only glided, but it was so close to flying, that it might as well have been. I heard a clicking noise behind me, so I turned around.

     One of those Creatures was coming in, and she had a cover on her hand. I shuffled my talons as she neared me. I thought I was healthy? That I didn't need to be checked anymore? I cawed angrily as I was forced to step up onto her hand. She mistook it for a welcome.

     "Hey Ella, how are you?" It stroked my neck feathers, and I hissed at it. "Are you tired? Here, come with me, and I'll take you to the arena." The Creature started walking back out, and I shrieked in surprise. Where is she taking me? I noticed she wasn't holding my string, so I did the next best thing I could think of. I flapped my wings, and glided off her arm. She called out to me, but when I landed I turned on her.

     She had ran forward and reached out to me, but I snapped my beak at her outstretched talon. I bit onto one of her claws and shook, not letting go. It cried out in pain, and wrenched its talon away from me. Blood dripped down her arm. "Stay away from me!" I screamed, spreading my wings and holding them around me in a threatening stance.

     The Featherless Creature barked angrily and ran away, locking the cage entrance shut. Kinosew looked out from his box. "Are you sure you should have done that?" He asked sceptically. I glared at him.

     "She was taking me! I didn't want to go, and I couldn't make her understand any other way!" He sighed reluctantly and retreated again.

     "I just hope they don't forget to feed us because of this." I stamped my feet angrily. I hated being dependant on them, I hated being trapped here. I glanced back at the sky, the at the cage walls. They shook in the wind, thin gray wires rattling against the tree posts. I hopped around the space, inspecting the mesh.

     In some places, it was strong. It stood and didn't give to my weight when I leaned against it. But in one place, the wires sagged back. I looked at them hopefully, and tugged at them with my beak. A whining groan interrupted me. Just outside the cage, an old pine tree danced in the wind. It shook so violently, that I thought it would crash down here and now.

     I fly-hopped away and landed in the corner. As I stood there in fear, pressed against the wire, one of my talons caught into it. I hissed in pain and pulled away. Some of the mesh was hanging loose. Not a lot, but enough stuck out to cut me. I checked my talon and was relieved to see that it wasn't as bad as it felt.

     I returned my attention to the cage. I hooked my beak into the gray twigs and pulled, hard. They went with me, but not enough to escape from. I shook my head to clear the earthy taste from my mouth. I looked back at the shaking tree. Maybe... if the storm blows it over and hits the cage, then Kinosew and I can escape!

     I fly-hopped to my stump, then made my way to the sleeping box in the corner. "Kinosew! Kinosew!" I called. "I have an idea!" He lifted his head from under his wing. "Oh, sorry I woke you. But I think we can get out of here soon!"

     He looked surprised to hear that. "Kîsik, there is no way," he said sadly, "the Featherless Creatures have caught us, and we will never be free again." I glared back at him, and hopped out into the dim gray light. The clouds covered the sun, almost like they had covered Kinosew's hope long ago.

     If there was any way that either of us would get out of here, I would have to fly. My freedom, my very existence hung on the balance. I could feel it just as I felt this storm brewing. Someday, I will fly, I thought, I have to believe I will.

     And that was it. I believed.