Flight For Peace - On Hold

Chapter 3

 If I am like a bird, why am I without a flock?

They fly together. Protection, family, friends, and adventure. All shared with one another. Yet here I am, alone and without a flock. Or would it be called a herd or something I do not know yet? But that doesn't matter. All that matters is this ache in my soul, similar to that when I couldn't fly.

Is it in my nature to be with others just like me? If so, why was I born all alone? Why was no one here to guide me and take me in as their own?

Ignoring a problem does not make it better. In fact, the ache in my soul has just gotten worse and worse as time passes. I have ignored it. Hoping that it would go away, that the beauty of nature would fill the void. But it was fruitless, I should have known it would be useless.

A voice in my head whispers that there are others out there waiting for me. Could this be true? Do I have a mother and father out there? A family that I can call my own?

Maybe I should go. I've been here for so long already, who knows how much longer I have left. Maybe I should be a bird and find my flock.

Something ignites in me at this moment. Yes. I can find my own flock. Whether it be creatures just like me or others who will accept me for what I am. I don't want to be lonely anymore.

I run back to my shelter, ignoring the cuts and scrapes that the undergrowth gives me. I have to prepare. I have to leave now! I rustle through my stuff, tossing berries and moss and other useful trinkets into my satchel. The leaf-made bag was something that I had made in my free time--which I had a lot of.

Once my bag is full to the brim I swing it around my long neck. This will be good enough. It had to be good enough. I had already waited too long to begin this search. My soul was screaming that I had to leave now.

Obliging, I rush around Veiled Isle, my home. Taking one last look at all of the landmarks and creatures that reside here. I may not return here. I may never see this place again. And my heart cries as I reach the last place on the island, Isolated Sands.

This beach has become my safe haven, a place I could go on the bad days and a place with many memories. There was the rock I had carved a sun into when I was bored. There was the ocean that I had fallen into on my first flight. The same place I learned that I could breathe underwater. There was a small shelter where I used to sleep until I outgrew it. And of course, there in all of its glory was my throne.

I slowly walk towards the towering rocks, my heart began to beat faster and faster. My legs tremble as I begin to ascend the landmark. Pebbles fall to the ground as I scale the massive rocks. And all too soon, or maybe not soon enough, I was at the top.

Tears build up in my eyes as I gaze around the beach. This would be the last time that I jump off of this rock. The last time I would see this place.

Gathering my thoughts, I jump. The wind roars in my ears as I fall through the air. And then, just like the first time I jumped from this rock, I was flying.

---

I've never flown away from my home before. Sure, I've flown above the ocean, but I never flew away from the shore. Now, I was leaving everything I knew behind.

There is no land below me. There hasn't been any for a while. Worry seeps into my chest as I continue to fly. What if I don't find land when I need a rest? What if there is no land beside Veiled Isle?

I almost turn back. I want to, oh I want to return to the safety of what I know. But my soul won't let me. I have already left. Already made the choice to find my flock. There could be no going back now. Especially since I can't remember which way home is. What if... What if I'm going in a circle? What if I just end back up at Veiled Isle? I do not know if I would be happy or disappointed. Maybe a bit of both.

Many birds have passed me. Most in flocks but a flew flying solo. The birds flying alone reminded me of myself. They were looking for a flock, a family. And I was too.

My wings flap gently as I let the wind guide me in the sky. Flying is easy when the wind guides your flight. But all too soon the wind begins to fight me. It pushes against me, blinding my vision. It wants me to turn back. But I can't. Not now, not ever.

The wind does not die down, it grows stronger. And as it strengthens, rain begins to fall from the sky. It starts as a drizzle. And then a light rainfall. And then regular rain. Until it reaches a heavy downpour.

My scales sting from the beating of rain. My wings falter every now and then. But I keep flying. I can't stop flying until I find my flock or land. I can't stop.

But I do stop. I stop when the sky cries out and lightning strikes. I stop when my wings give out and I begin to fall. I stop when my body slams into the water's surface and into the raging waves. I stop flying when the storm makes me.

The water beats against my body as I allow myself to sink into the depths of the ocean. I'm tired and exhausted, but I want to keep flying. But I can't, not unless I want to die.

As soon as I am at a level where the water is calm, I begin to look for a place to rest. My satchel has been lost in the storm. I have nothing anymore. No food, no home, and no flock. I have never been this scared in my entire life. Not even when I found out I could breathe underwater.

Shelter is hard to find, but eventually, I find a rock that I could rest on. It is weird, sitting on a rock underwater. Above the water, the rock would usually be dry and rough. But here, the rock is smooth and slimy. Yet I can't complain, it is a place to rest. A place to wait out the storm.

I do not know how long the storm lasted. It could have been minutes or it could have been hours. But as soon as fish began to come out of hiding, I knew that the storm has passed.

To think I was fascinated by nature before, I have no idea what I would be now. The fish are beautiful. So many colors and sizes. And there were schools of fish and solo fish. Just like birds. These fish are different than the ones I would see at the shore of my home. And it makes me wonder, what else is down here? What new things can I discover?

But I must leave. I do not care how hungry I am or how exhausted I am, I must leave. I have waited too long and my soul has begun to cry again. It hurts not physically, but emotionally.

My limbs ache from exhaustion as I push off of the rock I have found solace in. Bubbles blind my vision and soon enough I break through the water's surface. The smell of rain floats in the air and the distant rumble of thunder is still here. But it is safe, at least for now, for me to continue my travel.

As I try to take off into the air, I become scared. I have never been able to take flight from the water before. Was I doomed to an existence in the deep blue ocean?

It is as if my soul whispers in my ear, telling me how I can take flight. With a burst of confidence, I dive down into the depths of the water. As the rock I had rested on comes into view, I swivel and begin to rush back to the surface. My wings stay flush against my body and I fly up into the air. Before I am able to fall back into the water, I open my wings and flap. The water around me is pushed into waves as I slowly gain height.

And I begin to fly once more.