Page 29 of Bound By Destiny

Feeling lighter than I have in years, I tread cautiously to the top of the hill. The sun peeks shyly behind the mountains in the horizon, bathing everything in a tangerine glow. In the orange light, Dane looks like he was literally sculpted out of bronze, his copper hair glinting warmly in the late afternoon.

Forcing myself away from him, I take a deep breath. A hint of wind picks up, if you could even call it that. Just enough to make my hair whip across my face and my feathers flutter.

A tingling sensation creeps up my feet as I rise steadily from the ground. Without giving it a second thought, I deploy my wings, just enough so I hover delicately in the air.

Dane was right. I know just what to do.

Tentatively, I let myself drift a little further. Now I’m above the slope of the hill. If I drop now, it’d probably be a nasty fall.

A tumbleweed could wheel by, and I’d roll over it and break my neck. Or worse. An armadillo could wheel by, I’d roll over it, break my neckandkill the armadillo.

Are there even armadillos in Arizona?

“Almost there!!” I hear Dane cry in the distance. “Come on!”

I gulp as I peer down again.

Maybe there aren’t many armadillos, but there are porcupines. A porcupine could walk by, I’d roll over it, break my neck, be impaled by a dozen spikesandkill the porcupine.

My pulse races as I feel gravity pulling me downwards. All of a sudden the bottom of the hill grows frightfully near. I screw my eyes shut, ready for the impact.

“Destiny!” That voice that has come to mean so much to me calls out. “Don’t give up!”

A cougar could walk by.

I groan.Shut up.

Rude, but effective. At last the pesky thoughts in my head go quiet, just in time for me to flex my wings and surge upwards with all my might.

“Yeah!” He whoops from the hilltop, clearly ecstatic. “You’re doing it, Destiny! You really are! You’re flying!”

I’m flying.The smile that spreads across my cheeks probably reaches my ears, but I don’t care if I look like the biggest dork the skies have ever seen. The wind rustling through my feathers, caressing my skin and carrying me higher is amazing. My heart beats a mile a minute, and I feel glorious,pureand simple.

Soaring through the air is everything I remember from my paragliding days, and more. Now it’s not a bulky nylon contraption that keeps me airborne, but my own wings. The minute vibrations down to their very tips, the sheer force of them as well as their surprising delicacy… The only thing that rivals this sensation is making love to Dane.

After sixteen years on ground, it feels great to be so high up again.This is where I belong, I think to myself.

“Careful! There’s a–”

Dane hasn’t even had time to finish when I dodge a small bird with a swiftness that leaves my head spinning. My body reacted before I so much as saw the little creature.

I venture a few acrobatics in the air, but nothing too risky as the light is already beginning to dwindle. Within a few minutes, the sun is completely down. I land a few feet away from Dane, perhaps not with the grace of a swallow, but at least it’s a landing instead of a crash. That’s certainly progress.

The instant my shoes make contact with the sand, he rushes towards me. Despite my accomplishments, I nearly topple right down the hill when I catch sight of him. Grinning wider than I’d ever believe physically possible for a grouch like him, he opens his arms wide. He’s never looked as handsome, the dark shadows in his eyes replaced with a merry twinkle.

“You’re incredible!” He gushes, light years away from the blunt man I’ve known until now. “Destiny, the way you swooped past that vulture – incredible!”

Bubbling mirth rises from my heart as I lunge into his embrace. “Are you kidding me? It was just a cactus wren, Dane.”

But instead of falling against his hard chest, my momentum is stalled. I glance at the two hands planted on my shoulders in confusion, only to realize Dane pushed me away at the last minute. The swell of my chest deflates a little, as if punctured by a cactus thorn.

“Congratulations,” he murmurs, but I can’t help but notice Dane’s smile has dropped a little. “I’m so proud of you.”

Then why does he look at me with a twinge of sorrow?

Dane has so many secrets, and I’ll probably never uncover them, I realize glumly. Because now that I’ve grasped the basics of flying, we only have one last week left. Then he’ll be gone.

A creeping suspicion enters my mind.

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