Chapter 4

I want to say I handled the situation gracefully and maturely, bellying my years of wisdom and experience. Unfortunately, my legs were shaking, and I could feel my old friend, anxiety slowly creeping up my spine. I had seen in a documentary somewhere how to get the baby chicks to fly; the mother would push them out of the nest. Hence, my constant nervous glances at my Mom, which she seemed to be getting a kick out of if her chuckles were anything to go by.

Sometimes, the little jumps we must take to go forward are the scariest things. So. Like any respectable person, I close my eyes tight and yeet right off this cliff.

The first thing I notice is the caress of the wind as it brushes along my scales, and then comes the instinct, almost like an ancient knowledge awakening inside me. My arms spread out and angle perfectly to catch the wind, and suddenly, I'm gliding. I also just realized that I've been screaming my tail off this whole time, so I snap my jaws shut. Slowly, cracking my eyes, I take in the view.

Shooting open, all I feel is wonder! Yeah, there is nothing in the landscape to look at but the feeling of the wind and the sun warming from above. The clouds in the sky blend into a succulent canvas on your soul—blissfully actualized. You may think the sky is pretty when you are on the ground, but only when you are up in the clouds can you appreciate it all.

With a strong thrust of my wings, I ascend higher into the clouds. When flying, you don't really power yourself constantly; it's more like you thrust up to a certain height and then glide until you have thrust up again to maintain your altitude.

A roar from behind startles me out of my reverie. Looking back over my right wing, I can see Mom approaching me. Her powerful wing strokes allow her to catch up to me quickly. Once she was close, she eased up and glided alongside me. The sparkle in her eye was joyful and proud. It reminds me of when I got my diploma as a human and showed it to my parents. Pride in their child accomplishing something, anything, is really all a parent wants.

Smiling happily, I turn back around and continue my maiden flight. I know that is for airplanes, but I'm an airplane and pilot rolled in one!

Life will not always be this easy; it cannot. But I'm willing to fight to keep this little peace of heaven and paradise with my Mom, no matter the cost.

Speaking of hurting things. I think it is time for mom to teach me how to hunt. If the indicators I'm getting from her are correct. So, slowly following behind her, we descend closer to the ground where our superior eyes can search for unlucky targets. I guess it's time to catch my rabbits for dinner. I can't be a leech my whole life, even though it was only six months.