Flight
For such a girl as young as she is to have earned her wings she is surprisingly calm. At first she seemed almost scared to feel the sudden weight of the glossy feathers upon her back, but that was only for a moment. All that remains now is a determined look one her face. One would only have to glance at her to tell that she was a natural born flyer, a talent so rare in their tribe.
She perches on her peak top for a split second before diving head first towards the rocky earth below her. She waits until the last possible moment before spreading her pearly white wings, catching the air beneath them and suddenly shooting up into the sky. In one powerful stroke she soars high above the few that are in the air with her, her hair skimming the clouds. The girl lets out a joyous, high pitched laugh, as she cuts through the warm August air that tickles her face in a welcoming gesture.
Flying had always been a dream of the girl. Her mother, also born with the destiny of flight, would tell her stories of her travels through the sky every night before bed. She would tell in detail how the air seemed to gently lift her up into the air with little effort from her. How she would float above the clouds and take in the beautiful rays of the golden sun. And above all, how exhilarating it was to dive.
Her mother described how the air would suddenly turn cold the second you began your descent. No longer warm and comforting, the air would seem to slice through your skin as you go against what your wings are telling you to do. If one attempts the dive perfectly there will even be a moment where the air will put a barrier up to try and prevent you from falling any further, her mother would always tell her of the pleasure she felt when bursting through the wall and continuing her stunt.
Many have lost their lives attempting such wondrous fears, the girls mother among them. With so few capable of flight left, diving is almost a sort of taboo in the girls tribe.
The girl twirled in the air one more time, biding goodbye to the sweet hands of warmth and accepting the cold new ones she would come to love. The girl raised her head and felt her mothers gentle kiss upon her forehead. In one small movement, the girl tucked in her wings, closed her eyes, and began to dive.
Yay, more story.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, let me say that I liked the story a lot. It kept me captivated and the cliffhanger left me wanting for more. Overall it was a good read. However, I noticed a discrepancy which I can nitpick at. By telling the reader that it's August the story kind of implies that this is taking place on Earth. However, on earth, a humans terminal velocity can only surpass the sound barrier at very high altitudes. Felix Baumgartner jumped from about 39,000 meters. The atmosphere at those altitudes is extremely thin, so there was very little air resistance, which is how he broke the sound barrier. Now, air over 8000 meters doesn't have enough oxygen for humans to survive in, hence why it's called the "Death Zone". And terminal velocity under 8000 meters isn't enough to break the sound barrier because the the density of the atmosphere provides a much greater air resistance. So it shouldn't be possible for them to break the sound barrier if they are on earth. I think this inconsistency could be entirely avoided if the story didn't tie the location to earth by saying that it is august.
And now I feel kinda dumb trying to superimpose real-life physics into a fictional story involving humans(?) and wings, but hey, that's just me.
I do appreciate your comment and explaining all of these things, but as you guessed at the end, this is a fiction story. In the text it states that she was chosen and it was her 'destiny' to have wings. Which implies that she is not really human, but a being blessed by the gods to take flight, which generally means she won't feel affects that normal humans would feel during said flying.
DeleteEeee! I love flying stories! I used to have lucid dreams and would go flying over oceans, mountains and fields. The way you related the temperatures to the speed and stunts made it feel like flying is attainable. By jumping right in to the story you had me lost in your story through and through.
ReplyDelete