Morals of Flight, Twisted Myths

A young inventor takes a routine flight near his home. He reminiscences about his past.

I can't bring myself to wonder about the what ifs.

I can only strive for what I know, what I believe in.

So he jumped, allowing the night iced sky to engulf him. His thoughts ran wild at the majesty of the sight. The moon's scars became more profound. It's jagged craters reminding him of the history the moon represents.

He sighed in content, allowing the chills of the air to whisp around him. A lopsided grin firmly planted on his face. His skin became flushed as the rigid air chapped his flesh. Without a care in the world, he flipped and swirled about. His confidence growing ever more with the vastness of the sky giving him the canvous he so desperately needed to express himself.

His eyes shined with the stars. Flecks of gold and green embroidered within his irises mirrored the celestial rocks. Melting into a pool of illustrious colors, causing even the most majestic of galaxies and cosmos to weep in wonderment and envy.

Letting out a soft chuckle. Straightening out his body, he faces downward. Picking up speed. Soon a monstrous body of vibrate ocean waters peer into view. A lone buoy bobs on the tousled surface.

Becoming meters per second closer, he times himself silently. Just as his finger tips grazes the salted liquid, he places a maroon pebble on the metal frame of the floating contraption.

Quickly spreading his arms, allowing his makeshift webbed style wings to catch the air. Causing his body to glide with ease.

Upward bound, he flies into the puffs of water vapor, uncaring. His suit quickly slicking off any beads of moisture. He glides out the plush grinning wildly. Raking his fingers through his damp fringe. Smoothing it to the crown of his head.

The sun slowly begins to rise. Showering the earth in pastels. The boys sighs, his grin deepening.

Minutes later he sets foot back on land. Heading to a time withered farm house. He takes off his suit and hangs in on a middle rack. He stands silently. He touches the smaller suit on the right hook. Fingering the holes within the material with a heavy sigh. Then turns attention to the suit on the left. It's length being a few inches more then the center suit.

The appearances and materials of these two suits are almost an exact copy.

Almost.

Under the collars of all three suits, on the right sides of the zippers, place center to the anatomy of the human heart. Lays a pin, above said pin the suits embedded the owners initials.

The pins are iron dipped in gold with winged designs.

The young man pulled out a pocket size black book. It faux leather bound, weathered and torn from its uses. Adorning its cover lay maroon colored initials that mimicked the flight suits.

He flips to the most current page and sketches a picture of his current suit. Jotting down his notes on his successful run with his newly formulated water proof material. We walks to his worn work bench. Glancing at the multiple suits hung along the walls. Differing in materials and sizes. The smallest ones had different colour schemes. Shoving the mess of fabric and papers to one side he sits and props his legs up.

Memories flooded back.

"You ready kiddo? Your suit all built?" The elder asked strapping on his own webbed wings. The younger boy nooded vigorously. A mischievous gleam twinkled in his wide eyes. "Good, good! Stick with me and you'll be fine I promise." The eldest of the two grinned giddly, adjusting his newly invented grappling vest.

He leaves the workshop and heads outside.

"Flying in the first suit you've made is always an exhilarating experience!" The older one states in mid-flight. The younger of the two smiled mused. They swoop further down tore the ocean.

The two skim the calm surface with their fingers, laughing. The eldest taps the smallest one with his foot. The boy looks up, seeing the older one guestering with his thumb to head upward. The boy nodds and the two pull up. The boy looks down as he ascends, seeing  the suns rays hit the waters causing it to glisten. He grins excitedly looking up. He had a surprise for the eldest.

They began to turn and head back. The young boy look at his wings proudly. Suddenly pieces of material started fluttering off. Damped spots started to tear and the boy started drifting downward. He starts flailing his legs in panic when he suddenly felt a sharp pain around his waist. He looks up seeing the cord from the grappling hook. He slowly starts rising. The boy looks up, relieved. They start to head back tore their home.

The young man lays on the soft grass, soaking in both dew, and morning rays. Heaving a sad sigh, missing the night sky.

The two fly in silence still shook up from the predicament. Still a good forty five minutes from home the boy sighs bored. The boy glances around, hearing a soft clicking sound. Then a creak, suddenly, the grappling wire starts snapping. The boy cries out in fear while the eldest was unstrapping the bindings to his wings. He yelled for the young boy to do the same. The boy nodes and quickly follows in suit. The grappling hook snaps once more. The eldest quickly replaces the boys wings with his own and vice versa.

The young man groaned, sitting up. With a yawn he stares out to the waters. Scenery stretched for miles.

"Keep heading forward, you remember how to land right?" The eldest asked. The boy nodded. He watched his old wings slowly fall apart. "Don't look at me, keep your eyes forward." He ordered, slowly descending and falling behind. "No matter what, you keep this speed and level until you see our cliffs. Then land like I shown you." He raised his voice, making sure the boy could hear clearly. The boy nodes facing forward, not daring to look back.

Icarus should be heeded his father's advice.

"I'm sorry!" The young boy sobbed. "I used different materials that what you gave me! I wanted to surprise you!"The eldest shook his head knowingly.

The boy made it to the cliffs safe and sound. The elder drifted away completely. The boy sobbed falling to the ground on his knees, quickly yanking off his gear. He turns facing  outwards, skimming the waters. Yet there was no sign of his elder friend.

His body reverberated with sobs. Words rung through his mind.

"Continue your inventing! Keep striving for flight! Godspeed my son! Eyes forward, I love you!"

The boy shook his head wanting to erase his thoughts. Sparing his own death do to miniscule miscalculations made him livid.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The young man stood up.  Walking to the wooded sign perched proudly at the entrance of farm house. Written in elegant writing:

InsulaDaedalai

"Never fear the sun or oceans. God gave Man a mind to invent. Fear not of melted wax and feathers, but of one's seldom in losing his sense of freedom. God be bountiful, faith be bountless. Men was meant to fly. He gave me wings."

With a heavy sigh, he bends down and picks up another maroon rock. A pile of them below the sign gleaming with hues from the sun. He examines the pebble, the warmth from soaking, fading in his palms. He straightened his stance, heading back to his home.

"Until tomorrow."