Talisman Of The Hawk

• Chelsea Lindner, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2015

I wake up really early on this one morning, early waking rarely happens. I go to my window and spread the curtains open. It’s still dark outside and the stars are shining as brightly as ever. I go to my draw and put my ripped jeans on and I go to get the ancient ring that my dad gave me when I was 7 years old, he gave it to me moments before he died. ‘Son, you can do amazing things when you wear this ring, look after it for me’ were the last words my dad ever said to me. When I open the front door, the wind rustles through my hair, I feel the coolness hit my face and I feel my lips widen up into a grin.

My adrenaline is starting to pump and the ring in my hand is glowing. I run out into the open space of the world and put it on. I feel the wings grow onto my back, returning back to life, like a bean seed sprouting quickly. I arch my wings into the air and stretch them out, I haven’t put the ring on for the last two months. Depression just hit me, and I lost my way. But waking up this morning, has made me feel alive. Like my spirit has awoken and been in sleep for the last two months.

With my beautiful wings in the air arched and ready to go, I swoop up with one large thrust. I twirl myself into a cocoon and admire the wings that I haven’t seen for so long. I touch my feathers with a light touch and then spread my wings out. I start soaring into the heights of the sky. I’m whirring through the air, diving just when I want to feel the wind rush against my face quickly and whip through my hair. Some days I fly with other birds, we spin around each other, even though there is a size difference. The birds are my only friends, so they are my only connection to a social life of sort.

I feel a ruffle of warmth through my feathers. I can tell that the sun is going to rise in just about half an hour. I rise and rise until oxygen can no longer be obtained in the atmosphere that I am within. Then I dive bomb down, my wings cocoon, I’m like the asteroid about to hit the ground, preparing myself for impact. My wings shoot open as though I’ve pulled the latch on a parachute and now I’m gliding, slowly hovering towards the ground. I see the house that I am currently living in and I go and land on the roof. As I land, I slip on a few of the loose tiles, but then I regain my footing. I look off into the distance and I see the sun slowly rising, it just looks stunning.