Barnaby's First Flight

• Ariel Carnochan, Grade 12
• Short Story
• 2019

There I stood, teetering dangerously over the stomach churning thirty meter drop.
‘I am not ready for this.’ I thought to myself, as the wind ruffled my feathers and the chill morning breeze shocked my subconscious into wakefulness. This was one of the most important moments of my life, I was about to attempt my first flight. Me, a young lorikeet with grey-black colours and a ruffled hairdo that somehow resembles a hedgehog, taking my first leap into the open and mysterious world. First let us leave the past me as I stand there, contemplating my existence, and let’s go back to the where it all began and what ultimately led to this moment.

It was warm and quiet, every day seemed to be the same, I was growing restless.
Twenty-five days, what felt to my immature mind as an eternity. I’d been trapped in that sphere, forced to stay in a single cramped position, my foot almost touching my head.

Suddenly it was time, I don’t know what pushed me to do it, I just had to get out. I began slowly scraping the wall of my cage with my newly formed beak. It was a sudden and unforeseen push, some deep seated primal urge, pushing me, driving me. I’d never thought of what was beyond my shell wall, or my cage as I liked to call it. There was always this all-consuming blackness, restricting my will to move, I had to get out. Suddenly I felt something give, my beak protruded ever so slightly through the wall that was my cage. I withdrew my beak, only to be blinded by a single ray of light exploding into my prison through the hole I’d created. I squawked and yelled, unfamiliar with this sharp painful substance piercing my eyes. I attempted to plug the hole again, desperately trying to return things to the way they were, but alas, in my attempts to fix the problem, I instead created more holes, paining me even further. After what seemed like a millenia, my eyes began to adjust and I carefully pressed my left eye to the hole.

What I saw was incredible, like nothing I ever imagined was beyond the cage. There were bright colours, all of them new, the engulfing blackness that had been my sole companion was gone. So began my childhood, a monumental goal was set before me, to fit in. You see I was different from the rest of the lorikeets, I am grey and black rather than the usual rainbow colours. This was because my parents were two species never meant to meet. My father was a strong, bold Sea Eagle, a born leader. While my mother was a brightly colored and enthusiastic lorikeet. The stage was set and the greatest task of my life was set before me. With time I began adjusting and working at fitting into my life.

Fast forward what seemed like years, while in reality it was only about three months, and here I am, standing on the edge of a 30 meter drop risking my life to prove myself as a full fledged male. I thought about my childhood, the criticism I received and the way I was treated just for being different. Today was the day to show all those people who I really was.

What I didn’t know however, was that danger lurked right around the corner. A great trial was about to impose itself onto me, a trial that would change me forever...