Stray Wings

We never know what is going to happen on any given day, no matter how it begins. Anything could happen, even when the day starts off as beautifully as this one. The sky gave off a beautiful orange glow as the sun rose over the horizon. Birds tweeted happily as their day began, just like everyone elses'. And like everyone else, it seemed like a perfectly normal day.

"Tobias! It's time to wake up!" Janet, Tobias' mother, rapped her knuckles on her son's door early that morning before school began. He always slept in as late as he could, hardly ever eating breakfast. So, like usual, there was no response from the other side of the closed door, other than a stray wind that she did not notice. Janet just chuckled and went downstairs into the kitchen to make herself some coffee. She knew that Tobias wouldn't wake up, but she could at least try.

Janet walked into the kitchen and started to brew a pot of coffee. Soon after, she was sitting at the table eating breakfast. Coffee in one hand, toast in the other.

7:25 came, but still Tobias had not gotten up. His mother began to worry a bit. He usually got up earlier than this so he could make it to school. Something must be wrong, or maybe he had just overslept even more than usual today.

Janet went back upstairs to Tobias' bedroom and rapped on the closed door again, even louder this time. "Tobias, get up! It's 7:30 already! You're going to be late!"

Normally, Tobias would have jumped out of bed, knowing that it was this late. But nothing stirred behind his closed door. Now Janet was even more concerned. Why wasn't he getting up? She decided to go in and check. She opened the door. It swung open with a loud squeak.

Janet then stood frozen, a feeling of panic suddenly hitting her like a sack of bricks. The bed was empty. Tobias was nowhere to be found. She looked all over the room. Not that there were that many places to check, only under the bed and in the closet. There was nothing to signify that he left, either. No note or anything, just an open window. She looked out the window, but as she expected, she saw nothing, only a hawk sitting on the branch close by.

Janet began to feel sick to her stomach, wishing that waking Tobias up was still her only problem. Had her son ran away, or was he kidnapped? Despite her panic, she was able to keep a clear head and call 911 to report what had happened. Soon afterwards, the police arrived at the house to investigate. Janet told them what had happened, and they did a thorough inspection of Tobias' room. Again, nothing was found. No note, no suspicious objects, nothing. If he was really kidnapped, the perpetrator had done a very good job of covering up their tracks.

Janet broke down after this. She burst into tears and cried into one of the officer's shoulders. He patted her gently on the back. "It's okay, ma'am. We'll find him soon enough. Don't you worry now."

But the day was indifferent to Tobias' dissapearance, and it moved on as usual, like all other days. No matter what happens, the day stays the same. Even things at Tobias' high school stayed the same that day. Everyone assumed he was sick. When they eventually found out he was missing, it was as if a shockwave hit the school. How could something that horrible happen right their, in their town? In their school? The news hushed the school. The hallways were no longer loud, and people were too shocked to speak. It just goes to show that many people think nothing will happen where they live, that everything will be okay. That all that stuff on the news won't happen to them. Well, this time it did.

Weeks went on, and Tobias wasn't found as the officer had promised. Forensics experts were brought in. They went over his room with special devices to try to uncover some hidden clue, but like the previous two times, they came up empty handed. Janet was bombarded with questions. Had Tobias been acting any more strangely before he disappeared? Was he hanging out with any bad kids? Was he unhappy? Was there any reason he might run away? No, no, no, no. The investigators became very baffled and extremely irritated. Not a single clue or a motive. They were irritated because they simply did not understand. How does someone disappear without a trace? With no indication of their disppearance whatsoever?

Posters were put up all over town. In grocery stores, in the mall, all over telephone polls. They all offered a reward for clues leading to Tobias' return, but no one called in with any information. The story was shown on all local news stations, and with the mystery of the disappearance, he was even shown on CNN. But there was no traces found, and the search was abandoned. Searches usually go on for years, but with no leads, it would be pointless to carry on with it. And like after all tragedies, life moved on. Tobias' mother had to live with the pain of not knowing what happened to her son. And she moved on, too. Just like everything else.

The sad thing is, Tobias was actually there the morning he disappeared.




To everyone:

I'm sorry for leaving you all back then, however long ago it might have been. I can't remember anymore. Everything seems to be a daze to me. I know I left you all in the dark with no switch to throw. How sad you all must be. Or must have been. Maybe you've all gotten over it. I just know I hurt you that day I disappeared. I wish it didn't have to be that way. I wish I didn't have to leave you all, but I really don't think I had a choice. I had to run away. And there's a reason why you couldn't find any trace of me at all, any clues to my whereabouts.

Yes, I know that you didn't find anything. I was there I saw you all searching frantically for me, wishing desperately for my return. I was there, you just didn't know it. You couldn't see me. You never will see me, and I'm never coming home. And there is a reason why you will never find me. The same reason why you couldn't find any trace of me. The thing is, I've changed a lot as a person.

I know that I acted completely normal before I disappeared, that you didn't see anything wrong with me. You couldn't have. Don't blame yourselves and think you could've done something to help me. I hid it from you. I bottled it up inside me. I wanted so much to tell someone, to help me a bit. But I couldn't tell anyone. It was something I had to deal with myself. It was all a secret. But even with everything that was going on in my life, I still managed to be myself. I didn't act any differently than usual, even with the chaos around me. I still hung out with my friends, I still managed ot have fun, and yes, I still woke up late every morning. So, don't blame yourselves. you didn't see it in me. In if you tried to help me, I just would have rejected it anyway. There were other people out there to help me, to be there for me. I talked to them everyday, but you didn't see them. I kept so many secrets from all of you. Secrets you didn't need to know, and secrets you still don't need to know.

Please. Don't worry about me. I know I am still young, but I have ways to take care of myself. I still keep myself fed fine, and for the most part, I am safe. The only think I have to worry about is nature, but she has been very kind to me so far. I know I'll survive just fine, even without my parents to raise me or my friends to hang out with and fun with. to confide in. Like I said before, I have a couple of new friends. So I'm just fine. Now, happy...that's something else. But I've accepted it, whether or not I like it. That's what all of you should do. Accept the fact that I am gone. That I am never coming home. And as I said before, I'll be able to visit all of you. It's just sad that you'll never know when I'm there. Or maybe you will. Maybe you'll figure it out. But I won't be able to talk to you, because I am a completely different person.

So please, move on. Accept it and move on. Don't get stuck in the past. Don't let my absence ruin life for you. Don't let it get in the way of your happiness. Forget me. It'll make everything a lot easier for all of you. It'd be best if you just forget that I ever existed.

Sincerely,
Tobias

But this letter never got to all of those I used to know, the ones I left behind. They didn't hear from me at all. They were still in the dark, and they still hadn't forgotten me. Because I never wrote that letter. It was all in my mind. I had thought up the entire thing and would probably forget the words when when I needed them the most. I was just thinking, like I did so often now. I pretended that I was telling everyone the truth, or at least part of the truth. To try to console everyone, even if they were miles away. But it wasn't even all truth. Even in my mind, I couldn't tell them the complete story. I didn't tell them what I had become. I didn't say where I was, and I had only one real friend. She was at my side right now. I wasn't looking at her, but I knew she was staring at me right now. She knew I was deep in thought, just like all of the other times. She sighed on the branch next to me. "What's wrong, Ski?" she asked, concerned about my silence.

I turned my head and looked at her, transfixed. Her beautiful shining yellow eyes. Her sleek, brown feathers. And of course, her majestic wings. She was so gorgeous, I could stare at her all day.

I just kept my eyes on the horizon, where the sun was going over the edge of the world. It was the Twilight time, where owls would wake up to hunt and creatures like me settled into the nest.

"Everything," I said in a blank tone, not looking at Latia anymore. But I wasn't thinking anymore. I was done thinking. I was letting my mind wonder, searching for a thought to grasp on to. I felt her come over to me and rub her beak comfortingly against my wing. "Does it hurt, Ski?"

I would have smiled if I could. "No. It's just reminiscence. Looking back on everything, but not necessarily feeling bad about it. Just reflecting."

I turned my head towards her and gazed into her yellow eyes. "And even if I was sad, you would make everything alright."

Latia cooed softly, and we rubbed beaks as the twilight blended into night. Then she asked me that one question she had asked so many times. "Do you ever want to return?"

I answered before I could even think about it, so I would have no doubts or regrets in my mind.

"I don't think I even can, Latia."