He’d been adopted years prior to that day, and yet he’d never found the courage to meet all of these people until now. A reunion, huh?
Fallyn wasn’t sure what to expect as they drove up to something that didn’t quite fit with the definition of cabin, in his mind. Sure, it had the texture and outer style of one, but he thought this fit better with the term mansion.
When he walked in, he stared, wide-eyed and stunned. His adoptive parents stayed with him as they moved into the first room. He froze.
There were a lot of people. Chatting. Laughing. Unfamiliar faces. Some he knew, most he didn’t. Kids that were younger than him. Of course I didn’t fit in here, he thought sadly, how could I? There were those who knew his same loss who wouldn’t speak to him like an adult because he was much younger than them. And then, there were those who never had to experience it… and even though they were closer to his age, he wasn’t the kind of person people approached for a fun conversation.
In fact, it had taken a whole year for him to open up to Henry and James, the two who had adopted him after his rescue. And they’d been patient. They’d been kind. They’d shown him that he could trust him and he’d still hesitated. He'd still waited to share even the tiniest bit of what he felt and what he'd been through.
The one person he trusted… they were gone.
Through the span of a day, he learned the names of everyone. But, they all kind of blurred together in his mind. And though he had the comfort of James at his side the whole time, giving him silent support, he ended up signing words he couldn’t say aloud.
I need time alone.
James nodded to him, giving his hand a squeeze before letting go. His adoptive parents had been diligent about learning sign language the second he mentioned it. And before long, it was adopted into the household, much like Fallyn had been.
His adoptive parents, however new they were, however unrelated to him they would forever stay, had maintained their trust in him, and let him make his own choices. He’d only come this once because he knew he’d feel lonely when they left to come say hi to their friends. He didn’t like being alone. Sure, he was good at it, but it was never something he’d wanted.
It was something he had learned to deal with at a young age.
As Fallyn made his way across the room, he didn’t notice the young girl who’d been watching him the whole day, so he hadn’t expected her to come up to him, while pulling her mother along behind her. He was frozen in disbelief, while with the widest innocent eyes, that young girl seemed to sparkle as she declared him important to her.
“I want him as my protector.”
She leaned closer, only to whisper to him, “You’re a hero.”
He’d stared.
She didn’t know him.
He’d never seen her before today.
And yet there was something in her gaze, something in her eyes and voice that made him want to believe her. He wanted to be that hero. He wanted to protect her from all of those terrible things he’d seen in the world before he'd even reached her age.
“Elizabeth, come over here. I have something for you.”
And as she bounded over to her father, there was just one thing in Fallyn’s mind.
Elizabeth.
Her name was Elizabeth.
He couldn’t quite understand why that brief moment had given him some kind of bright light inside his soul, or why when she’d ran the other way, there was a definite pang of loneliness that shot through him.
How odd.
Without any more encounters with Elizabeth for the rest of the day, he awaited tomorrow in a room he shared in silence.
You’re a hero.
He denied her words in his mind, vowing to tell her the truth tomorrow, only to come face to face with the most stubborn person he’d ever met. She didn’t have any kind of reasoning that made sense, but she wouldn’t give up on her statement. She didn’t look away from his eyes. She didn’t back down from the gaze he knew didn’t look friendly to most people.
She didn’t even seem to care that he hadn’t once smiled since he arrived. She was smiling enough for the both of them.
“I’m not…”
I’m not a hero.
“You are!”
He looked at her quizzically before sighing heavily.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because!”
“Because?”
“You… you’re pretty and – and you have kind eyes.”
“Kind… eyes?”
“You pay attention to others and you look at people without any anger.”
Fallyn tried to find words. There weren’t any. Just who was she looking at, he wondered? It couldn’t be him. He…
He scared people away.
And this, this was one of the longest conversations he’d held with a stranger in years… or ever. And he didn't even feel the need or the urge to sign.
Elizabeth insisted she was right. That he was some kind of extraordinary being. But Fallyn knew his life. He knew what he’d been through. He knew his actions.
He was no hero…
Even if her words stirred something in him to wish that he was.
As he found the words he wanted to say, she turned away, eyes wide.
“They’re bringing out food…”
Fallyn’s eyes narrowed and he almost smiled as he watched her. She was practically drooling from this distance.
“Are you hungry?”
She turned to him with brightly happy eyes and nodded enthusiastically.
For the first time, he held his hand out to her, a rare moment most people never got to witness from him.
“I’m hungry too.”
She grinned. Instead of taking his hand, she wrapped herself around his arm, hugging it to herself. Somehow knowing he wouldn’t get it back until she had food in front of her, he led them both over to the table. But, just a few feet from the table, she let go, bolting ahead to look at the food that was set out.
He stopped, almost as if he wasn’t able to move without her. It was odd, he supposed, letting himself get caught up in this feeling of being okay, this feeling that maybe he was the one making her smile. Maybe, if she believed him to be some kind of hero, then he could be.
His gaze dropped.
How foolish.
She’d chosen food over him. It wasn’t like she’d remember he was there–
Small fingers wrapped around his elbow and he felt himself move forward again.
“You’re hungry, right?”
He nodded.
She’d come back. She had actually come back for him…
“Then grab food!”
Her enthusiasm and joy in his presence, the bright smile and eyes that seemed to shine in a way that rivaled everything else, brought tears to his eyes and he blinked them away. The corner of his mouth ticked up.
“Okay.”
Seeing that smallest attempt of a smile on his face, the slightest movement at the corner of his lips, Elizabeth smiled even brighter, making a silent vow to make him smile for real. She wanted to see it. He looked so sad, and in her mind, everyone deserved to be happy. Everyone deserved something to smile over. So she would take it upon herself to create something for him.
She was dead-set on making him smile.
When it neared the end of the day, closing in on the next time to eat, outside on the balcony, she learned something amazing. Suddenly, Fallyn was a real-life hero.
“YOU CAN FLY?!”
He nodded, embarrassed. There were only a few people out here… so it wasn’t like it was being shouted to the world, and he knew that everyone except Elizabeth present around him in the moment were twins who had their own abilities, they could all do extraordinary things just like he could, but still…
His cheeks flushed a bit and he stared down at the boards beneath his feet.
It wasn’t exactly something he liked to advertise.
And… it made a mess when it was all over.
And it made him hungrier.
Elizabeth turned to her parents, overflowing with excitement.
“Can I go flying?!”
Her mom shrugged. “You’ll have to ask Fallyn.”
At his name, he looked up, just in time to see Elizabeth launch herself into his arms. Startled, his arms managed to catch her and hold her there. He stared at the sparkle in her eyes.
“Fallyn,” she demanded, “take me flying!”
Her mother laughed a bit and shook her head.
“You have to ask him, sweetie.”
With an adorable pout on her face, she gazed up at Fallyn. Vaguely, he was reminded of that one phrase… ‘puppy-dog eyes’.
She had them.
And he… who was he to say no to her?
Wasn’t he supposed to be some kind of hero to her?
Aren’t heroes supposed to make wishes come true?
“Can you… take me flying?”
Just that simple question, the hesitation in her words, her little fists gripping the front of his shirt…
He huffed out a breath, forcing himself to look away from her and her mesmerizing joy. He didn’t much realize it himself, but a smile began to light up his face as he turned to look at his own parents for confirmation.
Henry nodded.
“Just stay low.”
At those words, Elizabeth’s grip on him tightened and she pointed up to the sky with a finger, determination on her face.
“No! Take me to the atmosphere!”
He laughed, but in holding onto her, he wasn’t able to wipe the fresh tears in his eyes aside. In an instant, he seemed to forget about the twin brother he never got to say goodbye to, to the incidents that led him to a cage, a room behind bars. The scars and pain faded from his mind and he finally allowed himself a moment of peace with this young girl who didn't give up.
“You have to hold on, Elizabeth.”
She wrapped her small arms around him and he closed his eyes, feeling the familiar rip of the back of his shirt, that noise he’d heard enough times that he’d once thought to go around wearing no clothes on the upper half of his body. But he wasn't fond of stares, so that never came to pass.
Elizabeth, arms wrapped around his neck, reached a small finger out to touch those white feathers that had sprouted from Fallyn’s back. She smiled. They were soft.
And then they moved.
Sticking to Henry’s words, he stayed low, making a sort of circle around the castle in the valley, and around up over the mountains. He made a final loop back around the whole of the mansion-sized cabin and landed lightly onto the balcony again.
He slowly set her down, letting her get her feet underneath her before he let go.
In a sudden burst of motion, she hopped back up into his arms, smiling, and he barely had the time to catch her in his shock.
“Again!”
He sighed, setting her back down, and shook off his feathers. They flew into the wind. Only two of the smallest protrusions on his back were visible through the new tears in his shirt. That, and a large number of thin and thick scars that he wasn’t about to explain to anyone. Everyone there knew better than to ask.
“I can’t.”
Her brows furrowed unhappily, and her gaze fell. His heart nearly screamed in pain at the sadness in her eyes and he looked around to quickly find something to take her mind off of flying again.
“I'm hungry. It’s time to eat.”
Her gaze popped back up to his and he nodded with his head over to the view inside. To the smells of homemade food.
The sparkle returned to her eyes and he gave her a half-attempted smile.
“Don’t be sad, Fallyn. I’ll save you some food!”
In seeing the sadness of his gaze, Elizabeth immediately went to find one of her comforts, from when she got sad.
As she ran off to go sneak food for him, Elizabeth had no idea the impact she’d caused on Fallyn. He watched her go, a fondness to his gaze.
He didn’t trust easily, but oh – oh he wanted to trust her. She was the full moon, shining brightly down on the darkness in his past, lessening the burden his wings and shoulders held. And she had no idea…
Every day since then, she crossed his mind.
Once.
Twice.
Twenty.
He hadn’t smiled for years before they met, wondering if maybe he’d someday forget how to do such a thing, and then, she’d come along…
And he found a reason to smile again.
Comments (0)
See all