Friday, March 6, 2015

Tattered Wings Pt 1

We sat at the table when our social worker asked a question, "How do you plan on making an adopted child feel a desired part of your family?" Instantly, I knew. "I will write a story" I told her.

Once upon a time, there was a family of birds. There was a momma bird who was good and kind, a daddy bird who was gentle and strong, a brother bird who was brave and fun, and a sister bird who was both caring and fierce. The bird family lived in a cozy little nest, with bits of straw, sunshine and love sticking out everywhere.

Every day, daddy bird flew off to gather plump worms and bits of curvy sticks. Every day, Mommy bird flew to the tippy top of the wide spreading branches of the sweet smelling apple tree to sing her heart out. As the sun began to dip beneath the outline of the sky, mommy bird's song guided a swooping and soaring Brother and Sister home from testing their wings in the wide open spaces at the foot of the mountains. Every night, Daddy bird stretched his wings out over his family and whispered the names of the stars as they blinked to life one by one, until the eyes of the small birds drooped to a close.

But as the small bird family watched the dance of the seasons pass, they began to feel as if they were missing something, and a small hole began to stretch in their hearts, a hole that ached to be filled with another little bird. Mommy bird began singing louder, hoping to draw their small bird, home, to their nest. Daddy bird began flying in farther and farther circles during his gatherings, adding more bits to their nest. Brother and Sister began testing the strength of their muscles by swooping and soaring higher and higher, all the while glancing up to see if their small bird might drop from the sky.

At last, one day, the bird family decided that their little bird must be lost and could not find its way home. So Daddy bird, Mommy bird, Brother and Sister, left their snug little nest and took to flight. They flew high over mountains, dodging eagles and airplanes. They swung low through canyons, searching in crevices and old forgotten trees. Once, they thought they spotted something and their hearts leapt inside, but it turned out to only be a misshapen twig.

The skies gathered darkness as they left behind warm sunlit areas. Their wings ached from flying and their hearts were heavy for home, but the longing for their own, lost little bird made them continue on. Finally they reached a mighty water that stretched  so far it seemed to blend into the sky. Mommy bird's hat was tattered from the journey and brother and sister birds' wings had grown as strong as could be. The ocean seemed so huge and the journey now so impossible that their hearts quivered with fear. But as that instant grew into a long moment, a gentle wind lifted their feathers and whispered, courage....



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