Teach Me To Fly 2

I was going to die. I was so going to die. I fell a lot quicker than I had expected. Hair whipped around my face, my eyes watered and burned. Air slapped my white face so hard, it felt as though it was ripping it to shreds. Moisture from my eyes ran up my temples and soaked the roots of my hair. Fear pulsed through me.
I tried to make my wings move. They seemed gluggy and hard to move. The ground was nearing very quickly, and I knew I wasn’t going to make myself fly in time. “Alex,” I could barely say his name.
“Are you finished being reckless and annoying?” Alex’s voice sounded in the wind.
“Yes, okay, yes,” I screamed. I shut my eyes. Within the next few seconds I knew I would hit the ground and die. Then, everything stopped. A weight settled softly on my hips. The wind stopped whistling in my ears. My eyes stung but not as much and my hair settled nicely around my face. I opened my eyes slightly.
“You want to do it my way this time?” Alex asked, in front of me. His wings flapped softly behind his shoulders, his hands holding me up by my waist. I nodded.
“I want you to try and tense the muscles in your back,” I had no idea how to do that. “Okay,” He sighed. “Umm... I don’t know, just think about flapping your wings,” He said absently. I focused on the wings protruding from my back. “You aren’t that bad at this you know,” I smiled at him. “I’ve seen better,” My smile dissipated. “But you aren’t bad,” He smiled this time.
I felt the wind whooshing around me. I saw the shadows on Alex’s face moving slowly. I was flying. I smiled at him. “Good work,” he encouraged. “I’m going to let you go now, okay?” I nodded. “If you do fall, I’ll catch you,” He began to loosen his grip on my hips.
“You promise?” I asked weakly.
He smiled at my weakness, laughed softly. “I promise,” I didn’t actually notice that he had let me go until now. I wasn’t falling. I smiled. I felt free, exhilarated.
“I’m flying,” I said happily. Alex even smiled. My wings failed for a moment, I fell about three metres or so before Alex grabbed hold of my hand.
“Come on,” He flapped his wings faster as we ascended towards the top of the cliff.
We flew over the ocean toward the small island in the distance. The ocean rippled beneath us as Alex’s wings beat strongly through the air. The ocean was a midnight blue with greenish streaks shining within. It was mesmerising. I could see the Alex’s shadow in the water.
I looked up at him. His gaze was set upon something ahead of us, the muscles in his face tensed slightly. He looked down at me. His eyes were guarded but they seemed deeply unfamiliar. The green in his eyes seemed darker now, as though something was on his mind. He looked away.
Alex’s wing speed slowed as we approached a small island. He shut his eyes for a moment. I don’t know whether this place meant something special to him or he just loved flying around here, but I felt we were entering a place that meant a lot to him.
“You ready?” He asked, looking down at me with a smile.
“Ready for what?” I returned. We had stopped high above the ocean about one hundred metres off shore.
“To fly,” He spoke so gently but a playful spark ignited in his eyes. His smile seemed to fill me with motivation. He let go of my hand.
I felt my hair whip around my face as I fell toward the dark blue ocean. My heart rate shot up. Mouth dry, I shut my eyes, waiting for the icy cold wall to smash into me.
An angel can’t fly without her wings. Alex’s voice sounded in my head. I felt my wings unfold at my shoulder blades. I shivered. I pushed at the air below me, feeling myself going up slightly. I pushed again, feeling the air being pushed down. My hair rested slowly on my back. I opened my eyes to find myself flying. I grinned.
I looked up at Alex. His arms were crossed and a small smile played at his lips. He was proud of me. I looked down, still smiling.
“Very nice,” Alex’s nearness scared me. My wings stopped flapping and I fell. I pushed at the air around me. The wind was too strong, it pushed back. Hard.
“Alex,” I called. I couldn’t regain control. I needed his help.
Coming. I heard a hard whooshing noise. Then I hit the water.
It knocked the air out of my lungs. My wings felt heavy as the water coated the feathers. I couldn’t get my bearings right. My legs and arms could barely move. They stung from impact with the icy wall. Lungs screaming at me, I tried swimming out of the bubbles that concealed the right way to go.
A hard object hit my head. I swear I saw red. A red thing, in the water.
Then I blacked out.



I pulled Raven from the water onto the shore of the island. She was definitely concussed; she must have hit her head. But on what? She couldn’t have hit the bottom. I laid her down as soon as I reached the wet sand on the beach. Her black hair covered most of her face; I brushed it away softly revealing a cut above her right eye. But something wasn’t right...
She wasn’t breathing.

I pushed at her chest. Here goes nothing, I suppose. I put my mouth to hers. Her blue lips were cold already. It felt strangely comfortable being so close to her. I emptied my lungs, filling hers. I pulled away, just as she coughed. Turning her head to the side, Raven rid her lungs of any water. She looked up at me, her eyes filled with gratitude. I smiled, as she fell asleep.
I pulled off my coat, wrapping it around her. I picked her up off the sand, walking into the dense shrubbery on the island. Her face was cold and pale, very little heat radiated from her skin.

Three years ago, I had built a small cabin in this island. When Lorelei would go out of town or when we had a fight, I would usually go here. This place never reminded me of Lorelei as she didn’t even know it existed. I had never brought anyone else here, except for Ellie. She found out about a year ago, when she tracked me to this area.

I made my way through the deep green jungle, to uncover a small wooden cabin. The steps looked a little old, but they would do. The cabin was elevated about thirty centimetres. It looked a little unkempt but I hadn’t really had the time to regularly mend it.
Inside was a little dusty but that was about all that was wrong with it. The green wall paint was peeling at the edges. The cupboards were filled with canned foods and long-life milk. Raven was a little drier now except for her long hair, I laid her down on the double bed in one of the other rooms. I grabbed a brush from the bathroom and a towel.
I brushed her hair softly, drying each part of her hair with the towel. She barely moved at all while she was sleeping. I cleaned the cut above her eyebrow, and while I waited for Raven to awaken I made myself some food. I pulled up a chair across from Raven and started reading one of the books on the small bookshelf.



My head hurt. A lot. I sat up to find myself lying in a strange bed, in an unfamiliar room. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, finding a bandage about my eyebrow. The room was a plain cream colour. There were no pictures on the walls, not even any curtains on the small window. The only things in the room were the bed, the bedside table, a small bookshelf and a chair.
Curled up in the chair was Alex. He was sound asleep with a book on his lap. I bunched up the blanket on the bed, got up and wrapped it around Alex. I noticed I was wearing his jacket; it was damp, which he was probably going to be pissed off at me for.
Alex stirred. He must be dreaming, I assumed. My legs felt like jelly, they buckled underneath me and I fell to the floor. Alex jolted awake.
“Oh my god,” He dropped down to me. “You okay?” he asked sincerely. That was weird of him. I looked up at him through my hair; I could see the worry in his eyes. This new Alex perplexed me; he had never been this nice. No. He had never been nice to me at all until now.
“I’m fine,” I sat cross-legged on the floor. Alex kneeled in front of me, fussing.
“Well collapsing isn’t ‘fine’, here,” he pulled me up onto the end of the bed.
“I’m fine,” I repeated. “Seriously, my legs were just a little asleep, okay?” he nodded, yet he didn’t look convinced.
“I’ll go make you some food,” he got up. “There may be some clothes under the bed, but I don’t know if any of them will fit you, sorry,” He walked out of the room, shutting the door after him. I pulling out a suitcase of clothing, lots of it was Alex’s but I did manage to find a pair of women’s jeans, but no shirt. I found an old singlet of Alex’s and a thick jumper, slipping them on. I sat back down on the bed.
A light tap on the door was followed by Alex, “Can I come in?”
“Yeah sure,” He arrived with a cup of hot coffee. It smelt divine right now. I reached for it happily. Alex smiled, handing it to me.
“I was going to make you a bacon and egg sandwich with the frozen bacon I found in the freezer, but I didn’t have any eggs, or bread, or butter, or-”
“Bacon is just fine,” I smiled. I picked at the overcooked meat. I realised after a single bit of food, that I was famished.
Alex laughed, as I wiped the plate clean. “Being asleep for a whole twenty-nine hours does that to you,” He said happily.
“Wait, did you just say ‘twenty-nine hours’?” I jumped off the bed. Pain shot down my back. I crumpled to the floor.
“You need to stop doing that,” he bent down and helped me up. “Cause it’s getting pretty funny,” He chuckled. I abruptly punched him in the arm, causing an explosion of laughter. I crossed my arms, waiting for him to stop.
“Come on, I want to show you something,” He said when he stopped giggling. He walked out of the room, not bothering to help me. I was shocked.
His head appeared in the doorway. “You coming or not?” I got up slowly, I could feel my legs strengthening as I stood there.
I walked out in the kitchen, to find Alex gone. I found him outside, standing beside the door.
“Here,” He plonked a cap on my head. He grabbed my arm, leading me into the dense forest. Memories were etched alongside the stitching in the fabric. They weren’t happy memories, but of some of the darker moments that Alex had seen.

As we walked through the mountain trail, Alex would tell me about the animals and the plants. When we saw things that he thought were cool, we were often detoured to admire the trees and the formations.
After hours of walking, it was almost dark. The sun was resting in the mountains to the west, sending deep red rays through the forest. It exploded with colour. Deep purples appeared in the shadows. The birds sung their last songs before the night came. The animals looked for their children, ushering them home. A smile was plastered on my face. It was mesmerising.
Alex watched my amazement, smiling. He grabbed hold of my wrist pulling me through the forest. More coloured erupted from the forest as we sped past. It was like a dream.
The forest opened up to a small clearing. It was filling with old ruins. White marble foundations scattered around the area. Many weeds had grown around the stones, marring its beauty.
“What is this?” I asked. Alex began climbing up one of the stone pieces.
“They’re ruins from thousands of years ago. I reckon that this is where the original palace was. I find the occasional thing here and there, but nothing too exciting. Unfortunately I haven’t been here in years. I’ve missed it.” He stood at the top of the tallest part of the ruins, looking out in the distance.
I looked around, admiring the historical mystery of this place. A small light glittered in the corner of my eye. I went to investigate.
Half covered in dirt I found a small necklace. On the silver chain was a cross. The carvings were so intricate. On the back read the words, “Ad Infinitum”. I knew it was Latin, but the meaning escaped me.
“What did you find?” Alex asked, looking over my shoulder. “Wow, that’s pretty. Here, I’ll put it on you,” he plucked it out of my hand. I lifted up my knotted hair as he placed the necklace around my neck. I shivered with the thought of the close proximity of his hands to my neck. He pulled away slightly, I let my hair go. He turned me around to face him. “You look gorgeous,” he grabbed my wrist. “Now you need to see this.”
He climbed back up the foundations, I followed. I stood at the top of the ruins, my breath taken away by my view.
I could see the sun setting in the distance, the ocean on fire. I peered behind me finding that the ocean had darkened already. The moon began her weary course across the sky as the sun finished his. The darkened blue around the moon and the fiery red of the sun crashed above us, sending streaks of colour across the sky.
Whispers whirled around me, they were partly visible here. There were thousands of these tiny memories floating through the air. As the sunset hit them, they turned a deep red, complimenting the colours of the sky. I watched them dance around me. My heart was pounding. This place was beautiful, more than beautiful.
“Thank you Alex, for bringing me here. For showing me all this. For everything,” I watched the sun setting. The purples of the sky began creeping over the top of us.
“This place has never been as beautiful as it is now,” Alex spoke so softly, I strained to hear him. “Maybe because I haven’t been here in a long time, or simply because its radiance is coming from you,” I turned, shocked at what he had just said.
“You perplex me,” He continued to look forward. “I never understand you like I can others. You are so... out of order, so... unexpected.”
“Alex?” His gaze moved to his feet. He was embarrassed. Why was he embarrassed?
“When I first met you, I didn’t want to know you. I thought you were going to be like all the others. You didn’t fear me, you faced me head on. At first, that annoyed me. The way you would complain all the time, drove me nuts. You couldn’t understand the way we lived yet I ignored the fact that I never gave you a chance to learn,” He turned toward me.
“But once I got to know you I realised that you were so different to me and the way I worked. You were so fascinating. For days I tried to find information on you, but all I found was your parent’s names.”
“Alex, I don’t get it, what are you talking about?” he held his hand up.
“If I don’t say this now I may never have the guts to say it again,” At that moment I knew what he was about to say. He shut his eyes, breathing deeply. For some reason I felt bad, even sorry for him. Knowing that he felt the way he did made me scared.
“You are the most beautiful girl I have ever met. You’re strong, willing. You make me laugh. You make me do reckless things without thinking. When I’m around you I can’t do anything without being distracted by you, and when you’re not around all I can think about is you,” He looked up at me. “These past few weeks are the best I’ve had in a long time, and that’s simply because of you.” Did I feel the same? My heart was beating a million miles an hour.
“Alex,” I interrupted him.
“Being close to you makes me feel safe and secure. I’ve never felt like that around a girl before, not even any of my family,” he continued to talk, unaware that I had said his name. “I never wanted to fall in love, never, until I met you.” I felt my heart melt. Smiling to myself, I knew. I knew that I could be with him.
“Alex,” I said more forcefully. He looked up at me. “Shut up,” I leaned forward kissing his smiling lips. He kissed back, gently. His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me in. His kiss turned deep and passionate. Alex’s other hand played in my hair, brushing it softly. I could feel his heart beating. The familiar smells of blood, spearmint and toothpaste filled my nostrils. I wrapped my hands around his shoulders. I could feel the muscles in Alex’s biceps and in his shoulder blades tensing. His heart beat slowed.
I felt so comfortable here, so close to him. The rest of the world was spinning, nothing else mattered. My lungs screamed for air. I pulled away slowly, wishing not for Alex to be offended. I breathed deeply, satisfying my lungs. Alex smiled at me. Even I couldn’t find anything to say. Alex’s hands moved from my hair to my hands. His calloused hands were strangely soft in mine. I could feel the memories etched in his palm. I shut them out. As his fingers moved ever so slightly, tiny sparks jumped from his skin to mine like little electric shocks.
I smiled. He put his arm around my shoulder, and mine instantly went to his waist. Sitting down, we turned back to watch the rest of the sunset. I looked up at Alex, his gaze stayed ahead of him. He said my name so softy, smiling