Looking up, he saw the sun starting to set, twilight covering the world and he longed to take to the skies. He had seen his cousin do it before him, his father before the hunters got to him. And all he wanted was to be able to fly. Above him, a solitary hawk, one not unlike his father's form, circled and he felt that yearning grow stronger.
"Josiah! Dinner!"
His eyes never left the bird in the sky, watching him through winter branches. He missed his father. He was the one who was supposed to show him. All the men in his family were weres. They could all fly by the time they were in their teens. And here was Josiah, on the brink of his thirteenth birthday with no one to teach him and a mother, worried out of her mind.
“Dinner!”
Her calls to him went unheeded. Hands reached out, pushing the window open. Kicking off his sneakers, he climbed out on to the roof. He could do this. Josiah pulled off his tee shirt, shivering as his toes touched a patch of snow. Shaky fingers went to his belt buckle, but a glance skyward showed the hawk still above him, watching him.
He had no idea how to do this, to shift into his were form. Closing his eyes, he thought about it, about taking flight and soaring above it all, forgetting how he got picked on at school, how he missed his father. And he jumped.
I've received some really great feedback on my entry to the contest on Clarity of Night. Winners get announced later today and while I'm a little nervous, I really do appreciate what I've heard back so far. And it is enough of a pleasure to have new opinions on my work.
Truthfully, Josiah is a character I'd created a while ago for a role playing game. He's since been through a few revisions and no he is a were-hawk. In my mind, I saw him jumping from the roof and instinct taking over. But it was interesting to see people's reactions, what they thought was going to happen, thinking that he was delusional and that his mother was right to be worried.
What do you think?
The story was partly inspired by the song "Imagine", recently covered by the cast of Glee. That's what I was listening to when I wrote the drabble.
Congratulations on making Jason Evans' "The Forties Club" in his scoring system for the "Clarity of Night - Silhouette" contest. That is terrific! I voted for "Dreamer." I thought you did a fabulous job. You received such positive and encouraging feedback. I'm so glad you participated! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDelete