For once I see my home and all those around it, and there is no dead ends.

I sweep down above old man Toms house and nock the chimney from his roof, then soar high into the sky, blocking out his fiery cry.

I sweep above the Church and look down at the bell, even from here, which grave is which I can tell.

I flew to the sky, I flew beyond, I flew fast past my school, drifted over the lake and crashed into a Church a hundred miles from home, but that’s okay. It’s like falling and scraping my knee. I cope and set off again.

Fly up high Soar on the wind No cares no whys Play hard to win

Softly gliding on feathered wings Laughing and chiding Each other sing

They felt heavier then Icarus would have expected, yet as he extented the mighty things he and could feel a new power coursing through him. He beat them at his sides and smiled in triumph as he felt the wind he kicked up between his legs. It was a taste, and he immedianty longed for more.

He jumped into a running start. He kept going until his legs were about to give out from beneath him, in a swift motion he launched himself up into the air. To his dismay it was like walking on unsteady ground, his balence was off. It was difficult to keep upright with two hulking feathered wings on his back.

Looking down he found a sprawling landscape, a view known only to those residing in the heavens. Something about it charged him. He found he could breath better here, in a place where air was thin. He could taste the water in the atmosphere and see the tiniest details in the clouds. He stretched and found himself soaring. He dove through clouds and plunged down only to sweep up again. Each move came more and more naturally.

A grin spread across his face. He was free from the confinds of the ground, from the suffocating force of gravity. Yet something still nagged at him. He could only be so happy before he remembered what he was missing.

He paused and looked up. There it was. The sun. The brilliant light higher then anything else.

Nothing would satisfy him more then to reach it.

He used to tell me stories of the eagles and hawks that would come rescue us from our prison. And I believed him. As I got older, that faith dissipated. But with it, a new hope grew. We started building wings. Made them out of wood, but it was too heavy. We tried metal, but that was way too heavy. Then one day, the very eagle I had daydreamed about dropped a feather. It landed next to the one wax candle we had. And idea was born.

(I realize that not how the myth goes. I wanted to play around will a few things.

“Remember, my boy, keep your head up and your arms balanced.” Daedalus smiled as he helped his young son strap the feathered wings to his shoulders.

Icarus’s brow furrowed as he twisted a pale feather between his fingers and pulled it off, letting it float to the ground. “What if they don’t work?” he asked, voice barely above a whisper. Daedalus simply shook his head, chuckling.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I won’t let you fall.”

“Do you promise?”

“Yes, I promise.” Daedalus ruffled his Icarus’s hair, then paused, glancing up at the glaring horizon. “But how about we test them out first? To soften your worries.”

Icarus nodded vigorously. Hands trembling, he gripped the wings’ straps as he jumped into the air, somewhat reassured by Daedalus’s arms held out protectively underneath him. As he flapped his wings, the wind eased him into a steady glide, and soon enough, he was soaring in the sunlight.

“Father, I’m doing it! I’m flying!” The wind whipped through Icarus’s hair as he danced through the air, rosy lips forming a triumphant grin. Daedalus whooped and hollered, throwing his arms up with pride.

A smile crossed his face as he realized, this would soon be their new life together. This feeling of freedom would last forever, once they finally leapt from this prison.

His little boy would be free at last.

Daedalus shrugged on the other pair of wings before jumping up to join Icarus in the sky.

(Tw maybe. I’m not an expert on what might trigger people, but I figured I should add it just in case)

“It might be safer on the ground, but I was born to fly.” He said. “Yeah, yeah. I know. You talk about flying every day Iggy.” “Didn’t I tell you never to call me that. My name is Icarus.” “Right. Iggy.” Icarus started to chase his brother. His fingers lightly brushed his cape. Soon Icarus grabbed it causing his brother to fall over. “Stupid capes.” He mumbled. “Ha! I win!” Icarus said with a laugh. “So, Mika.” He said helping him up. “When do you think my wings will be ready?” “I don’t know.” He said with a smirk. “Wanna take them for a test run?” “Yes!” Icarus shouted. Mika ran into their tent and came back with a pair of wings.

After Icarus got a crash course on how to use them he took off. He flew higher and higher, reaching up to touch the clouds. His laugh rang across camp. The whole village came out of their tents to watch him fly. He kept flying higher. Soon he was face to face with the sun, bathing in the golden light. He could feel his wings starting to melt but he didn’t care. He had achieved his dream, how many people could say that they almost touched the sun? Icarus began to fall.

“Icarus!” Mika yelled racing to catch him. Icarus hit the ground with such force most assumed he was dead. Mika hugged him and started to sob. “This is all my fault.” He said. “Iggy I’m so sorry.” His mother and father came out of their tent to see their two sons. One hugging the other. “Icarus!” His father yelled pushing Mika away from him. “How could you do this?” His mother whispered. “Tell me.” She looked Mika dead in the eye. “HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN?!” She fell to her knees and cried.

“I.. I’m sorry.” Mika said quietly. Without a second thought he ran. Away from his family. Away from the village. Away from the sky and away from the sun. He couldn’t bare to be without his brother. It haunted his dreams. Icarus falling to the ground, then crashing into it. Mika would wake up in a cold sweat filled with dread and guilt. Five years passed. A now twenty year old Mika went to face the sun. He climbed the highest mountain he could find and stared at the sun with anger and pain.

“Your here too.” A young voice said behind him. He turned around to see a teenager about fifteen. “It might be safer on the ground.” The boy began “But I was born to fly.” Mika said before he started to cry hugging his brother tightly. “Nice to see you again, big brother.” Icarus said. “Icarus how are you alive?” “It’s a long story, and call me Iggy. I missed it when you were gone.” The two brothers hugged each other and talked for hours.

“Woooo! Hoooo! I’m flyyyyyyyying!”

Icarus swooshed through the sky, whooping and hollering. Right over Penelope, standing on the cliff side. Sun light traced the edges of his wings, framed by the sparkling blue, Mediterranean sea.

“Ha! Ha! Hahaaaaaa!”

Penelope felt the wind from Icarus’s wings on her cheeks. She smelled the salt of the sea, and the musky, sweet scent of beeswax.

It was intoxicating.

“You’re flying!” “It works!” “It works!” Penelope shouted back to him.

Icarus pointed the tip of his right wing down and he arced to the right. White light reflected off his wings as he glided gracefully towards her spot on the cliffside.

Spinning around in rays of sunlight and dappled wing shadows, She raised her arms towards Icarus and the endless blue sky. Icarus glided around her in gentle circles. A kaleidoscope of light and colors surrounded her.

“Hello Penelope!” He grinned broadly.

The brush of wingtips touched her hair as Icarus broke the circle and headed over the cliff’s edge back towards the sea. Right over her head, and into her heart.

Penelope noticed Icarus’s tan, muscled arms flex as he flapped his magnificent white wings, rising higher and higher in the sky.

And then he dove down in a corkscrew pattern towards the salty sea.

He called out to her playfully.

“Penelooooopeeeee!”

“Hahahahaha! Come back to me!” She cupped her hands and shouted, jumping up and down.

It was Icarus’s radiant smile and supreme confidence that drew her to him. That sparkle in his eyes. He exuded the enthusiasm of youth in the growing body of a young man.

Lost in her thoughts, Penelope lost sight of him. She looked to her left, and to her right, and glaced left again.

Icarus was nowhere to be seen. Fear pierced her heart.

She lay down at the edge of the cliff and peeked over to find him.

Swoooooosh! A blast of wind caressed her and there he was again, sailing over the cliff top.

She watched his boyish grins as he zoomed over her head, tanned muscles rippling from so many days practicing in the sky.

For a moment, Icarus blocked out the sun’s ray. Penelope saw all the edges of feathers cast in golden hued, sunburst rays. His body was cloaked in dark shadows, of hubris and confidence, perhaps. Perhaps.

“Icarus! Don’t fly so high! You will surely hurt yourself!”

That apparently gave Icarus an idea. He started flapping his wings and flying higher and higher towards the sun.

“I’ll fly over Helios himself!” Icarus boasted, joyfully. “Ha! Ha! Ha! Hah!”

“Icarus!” she admonished him. “Don’t say that! The gods will be angry with you!”

Penelope noticed Icarus’s chest muscles contract and ripple as he flapped his wings, powerfully, accelerating higher and higher.

Icarus became a small speck in the sky. Penelope felt the fear again.

A gust of wind came unexpectedly and jostled Icarus. He started to tumble.

Penelope gasped.

“Watch THIS!” Icarus shouted from afar.

Icarus dove towards the sea. Hugging the cliffside.

“WOOOOOOoooooooooo! HOOOooooooo!” His shout faded from earshot as he hurtled to the water.

Pulling up at the last minute.

“Oh, Icarus! You are a stubborn boy!”

Her face frowned, but her eyes glowed.

You tested it, On my heart. To see if they would fit, This test just the start.

You thought I could fly, With this love you hold. You are my sky, And this makes me bold.

You; my wings Me; my lift Your love; my height. My hope; my burnt soul

…

Love you R

…

🖤

When his father told him to jump from the tower’s opening, his legs were shaky and his throat was dry but once he did an excited shout leaped out of him. He kept flapping the wings but it wasn’t steady enough and he could feel himself dropping lower. With all his strength, he moved his arms with intensity until he was keeping up a steady rhythm.

“Not too close to the sea and not too high to the sun,” his father advised as he adjusted the wings on him.

“I know, I know,” Icarus replied, antsy, gazing at the window as his father gave him a peck on the forehead.

“Be safe, my son. We will find our freedom from my creation,” his father said while pulling away from Icarus.

That was just a few minutes ago and Icarus could still see his father’s labyrinth when he looks to the side. For a second, he wonders what it would feel like to glide above the stone walls. Would he hear the minotaur’s footsteps and glide with ease as he evaded him? Or would it feel like a thrill as he heard the minotaur slam his head in the walls of the labyrinth that it would bring a cackle of joy out of Icarus’s mouth.

“Keep steady, my son,” Icarus could hear his father’s advice in his head and he turns away from the sight of the Labyrinth and looks forward.

As he flies, steady like a chisel in a trained hand working on a statue of the gods he finds some company. To his side, a flock of birds take notice of him and they accept him as if he’s their own. How lucky are the birds who fly in the sky? For they get to do this every day! The excitement inside of Icarus bursts out into another gleeful shout and it scares away the birds who fly away with him with quickness. Disappointed, he frowns and his eyes lift.

The sun. A constant. A wonder that so many dwell on…what if? No! Icarus shakes his head, keeping his steady rhythm.

“Not too close to the sea and not too high to the sun,” Icarus repeats to himself, letting his head lower.

The sea sparkles under the sun’s gaze and Icarus wants so desperately to swoop down towards it. His throat feels dry, the filth on his body is a hard shell on his skin, and…no! He could not let the sea tempt him.

When he was in the tower, his father had given him the last drop of water. Icarus reminisces on the taste. It was hot, unsatisfying, leaving behind a desperation for more. There was no more water in that tower. Inside the tower, it was hot and even now sweat still covered his body as he flew. Icarus flies into a memory from a couple of days ago.

By this time, he felt like an expert of these wings. His father tasked him to touch the ceiling and stay there for a few minutes. It was an easy task, one Icarus had managed to achieve after a few times of use but still Icarus eagerly agreed. As he flew upward, he felt sweet relief from the heat as the wind from his arms cooled him down a bit. He spinned in the air, the coolness embracing him even more. His heart thumped in his chest, dancing like a man that’s received a god’s blessing. His heart is singing to him, a tune that says this is where we belong.

The heat, his hotness were all forgotten as he flew upward and then touched the tower’s ceiling. The ceiling was hot against his fingers, causing him to pull his hand back and let out a yelp. Still, he didn’t have a desire to descend because as much as his hand hurt from the burn his love for flying in the air burned brighter.

It grows. The dryness in his mouth is itching to tear his voice out. The temptation spinning in him to drop in the water becomes a frail rope he finds himself reaching for. No, he chastises himself, using his father’s voice in his head. He pushes himself away from his thoughts of water, looking straight ahead.

The sky is clear. A lighter blue than the sea. If he closes his eyes could he pretend that he’s swimming amongst the cooling cleansing waves? Could he pretend his tiring thirst isn’t weighing him down?

A cool breeze hits his face. It gives him a much needed temporary relief.

As the wind hits his face, his mind goes back to when he first tried on the wings and listened to his father’s instructions. At first, he didn’t get off the ground, his feet stayed on it like a lost coin that has yet to catch someone’s eye. Eventually, he levitated off the floor but seconds later a harsh fall greeted him. His father took the wings off of him, studying them in a way that told Icarus that his father was deciphering the wing’s secrets. Despite his fall, all Icarus could think about at the time was how thrilling it was to levitate in the air even if only for a few seconds. And here he is now in the sky dutifully listening to his father’s advice with boredom as his only companion.

But what if he went a little bit higher? His heart beats at the idea, longing for it. With all his strength, he moves his arms with more intensity until he is moving upward. A smile crosses his face and he wonders how it’ll be if he moves just a bit more upward…

In the tower, when Icarus first gained height and stayed in the air his father had clapped in excitement.

“We’re free!” His father exclaimed. “Oh, my son, we’re free!”

Icarus didn’t respond, instead, he let out an exclamation of joy as he stayed ascended. His sandals dropped, making a rather dire sound as they hit the floor. As high as he was, Icarus could tell concern had reached his father’s brow.

Seconds later, he heard his father shout. “Alright, you should come down now, Icarus!”

But he didn’t want to come down. He moved higher and higher, wondering if the gods had made a fatal mistake giving him arms without wings. Icarus was meant to soar! To fly! He flew further upward and then spun around, diving lower but coming back up again. Even in the tower, a small enclosure compared to his current setting, Icarus found a freedom that the ground never granted him.

Icarus is pushed out of his memories as his desire to stray away from his father’s advice becomes stronger. Just a little higher, he thinks and moves even higher than before. He flips himself over and stares straight at the sun. It’s majestic and calling to him like a siren’s song to a captain of a lost ship. It blinds his eyes with its brightness, causing him to squeeze them shut but Icarus does not feel deterred by this but longing…

Icarus flips himself over again but this time spins himself until his back is facing the sun. Closer, he thinks. I need to get closer….

Icarus's mind goes back to the day his father first presented his newest creation to him. The wings were made of feathers of whatever birds passed by their prison. It took so long to gather enough and as the days turned into weeks then months Icarus wondered if this tower was to be their grave. Seeing these wings for the first time gave Icarus a taste of freedom…of life. In an instant, he clawed for them like they were fruits on a bush or a tree. His father pulled it away from his grasp.

“Not tonight, I would prefer we test these out in the daylight.”

“But father…” Icarus responded in a whiny tone. “We are growing weaker each day. Please, just let me put it on now!”

“No,” his father said in a firm tone as he set the wings aside. “You will wait until tomorrow.”

That whole night, Icarus couldn’t sleep. He stared up at the tower ceiling, imagining himself flying.

Flying in the air is so much better than anything his imagination could conjure. It’s so much better than flying in the limited setting of the tower. And yet…here he is imprisoning himself to his father’s advice.

Higher. Icarus decides to push himself even higher, daring to get closer to the sun. The dryness of his mouth is forgotten. The longing of the sea is washed away from him. This is against his father’s advice but his father would never understand how the sun beckons Icarus. His father was always overprotective and what harm could there be by getting close to something so beautiful?

Yes, in fact, if he could get closer, maybe the sun would radiate even more… yes, he thinks, the sun shines even more radiant upon his gaze. It’s as if they belong together…two beams that can’t help but shine.

With only longing in his heart, Icarus flies higher straight towards the sun.

My wings, Are not wax. My flight, Is not powered.

My lift, Is from my chest. My purpose, Is In my heart.

I will not burn, Near the sun. For you Are my sun.

My stars And sky…

…

Love You R

…

🖤

357 day streak…😩