“Fly.”

His soft voice tickled my ears. I looked back and saw the determination in his eyes. He smiled down at me.

“But it’s too high!” My voice shook with a steadiness of nerves. I wasn’t ready yet, I’m so young.

He shook his head in response, noticing my hesitation. Though he could never understand me, he always had a sense of knowing about him. I deeply admired his sense of confidence. “I know you can do this.”

With those words, how could I not believe him?

I took a step closer off his delicately cupped hands. I did a quick hop to get myself ready, but as I made his way to his finger tips, I gazed down at the grass below. Quickly, my body jolted back closer to his palms and I started to panic. “No! No please! It’s too high! I could die! I don’t want to die!” My frantic chirps raced out of me at rapid speed. I just wanted to stay with him. Why couldn’t I just stay with me?

Beads of water started to form around his enormous eyes. Slowly, the cascaded down his cheeks. “I know! I’m sorry! I know th- you’re scared!” His voice was starting to break. “But your home is out there, in the woods! And- and up there!” He pointed straight to the sky. An endless sea of wispy white clouds. I couldn’t helped but be completely mesmerized.

He was right. I hated the thought of leaving, but he was right. As I stared at the sky, I felt a sudden wave of ease overcome me. I took one last glance up at him. An acute grin flashed on his face. “Fly.” A simple command, but coming from him, an ache of pain gripped my chest.

I took three deep breaths. I felt him lift me up closer to his mouth to give me a delicate kiss on the dead. “Fly.” Once more I heard the command. But, instead of pain, hope filled me chest.

His arms stretched out before him, giving me the distance I need to take my final leap. One hop to the tip of his middle finger. A breath. Then a leap.

My wings glided effortlessly on the wind. “I’m doing it! I’m really doing it!”

I couldn’t help my glee, the day finally came when I could take to the sky and witness the entire world below me. I continued up, looking back just for a moment to see him. He fell to his knees, eyes pouring out water and staining his white T-shirt temporarily.

“Keep going, little bird!”

His words of encouragement gave me a burst of energy. I flapped my wings with vigor to take me higher and higher to the clouds above me.

I couldn’t believe it. I was finally flying.