| |
––––––––
I don’t waste any time devising an escape plan. I realize that my friends will never find and rescue me. I must do that on my own.
Some birthday I’m having. The rest of my Heaven’s Mark appeared, and something weird is happening between Aiden and me. Plus, I got wings.
Freaking wings!
They are gorgeous, an iridescent purple and white. I can’t store them away. They flutter around me as I sit on my bed.
Up until today, I felt my powers getting stronger. It was the only way I knew the date of my birth was coming.
I’ve been held prisoner for almost seven weeks.
Aiden. There must be something I can use. We are connected. I don’t know how or why. I still my thoughts, only thinking of him. We could be siblings, or maybe we were created from the same angel.
What has changed in Aiden these past weeks? Why now allow me to touch him? He must have known this was going to happen. Did he give me a loophole to escape? Is he helping me?
So many questions and no answers fill my mind.
I stop pondering and use his absence to work the room. My Light surges throughout my body, ready for release. Every particle of myself is made of up angelic power.
With my wings extended out and on the ready for anything, I pace the room, touching the bed, couch, and chair. Eventually, I want to brush my hand against the windowsill. I hesitate in front of where the invisible shield is. My fingers creep toward the glass. My hand is engulfed with purple Light and goes straight through the barrier. I’m touching the window.
“Yes.”
I peer out to view the scenery. It’s aqua-blue water surrounded by white, sandy beaches. Birds of all sizes soar in the air and speckle the sky as far as I can see. Dolphins play in the ocean. Occasionally, one jumps and splashes down. The scene changes. I’m pouring everything into creating a dense forest and then a vast mountain range.
A smile forms on my lips.
I pace the rest of the room toward the mirror, my Light still pulsing through my body. I press it against the clear wall and it shatters at my touch. With my hand extended out, I sweep the air like I’m feeling for hidden objects, making sure that nothing else is concealed to me. The only thing I can’t break are the four exterior walls; they remain solid under my palms.
I take one last look around the room. I know this is the last that I’ll see it. My head turns back to the window; the view has not changed.
This is insane.
But I won’t stay here any longer. If this fails, then I’ll think of a Plan B. For now, this is all I have.
Running toward the window, my wings extend out. Light consumes the room. It hums just under my skin. I make the final leap and crash through the glass. Like the mirror, you had told me. Liar.
I free fall to the ground but quickly remember that I have wings. They carry me up on the winds, and I soar through the air. I’m sure I’m something to see. A human body flailing about crookedly flying through the sky. I sink, spin, and tumble all the while trying to get myself righted and soaring straight.
My wings pump up and down and bring me higher. My back is already sore, but I fight through the fatigue. I look back and see a long island with two orange towers sitting on one end and a bridge connecting them. The open window I flew out of is in the exact middle of the bridge, the only dark spot on the building. It reminds me of someplace I’ve only seen in commercials.
I disregard it because I know it’s not real. It’s a place I once saw and thought of in my mind.
My body passes through an unseen forcefield, my vision is gray for a couple of seconds, and I see everything from a bird’s eye view.
Mountains line the sky to my right. My geography is limited, and I could be anywhere in the world. No snow is seen on the ground, except on the mountain tops. Europe has the Alps. I recall that Asia has the most ranges, the Andes in South America, Alaskan Range, and the Appalachian Mountains in the continental U.S. My mind flips through countries like a rolodex. Why hadn’t I paid more attention in class?
I fly lower to the ground, but not enough for humans to recognize a person with wings flying in the sky. With one thought, my body becomes invisible, and I decide to risk zooming toward the ground in hopes to find something familiar.
Using a circular pattern, I spiral outward, but nothing pops or nudges my memory until a landmark that is one of the wonders of the world comes into my view on the left: the deep valleys of the Grand Canyon. That would mean that the mountains to my right are the Rockies.
Now that I kinda know where I am, my mind recollects that Arizona would be to the southwest, New Mexico to the southeast, and Utah and Colorado to the north. Which would mean I’m close to Four Corners.
A narrow river winds through the countryside and flows westward. Is that the San Juan River that joins the Colorado River? I follow the twists and turns until four tiny rows of buildings come into view. It looks like a bull’s eye inside a square. As I get closer, five spikes rise, each spear waving colored material. I spot the U.S. flag immediately, the red and white strips dancing on the breeze, and fifty white stars against the blue background blink as if to say “hi.” I land in the middle of the four flags.
I wish I could tell you I landed gracefully, since I’m an angel. I can’t. I tumble onto the hard ground, trying to roll to lessen the impact. My face flattens. That’s going to leave a mark.
On the ground is a three-foot cement disk, and in its center is a smaller one. Four state seals with their state name mark the center of each corner. Red benches line each pie shape. A couple dozen Ordinaries mill around, taking pictures of each symbol as they wait their turn to straddle the very center circle, so they can say that they’ve been in four states at one time.
It’s a good thing I’m still invisible.
With one more passing glance, I take back to the sky and head northeast to Minnesota.