Wings

I arrived at the library a solid 10 minutes late, making sure to admire my appearance in the reflection of the doors before I even entered. Fashion is my top priority, so I do arrive fashionably late from time to time. I make sure to retract my navy-blue wings before sneaking over to the outermost corner of the library, not even bothering to find my mentor, Francine. My favorite corner consists of a table for one and a maze of books surrounding it on each side. No one would be able to see my plans this way. I had researched just about every book and website on the history of wings. I know where they came from, I know every shade they could come in, but I didn’t know how they could give me a new destiny. Based on the navy-blue hue I wear on my back, I’m stuck with a future in either a library or classroom, and refuse to accept this fate. I want so desperately to design my own clothes and study under elite fashion experts, not doing various research projects for a grumpy old librarian. From my seat, I hear the frustrated sounds of Francine telling a man he had to leave the library. I didn’t want to snoop, but who can resist a little drama every now and then? I was able to witness everything by peeking in between the spaces of the books on one of the shelves.

“Look lady, I’m not looking for any trouble, alright? I’m just trying to read a book in peace, that’s all,” the stranger explained with his hands outstretched, as if surrendering.

The old librarian started retorting back at the man, but it was all garbled gibberish to me at this point. My only focus was this man’s piercing green eyes, the black snake print cloak he wore over a dress shirt and black jeans, and his glittering black boots. What I couldn’t seem to notice was the color of his wings which were retracted underneath his cloak, making them almost

invisible. He didn’t seem like a bad man, I was certain of it, even if others don’t see things that way. I wanted to look on, but I knew I had to get back to my work.

“Psst! Hey, Georgia.”

I spun around so hard at the sudden and eerie call of my name that I knocked over a whole row of books in the process. Who I see wasn’t who I expected. The man I just watched almost get kicked out of the library was now face to face with me.

“Who exactly are you? How do you know my name?”

“My wings were ringing, and for some reason, they lead me to this dusty old place and told me to look for you,” he explained casually, as he dusted off a bookshelf with what I discovered to be pitch black wings, a color that no being’s wings ever displayed.

All my other thoughts melted away, and I suddenly needed to know everything I could about this man.

“Incredible,” I uttered, wide eyed. “So are those dyed, or…?”

“Oh, I guess the big guy upstairs erased humanity’s memory of me. Allow me to introduce myself then. The name’s Virgil, and I’m going to change your life,” the stranger spoke, as he pulled up a chair, straddling it backwards like a rebel teenager in detention who meant business. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t thoroughly intrigued. I sat down in a seat across from him, leaning over the table intently.

“Go on,” I urged.

“Okay, well I’m sure you’re wondering where I came from, so we might as well begin there. To put it bluntly, my father is the devil and decided it would be fun to mess around with God’s newest creations. He came here to middle earth from the lower world and ended up falling in love with my mother, but of course that wasn’t okay in God’s eyes.”

This story seemed utterly ridiculous and I could have sworn I was talking to a deranged man from the streets, but I wanted to see where this would go.

“My father left this place as soon as he found out my mother was pregnant with me. Right off the bat, my destiny was written out for when that creature entered my mother’s life. Instead of having white wings at birth and growing into my color like everyone else, God decided to curse me with these big black masses and decided that I would rule the lower world next.”

My eyes were popping out of my head at this point. I thought my destiny was awful, but poor Virgil had to look forward to the worst possible job. I suddenly had so much sympathy for this man who felt less like a stranger now and more like a friend.

“I, of course, grew up like you, wanting so badly to just make these feathery inconveniences disappear, but I just couldn’t figure out how. Cutting them off didn’t work, dying them away didn’t work, and praying that they would go away sure as hell didn’t work, no pun intended, so I thought that maybe I could start a rebellion like my father and encourage everyone to somehow drop their wings. This is the part where you come in.”

I looked on puzzled, almost wanting to tilt my head like a confused puppy.

“I don’t exactly see how I fit into this equation or how it would even help me.”

“Georgia, my rebellion did come close to succeeding. My wings didn’t come off but there were others who were able to make theirs disappear. We felt so victorious for finally beating the system.”

The more Virgil went on the more hopeful I became, but I still didn’t quite understand, though. People were still being born with wings and they were still getting destiny’s they were unhappy with, so what happened? It was as if Virgil read my mind and his story suddenly answered my curious thoughts.

“But as soon as God saw this, he plunged me right down to hell early and gave everyone their wings back. He apparently erased any proof of my existence as well. The point I am trying to make though, is that my rebellion didn’t work because of who I am, but it could work for you. You’re a good person Georgia, and I know you can succeed if you try this.”

I didn’t know what to say to him at this point. So many thoughts flooded my mind at once. How does a person just start a rebellion? Is that really the best option? I felt so lost in that moment. It almost made me want to give up on my dreams entirely and just do what I was told and pursue my career as a librarian. I shuttered to think of me as an old crow in a few years, shushing people as I went around rolling a squeaky wheeled cart full of returned books to restock the empty shelves. I didn’t want to accept that as my future, but I also didn’t see myself gathering a gang of people who would join this rebellion of mine.

“Hey, Georgia, are you okay? You’re spacing out on me,” Virgil asked, snapping his fingers in my face to grab my attention.

“Oh yeah, sorry I just,” I struggled to gather my thoughts for a moment. It felt like so much was happening all at once. “I don’t know if I can even do this,” I said, sounding slightly overwhelmed. “What if I get sent to hell next? What if nobody listens to me? What if –”

“Georgia, you’re spiraling,” Virgil stopped me. “Look at me square in the eyes now, Georgia.”

His firm voice commanded my attention right away. I didn’t hesitate to make eye contact.

“I want you to listen very carefully to what I have to say, okay?”

I nodded slowly, making sure not to talk anymore until necessary.

“You can do this. You can finish what I started, and this time, it will work, I promise. The one thing my father and I have in common is that we don’t lie, so you know you can trust me,” Virgil said as he gave me a friendly smile that made me feel like he really believed in me.

It made me think about how much my parents believed in my destiny. They would most definitely be crushed if they knew I wanted to change it so badly. But I shook those thoughts out of my head immediately, not wanting to psych myself out. I knew this was something that I had to do, for myself and for people like me and Virgil. I returned Virgil’s sure smile as we both stood up, ready to go our separate ways. Virgil had done his job, and now it was time for me to do mine. He shook my hand like a teacher would a student who had just graduated. I gave my thanks before speedily flying home in excitement, feeling like a war general about to rush into battle.

I arrived home at around 4:00, just as my parents were sitting down for dinner. I told them I would have to skip dinner tonight, as I had a lot of work to catch up on. I quickly flew up the stairs instead of my usual ungraceful running. I didn’t even realize that might actually be the last time I ever use my wings. I pushed any doubts or second guesses away before I changed my mind and ruined everything. It was finally time to put my plan into action.

I sat in front of my laptop as I logged onto my YouTube channel. The best way to reach as many people as I could about this rebellion was obviously through the internet. I apprehensively clicked the livestream button and soon enough I was being broadcasted. Within seconds, thousands of people were watching.

“Hi, everybody. I’m sure you’re all wondering what this is about, but I honestly don’t have time to explain. If you’re like me and absolutely hate the destiny you have been told to follow by the wings you have been forced to wear on your back, then I want to help you. I need you to take a good long look in the mirror, and tell yourself who you want to be. I know we know who we are, and we can’t let a pair of wings define that.”

I took a deep breath before continuing.

“I am Georgia Renay, and I am going to be a fashion designer. I will not study books for a living, nor will I be forced to teach others about them. I am in charge of my destiny.”

I looked at myself displayed on the screen, searching for the navy-blue wings I swore were there a second ago. My mouth hung open in amazement, not believing that it was that simple. I wondered if it had worked for anyone else, but I got my answer when I heard shrieks of joy and cheering coming from the various houses in my neighborhood. I looked out my window to see so many people practically dance out of their houses, no longer bearing their wings.