Ashes of Destiny

Flight of the little bird

Morgan was currently in what some might call a "predicament" she called it a "Learning opportunity".  What she was currently doing was  hanging by her fingertips from the roof of her aunt's work, which so conveniently happened to be an office building. She was about 300 feet in the air, and was feeling the unfortunate sensation of her fingers slipping off the ledge she was gripping. well... Time to think fast Morgan. She thought. Morgan looked around, she noticed a drainpipe that might  have enough stability to support her. She kicked off the wall, releasing her fingers and for one horrible, dizzying moment, she was falling. Her hands flew out, and she grabbed the drainpipe, it groaned under her weight but held. whew. That was WAY too close! Thought Morgan, as she pondered her options, which were somewhat wider now that she had something relatively stable to hold onto. She looked around once more, then spotted an old, rusty, but anchored flag holder that was currently unoccupied. Grabbing the rope hanging from her belt, she tied it into a lasso-like shape and tossed it onto the flag holder, she tested the give of the rope, deemed it safe (ish) and took a leap of faith. Someone on the pavement screamed, noticing the thirteen-year-old, swinging from building to building. She landed her feet onto the ledge that she had not previously aimed for, but due to the mildly alarming fact that she  was on course to slam straight into a rather unforgiving-looking brick wall, so she took her chances with the ledge.

"Oh my GOD!" shouted another pedestrian down below her "Is that a KID UP THERE?" She had already attracted quite a crowd, which was now eagerly, and worriedly watching her antics. She, being the savvy girl she was (not) was now waving and smiling at the crowd, as if she were a circus performer... She was once a circus performer, but she was taken away from her friends in the circus when it was discovered that her aunt was alive and her closest living relative. So she had  to bid her circus friends adieu, and was forced to go to her aunt. She took the other end of the rope, tossing it to the other building, forming a makeshift tightrope. If these people want a show, I might as well  give them one! She figured, hopping up onto the rope, and looking at the people.

"YOU WANT A SHOW?" She called to the people, she let herself fall backwards, then doing a half-flip and catching the rope, then flipping herself back up. The crowd clapped. She then hooked her heels onto the rope, then falling back, allowing herself to swing around and end back up on the rope. "AS MUCH AS I'D LIKE TO CONTINUE, I NEED TO GO!"

Then the window opened, and Morgan realized that she had been in full view of the window of the conference chamber that her aunt had been in. Morgan, you idiot!  Morgan berated herself.

"MORGAN MITSY SKYSWORD!" Shrieked Morgan's aunt, Priscilla, looking rather purple in the face, livid with rage. "YOU GET BACK INSIDE THE WINDOW THIS INSTANT!"

"I'm just going to back away....." Tried Morgan, backing down the tightrope 

"OH NO YOU DON'T YOUNG LADY, DO NOT MAKE ME COME OUT THERE AND GRAB YOU MYSELF!" Raged Morgan's aunt, "you are embarrassing me in front of my coworkers, and if you want a home to come back to, you will come inside this room and face the consequences."

"You couldn't come out here if you tried, and good luck explaining the girl on the tightrope to you oh-so-precious coworkers, I'm leaving." Morgan replied defiantly, I am SO done with your BS! "and you can't stop me." With that, she vaulted the rooftop, pulling the rope with her. 

"You'll come back to me once you realize that I'm all you have." Called Priscilla, after her. She received no response. Morgan was gone.

 Morgan breathed a sigh of relief as her aunt's voice faded into the distance, she had been hopping rooftops for about ten minutes, and felt freer than she had ever felt before in her life. She sank back against the chimney she was in front of, realizing the weight of the decision she had just made: she was on her own, now. She also knew her aunt would most likely be notifying the police department about her latest stunt, and she'd have to book it out of town, if she wanted to avoid being caught. Her keen ears could already pick up sirens. 

                                                                             ~   ~   ~

Morgan was now racing a fully fledged group of police, one car, and at least two officers. It's not like I'm going to beat them or anything, but I'll give 'em a good wild goose chase. Morgan smugly thought, she had not, of course, come to terms with the fact that she would have to return to either her aunt, or foster care. She was now just going for the good old "don't go down without a fight" approach to her situation, followed by a good old "improvise-as-you-go". She could see that the gap between her and the police was closing, and she put on a final burst of speed, leaping onto the flagpole of an unknown building and holding up her hands. The car pulled up under her.

"Please come down from the flagpole, Morgan." Called a female officer, kindly smiling at her.

"What are you going to do to me?" Morgan asked, suddenly scared.

"We're taking you home." The woman said. "Please, make this easier for both of us, and just come down from the flagpole."

Morgan disliked the tone of her voice, it made her think of a knife's edge. "Fine." Morgan slid down the pole, landing on her feet and walking over to the officer. Her name, evidently was Jasmine. "Please, do not send me back to my aunt, she's literally unbearable to live with."

"You'll have to take that up with the lawyer," Said Jasmine, she motioned for the other police officer to stay back, and took Morgan's hand. "I'm afraid this will have repercussions, since this is not the first time."

"C'mon! The last time was a fluke, and the time before that was not a fair race!" Protested Morgan, holding her ground.

"This is not a game, you are in serious trouble, and running away is not okay." Said Jasmine. Morgan shivered at her voice again. Morgan opened her mouth to say something, but then thought better of it, and allowed herself to be gently guided into the cop car. She sat down and began to plan her escape.