Broken Wings - BokuAka

Chapter 1

- Bokuto

"Okay, on the count of three, I'm going to let go," my grandfather told me, and I nodded my head, eyes squeezed shut.

"I'm r-ready," I stuttered out, my grip on my grandfather's sleeve tightening. The cold wind nipped at my face, sending a chill down my spine.

"Kōtarō, you have to open your eyes," my grandfather reminded me, and slowly, I peeled my eyes open, revealing the ground hundreds of feet below us. I let out a small squeak and forced my eyes shut again, causing my grandfather to sigh.

"Kōtarō, you'll be fine," he reassured me, but I shook my head.

"W-what if I f-fall," I mumbled.

"Then I'll be right here to catch you."

"I can't do this, I can't do this, I'm not going to be able to do this, oh my god what was I thinking-"

"Kō, breath. You're going to be fine. You just have to believe in yourself. Can you please open your eyes?" my grandfather asked, annoyed, and my body obeyed him against my will. I could see our small village far below me, and my grandfather's feathery wings that beat around me, keeping us in the air.

"Now, I'm going to drop you, okay? All you need to do is balance yourself out and just start flapping like your crazy uncle, okay?" my grandfather said, trying to ease my nerves by throwing in a joke. It didn't work.

"Alright, you ready?" I nodded my head.

"Do it."

"Okay, one, two, and three!" my grandfather yelled, and he released me from his strong grip in his arms, letting me free-fall through the air.

Despite myself I felt myself scream, and clamped my hands over my eyes. Then, whether it was instinct or not, I spread my wings out, beginning to beat them madly. I felt myself stop in mid-air, and when I peeked through my fingers, I saw that I was, in fact, not falling anymore. I removed my hands from my eyes and looked around, my powerful wings beating around me, keeping me in the air. I sucked in a breath. I was flying. I was actually flying!!

"Grandpa! Grandpa! Look! I'm actually doing it! I'm flying!!" I yelled up at him, putting every ounce of my happiness into my smile.

"That's my boy," my grandfather chuckled. "Now, how about we go for a fly, yeah?"

"Yeah!" I yelled, pumping my fist into the air, making my grandfather laugh again. He looked at me, and all I could see on his face was love. He dove down to me, and continued by me, going further down, faster and faster.

"Hey! W-wait up!" I yelled at him, and dove down as well, trying to catch him. My grandfather just laughed as a response, continuing back towards the ground as I desperately tried to catch up.

We flew around for a while, but soon, we touched down in the back of our small house, and the second my small feet touched down on the ground, my mother, father, and grandmother burst out of the back door, my mother holding a giant chocolate cake.

"Happy birthday!" they shouted.

"Mom! Dad! Grandma! You won't believe what I just did!" I yelled, running towards them. I ran into my father's arms as he swept me up, swinging me around in the air before finally putting his forearm underneath my bottom to support me as he held me.

"We saw," my mother said, setting the cake down on the table. "You did amazing baby, mommy's so, so proud of you," she said, coming over to where I was in my father's arms before cupping my face in her hands and kissing me all over. They tickled quite a bit, and I laughed.