Last Chance

What would you do to set yourself free?

The little bird stared up into the sky

High above in the billowing clouds

A flock of birds soared through the air

The little bird hopped from one foot to another

Anxiously wishing she could be with them

 

As the flock disappeared from her sight

The little bird thought to herself

“Why can't I go too?

Why am I the only one who can't leave the ground?”

Jealousy burned in her tiny heart

 

The little bird looked down at her wings

The bones were twisted and the feathers torn

The little bird knew without a doubt

That it was impossible to fly with these wings

Too painful to move and agonizing to use them

 

The little bird also knew

That if she jumped off the ledge she was on

Even if she opened her wings as far as they would go

She would only fall far below

And be engulfed by the dark abyss

 

It was like being in a cage

All the space she had to herself was a small ledge

A ledge that only took a few hops to cross

The only other stretch of land was far away

Too far for the little bird to possibly jump

 

Up above stretched the open sky

Just begging her to fly to it

But the little bird was stuck on that ledge

With her wings like a cage

Never allowing her the freedom she desired

 

Finally the little bird couldn't take it anymore

She could no longer stay put on the ledge

She knew she didn't have much time left

And she didn't want to die alone

She had to take this last chance before it was gone

 

With a weak hop

The little bird came to the edge

 Her heart pounded as she closed her eyes

So she wouldn't see the darkness below

And she jumped off the ledge

 

As she began her jump

She tried to open her wings

An unbearable agony struck her body

Swiftly draining her of her strength

As her ascent became a descent

 

Darkness swallowed her up

Like a hungry monster

As she fell farther and farther down

Her wings hung uselessly

And she started to lose consciousness

 

Farther and farther the sky was pushed away

As the little bird's tiny heart weakened

A drowsiness settled in her eyes

As darkness overtook the light

While numbness began to take hold

 

But as the little bird fell though the darkness

She felt a stirring in her heart

She forced herself to open her eyes

Pushing the numbness of eternal sleep away

She couldn't give up yet

 

The little bird gathered her remaining strength

And gathered her courage

She stretched her tattered wings out

And forced herself to ignore the pain

As she straightened them as far as they could go

 

Her fall slowed but didn't stop

But she wasn't done just yet

Carefully she lifted her wings

Up and down and back again

Until she felt herself finally begin to rise

 

The darkness slowly subsided

As she continued flapping with all her might

 And before the little bird knew it

The darkness's hold disappeared

And she was greeted by the sky's light

 

She used her last dregs of her strength

To soar through the never ending sky

Finally able to break free from her cage

And as she flew to the limits of her wings

The little bird closed her eyes as the wind kept her aloft