Andy found that she was getting used to working for Miranda. It was a bit strange and overwhelming, but once she had learned to understand her boss - what she wanted and how she wanted it - it wasn't that hard.
What was hard, however, was doing everything within the given time frame. Miranda wanted most things done immediately, if not sooner.
Requests like "Get me that dress I liked from yesterday" were actually quite fun; challenging, like riddles... But when a handful such errands had to be taken care of before noon, and the coffee had to be hotter than the sun, then any girl would wish that she had wings.
Andy's too short lunch break was over and she had to go out again; she had to be quick, because Miranda needed her with her during the afternoon. The heels of her shoes were low enough for her to be able to walk safely, but too high for her to run in them. She shouldn't run anyway. Miranda wouldn't like it if she saw it. Andy tried to speed up as much as possible and sighed impatiently when she and a whole bunch of other pedestrians had to stop for the streetlights. Her fingers drummed against her thigh and she had to brace herself so that she wouldn't growl. Oh, the slowness of the traffic!
Finally, she could walk, her thoughts steadily fixed on her destination. She didn't know when it started or why, but suddenly she was aware of little children giggling and even pointing their fingers at her. Grownups mostly just looked at her funny. What's the matter, she thought. Is there something wrong with my hair?
Then she met Lily who was out on an errand of her own. Or, Andy thought, maybe she's just meeting someone for coffee...
Lily stopped and didn't hug her. In fact, she stared quite disapprovingly at her friend.
"What?" Andy said. "Hi, Lily. Yes, I'm glad to see you too..."
"Are you going to masquerades during office hours now?" Lily asked. "This job of yours just keep getting crazier."
"What are you talking about?" Andy frowned. It wasn't a big secret that Lily didn't like Andy's job, but the things she said usually did make at least a little sense...
"Wow", Lily said, "and now you're so stressed out that you've even forgotten what you look like? So maybe that's yesterday's costume that you never got out of before going to bed last night?"
Lily rolled her eyes and Andy was just about to ask her what she was talking about, but never got a chance.
"I've got to run now", Lily said. "I'm late. Bye, see you later, angel!"
Lily brushed past her. Andy shook her head and was about to move on, remembering that she had to be somewhere, when her head movement caused her to glance at her own reflection in a shop window. Andy hadn't looked to the side for a long time, there was no time for window shopping or checking herself out, but now she did a double-take.
She had wings. Big, white and shiny, they were sitting on her back like they belonged there. Which, of course, they did not.
"What the..? Is this some kind of practical joke?"
Andy looked around, expecting to see someone looking at her, laughing. Somebody had to be jumping out from somewhere with a camera or something, maybe it was Nate who was playing a prank...
Nobody seemed to care about her except for the occasional look or giggle. She supposed it wasn't that strange after all - few people would bother, during their busy day, to care about a girl in an angel costume. Andy stood there for a moment, waiting for the prankster to show his face and take the wings off her, but no one showed up.
After a while, she got angry and decided just to throw the wings away, right there on the street. Whoever had paid for them could get them back when they had been run over by buses and cars. She didn't have time for nonsense.
But to Andy's surprise, the wings were really hard to take off. It was strange because if they were so securely attached, how come she hadn't noticed when whoever it was put them on her?
Andy pulled harder at one of the bird-like outgrowths on her back, and gasped at the sudden pain - as if the wing was glued to her skin with some kind of super glue. She tried again, and it hurt even more; she almost cried out.
The wings wouldn't come off.
But somebody had to be there, right?
"This is not funny anymore!" She called out to anyone and no one in particular. "Get these things off me. Hey! Where are you? I know you're there! Get your ass out here right this minute, or else..."
Andy had to realize that she was being ignored. Either that, or the guilty person wasn't even there... but that didn't make sense, did it?
Tears of frustration were forming in her eyes and the seconds ticked away. Miranda was waiting, or she would be very soon.
Andy braced herself. Then she grabbed her left wing again and pulled, hard. And it hurt.
She had to realize that she just couldn't get the wings off of her on her own. She needed help, but she also knew that she couldn't show up at the magazine looking like that. She had to get home and wait for Nate, even if he was the one who had somehow put the wings on her and was laughing at her expense. The only comforting part about that was that if he had put them there, he would know how to get them off without hurting her.
Andy called Emily.
"I need to go home right now", she said. "I'm sick."
Emily didn't want to believe a word of it; how could Andy just leave in the middle of the day?
"I'm sorry", Andy said and didn't have to fake feeling nauseous. "I'm really, really sick. I just threw up. I know I'm going to have to do it again..."
"Alright, alright", Emily said. "Don't you dare come anywhere near Miranda with stomach illness!"
So, Andy had to endure stares and giggles all the way home. When she finally was outside the house she lived in, she sighed. Wings? How utterly ridiculous! This had lost her half a day at work, and the big, stupid things couldn't even be used for anything. If only she could fly with them...
Somehow, that thought made her make the wings on her back move. She shrugged, and allowed herself to dream, to imagine what it would feel like to actually spread out her wings and rise to the sky...
Before she knew what she was doing, she found herself a couple inches above the ground.
"Whoa!" she cried, and fell down, stumbled, and found herself flat on the ground instead, the wings a feathery mess on top of her.
Andy got up to her feet and thought that she was losing it. She hadn't actually been flying for a second, had she?!
Of course not. But - she looked around, and no one was within sight - there had been something about it, an inexplicable excitement, a flicker of something in her guts, and... she tried again, whatever it was, and yes, the wings worked.
Unless she had been drugged and was hallucinating the whole thing, she really was flying; clumsily, yes, and not high up in the air, but her feet were not touching the ground. It was too impossible, she decided; it couldn't be happening. She hit the ground again with a thud. She stood there for a moment, thinking.
Maybe it wasn't a stupid prank? Maybe the wings were real; real parts of her body?
Andy had never heard of something like that, but on the other hand, she hadn't heard of 'real fake wings' either. How many people wouldn't want to have wings?! They would be a hit instantly the moment someone created them and released them on the market, so why hadn't she heard of it before? She knew for a fact that she hadn't, but she also knew - provided that she wasn't actually hallucinating - that she had been up in the air just now. So something was happening. The only logical conclusion, or at least the only possible conclusion, was that something had happened to her. Was it some kind of freaky top secret government experiment? Was it magic? Was it a gift, was it a curse?
Did her wish come true?
There was no way Andy could figure any of it out. She had no idea what to, except - to try her wings and fly. So she did.
She fluttered her wings insecurely at first, not knowing how to do it properly. Was it going to hurt? Was she going to fall if she didn't do it right? Was she going to fall down and die?
None of these things happened. She looked down and almost forgot to move her wings – it was so shocking to be able to look down on the buildings and the cold, hard concrete – but Andy discovered that she really could fly, and once that thought had begun to sink in, another one followed: What if someone sees me?!
As far as she knew, someone could very well have seen her already through a window; maybe journalists from all over the place were on their way, from journals, magazines, TV, even the radio… But she saw no one out on her street yet, and decided to try to get higher up in the air. Her heart was beating hard and fast and she could think of nothing else: I have to get away where no one can see me – but to where? Where can I go?
Was there no escape? All of a sudden, she was abnormal – how was it even possible? It wasn't natural to have wings, but she had them, and it was clear to her that she could not take them off without bloodshed and pain. She didn't know where to go or whom to turn to, so she kept going higher and away from the city.
It was so strange, being that far above everything else. The air was cooler and everything was quieter. She wanted to reach out to the birds, smile and say hi, but they avoided her. Probably because she wasn't one of them, and they saw her for what she was: A big freak. Not a bird, because she was big and didn't chirp and had no bird-like features whatsoever except for the wings. But because of those wings, she was no longer human, was she?
She was getting tired, and the sun was setting. Andy wasn't even sure where she was anymore – only that she was far away from the city – and she landed on a bridge that looked like it had seen better days. But one thing was good about it and that was that she was alone on it; the road was deserted on both ends and she could hear the sound of the water running under it.
Andy sat on the bridge railing, her feet dangling, and only then did she begin to feel how hungry she was. She hadn't eaten since breakfast, and darkness was quickly falling. She did have money in her pocket, but even if she had found a grocery store or a restaurant nearby, would she dare to get in there?
She pondered this question in silence, when her cell phone began to ring. Andy took it out of her pocket with trembling fingers; it was Nate, asking where she was and what she was doing.
"You weren't supposed to work tonight", he said. "This is not in your schedule. Andy, when are you going to realize that Miranda can't rule your entire life?"
"This has nothing to do with that", Andy replied quietly. "I'm sorry, but believe me: This is out of her control."
Nate took a deep breath on the other end, as if he was getting ready to deliver a big lecture, but he must have changed his mind.
"Andy, you sound strange. What's wrong?"
"Nothing", she lied. "Look, I can't talk to you right now. Don't wait up for me; it's going to be alright. I'm sorry."
Andy hung up on him, and took off into the sky again, too frustrated to sit still for long.
Now what was she going to do? She had more or less known for a long time now that she couldn't go on with Nate, but not even in her wildest dreams could she had imagined running away from him because she had wings! Flying away from him, more like it.
Andy no longer believed that Nate had anything to do with her situation, because it was such an impossible thing that had happened to her. He couldn't have planned it. She was sure that he wouldn't have believed her if she had told him the truth over the phone.
Who could believe the magical, the fantastical, without freaking out? Who could help her?
When Andy thought back to stories and fairy tales, she began to see some kind of a pattern. It was in almost everything from Peter Pan to E.T.. Could it be right? Children didn't judge, didn't freak out; they embraced adventure and magical creatures. She got something of a warm and fuzzy feeling in her chest when she thought of little Lucy in the snowy forest of Narnia and the faun…
But the only children Andy knew…
It's getting dark, and I'm desperate, and I don't know what else to do!
That was her only defence, her only reason, as she set out to maybe or maybe not make a mistake: She headed toward Miranda's house.
It took her quite a while to get there. Once there, she hovered above the house she knew so well, and studied it from above. Her stomach was a tight knot, her throat was dry, and she only knew one thing for sure: She couldn't stay up in the air like that for much longer.
So, covered by the darkness of the night, she slowly descended to Caroline's window where the light was still on, and knocked on the glass.
Andy didn't see anyone inside, but Caroline soon appeared, and she screamed when she saw Andy outside. Andy felt like screaming, too. And she felt like crying. She hadn't meant to scare Caroline!
But Caroline, it seemed, had been more surprised than scared, because her next reaction was to jump up and down and squeal excitedly.
"Cass! Cassidy, come quick! It's Andy!"
Caroline shouted loud enough for Andy to hear it, but as Andy was on the outside she didn't want to raise her voice like that. 'Please, let me in', she mimed.
Caroline didn't let her in, maybe because she was busy laughing. She was dressed for bed, and Cassidy, who very soon came running, was also wearing pyjamas. Andy saw that the other twin gasped in surprise when she saw a familiar face outside the window, but unlike her sister, she didn't scream or laugh. She went right up to the window and opened it.
Andy, feeling eternally grateful and too exhausted to even be very embarrassed, tumbled in and collapsed on the soft rug on the floor. She felt the softness under her fingers; it was warm, it seemed good enough to sleep on, and as soon as that thought hit her, sleep was the only thing she could think of.
But the twins' excited whispers brought her back to a more conscious state of mind. She couldn't come knocking on a little girl's window just like that and fall asleep on the floor! Andy sat up, very conscious of the wings on her back.
"Thanks for letting me in", she said. "Thank you. I know this must look weird to you, and I'm sorry. I don't know where to begin…"
"Are you in trouble?" Caroline asked. "Are we like going to hide you from gangsters or something? From the police? Who are the bad guys?"
Andy's jaw dropped. Was that what it looked like? Like they were all acting in some spy movie?
"No!" she said firmly. "I haven't done anything wrong."
"So you're winged, huh?" Cassidy said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah", her sister added, "those wings are kind of huge. Would you mind folding them? Because you seem pretty unstable right now and I'd prefer if you didn't knock something over."
"Um", Andy said, "I'm… what did you say? Would I mind what? Girls, if you haven't noticed, hello, I have wings?! How can you sound so calm? It's freaking me out, you know! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come here; I don't know what I was thinking…"
The twins looked at each other.
"She's babbling. She's getting hysterical."
"Should we get mom? Should we slap her in the face? They do that in movies sometimes when people are like that."
The girls had not yet reached a decision, and Andy had not found the strength to get up from the floor, when Miranda's voice was heard from outside the room.
"Girls, what is this shouting about? What are you doing up at this hour?"
The next moment, Miranda was in the room. Andy had looked up as soon as she heard the familiar voice. She didn't even have time to think about what she feared or hoped for, before her employer saw her.
Whatever Miranda had expected, it certainly wasn't to find Andrea with wings in her bedroom; surprise was written all over her face, and it was the first time – and probably the last – that Andy had seen something like that.
But within a moment, Miranda seemed to be in perfect control of the situation.
"Well, well. This was unexpected, to say the least. Andrea, what are you doing here?"
"I don't know", Andy said, speaking the absolute truth. "Honestly, I'm sorry; I just didn't know what to do. As you can see, I flew here. I can't tell you why or how it happened because I just don't know. And I don't know what to do."
"Yes", Miranda said. "You said that already. I take it this is your first time?"
Andy blinked and couldn't believe the calm of Miranda's voice. Perhaps she was dreaming or hallucinating after all?
"My first time what?"
"Your first time flying with wings", Miranda clarified, with a hint of impatience in her voice; she did not like dealing with people who were slow on the uptake, Andy knew that, but, she thought, the situation was not exactly normal…
"Yes, Miranda", she said and got up from the floor. She felt a bit wobbly but she preferred it to being looked down upon like that by Miranda.
"Andrea, you are Winged." Miranda's voice was a little gentler when they were face to face. "It seems like you are a late bloomer."
The twins giggled, and Andy frowned.
"Miranda, I… I'm sorry, but I don't understand. You say this as if… as if what's happening to me is normal."
"Hey", Cassidy said, "it is normal. It's just not something that happens to everybody."
"Which is why you're not supposed to flaunt it or even to talk about it with people", Caroline added.
"Oh, believe me; I have no interest of talking about it! I just want it to go away."
The twins gasped, and then they shook their heads violently.
"Oh, no! It won't ever go away! Besides, flying is wonderful when you get used to it."
Miranda had watched the exchange without interrupting. Andy looked from the young Priestlys' excited faces to the older one's composed expression, and didn't know what to think.
"Andrea, don't faint. Sit down."
Andrea obeyed automatically, taking a seat on Caroline's bed. Miranda turned the chair in front of the desk so that it faced the bed, sat down, and the twins were standing on each side of her.
"This is how it is", Miranda said. "You are Winged. You belong to the people of wings."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"As far as I know", Miranda said, "it means that you can fly. That's all."
"No!" The objection came out louder and stronger than Andy had meant, and the twins flinched. "That can't be all. There has to be a reason for this. What do you mean, 'the people of wings'? There are no such people."
"You're wrong", Miranda said. "My first husband was one of them. And I am telling you everything I know when I say that that's all, because I don't know anything about the origin of your species. You have no country that I know of; you are a part of this world just like everybody else. Only with this little… peculiarity."
Andy stared at her. My species? she thought, Peculiarity? She's got to be kidding…
But somewhere deep down she knew that Miranda was telling her the truth. And as for the way Miranda's children had behaved…
"You have wings, too!" she exclaimed. "That's why you weren't freaked out when you saw me. Because your father has them?" The children nodded. "But why didn't I know anything about this? My parents don't have wings!"
"Maybe your parents aren't who you think they are", Miranda suggested. "Or at least one of them isn't."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"That", Miranda shrugged lightly, "is not for me to say. But I have to admit that I am rather relieved that you lied to Emily about your stomach flu. To have wings is not such a bad thing; you'll get used to it. And it can be very useful in your work, as long as you handle it the right way."
"You think so?" Andy said grimly. "This has been a weird day. But hey, if you guys know so much about having wings, how come you don't have them?"
"We have them", Cassidy said. "We just fold them in when we're around other people."
"Or in the house."
Miranda got up from the chair and said:
"Andrea, it is obvious that you have a lot to learn, but it is getting late. I suggest that my girls instruct you how to fold in your wings properly so that we all can go to bed. You'll stay in the guestroom for now, and the girls can instruct you further in the morning."
"Okay…" Andy nodded weakly, far too overwhelmed to do anything but to agree to everything.
"So we get to, like, tutor Andy? Yay!"
And there was actually a high five in the bedroom. Miranda rolled her eyes.
"If that's what you'd like to call it. But make it quick for now, and then go to bed."
That was obviously what Miranda intended to do; she walked swiftly to the door and was just stepping over the threshold when Andy called:
"Miranda, wait! I… I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for taking me in in the middle of the night."
Miranda said nothing. She just nodded curtly and walked out.
There was a moment of silence, as if none of the girls who were left in the room knew what to say next.
"Okay", Caroline said, "this is actually pretty easy. We'll show you…"
Andy got to see that they had been telling her the truth. Wings showed up on the backs of Caroline and Cassidy as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And to them, it was. They explained to her that they had had them since they were five, and folding them in and out was like second nature to them. They showed her, although they were unable to explain the actual mechanics of it, how there was no trace of wings on their backs once they were intent on not showing them. The process was mental just as much as physical, and it took about twenty minutes for Andy to learn how to do it.
Then she felt that she really had to get some sleep. The strangeness of the situation as a whole did not escape her – that she was actually going to bed in Miranda's house! – but she decided that she would have to let that thought go and think about it in the morning…
"Goodnight, Andy!" The twins smiled. "We'll take you flying tomorrow."
Andy nodded, and then a thought hit her.
"Hey, do you ever take your mother for a flight? I mean, is it even possible to fly with someone else?"
"We've never tried", Cassidy replied. "But maybe our dad did it sometimes? It would be a pretty romantic thing to do, I guess."
"I guess", Andy said. "Goodnight, girls. And thanks."
Strange thoughts. So many strange thoughts were going through her head, and her body was tense and almost felt beaten. A whole new world seemed to be opening up before her eyes with possibilities and restrictions she couldn't even begin to imagine.
But that, too, would have to be thoughts for another day. Andy's last thought, as she was embraced by the welcoming pillows and blankets in the guest bed, was that she hoped she wasn't going to dream about flying.