I worship the beach. It is somewhere I can be myself without feeling any pressure to be 'mother' of the family. It makes me feel alive, energetic and vibrant, like all my worries just fall off my shoulders.

The feel of the golden sand between my toes, the sound of the waves repeatedly crashing on the sea line, the look of the pale moon reflecting on the satin black horizon.

Life is complex. Everybody knows that.

Some people say that life is the longest and hardest thing they've ever gone through; I say 'no shit' to that statement.

But, it's longer for us.

And a million times harder.

After we were transformed, nobody treated us like equals. Scrape that, before we were transformed, nobody treated us like equals anyway. We were literally locked in cages, with hardly any room to breathe. Everybody looked at us like we were poison, a scientific experiment.

And that is exactly what we were.

We had never gotten the chance to be normal, to have simple, effortless lives.

Because nobody had ever given us that chance.

'You are, what you are,' people say. And I wouldn't want to change anything in my life. I have the best of friends, and I am free.

Scratch that, I'm not free.

I'm entwined in a stronghold, suffocating slowly.

I gaze up at the sky, watching the stars twinkle in the distance. I spread out my wings, letting them feel the cool wind. The feathers ruffle slightly, and for a moment, I feel weightless.

I feel like I am resting my body, wings and mind.