Alright, disclaimer: if this seems like something that you wrote, I swear I haven't read any other 'after twenty years' stuff. No wait, I read one or two. Three? But hopefully by the end of this one it'll be different... I really have no idea, seeing as I haven't read any others. =P Now, before I get redundant, I'll shut up and let you read it. ^_^ (you'd better, or I'll sic my flying monkeys on you...)
Nick Ride hugged himself tightly as he stared up at the daunting height of the cliffs. His whole past was confronting him; he could swear that the faces of his long-lost family were etched into the stone, taunting him as he huddled beneath the towering shame.
Twenty years of shame.
With a sigh, he shed the large jacket that he was wearing to reveal a flash of ebony as he stretched and tested his wings. It had been so long since he had been able to fly- to really fly. Of course he went out on his days off, but he could never go far. No, because someone else always had a need. Someone had wronged them this way, someone had stolen something; on and on and on... The life as a lawyer had long since lost any little pleasure he had struggled to find in helping others, even though his new 'talent' helped exceedingly.
Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Nick shrugged and sprinted several yards, jumping into the breeze. He hovered close to the ground for the next two hundred yards until he reached the base of the cliff. Well, if his wings would fail him it might as well be a sudden and quick death than dealing with the press about a freak accident.
He stared upward, locking his gaze onto his target. Funny it was still there. No rockslides, no developing. It was shocking in a way, what with all the new companies buying out all the land you could ever think to see. Yet here he was right with it, daring the impossible: that she could ever have forgiven him. That she would even put forth the effort to come all the way out here, from where she was.
Because he knew where she was. Of course he knew! How could he not? But shame had kept him away, and he knew nothing of her life. Just her location... or at least what it had been fifteen years ago, when he had spent months following any lead that could mean seeing her again. At least he remembered her name.
His thoughts consumed him as he climped upwards. It was hard, both physically and mentally, this step. Hard physically because he had tried to break himself away from the past, both by refusing to use his gift and avoiding any form of conditioning aside from what was needed. So now, he had to continually used his hands to pull himself up while catching sweeping winds.
Mentally? Well, it was painfully obvious.
Then he was there. He crested the last jagged outcropping and hovered before the cave, closing his eyes. He couldn't bear it. This couldn't be happening. Twenty years.
He opened his eyes again and landed lightly, heaving quietly from the exertion. Glancing down at the watch he wore, he noted the time. 3:40 AM. So early, but he didn't know when she would come. And he wouldn't risk missing her. No, he could never live with the added agony.
Time passed. The sunrise had been glorious. There was nothing he could have said to describe it. And still, it made him break down and weep from the memories it held.
That was the only hour that he hadn't checked the time. Now, he couldn't stop looking at it and watching the minutes drag by endlessly. At one point he had even dozed off, dreams crowding his mind. No, not dreams, but memories. Memories of her, and even of them. Memories he had kept locked away, deep in the dark recesses of his mind, because of the terror they held over him.
And amidst the dreams, he once again heard her wings. The lovely sound of them brushing his or just passing through the air, the way the sun pierced them as she soared beneath it, and the-
With a gasp, he jerked upright, panting. It had seemed so real. His ears were still ringing with the rhythm, the solid beating of her wings permeating everything. He dragged himself to his feet and staggered towards the mouth of the cave, collapsing against the rock, before he jerked fully awake. A sillhoueted form hovered nearly two miles away, the sun glaring off it. His heart skipped several beats as the shape came closer, and closer.
A strangled cry tore from his throat as he sank back down to the ground and covered his face. An eagle. Only an eagle.
He slowly forced himself to a more comfortable position and checked his watch. 4:57 PM. The last few sleepless nights had finally overtaken him. Yawning, he scooted back against the rocky wall and folded his arms, his wings twitching while he waited.
The sun sank, and the clock ticked towards a new day.
She never came.
*cue dramatic music* *coughs* *whistles innocently* Oh, one more thing: Criticize me for the story, but I can't do anything about the grammar. =P That's just the way I write... Haha. More to come! (when I finish it... *mutters*) Hmm... another thing! I only read through this thing twice. So it may seem rough.
Oh, and you see the 'Review this Story' button beneath my blithering? Click it. It's your friend. *nods* ;)
