My eyes were closed. I sensed that it was raining, but when I reached out to catch a raindrop in my hand, it was long and soft.

I opened my eyes to see that the raindrops around me weren't raindrops, but feathers. Feathers that came in five, precisely five different colors. Black, tawny, brown speckled with white, silvery-white, and a light brown. A smile wove its way across my face as I recognized these feathers.

They were something that I had never forgotten.

I heard laughter, sounding almost like an echo. I looked up, and there I saw winged children playing and laughing. They had all euphoric grins stretched across their faces. As I counted to make sure that there were indeed five, I wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad.

I was having a dream. I'd had this one so many times before. When I'd been younger, I had screamed up to those five until my throat felt raw. Now, so many years later, I just stood and watched them play.

Those five were my family. All had fallen while desperately making sure that I escaped the fight with my life. I had, but only I had.

A good seventy years had passed, and now I was married with children, and even grandchildren. I no longer shouted up to them because I no longer had a reason to.

For the first time, something in the dream was different. The youngest of the group, a boy with wild blonde hair, suddenly turned away from the others. The grin was gone, replaced by a curious look. His beautiful blue eyes focused on me, and the grin returned.

The boy gestured for me to join them.

Age had taken its toll on my body. I hadn't been able to fly in over a decade, so I shook my head to decline.

The boy gestured again. I reached my hand up to wave him off, only to see that my wrinkles were no longer there. My hands were smaller, and my skin was healthier. Blonde hair not gray was blown into my face.

Before I knew it, my wings were stretched. Then, I was running, and I leapt into the air.

Now, they were all watching me, beckoning me forward.

Feeling the wind on my wings again felt so good. I grinned up at the five, and before I knew it, I was laughing, too. They wrapped their arms around me, welcoming me, telling me how much they loved me. Then I was crying, but that grin was still on my face.

For the first time in so long, I was with the flock again.