Shattering winds aggressively wrestle their way through the tall grass on the cliff’s edge, giving it an effective comb through. We approach the edge, gooseflesh pimpling down my limbs. A shiver crawls up my spine. The waves scream their icy tune as they thrash against the bottom of the cliff. I spare a glance down, my stomach dropping at the distance. I turn to my sister, who presses her thin lips together in a rueful grin.

I answer her grin with my own. One of us is leaving here with a heroic destiny. We both know what happens to other, but neither of us dare to say it.

I grab my sister’s hand and pull her towards the cliff edge with me. She nods slowly in my direction.

Then we jump. 

Air flows past us in a heavy flurry, invading my lungs to the point where I can’t catch my breath. My cheeks grow numb as the cold winds tear at them, my eyes fluttering from the dryness.

An assortment of sharp jagged rocks populate the oceanic landscape. Their pointy peaks stretch up, away from the thrashing white-caps below. 

I know in only a matter of a few seconds, one of us is going to meet these jagged rocks in a brutal end.

I close my eyes, preparing for whatever end may come at the bottom. I release my shoulders from their rigid position and let the fluidity flow through my limbs. The air continues to push past me, almost becoming a comfort, being there to hold me as I reach my end. I inhale the coolness, feeling the sting in my chest. 

And _exhale_.

Something like acceptance flows through my body as the tension exits me with that breath, my limbs loosening. Sudden strength courses through my veins as I clench my hands into fists, feeling the heaviness of the sudden adrenaline.

I wince as two angelic wings sprout from my back, my blood coating the pearl feathers. I turn to look back as they stretch behind me, such as a baby bird does when learning to fly. 

I take another breath. 

Close my eyes. 

And focus on the wings. 

_Flap. _

The abrupt change in speed sends my stomach into a frenzy. 

_Flap, flap. _

Now gravity fights to pull me down, but my body resists. 

The world stills as the wings find their steady cadence to keep me balanced in the air. My wings. 

I look down, the peak of a rock a mere inches away from my foot, its angry sharp edges thirsty for the impending meal they thought they would have. 

Happiness tugs at the corners of my mouth, forcing my cold, numb cheeks into a smile I can’t even feel. 

The happiness is short-lived as I turn around.

I turn to see my sister never sprouted wings. The peak of one of the rocks clawed its way through her abdomen like a rabid animal, her grimy entrails coating the tip. A steady stream of blood flows down her lifeless arm, sending little droplets to the hungry waves below. 

I close my eyes as tears try to fight their way through.

_I hope this destiny is worth it. _

__