Dreamer
by M.E. Night
Looking up, he saw the sun starting to set, twilight covering the world and he longed to take to the skies. He had seen his cousin do it before him, his father before the hunters got to him. And all he wanted was to be able to fly. Above him, a solitary hawk, one not unlike his father's form, circled and he felt that yearning grow stronger.
"Josiah! Dinner!"
His eyes never left the bird in the sky, watching him through winter branches. He missed his father. He was the one who was supposed to show him. All the men in his family were weres. They could all fly by the time they were in their teens. And here was Josiah, on the brink of his thirteenth birthday with no one to teach him and a mother, worried out of her mind.
“Dinner!”
Her calls to him went unheeded. Hands reached out, pushing the window open. Kicking off his sneakers, he climbed out on to the roof. He could do this. Josiah pulled off his tee shirt, shivering as his toes touched a patch of snow. Shaky fingers went to his belt buckle, but a glance skyward showed the hawk still above him, watching him.
He had no idea how to do this, to shift into his were form. Closing his eyes, he thought about it, about taking flight and soaring above it all, forgetting how he got picked on at school, how he missed his father. And he jumped.
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Listening for the words in a quiet corner of the night. The fiction, poetry, and photography of Jason Evans.
About Me
- Aine
- Collaborator and night owl.
Past Contests
- "Elemental" Short Fiction Contest
- "Uncovered" Short Fiction Contest
- "Silhouette" Short Fiction Contest
- "In Vino Veritas" Short Fiction Contest
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- "Whispers" Short Fiction Contest
- "Restless Dawn" Short Fiction Contest
- "Halo" Short Fiction Contest
- "Endless Hour" Short Fiction Contest
- "Silent Grey" Short Fiction Contest
- "Lonely Moon" Short Fiction Contest (with Anne Frasier)
- "Midnight Road" Short Fiction Contest
- "Two Lights" Short Fiction Contest
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22 comments:
I'm betting on death based on delusion.
I'm a fantasy girl, so unlike Bernita I read it "shapeshifter," straight up. Nice job either way.
Trainee shapeshifter...hope he learned fast after he jumped!!!
Well written.
I'm with Deb. At any rate, if he's not ready to take the leap I suspect he'll survive the fall from the roof!
Nice mix of longing and sadness here.
i see it like bernita does...
Gosh. I swore to be more positive minded... but I too see it more like Bernita and laughingwolf.
What I love is you've drawn us so much into the piece that we are all making our own versions of its ending. As a writer, I can say its not an easy feat to achieve. So, bravo!
So glad the beautifully haunting photograph that Jason supplied has resulted in this wonderful shapeshifting story. Besides wanting to become a were and and learn how to fly, he's on the brink of transitioning from child to man. Your story makes me want to read more. Nice work! I enjoyed "Dreamer" very much. Best wishes!
I guess we have read so many sad stories here with so many deaths that maybe instantly we take this as one of them. I stick to it too. Death based on delusion, like Bernita mentioned first.
An excellent read. I liked how you left up to the readers on what happens in the end
I'm also in Bernita's camp on this one. Terrible tragedy. No wonder mom's nervous.
I hope he is a quick learner. I prefer to look on the postive side here and say that he is. I really feel this a piece where the reader is meant decide what happens next.
Oh this one was so so so sad for me. I feel for this child and want to hold him in my arms and rock him and tell him it will all be ok. Unfortunately, now he's either dead or very badly wounded and his mother had every right to worry. Nice writing here.
really like the open ending.
After a second read, I think this is glass half empty kind of story. But amazing how it could be interpreted either way! Bravo!
For once I disagree with Bernita - I think that what we are seeing is his instinct pushing him to take on his were form. The hawk overhead is a symbol of his father - not there in body but in spirit helping him to take his first flight.
Of course the brilliant open ending could mean we're all wrong.
Maybe he caught a recessive gene and he's a wolf.
Geee---zusss, this is like a teenager learning to drive without supervision. I like the premise of this story.
Recessive gene? Janey, you crack me up.
Voice here is spot on. I love the open ending and would definitely keep reading.
Don't we all want to be like those we admire most? No matter what/who they are? I hope he flies! :)
my caveat
Something I Would Keep
I'm with Janey, I think he's responding to instinct as only a headstrong teenager (of any species) can. I like it.
Something I Might Tweak
a mother, worried to death - I think he's too self-focused to realize what she's feeling - maybe a mother who needles him, which reveals her worry?
Shapeshifter. I'm in the shapeshifter camp. Fun read!
How does any bird learn to fly if not by jumping? I'm in the shapeshifter camp. (Or the delusional broken leg camp.) Love the open ending. "The Lady or the Tiger" was THE story that haunted my childhood.
Congrats on achieving "The Forties Club" status! Well done, Meghan! I voted for your story, of course! So proud of you!
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