The boy in a dream

It was a calm summers night. The wildlife in the nearby wooded area was the only thing audible at the time. There was a young boy who spent his time before bed, looking up at the stars. He always wondered if he could reach them someday. "Just maybe", he thought, "One day, I'll become an astronaut. Then I'll get there!" Every night he had these thoughts and aspirations. He would even dream about it in his sleep. It was the only thing he wanted the most in life.

During the day he would go through class, daydreaming about growing wings and taking flight. Levitating or just getting on an airplane. It didn't matter to him, he just wanted to soar through the skies. He would draw spaceships on desks and pieces of paper. He was envious, yet grateful to watch the birds achieve his dream so effortlessly. They looked truly graceful souring through the blue lit canopy. Even higher up, he would see the jet streaks leaving trails of smoke as they cut through the clouds like butter. During recess, he would get on the swings and jump off at the highest point, just practicing hoping that one day he would actually take off into the skies. It never worked.

When he would get to his house he would grab his favorite pack of noodles just to hold him over until dinner time. Mom would greet him as he came home, preparing dinner for him and his father. Dad would still be at work for the day when he arrived. His dad was an airborne paratrooper in the army and told him stories about how blissful those precious moments in the air felt. Getting caught in an air pocket and being suspended for more time than you ever really intended. Everything was so quiet and peaceful up there. He imagined he would skydive himself when he got older. His real dream was to actually take flight on his own however. To go wherever he pleased, whenever he pleased. Nothing holding him back besides his Mom calling him in the house for bedtime.

One night, he was extremely tired from his day of jumping and exploring the world that he went to bed a little earlier than normal. Once he got to sleep his dream was a little different than they normally were. He had complete control over his dream and could move how he pleased. He was aware that he was dreaming. Lucid dreaming. The boy was shocked, as he'd never been able to do this before. Normally, he would wake up and just be aware that his dream was vaguely about flying. Never before could he control his own dreams. He could fly, move around, see his neighborhood and others just as if it were really his life in front of him. He almost got lost in the dream not wanting to wake up. Only thing was, he was the only one present. There was no one with him and so he enjoyed the flying as long as he could, waiting for his alarm clock to jolt him out of his sleep. However, this dream seemed to drag on forever and he couldn't force himself awake. He eventually flew until he saw a large valley with the greenest grass he had ever seen. The boy sat in the valley and lied on his back as if he were ready to fall asleep in his dream. He closed his eyes and began to think to himself.

"Man, I can't wait until I finally wake up and get some of Mom's breakfast. I'm starting to miss her." To him, it's been hours, almost a day since he's been there. Starting to worry that he'd never wake up.

"Open your eyes son." A familiar voice off in the distance called out to the boy.

"Dad??? What are you . . . " The boys words caught in his mouth as he opened his eyes to see where the voice came from. The voice that resembled his fathers, came from a figure that wasn't his.

"Who are you?" The boy asked

"I am, your father and Its time that I give these to you." The figure said as he handed him a small box.

The boy didn't question or hesitate to open the box. A golden ray of light spilled out, almost blinding him instantly. He regained his sight and gazed upon a box that was completely empty. As he looked up to the Man was gone and he woke up instantly to his alarm clock blaring in his ears.

"That was some dream." I wonder what it all meant.

As he sat up, he noticed a little extra weight holding him down on his back. He felt an itch bothering him and he seen a couple feathers on his blanket. The boy pulled his shirt over his head and felt something being pulled as he let out a small wince of pain. Once the shirt was off, two beautiful baby blue colored wings stretched out almost the length of his room. Twice his wingspan, he looked back in astonishment as he couldn't believe his own eyes.

"No way!" The boy jumped up with excitement ready to use his new found gift as soon as he possibly could! First however, he had to show his parents and let them see the beautiful gift he was given and tell them all about the dream. Racing downstairs, screaming to his mom at the top of his voice ready to show her his gift. Before he could even get one word out she let out a scream so loud that it stopped him in his tracks. She was horrified at the sight of it. She didn't know what was standing in front of her at that moment. All she could do was scream in terror as his father came in to see the commotion. To the boys' surprise, stuck in his tracks at the sight of his moms complete and utter fear. His dad reacted as if he didn't know what to do but protect his wife. From the figure that stood in front of him. The dad hadn't seen anything like it before. Fortunately for the boy, he didn't have his guns near him, so he picked her up and ran out of the house. The boy still standing in utter disbelief, didn't know what to think. How to react, what to even do. He wondered what they had seen in him, so he went to the mirror. To him, he looked normal just with a pair of wings. On the outside, his parents believed they saw a demon.

He ran outside to find his parents and see what was wrong with them. Unfortunately, his dad had his pistol ready to charge back into the house to save his son whom he believed was still upstairs sleeping. The boy had already seen his dad shoot before and knew that he was a great shot. Instinctively, he took off soaring through the skies. He heard a couple of rounds crackle but none of them came close. The boys' wings were powerful and too fast for him to be caught. He didn't think going to school would be the best idea in fear that he would get the same reaction. So, he decided to just keep flying. With tears in his eyes and a broken heart. The boy still couldn't figure out why his parents reacted the way that they did. He thought that he looked fine, better actually. With the addition of those beautiful angel wings, his mass slightly increased and he was a little stronger. He couldn't figure out what the problem was.

While he was flying he came into that same valley that he found in his dreams. He thought maybe the man that gave him the wings would show up again and help him. Maybe he could give some insight, or at least take them back so he could be with his family again. He thought, what's the point in having these wings if he couldn't be with his Mom or Dad. Once he got there, he sat for what felt like hours. Sometimes getting up for bathroom breaks. He didn't realize that he had no appetite that day, he was just ready to get some answers. He began to close his eyes and doze off slightly when a voice came into his mind.

"My son, it's time for us to go." The man was back but this time he was with a group. They all stood behind him with beautiful wings. All different colors (the entire spectrum of the rainbow), sizes (small baby wings to massive wings that can cover two people), shapes (some boxy, blocky, sharp and pointy). They were all beautiful smiling at him waiting for him to go.

"What is this? Who are you? What did you do to me?" The boy had so many questions to ask but his emotions wouldn't let him get the rest out. He was just confused and hurt that what he thought he could share with his friends and family turned out to be what drove them away from him. "Why did they run from me?" The one question the man seemed to want to answer at this moment.

"Because they saw the Truth. In themselves and in you." He said.

The boy, still puzzled, couldn't understand what that even meant. He was only twelve and couldn't wrap his mind around what had happened. He had one more question to ask.

"Is this a dream?" He asked

The man smiled and said "No son, this is very much real. Now come along, we have a lot of catching up to do."

The boy not knowing where else to turn, since his family reacted the way that they did, knew going home was out of the question. Everyone in the group behind the man took off into the sky. While the man waited for the boy to take off too. The child looked around, looked back at the man and thought about his parents one last time. He hoped that they could hear him send his love to them before he left for good. Hoped they wouldn't worry too much about his absents. Wondered what they would think with him not being in the room. Would they think that "he", the demon that they saw, killed "him"?

"All of your questions will be answered when you come with us. I promise." The man reassured him.

"Okay." Leaping off into the sky, he was finally able to smile. His wish came true.