Give Me Wings

     For the longest time, I wanted to fly. I saw the Shoyrus and Scorchios and Unis soaring through the air, as carefree as the wind. Now don't get me wrong; I am quite happy with my species. I feel that Lupes are the best species except for the one flaw of not having wings. This is why I didn't want a morphing potion; I would never give up being able to howl my beautiful song. I tried for many years to save up my money for a Faerie paint brush. I could often be seen asking one of the Faeries or those pets blessed with wings to carry me up to that cloud in the sky. From there, I would lurk around the Faerieland Employment Agency for the rest of the day, taking any job I could get. My meager savings never seemed to amount to anything, however; after all, I still needed food and a place to sleep at night. On the days I wasn't in Faerieland, I would be at the games room, playing games until my eyes were blurred. And yet I still never had enough Neopoints.

     At one point, I stumbled across a set of Earth Faerie Wings. I thought my dreams had come true, that I would finally be able to fly as I had always dreamed. But it was not to be. There must be something in the Faerie paint brush that makes a pet's bones lighter somehow, some magic that those wings alone did not possess. They would not lift me from the ground. I tried again and again, endlessly, for two hours straight, but to no avail. I was still bound to the earth by the accursed gravity that had held me there my whole life.

     I took to writing poetry about the sky and the wind. This poetry did nothing but increase my longing to flit among the clouds, but for a while it gave me a small sense of peace. While I was writing or reading my poetry, I could imagine myself soaring among the clouds at lightning pace, while still chained to the dirt. It was a small comfort, but still a comfort nonetheless. Now that I think back on it, it's not a wonder that someone, one special person, thought that I was too consumed with this desperate need for flight. I can see, now, that I was completely obsessed with this dream, and should not have let it consume me as it did. But it took the reprimand of one whose opinion I cherished above all to bring me to my senses...

***

     I was in Faerieland again. I never gave up on the Employment Agency, even though the wages they paid were minuscule. I was lurking around outside the doors, waiting for the next job opening, when a Light Faerie approached me. I watched her with envy as she drew closer. When she came up to me, she said "My friend, you have a summons to Queen Fyora's palace. Come with me, please." Needless to say, I was stunned. The Queen of Faeries, the Queen over all those who can fly, my idol and my envy ever since I was a pup, knew I existed? I followed the Light Faerie in a state of numb bewilderment.

     When we reached the castle, she led me inside to a main hall. The walls were a light shade of pink; the floor was tiled with alternating dark- and light-purple tiles. The Faerie led me to the end of the hall, before a grand throne of purple crystal, and motioned for me to wait. I plopped down on the floor, and tried to sort through my tangled thoughts. Presently, the Queen came in. She seated herself in her throne and simply looked at me for what probably was five minutes, but it felt like five years.

     "What is your name, young Lupe?" she asked in a motherly voice.

     "Th-they call me K-Kasmyra..." I said, hardly able to speak.

     "Kasmyra, what is it that you desire most?"

     "Wings," I blurted out. If anyone could give me wings, would it not be this faerie, so grand, sitting before me?

     "You desire wings, then. Why is that?"

     "I want to fly through the clouds!" I was really in my element now; these were the words of my heart for years, the words I never shared with anyone. It wasn't like I had had time to make friends in my mad quest for a Faerie paint brush. "I want to see the world from a whole new perspective! I want to be freed from the ground!"

     The Faerie Queen looked at me with a deep, penetrating look. "A whole new perspective, hm? Would it not be easier to view the world through a new perspective by viewing yourself as the lucky one?"

     I looked at her, dumbstruck. What was she saying? That flying wasn't really the most desirable thing in the world?

     "I want you to do something for me. Think of all the Faeries you've so longingly watched; think of all those pets blessed with wings. And tell me. Are your own four paws really worth any less than their wings? Is your howl any less beautiful than the sound of the wind? Is it really worth it, to waste your days away wishing to be something you are not, when you could be enjoying what you are?"

     And then I looked at her. I was not going to be so easily convinced; I knew that flying was what I wanted most in the world. But perhaps there was a grain of truth in what she was saying...

     "Do something for me, young Lupe, young Kasmyra," the Queen said. "Go run in a meadow. Go fly through the trees in your own way; silently, on padded feet, sneaking around the trees as quickly as you can. Go up to the tallest cliff you can find, look around at the world, and howl your song. See if you do not feel the grandest you have felt in many years."

     I did as the Faerie Queen said. In fact, I wasted no time in getting a Faerie to take me back down to the ground. I crept through an empty forest in Neopia. I snuck up on some Xweetoks and startled them into throwing things at me. I ran blissfully through the Uni Meadows, not even looking up to see the startled Unis flying around me. And when the clock struck midnight, I climbed to a nearby cliff and howled as I had not done since I was a pup.

     I'm not sure how Queen Fyora learned of my plight. Perhaps it was as simple as her seeing the same Lupe hanging out in front of the Employment Agency over and over again, or maybe it was some magic that told her of Neopets that were in need of her wisdom and guidance. Someday, I may venture up to that cloud again and ask her, but as for now, I'm happy with my feet firmly planted on the ground.

     Again, now that I look back on my story, I see how silly I was. I see that I should not have cared that others had something that I did not, and that I should've cherished my self for what I was; myself.

The End

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. :)