The gentle breeze of the morning and the sun shining brightly in the sky lifted his spirits. He opened his eyes and looked at the wall in front of him. The scars on his back, the wounds made by the arrows, had healed over time. Although they were still there, they wouldn't be a permanent part of him anymore and that was a good thing.
He closed his eyes again, filled with thoughts of the Gods. The normal life they dreamed of and the tales they told. Those tales made his heart ache, and left him filled with hope. For, he would spend the rest of his life in a world filled with peace, love and beauty. Finally, he had escaped the hell that was life in Gnasha.
His eyes opened again and as he looked down, he chuckled. The arrow took hold of his leg. The pain was enough to stop him from enjoying his feeling of serenity and peace. He flopped back down to the hard, cold, ground and stretched out his wings. Of all the beasts and ships that had attacked, the arrow had penetrated his back and not caused much damage. After all, the arrow was made of wood. The tip and the fletching had emerged from his skin, leaving the shaft buried in his back.
He closed his eyes and let out his breath. Once again, he let himself be filled with the hope he was desperate to keep alive. It was the only hope he had left. He relished in the thought of living in a world of peace.
He let out another long sigh as he thought to himself, "If only I could take to the skies again, but even if I had the strength, I cannot move."
His wing was broken. The bone jutted out of the thick skin, forcing the wing to fall to the ground. He didn't feel any pain from the hard fall.
But that changed when he tried to stand.
The pain made his vision blur, but he struggled on slowly. His wing clearly wouldn't work. He tried to stretch it out, but the weight of his body and the force of the hard landing had broken his wing, and right now, he could not feel where the broken bone had dug into his flesh. Sighing again, he took a few steps forward, but even with the strong support of two legs, the weight of his body and the force of the arrow pulled his body down.
Lying on the ground again, he closed his eyes and let out another sigh. This time, he let out his breath with a whimper. He used his wing to cover his eyes from the sun and looked at the sky. Sharply angled, the sun rays illuminated the ground beneath him with an intense, blinding whiteness. He let out a huff and smiled. Unfortunately, he had no strength to fly, but in a way, he was lucky that his wing was broken.
At least, he didn't fly into the sun.
He rose again and put his weight onto his right leg. Once again, the arrow dug into his flesh. Shouting out in pain, he tried to breathe normally again and stopped himself from falling to the ground. He quickly put his weight back onto his left leg and clutched his right wing. The bones within his wing had twisted and turned, making the pain worse. Gritting his teeth, he put his weight onto the broken wing again, but this time, he was ready for the pain.
As he limped, he admired the beauty of the forest around him. The plants and the trees took him back to his grandfather telling him stories of the Gods and of their heaven. He smiled as he limped forward. Although he was ready for the pain this time, he tried too late.
But, before he fell to the ground yet again, he looked up and saw her. The young beauty and he wondered if they would ever meet again. He searched the sky, searching for her. No matter which direction he looked, she would be there. Like the Gods promised, she was all around him. Had he only looked, he would have seen her in every direction.
He let out his breath as his heart skipped a beat. Looking up, he shivered. The beauty's deep brown eyes were haunting him, stopping his heart and his breath, leaving him filled with hope.
Knowing that he would die soon, he put his wings away. He had to let her know how he felt. He was going to tell her now. But, he didn't know what to say. Sighing, he tried to think of something to say. Anything. He had stared at her for too long, thinking of her and what to tell her. He had to tell her something. His life was coming to an end and he had to say something.
His eyes looked down, letting out his breath. His mind raced to find something to say to her. Anything at all that would make him special, so that she would remember him forever.
The pain in his back, his leg and the arrow disappeared. He looked down at his feet.