THE AVIATOR

THE AVIATOR  PM 4366

As I lay drowning one day in a deep

pool of viscous earth I held my breath

for one more moment, and with the hope of

the ages still ingrained into my soul I

reached my hand upwards, out of the mud

hoping beyond all reason that somebody

would be there to pull me out.

I felt nothing but an empty wind

blowing across my palm and making

my heart heavy, so heavy and tight, it

fought to get out of my chest and escape by

itself up into the air.

I waved, hoping somebody would see it

and come and break the suction that was

holding me fast in the mud.

Once again I felt nothing and resigned,

I waited for my chest to explode.

I began to dream, a hummingbird lit on to one

of my fingers and clamping on to my

fingernail with its' beak he began to

pull me out.

My head rose above the mire and I opened

my eyes to see a hummingbird,

smaller than my own hand he was pulling

yet he was raising me out of my prison.

He pulled until only my ankles and feet

remained entrenched and then he stopped,

releasing my finger and then he hovered

inches away from my face.

As I spat out what mud was in my

mouth he continued to hover.

It tried to move my feet but they were

still stuck. I looked desperately at

the bird, hoping he would pull me the rest

of the way out, he nodded, then spoke,

'What are your plans if I release you from

your prison,' he queried.

'I don't know,' I answered,'only to live, I suppose.'

'Not good enough,' he said, 'you are

heavy, it took everything I had to get you out of

there, I have no strength left, not even enough to

get you the rest of the way out.'

'I'm thankful for that, but I am just so useless

without my feet as I was completely buried,

I can breathe up here, but I will still die

if I cannot move,' tears had begun to wash the

mud off my face.

'I can't help you anymore,' he told me, 'I am going to 

die from my exertions.'

'No," I cried, and then helplessly watched as it fell into

the mud and quickly disappeared below

the surface.

How I watched it and felt such pain wash

over me as I finally knew the meaning of

sacrifice, but could not for the life of me

figure out why.

Had he been sent to save me, had he

just happened along to notice my waving hands

sticking out of the mud,

or had I imagined the whole thing and

raised myself by a sheer will to live?

Or was I already dead, drowned in

the mud and this was only a remnant in

space of a stupid dream that I had once dreamed?

Once I resolved to just stand there in the

mud until I expired my feet became free and

I walked, only I was walking on stumps

for my feet had sheared off at the ankles.

So I hobbled, I hobbled towards the mountains

down the loneliest of highways, that I had

ever seen and I knew what it was to be

alone in the universe.

A lone condor flew far above me, cackling like

a witch, heckling me to die or become so

weak he could eat me at his leisure.

I walked for years but came no closer

to the mountains,

no water, no food, not another human

being in sight, but still, I continued to

walk and walk.

Even the condor had moved on and as I

finally laid down to expire,

the hummingbird returned to within

inches of my lips. He hovered at m gaping

mouth for seconds before plunging in.

I felt him go down and fly into my heart

and I was filled with his spirit,

as blood began to flow through my veins

once again I felt my feet for the first time,

brand new, no callous  or long nails,

grown yellow with misuse.

I arose and took a deep breath of the

freshest air that I had not noticed until

now, it was clean and it was cold but it

was so full of life it made my entire body

tingle.

I had been given the secret to life, I 

had been given the heart and the soul of a 

hummingbird and I knew I didn't deserve it,

I walked on, or sprang upon the path my feet

were alive, and my faith had been restored through

the smallest beating wings.