The Three Feathers - The Magnificent Journey of Joshua Aylong by Stefan Bolz Page B

are telling me that you never knew how we get our wings?”
    “No.”
    “That is so sad, Krieg. You must know that I was not born with wings. None of us is.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean having wings is not something we are given with birth even though it is our birth right. Don’t you know that we are horses?”
    “Horses?” Krieg was puzzled.
    “Yes, horses. Krieg, we are horses that learned to go past our limitations. We have been given the chance to fly, to leave behind all that limits us and soar with the eagles high above the earth. We have been given freedom, Krieg.”
    For a while he was quiet. He became aware of the land around him and her presence next to him.
    “How do you leave your limitations behind?” He asked.
    Wind looked at him for a long time. There was a kindness in her eyes born of knowing the strength it took, the faith in both the goal and the means to reach it.
    “Your limitations, you must not believe them. You must not fuel them with doubt about yourself. You must know they are not and have never been part of you. You must know yourself. And not only must you know yourself you must love it as well. Deep within, you must love… you.”
    Krieg was quiet for a while. Within himself there was a small part, deeply submerged somewhere, that resonated with her thoughts. At that moment he knew that her words were true. But…
    “…you are asking, what about the other part? The part that thinks you small and frail and puny?” Wind finished his thought.
    “Yes.”
    “You freed me from eternal imprisonment. I will help you go beyond your limits. I will help you get your wings. I will see you fly.”
    That last part of her thought whispered to him. Krieg’s eyes stung suddenly and he closed them to hide what he felt. It was as if his whole life, all his struggles, the preparation for war, war itself and all the horrors it brought, the time when he was captured and held prisoner, his friends freeing him and his pain of losing them again, flowed like small streams joining together towards a great river. He suddenly knew that his life was culminating in this. Not only that, but each step along the way had been a step toward it. He just never knew that that was the goal all along. Why did he never even have the slightest inclination that he could one day leave all that he thought would limit him behind? Or could he?
    He suddenly felt tired. “I’m not so sure I can make it. I’m old and the strength it takes to undertake this might be for younger steeds, more spirited horses, not an old war horse like myself.”
    And with that he closed the door that Wind had opened. The sting of regret was easier to handle than the thought to even question his limits. It would never happen. And that was the end of it.
    * * *
    It began just before dawn the next day. Krieg had just awoken from a deep sleep. He caught the faintest sense of joy when he awoke. It fled from him when he opened his eyes. The sky was clear above him. Wind slept next to him, her ivory coat had a slight glow from the light of the half moon that stood low on the horizon. Suddenly the Pegasus woke. She jumped to her feet as if shaking off a dream.
    “The beacon!” She thought urgently. “Come!”
    She ran. Krieg had no choice other than to follow her. Her graceful strides, wings half unfolded, captured him and, for a moment, the wish to be like her overcame him. The wish to be free fueled him and let him gain on her until they were side by side, racing through the moonlit meadow and toward the cliff.
    Eventually they slowed down and reached the edge. Wind stared intently into the abyss.
    “What are you looking for?” Krieg thought.
    “Wait,” Wind replied. “I cannot believe I live to witness this.”
    There was suddenly a gust of icy wind coming from deep below and going through them. It seemed as if the wind up here answered and another gust reached them, this time from inland.
    “It is happening!” Wind could not contain