Ciesana

by Meagan Timmy

She stood motionless on the edge of the cliff. She was wearing a voile gown, right now a silky blue, the color of the morning sky.

Her arms were spread out wide, like a bird in flight.

I had vowed to leave her alone, to keep my distance. Her dress changed from blue to green and back again, shimmering. The transformation was exquisite. Her arms turned into large, ominous wings. Her head took the shape of an eagle and a small purple tail emerged from her gown.

She flapped her wings and took off, soaring through the air. I was stunned.

She thought that I didn't know about her, a changeling, a human transformed into a bird at full flight. She flew some distance, soon to be just a shadowy figure disappearing into the moonlight.

"Ciesana?!" I wailed. Her name, Ciesana, meant goddess of flight. How ironic.

"Ciesana?!' I wailed again, hoping that she would hear.

She flew back, looking at me with an attentive fear in her eyes.

"Ciesana?" I whispered.

She flapped her wings vigorously.

"Are you...are you what I think you are?" I begged her to answer me in some way.

Ciesana didn't speak.

I motioned to her to come towards me. She did. I knew that at that moment, I was lost to her forever.

Her eyes were those of exquisite strength and power, they seemed to be looking right through me. I gaped at her feathery body. I yearned for her beautiful eyes.

I collapsed on the cliff's edge. My stiff, rigid body was picked up by Ciesana. I felt myself being carried across the sky. Opening my eyes, I saw that I was high over the ocean. I gazed at the ominous shadows looming below me. Wriggling away, I let myself fall from the grasp of Ciesana.

Down, down, down I plummeted. Falling to my death. Sacrificing myself to the cool, blue sea.