A couple of light conversations, âhelloâs for familiar faces, âthank youâs for the holding of doors, but nothing substantial: Hana once again found herself alone. Every time she saw a new face and thought this is the one, this is my chance, her nerves crept back up her spine and her head drooped in response as an anxiety - one that had only appeared in the last week or so, and something sheâd never felt previously - took control, and left her lonely once more.
There had been a time, not so long ago, when this was what she wanted. Surrounded by a populace of people who would never really understand her, she had enjoyed rather a lot of her own company, and it had been fine. Time to focus on her growing abilities, something she couldnât share with anyone; if her parentsâ reaction had taught her anything, it was that being seen as the âweird foreignerâ was nothing compared to being seen as less than human. She would take the taunts in a language she could barely understand over the looks of judgement and caution that were a language universal any day.Â
But here? This was the place where she could finally be herself. She wasnât strange or frightening - she didnât have to be alone anymore. Years of solitude had taken their toll, however. For whilst she could be herself on her own, she had lost something important. Something that only now, where hope had presented itself for the first time in years, did she realise was missing.Â
And now, that hole taunted her, more and more as the days went by, and she fell into a new sort of sorrow, unable to take the step that sheâd yearned after for so long.
It was dawn, and Hana had been awake most of the night. Now, as she watched the sun rise with hollow eyes, she caught sight of something - no, someone - a figure in the sky, silhouetted by the warm glow that hovered above the horizon. And her soul began to soar with it; she felt herself separating from her body, heavy with fatigue and despair. Released from the doubts and worries that plagued her, her mind took her away, and soon she was out there, captivated by the woman in the sky, the woman with wings.
It's just as easy as breathing, it always is. She likes to make it as dramatic as possible, it's always fun to add a touch of danger to her fun. She'll never tire of the wind pulling through her hair, running through the feathers on her wings. She's always tempted to see how close she can get to the ground before she takes off, but she's not one to tempt fate.Â
This time she took off from the roof. It's always easier with a run off, as it puts less pressure on her back, and this was a proper fling. She felt herself tumbling down, the straps of her top flitting desperately against her back, as if they could bring her back up, but her muscles flex, as easily as curling her fingers, and she takes off. She's never measured how fast she could go. Racing the cars back in New York had been a sport, but after a while it had gotten boring, as everything did when you got good at it. That was when she'd turned to a new game, a game with much higher stakes.
It had been a while since she had been back home, and she was sure that the Gallery owners were thankful for it. They'd most likely relaxed their guard and cancelled any extra security. It would be so easy just to go back, see what was in her reach, but that would involve having to escape this place, and that wasn't worth the effort. She would let them kick her out themselves. Â On she glided, her fingers skimming along the tops of the clouds. It was truly her only moment of peace and quiet, her only escape from the prison that her parents had sent her too. Sure, she would get a degree on a flimsy piece of paper, but what good was that, when she would just return home and be locked straight back up, only allowed when her parents wanted to show off.Â
Her wing sliced through the air, and she brought herself to a hover, her eyes scanning the sky around her. There was a disturbance in the air pressure, she could feel it. It wasn't enough to be a storm, that would usually raise the hairs on her arm. Most likely, it was one of those freaks, interrupting the only time she had to herself. "Show yourself," She hollered, wings beating behind her in a steady rhythm. At first she was guarded, but at the lack  of reply, her voice softened. "Please..I didn't mean to yell. I just want to know who you are, just so I know I'm not talking to myself."
