Feathers in the night

The air was still as the sun began to set, making the trees look golden as its fell below the horizon. Jack looked out the window and frowned as the day slowly turned to night. He was alone that night as his mother had gone away for the weekend and he was left with the dogs. He didn’t mind being alone, at times he even looked forward to being on his own in the joy of having the time to himself without others around him, but this weekend was different. He looked out at the cloudless sky and wished he was up there looking down on the world, flying through the sky on wings of a bird.

Jack started cooking dinner as the first stars began to twinkle in the dark. He turned to look at the first star he could see and wished.
“Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may I wish I might have the wish I make tonight.” He paused to close his hands, as if in prayer, and closed his eyes tight. “I wish I could fly.” He whispered lightly.

The star twinkled three times then blinked out before returning by the time Jack could open his eyes. Jack frowned as he turned back towards his cooking while in the woods opposite his house two orange, glowing eyes peered at him with a piercing gaze. Jack prepared the table and ate his dinner, all the time unknowingly being watched by those orange piercing eyes.

As Jack began to close the curtains the thing that owned those eyes began to stir. It began to shake and fluff up before stretching its arms as wide as it could. It then began to move along the branch on its clawed feet towards the end. It beat its wings and took off into the blackness of the sky, circling the woods and house looking down as the lights in the house went out except for one.

Jack sat on one of the seats in the living room watching TV when he heard knocking at the front door. He looked at the time.
“Almost nine, who could that be?” He said to himself as he got up to open the door.
As Jack opened the door slightly he could see the shadow of a tall being, at least 9 or 10 feet tall but the night sky made it impossible for Jack to see who or what it was.
“Hello.” The shadowy figure said in a hooting way. “You must be Jack?”
Jacks face went pale as the figure shifted on its feet. “Yes.” Jack replied. The fear in his voice was obvious. “Who are you?” He asked, trying to calm himself down.
“I have no real name. Your people have called us all sorts of things, Monsters, Angels, Harpies, Birdmen, more recently they call us Mothmen.” The figure hooted as it lifted an arm towards its face, the arm looked like it was draped by a baggy robe.
"What are you doing here?" Jack asked.
"I am here to grant your wish." The figure answered.
"My wish?" Jack wondered what this person was on about, he thought it might be one of his friends trying to mess with him.
"Yes. Your wish to fly. I heard you from the trees wishing you could fly." The figure said.
"And how would you help me fly?" Jack asked with confidence and a challenging voice.

Suddenly two large orange orbs seemed to appear from the head of this figure causing Jack to fall backwards onto the floor. The figure bent down and moved into the doorway revealing a large bird-like man, covered in feathers with an owl like beak and bird like feet yet it still had human hands, although they were yellow and scaly like its bird feet.
“Please don’t hurt me!” Jack started crying as the creature stood above him.
“I have no intention of hurting you young human. As I have said I am here to grant your wish to fly.” The creature hooted as if it were laughing.
Jack calmed down and started to get up when the creature lowered its hand as if it wanted to help him get up.
Jack took its hand and was pulled up to his feet. The creature bent its knees and put its hands on them so that it was at the same level as Jack.
“So? Do you still wish to fly?” The Mothman asked.
Jack thought for a minute before slowly nodding. “Yes.” He whispered.
“Then climb on my back and I will take you.” The Mothman hooted and tilted its head slightly.

Jack put on his Granddad's old pilots jacket that he had from his time as a World War two pilot and locked the door as he and the Mothman stood outside in the cold air. The Mothman spread his wings in the light breeze and Jack pulled down the World War two goggles and climbed onto the Mothmans back, its feathers were warm and made Jack feel like he was lying on a soft bed of feathers. The Mothman took of and lifted high into the sky, beating his winged arms hard before soaring and gliding in the wind. They soured high over the woods before coming to the lights of the city that was nearby Jacks home. The lights were magnificent to look at from above Jack thought as the soared over, the thumping of the Mothman’s wings and the wind blowing past them being the only things that jack could hear.
“I know a place more magical.” The Mothman cried, as if he knew what Jack was thinking about the city. “But it is quite far from here.”
“Please take us there.” Jack pleaded, shouting so that the Mothman could hear him above the noise of the wind.

It had been Hours since the two of them had set off from Jack’s house and was almost midnight. They had flown to a forest with a lake at the bottom of a valley. The air was a lot colder here as they had been flying north all the time.
“What are we doing here?” Jack asked the Mothman.
“Just wait.” The Mothman exclaimed.
Suddenly the sky began to light up in bands of greens, reds, purples and blues. They moved up into the lights and Jack swirled his hand around inside of it.
“An Aurora Borealis.” The Mothman hooted.
“It is amazing.” Jack cried in excitement.
The two of them flew in and outs of the bands of light before flying down to the lake and skimming it before landing on the shore.
“Thank you so much for bringing me here.” Jack smiled up at the Mothman who looked down at him with his large glowing, orange eyes.
“It is the stars you should thank Jack. They were the ones who brought me to you to grant your wish.” The Mothman hooted. “Remember, the world is full of magic.” The Mothman hooted.
Jack started feeling drowsy and fell asleep on the shore next to the lake.

Jack woke up in his own bed. He couldn’t remember getting back or even if all that had happened in the night was just a dream. He looked out his window towards the woods but couldn’t see anything. He then saw something on the floor that made him believe he was not dreaming. There on the floor at the end of his bed was a large brown feather. Jack picked it up and looked back out the window, and there in the trees he thought he saw a tall black figure watching him with large orange eyes.