She flew like a fairy. The wings were real! So light yet so big that they could envelope her in their softness.

Slowly, she rose above the ground, her wings moving back and forth so gracefully and quietly that you would keep looking at it in awe and won’t even hear a sound. She felt like the whole world could see her now and can taste the happiness she spread.

Her boyfriend looked at her face and said I love you. She had tears in her eyes, but this just encouraged her even more to fly higher.

She looked upwards and saw the vast night sky. Strangely there was not even a single cloud in the sky, but she could swear that she could feel the drizzle on her face just a while back.

She closed her eyes and flew, still facing upwards. She flew as high as she could, leaving the darkness behind and spreading a strange light from her wings, a light that formed a path from where she had stood just a while back right up to her current position. She admired the sight in the night and still flew up, making that path bigger and bigger.

She was high enough, enough to see airplanes at her level. What should she do? Should she fly higher or will that be too risky. She didn’t know what to do.

She saw a airplane going adjacent to her and from one of the windows, she could see a young girl, probably sitting in a business class seat, looking upwards at the sky. She guessed that she might have been counting the stars. Looking at that young girl, tears rolled down her eyes. Wasn’t that her dream? To observe the stars and reach them if possible? Why was she hesitating now when she had a chance? Was she that wrapped up in life that she had forgotten what she dreamed about and what she wanted to live for. The airplane passed her.

She looked up again, at the clear sky and saw the stars. Was something there? How could they shine so brightly? It was the same light that was coming out of her wings. This made her all the more curious and her instinct told her to go for it. She remained there for five minutes, contemplating whether to go or not. Her mind was resisting, because it was scared or it was just too satisfied to try anything new. She looked up and smiled. I want to see.

She flew higher up, exiting the atmosphere of the earth. But this time, it was not a slow ascend, like the speed of a Concorde. She flew like no one else, covering such great distances in a snap. It was as if her speed had magnified along with her will to move forward. She kept on flying up, leaving this world of humans and into that world of stars.

Back at home, her boyfriend saw a bright light coming out of her girlfriend’s body, that was still sleeping on his lap. He could now see the path. This made him smile and he thought, “Be free. Fly as high as you can because I know that you are strong enough to do it. I will still love you, and I wish you don’t forget me either, wherever you go. And if possible, someday we will meet again so that you can tell me all about your journey. Because even then, I would love to hear anything that is about you.”

Suddenly, like a miracle, the bright light covered her entire body and after a second, exploded into small shiny particles that faded away within seconds. The only thing left behind were her clothes and the crutches. Although he saw another thing, a pendant,  he hadn’t seen it before. It shone with the same light and intensity as the path just minutes ago. The shape of the pendant showed an angel with her wings wide open and looking upwards towards the sky. He smiled, and looking upwards, whispered, “Goodbye. Love you.” He took the pendant and wore it around his neck, the light still coming out of the extraordinary jewel. “Maybe this means that we will still be connected, however far we go”, he thought.

He then folded the dress and kept it in her cupboard.