The Man Who Flew Away
It is curious how many things I'd forgotten or given up for lost resurface when I'm looking for something else entirely, like the papers for work today.
I found an old notebook of mine from when I was around nine years old, and I took it with me as bus reading, to make the trek to work marginally more bearable.
I don't remember writing this. I don't remember most things of that year. I was frozen and shattered. And I was... gone, somewhere deep, deeep, deep inside me insulating myself in layers of protection like stone so that I could not be found. Anything to shut out the fact that my father had died.
I shut myself away as much as I could, and emerged I think, only in the things I wrote and drew; and when I rediscover them years later they surprise me.
So, here we have it. An example.
Once upon a time there was a man who very badly wanted to fly. He searched for the answer for many many years, and he asked many people but no one knew.
He asked the birds but they would not stop to tell him. He asked the wind but the wind did not reply.
The moonlight showed a path but the man could not follow.
The man had a daughter who was always kind and good but the man could not stop searching.
And one night when everyone was sleeping, he found the secret and he just flew away.
In the morning his daughter saw that he was gone and cried for him to come back, but the man did not hear because he'd been swept up by the wind and was too far away.
The wind had carried the man higher and higher and further and further away, up up up to where there were only clouds and stars.
But his daughter could not fly. So she walked and searched for him.
And the man flew and flew and flew and flew but when he wanted to come back and tell his daughter about the adventure he had he realised he had become lost. Everywhere he looked he only saw clouds and stars and no one could tell him where his home was.
And the man was lost for many, many, many years and all except his daughter forgot his name. He wandered and searched for a long time until he finally found his daughter again.
And she was very happy and hugged him and said: "I forgive you", and the man promised he would never fly away and get lost again, and they went back home, singing and dancing for a long time.
I found an old notebook of mine from when I was around nine years old, and I took it with me as bus reading, to make the trek to work marginally more bearable.
I don't remember writing this. I don't remember most things of that year. I was frozen and shattered. And I was... gone, somewhere deep, deeep, deep inside me insulating myself in layers of protection like stone so that I could not be found. Anything to shut out the fact that my father had died.
I shut myself away as much as I could, and emerged I think, only in the things I wrote and drew; and when I rediscover them years later they surprise me.
So, here we have it. An example.
Once upon a time there was a man who very badly wanted to fly. He searched for the answer for many many years, and he asked many people but no one knew.
He asked the birds but they would not stop to tell him. He asked the wind but the wind did not reply.
The moonlight showed a path but the man could not follow.
The man had a daughter who was always kind and good but the man could not stop searching.
And one night when everyone was sleeping, he found the secret and he just flew away.
In the morning his daughter saw that he was gone and cried for him to come back, but the man did not hear because he'd been swept up by the wind and was too far away.
The wind had carried the man higher and higher and further and further away, up up up to where there were only clouds and stars.
But his daughter could not fly. So she walked and searched for him.
And the man flew and flew and flew and flew but when he wanted to come back and tell his daughter about the adventure he had he realised he had become lost. Everywhere he looked he only saw clouds and stars and no one could tell him where his home was.
And the man was lost for many, many, many years and all except his daughter forgot his name. He wandered and searched for a long time until he finally found his daughter again.
And she was very happy and hugged him and said: "I forgive you", and the man promised he would never fly away and get lost again, and they went back home, singing and dancing for a long time.