The Winged Curse - Leah Crowe (best book club books for discussion .TXT) 📗

Bethany

The Green-Blue Eyed Boy

CHAPTER 1

I daintily fluttered through the air, looking down at the cold, desolate road. It was empty, save one car. It sped away slowly, as if it had no where to go so it was in no hurry. I watched it ride away and sighed. There was nothing to look at on this street so I flew away. I passed many streets filled with quaint homes. Most of them were dark inside, as it was 2:10 in the morning and very few were awake. I kept on searching for one particular home. It was not here so I flew on. I came to a forest on the edge of town. A bat flew up to greet me and I decided I would blend in better if I looked like it. I thought hard about the bat; it's features, texture, color. Suddenly, my my arms began to grow and my body shrunk and tiny hairs started to cover it. I heard a slight pop and knew my transformation was complete. I angled my arms, now wings, sidewase and began my descent towards the dark forest. I flew between thick trunks, careful not to bang into any. With my new, powerful ears, I sent out clicks and knew where everything was. This new type of sonar helped guide my way through the dense brush so that even water falling from the large leaves overhead didn't fall on me. I then heard something. It sounded square and odd shaped, compared to the other echoes I was picking up. I flew towards it and thought it best to choose a form with better eyesight. I thought of my first form and began to change back. I saw a house in front of me when I was done transforming. Perfect. This was what I was looking for, according to the note. I flew in and realized I was wrong...again. Cursing myself, I turned around and was about to ascend once more when something caught my eye; or should I say, someone. It was a boy, and he looked to be about my age. He was outside at the back of the house. He sat on the porch there and seemed to be looking at nothing in particular. I hid behind a leaf and examined him closely. He was tall, it seemed, with blondish, brown hair. What intrigued me the most was his eyes. They were unlike anything I had seen before! I turned into an eagle so I could look at them better. His right eye was deep blue, but his left was forest green! It was beautiful and unnerving at the same time. Still in my eagle form, I descended to the earth by his feet. He gasped, shook his head, and stared. I didn't mind. I was doing the same to him, so it was only fair. We just stood there, staring into each other's eyes for the longest time. I finally broke the reverie when I turned to see that the sun was coming up and I flew off, my wings already fading. He watched me leave, shock eminent on his angelic face. I sighed and kept on, hoping to see him again some day.

I arrived at my lonely cabin just as the magic faded completely and I was myself again. I, Bethany, have had this curse since I was 13. Ever since then, at night, when there was a full moon, I began to transform into a faery and not just any faery. I could change into any winged creature just by thinking about it. As soon as the sun came out, my body would return to normal until the full moon. I looked down and saw all my limbs so I began to put clothes on once again; for if I wore them during my transformation, they would fall off because my body was too small. I walked slowely over to my quilted bed and thought, for the first time in years, about that dreadful night ten years ago.

I had just turned 13 and was celebrating with my parents in our small cottage when a loud crash was heard from outside! My father went to investigate and I never saw him again. My mother became very worried and went out to see if he was alright. I had followed behind her like a shadow. Mother opened the door and gasped! A man stood in our front yard, dressed from head to toe in black. He had golden eyes and dark black hair, almost blue. In his hand, he held a smooth wooden stick. It was about two feet long and was the purest white. My mother screamed for him to go away. She kept saying something about destiny and to leave her family alone. The strange man had sighed and he raised the stick, muttering under his breath. My mother wailed and then disapeared into thin air. I had yelped and my eyes grew wide as I stared at the man in our front lawn. he smiled at me but it held no warmth. "This curse is a special gift from your parents." he had said and his stick, I now realized was a wand, began to glow. He pointed the wand at me and said, "Every full moon, your true self will be reveiled. Your parent's tried to hide this but I shall overcome their seal." And with that, he vanished in a puff of smoke. I had been left alone ever since.

Rain began to patter on the window, the sound echoing in the now very quiet cottage and pulling me out of my memories. I was 23, so legally I could live alone, but when I was 13, I struggled to live on without the higher-ups knowing of my solitary existance. I never really had any friends. I couldn't share my secrets with anyone and they found me to be quite odd, so they left me alone. I guess now it would be normal to have your own house by yourself but during the full moon, I'd have to excuse myself and that would eventually make people suspect things if they got too close to me. I sighed, wishing that the day when my life changed had never happened. I didn't ask for any of this! Why didn't the wizard bless some 5 year old who would faint for this kind of "power"? I didn't even know what I was anymore! I wasn't human, that's a fact and I'd never met a faery, but I was sure they didn't have my kind of transformation powers. Maybe I was an alien. I chuckled sadly at the thought. I decided to take a shower and stop thinking about the past. It was too depressing and weird. I mean, I didn't know wizards existed and still wouldn't if that man hadn't amply proved his skills. Now, the supernatural relm didn't come as a shock to me. I bet if a ghost ever came up to me, I would've waved hello to it. I stood up and walked down the hall to the bathroom. I turned the knob in the shower to turn on the water and a minute later, I was standing under a warm waterfall, moaning with pleasure. My back always hurt after my moonlit trips. I had been searching for the wizard. I always was. I had read in a book that if someone is cursed, the only way you can undo the curse is if the person who cursed you in the first place took it back. I would find the wizard who destroyed my life and demand that he fix me and give me back my parents. For I believed that they were alive and waiting for a savior. Waiting for me...

After the glorious shower, I stepped out, shivering. I changed into my most comfortable clothes and began to brush out my silver hair. Yes, silver hair. It hung down, just a few inches below my shoulders, glistening with water. I had rather pale skin and grey eyes that could either look blue or red tinged. Although my mother said when I got older I would look horrible, right now, my silver, almost bluish hair looked almost attractive. With the dark circles under my eyes, though, I never looked really healthy. My parents would've been worried silly, but they weren't there and I didn't care enough to fill in for them. I drifted over to the kitchen and grabbed the closest food to me, not really caring what it was. When they left, nothing seemed to matter anymore. I became I walking shell, a void, empty of feeling and emotion. I munched on an apple and thought about the boy I had stumbled across. His eyes, his sadness, it made me want to find out what was wrong with him. What had happen to make him that way? I shuttered. This boy was making me feel and that was something I did not want. I had never smoked or drank and yet a numbness had enveloped my body, leaving me without happiness but also without pain. I needed that security blanket but I found I couldn't keep him out of my mind. His eyes. They had fascinated me more than I wanted to admit. I wondered what he had been thinking about; wondered if i could see him again. Maybe it's better if I stay away. This boy cannot be anything good...

I thought and walked over to the TV, flipping it on but not really watching what was on the screen. After my exhausting night filled with flying and mysterious men, I was out cold long before my apple was done. I let sleep come and dozed for hours in a dreamless wonderland...

CHAPTER 2
Next Full Moon




My life flew by and before I knew it, the full moon had come again and I was in the air once more against my will. Sure that the wizard was not anywhere near me, I decided to visit the boy from last full moon. I swooped down towards the forest again. The wind was whipping through my hair and I couldn't help but smile. Although I was deperately trying to undo this curse or whatever it was, I couldn't lie and say I didn't enjoy flight. It was thrilling and beautiful in a terrifying sort of way. It was October 31 surprisingly and the night was nippy with frost on its way. I was wise enough to bring a coat and I was sure I could hide my wings under it. I found the boy's house easily with my night vision and almost photographic memory. I was puzzled to find the boy sitting exctly where he was when I last saw him. He still looked sad and i knew I had to talk to him. I fluttered to the ground and put the coat over my wings, stepping out from the tree I was hidden behind. I looked at him and gasped! He...he had wings! Beautiful, iridesent green wings with golden flecks and swirls that spread from his back! He had his very own wings.
Just like me...

The boy looked up at me and his eyes lit up for pure joy! His smile was so radiant, I almost had to look away. "It's you." he said. I looked at him curiously. What on earth is that supposed to mean?

I thought and my face must've shown my confusion because he clamped right up and began to walk over towards me. I began to back