Cola stretched her giant wings wide, covering Libby in a protective shadow. She lowered one tip of her wing to the ground, creating a ramp of sorts.
“Climb up onto my wing. Get as close as you can to my body. You’ll be safe there.”
Libby shivered a bit. “What if I fall?”
“If you stay close to me, cling to me, you will not fall. But if you do, I will catch you. I’ll fly just beneath you and lift you up on my wings. I’ll do all the work. All you have to do is trust me.”
Libby slowly climbed the wing and found the joint where the wing attached itself to the body. There was a little hollow there for her to rest in. So, she snuggled in and decided to trust her new friend.
“If you feel brave you can look out. You will never see a better view. You’ll be above all you’ve ever known.”
With those words, Cola lifted her wings and dove off the pole into the air. She caught the wind and soared, then dipped her right wing, turning her body towards the east. Libby felt the air sweep past her, but she could hear the heartbeat of her friend. She was safe. She could feel the strength of Cola’s muscles and the power in her wings
Soon, Cola’s strength found its way into Libby. Libby moved forward, edging herself out of the shallow and into the expansive space of the sky. She was soaring! The ground moved beneath her as a little thing. The days she spent in the cage were far behind her.
“Libby, we’re gettin’ close. I’m gonna land. So hang on.”
Cola tilted her wings up a bit, pushing into the air as she flew lower and lower. She landed in front of the school, just at the end of the street where Libby’s home was. Cola lowered her wing so Libby could climb down.
“Now, you’re gonna have to walk the rest of the way. But I’ll be flying just above ya. If you get into trouble I will be there.”
“Thank you, Cola. Thank you so much!”
Libby wrapped her front legs around one of Cola’s talons and held on for dear life. “I don’t know what I’d done without you.” She started crying. She didn’t know why.
“Now, Now, Child. Daddy God sent me to ya. That’s all there is to it. I was glad to be there. Now, get yourself on down the road to that Mama and Papa you’ve been tellin’ me about. I’m sure they’ve been just as afraid as you’ve been. And I bet they’ve been praying just as hard.”
Libby turned toward home with a backward glance at Cola who lifted herself into the air in only a moment.
With a grateful sigh, Libby ran as fast as she could across the road and past the first few houses on the street. She was so close! She could almost hear Mama calling her name. She ran faster, skittering through the grass until suddenly she was in her yard. The window boxes were only steps away.
“Mama! Papa! Mama! Papa!” She called over and over again until she saw them burst from the leaves.
“Libby!” They ran toward her.
Together they danced in excitement, twirling round and round in a tight embrace crying tears of joy. Above her she heard a high pitched screech of joy.
Libby was home. She was free. Tonight Libby would tell them her story. But she would never forget the greatest adventure of all-the journey from fear into faith. And she would always remember her song:
“This is a great adventure. I am not afraid. Fear wants me to surrender. But I won’t be enslaved.”
Jamie Lyn's Inkwell 