His final blow split the log. Reluctantly gathering the wood, Aidan set out to complete his morning routine. It was like this every morning. The same bland faces of his family yelling at him to get up, the same boring chores, and the same unsuccessful scramble to hide from the criticism and unending list of things to do. There was always something someone wanted from him. There was no peace and Aidan longed for the rare moments when he could escape. Seeing no one around, Aidan took his chance.

Leaving the yard and the house where his family laid waiting, Aidan ventured to the place that had become his sanctuary. Here he could hide from everyone and their constant demands. In a nearby grove of trees, Aidan sat and peered into the waters of a stagnant pond.  Preferring their own homes and the excitement of the village, Aidan’s family and the rest of the townspeople ignored the pond, giving Aidan the solitude he so greatly desired. 

Gazing into the water, Aidan wondered how he could be related to his family. They were tall with dark hair, piercing brown eyes, and had a knack for always knowing what to do without the slightest hesitation. They were normal. Aidan on the other hand, was an altogether different case. He stood out with his light hair and bright green eyes. Aidan constantly heard people commenting on their physical differences. In other words, Aidan looked and felt completely opposite from everyone in his family.

Staring up at the sky, Aidan saw something he’d never noticed before, a small blue bird. With a quiet chirp, the bird hopped up and flew away.

“I wish I had wings like those,” Aidan thought.

Voices called from the distance, and although he longed to stay longer, Aidan stood up and started the quick walk home.

Aidan returned day after day, hoping to catch a glimpse of the beautiful bird, but returned home each time with no success. Weeks passed without a glimpse of the bird.

“Next time I see that bird,” Aidan resolved, “I will follow where it leads, and maybe, just maybe, he can lend me a pair of wings like his.”

Another week passed before Aidan saw the bird again. He was dozing in the shade of a tree by the pond when the blue bird landed in front of him. Hopping from side to side, the bird flung a look at Aidan that seemed to ask, “Are you ready?” then flew off into the trees.

Not wanting to miss his chance, Aidan jumped up and followed.
Everything passed Aidan in a blur as he focused only on the small, fluttering bird. Together they ran until the bird glided to a stop on top of something Aidan never before took notice of.  It was something Aidan could only describe as a wall.

The wall was made of stone, dirt, and clay, but it wasn’t man made at all.  It looked as if a slice of mountain had been cut off and shaped into a circle around the village. The colossal landmark seemed to grow right out of the ground, and was so large, it seemed impossible not to notice it.  Yet, Aidan couldn’t recall having ever seen the wall.

The bird fluttered and chirped urgently and as Aidan listened, he could hear the voices of his family call for him in the distance. Somehow, he knew that if his family caught up with him, Aidan would never be able to find this wall again.

The bird chirped once more, urging Aidan to make his choice, and flew to the top of the precipice to wait.

With two paths to take, Aidan sat at a cross roads pondering.  He could go back to the old life he’d always known, or he could start a new one; a life of opportunity with no nagging voices telling him what to do. Torn, Aidan looked up and remembered the wings. With his mind made up, Aidan turned toward the cliff face and started climbing.

Starting up the wall was easy.  Aidan found plenty of hand and foot holds to climb up.  But as the great wall of earth extended upwards, the climb grew more difficult and the voices of his family grew louder, practically begging him to go home. 

Aidan tried to block out the voices and continued climbing. 
Just when the good handholds started becoming scarce, the first family members broke through the trees. It wasn’t long until they looked up and spotted Aidan scaling the wall. The shouting began and then intensified. Chancing a look down, Aidan saw family gathered at the bottom and other people running to join them from the town. Aidan continued climbing.

Aidan climbed for what felt like hours. His arms were shaking, the voices were taunting, and the sun was constantly beating down. Exhaustion started wearing in.  He knew he was more than halfway finished, but feared that if he looked, his task would seem impossible.  Giving into his curiosity, Aidan looked up and nearly slipped with surprise. 

He was almost there. 

Aidan hugged the wall with gratitude and prepared for the home stretch.  Then he felt the pebbles.  One after another, pebbles started hitting his back.  Confused, Aidan looked down and was startled to find his friends and family had stopped throwing abuses, and started throwing rocks.  Some people had even built a catapult. 
Driven by fear, Aidan started to climb again, but with the constant bombardment, Aidan found it hard to focus.  Just as he reached for a new handhold, a giant rock slammed into the hold.  Startled, Aidan pulled back, almost loosing his grip, and frantically searched for a new way up. 

The rocks kept coming.  Aidan struggled to find a safe path up the slope.  Every time a new hold appeared, another giant rock would destroy it, leaving only the small slippery indents behind. 
Aidan’s whole body shook as he climbed higher.  The mountain of rock seemed to tremble beneath the constant bombardment.  A small rock hit the top of Aidan’s head. As he reached for a better grip, Aidan noticed that those below had suddenly stopped hurling rocks.  Looking down, Aidan saw the town pointing upwards and gasping.  Some had even started running for cover.  Another small rock sped past him, and as he looked up, Aidan discovered the reason for the town’s behavior. 

Rocks were falling. 

The bombardment had loosened the piles of stone, rock and gravel at the top of the mountain and they were now falling swiftly.  There was no place to hide. 

The rocks started small, but gradually increased in size.  Soon it was too much.  The rocks came down on him constantly, with no end in site.  Too weak to withstand the slide any longer, Aidan lost his grip and fell with the rocks. 

Everything slowed.  Time stopped as Aidan fell back to the life he had before.  In his mind, Aidan could hear the town cheering as the fall admitted his defeat.  After this, there would be no more quiet time, the town would make sure of that.  There would be no more freedom.  He would be a slave.  But wasn’t that what he was running from?  Why was he letting one slip keep him from what he wanted most? 

What he wanted most . . .

Aidan remembered the beautiful blue bird and when he first saw it.  He remembered how much he longed for wings like the birds, and why he had followed the bird to the wall.  As he fell, Aidan looked up and saw the bird circling. Waiting.

With that, Aidan made up his mind.  Lunging for the wall, Aidan grabbed onto a small ledge and held on.  Rocks sped past and rammed into him, as he hung to the wall, waiting for the end. 
It came sooner than expected.  The rocks just suddenly disappeared.  Astonished, Aidan found himself not far from where he fell.  And, because of the avalanche, new ledges and handholds were everywhere, providing a quick easy route to the top. 
With bewildered faces below and the chirping voice of a new friend encouraging him on, Aidan resumed his climb.  Bruised and battered he neared the summit, each step making him feel lighter and lighter.  Using the rest of his strength, Aidan reached the top and finally, after all that trouble, found his wings.  They had always been there.  Only his fears had kept them hidden. 

The bluebird chirped and together they flew off into the open skies.