Broken Wings, Broken Spirits

by Darkblaze15

Chapter 4: Unexpected Salvation

As I lay in my bed moping and tuning out the world around me, I heard a light rustling outside the window in my room. I initially thought nothing of it as I went back to my moping. When the noise sounded again, this time closer, curiosity overtook my sorrow and I pulled myself out of bed, walking promptly towards the window. Upon opening it, I look around my surroundings from the first floor of the building, not seeing anything suspicious. Just as I was about to close it, I heard the noise again, this time coming from directly beneath me. I looked down and gasped at what I saw; a small, orange tabby kitten lay just underneath the window, looking mangled and in need. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the kitten was missing its left hind leg, making its walking and standing wobbly and off-balance. Mom had a thing about Riley and I bringing home stray animals as pets, but something about seeing how helpless the cat looked made me feel pity for the poor creature.

As I watched it roam around in the leaves for a little bit, I eventually made the decision to bring the kitten inside my room, setting it down on the floor and letting it roam around my room. I lay there in front of it, watching it earnestly, and the cat hobbled across the hard floor as best as it could. It crawled up on my back and sniffed at my wing stubs, almost as if it could that I was disabled, as well. As it hopped – well, fell – off my back and continued its journey across the floor, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for it and wonder what had happened to its leg. The more I watched this poor kitten wander about, however, the more I began to think about how, despite everything that might’ve happened to it, the cat still managed to retain some semblance of wonder and life, which was more than I could say about myself. Suddenly, an idea began to form in my mind, and I promptly stood up, the kitten looking at me curiously with big, watery eyes, as I searched my room for the supplies I needed to fulfil my plan.

It’s not until late afternoon when my plan finally came to fruition in the form of a temporary prosthetic leg. Although it was basically a couple of pencils bound with rubber bands and a makeshift harness made of string, I hoped that it would work well enough until I could take it to a vet where they would have better and more extensive resources. All while I worked on attaching my leg to the kitten’s flank, it stares up at me with all the wonder and curiosity of a newborn foal. I chuckle at the thought as I set it down on the desk in my room and wait for its reaction. The kitten briefly tested its new leg as it walked around the desktop, its movement still wobbly but somewhat more static and seemingly more comfortable, at least from my perspective. After a couple of laps, it walked up to me and paused before licking my face with fierce but inviting gratefulness, purring loudly. I chuckled at the kitten’s antics – something I hadn’t done in weeks – and brought the kitten in close with a hug as I mentally adopted it, knowing full well that Mom will have a fit when she finds out about my new friend.

The more I looked at my handiwork, however, the more I thought about my own predicament. Here was this kitten, happy as can be, while I was sitting there, still feeling sorry for myself; all the time I wasted moping around could’ve been put to better use trying to cheer myself up. As We both sit there, the kitten snuggling into my lap, I couldn’t help but think about how similar we both were. We both had missing limbs, needed assistance in our time of need, and were lost until we found each other. As the kitten began to fall asleep, I began to think about if and how I could improve my own situation in a similar fashion to this kitten’s new leg. As I looked across my room and my gaze fell upon the blinds on the window, I formulated another idea and set to it immediately, racing out of my room to collect more tools and supplies.

* * * *

The next morning, my parents and brother were walking down the hallway towards my room, anxious for their next visit with me. “I wish we left earlier,” Mom said, “Curse these darn bangs and their need to be brushed!”

“It’s still early, dear,” Dad yawned slightly, “If he and his brother are anything alike,” he says, gesturing to the small slumbering form on her back, “then he won’t be up for a little while, so we’re good.”

“Maybe you’re right,” she said, slowing her pace as they approached my door, “I’m worried about him, dear.”

“What makes you say that?” he asked curiously.

“I don’t know, but he didn’t seem like himself the last time we visited,” she continued, concern filling her voice, “He barely responds to our questions, and looked almost completely removed from the world around us. What if it’s because of us? What if he overheard of the other night? What if he gets so upset over this that he starts hurting himself?!”

“Woah, calm down there, honey,” Dad said, pulling her into a hug as she hyperventilates, “After all we’ve taught him so far, he’ll know better than to do that kind of thing to us. Give him a few weeks, and he’ll come around, I’m sure of it.”

Mom looks up at him, sniffling yet smiling gratefully, “What would I ever do without you, hon?”

“You’d probably be with Buck, that stallion who couldn’t keep his eyes off you in high school,” Dad said, winking slyly as he opened the door and stepped aside for Mom to enter first; She chuckled and walked through, ready to wake me up from my bedside. When she gazed upon my bed, however, she screamed in shock and horror; “What is it?” Dad exclaimed, galloping into the room.

"He’s gone!” she cried out and rushed over to my empty bed, setting a waking Riley on the floor as she crossed the room. As soon as Dad crossed the threshold into the room, I jumped down from my hiding place on top of the cabinet and dropped him in a playful tackle; Mom turned on a dime to see the cause of the commotion.

“Surprise!” I exclaimed, hugging Dad fiercely with my tackle.

“John?!” she shouted, “Wh-What were you doing up there?!”

“Sorry for scaring you,” I said, “but I wanted to surprise you and show you my new wings!” I twirled around to display my latest creation. Using the slatted blinds as feathers, I made a crude pair of makeshift wings that could be tied around my wing stubs. They didn’t actually serve any function other than looking cool, of course, but, then again, that wasn’t my reasoning behind making them in the first place.

“Well, I never,” Dad stood up, admiring my handiwork, “That’s certainly the most, um – unique pair of wings I’ve ever seen!” Even Riley, who managed to fully wake up, trotted over to see them.

“Wow, those look cool, John!” he exclaimed, “Can I have a pair for my Nightmare Night costume?”

“Maybe, Riley,” I chuckled, “Oh, and that’s not all!” I added as I found the pull strings from the blinds and gave them a tug. With some help from Doctor Flight, I developed a simple mechanism that allowed the “wings” to fold up along my sides when not on display. “So, whaddaya think?”

“They’re beautiful, sweetie,” Mom says sincerely, “But, I don’t understand; last time we saw you, you weren’t quite this…enthusiastic about your injury. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what happened?”

“I know, and I’m sorry for potentially causing you two to have a divorce,” I said, glossing over their shocked expressions, “but I’ve finally decided to not let this injury get the better of me. And I owe it all to my new friend, Shiloh!”

“Isn’t that the name of the dog from that book series you’ve read?” Dad asked.

“Yes, but it’s also the name of my new friend!” I explained, opening the cabinet to let the kitten out, who hobbled up to my parents and snuggles into their legs.

“Oh my!” my Mom exclaimed, though more out of surprise and not necessarily shock or anger, “Where did he come from?”

“He was just outside my window there,” I explain, pointing, “When I saw he was missing a leg, I couldn’t let him stay stranded, so I brought him in and made a new leg for him!” I point to his makeshift hind leg, which everypony marvels over for its simple yet effective construction.

“I thought, well, if I could make a new leg for Shiloh,” I continued, “then why not a new pair of wings for me? So, I spent the entire evening making these!”

“It’s true,” a voice suddenly came from behind me, and when I turned around, Doctor Flight himself was standing in the doorway, “Though, I made sure he went to bed at a reasonable time, of course.”

“You helped me make these, too!” I said enthusiastically.

“Oh, please,” he chuckled lightly, “I simply offered my limited knowledge on basic mechanics, but John here’s the one who built it all,” he said, addressing my parents now, “He really seems to have a knack for this kind of stuff, Mom and Dad. Best not to let it go to waste,” he added, winking.

“Certainly not,” Dad said as he talked to Doctor Flight regarding some particulars about my condition while Riley played with Shiloh. All the while, Mom couldn’t take her eyes off of me, but it at least seemed that hope and pride were in her gaze. When I asked her about it, she simply sighed, “Oh sweetie, we couldn’t be prouder of you,” she said, pulling me into a heartfelt hug with tears in her eyes. “And don’t think for a second that you’ve caused us any grief,” she said, “There are some things we’ll need to work out, but we’re still as much of a family now than we were before all of this.”

I smiled, tears starting to form in my own eyes, “Thanks, Mom,” was all I could say at that moment. And with that, we enjoyed the rest of our visit that day, relishing in my newfound enthusiasm and vigor. I can’t remember exactly what we did, but I vividly remember that, at some point during their visit, I received my cutie mark.

Comments

[Milo_Chalks]

Hey there! I have reviewed your story as part of the reviewer's cafe, you can find your review here.
Thanks once again for submitting your story and I hope to see your stories submitted again! I genuinely love to read them!

-Milo