Mother crow perched herself on the tree branch and watched her four fledglings proudly. Time had gone by so quickly. It seemed like just yesterday they had all hatched from the egg and now they were learning to fend for themselves and learning to fly. She loved them all so much and wished that they would all stay under her wing and watch, but she also knew that the time had come to let them try to fly on their own. Petie bird sat next to his mother on the tree branch and watched the rest of his fledgling siblings make their attempts to fly through the air and land. He laughed at them as they took off and seemed like they were having a blast flapping their little wings about and staying in the air, but trouble had hold of them when they tried to land. Mother crow glanced over at Petie and winked at him and nudged him with her beak. Mother crow knew that Petie bird was a special bird from the day that he had hatched from his egg. She could tell that he was going to be different from all her other fledglings.
Days had gone by and Petie would continue to sit on the perch in the tree next to his mother and watch and CAW out to his siblings. Flying was much easier for all of them now and landings were not as trying as they once were. It looked so easy and fun as well. He wanted so badly to join his fledgling siblings. Mother crow looked over at her fledgling son curiously. She knew that he too was wondering why he was so different and could not take part in what his fledgling siblings were experiencing. Mother crow nudged her son with her beak. Petie glanced over at his mother sadly and asked. “Momma, do you think that one day I will learn to fly like the rest of my sibling fledglings?”
Mother crow looked down at the ground, then over at Petie. “Yes Petie, I believe that one day you too will fly.”
“But I want so badly to fly now.” Why can’t I fly like my other fledgling siblings?” Petie asked.
“Because the time for you to fly has not yet arrived.” Mother crow responded.
“But why? It doesn’t seem fair. They are all having so much fun and I sit here day after day and watch them soar through the air and land, I wish so much I could be like the rest of them.” Petie said tearfully.
“You are like the rest of them Petie, just because you cannot fly now does not mean that you will never fly, you must be patient and wait, then one day, your time will come and you will fly.’
“Do you promise momma?” Petie asked excited.
“Yes, I promise you.” Mother crow answered.
Many more days went by and Petie would sit perched next to his parents and watch the siblings even finding food for themselves. He wished that he did not have to depend upon mother and father crow to help him with his meals. Mother crow turned to Petie.
“Petie, your father and I are going to get some food for you, we will return shortly.” She said.
“Okay momma.” Petie answered.
He watched as his parents gently lifted up and took off and soared through the air. It looked so easy and suddenly he felt that now, now was the time that he should try to fly. “Why not?” He asked himself outloud.
“I can do this, I too can do this just like they can.” And with that thought in mind Petie edged his way closer to the end of the branch and waited until a strong breeze came up. Then he gently lifted his wings and let the wind pass underneath them. He stepped a little closer to the end of the branch then backed up. With a running start began to head towards the end of the tree branch. “This is it.” He said to himself.
“Now it is my time to fly!” He hollered out.
He took off, his heart pounding wildly and his wings flapping. At first it seemed so easy and then suddenly while he was in mid air his wings felt very tight and weak. Moments later He found himself falling from the air and instantly taking a nose dive down to the ground. He crashed to the ground with a thud and lay there in the middle of the street. He lay there stunned and hurt, but he felt more hurt that his attempts to fly had failed. He quickly stood to his feet and hobled over to the side of the street. His wing hurt him badly. He cawed out for his mother and father but they did not answer him back.
“Now what am I going to do?” He asked aloud.
“When they come back to the tree branch they will see that I am gone, how will they find me?”
Suddenly he heard a voice, it was a soft soothing voice. He looked up and saw the face of a young woman leaning over him and talking to him. The young woman reached out and scooped Petie up in her arms. She could see that he was very injured and that he was in need of special care. Peties heart began to pound wildly, he was very frightened and afraid of this stranger that had him in her arms. He wished that he had not attempted to fly and that he had stayed on the tree branch.
Then he heard the woman’s soft soothing voice. “don’t you worry little one, I’m not going to hurt you, I’m going to make you well.”
A few days had passed and Petie missed his crow mother and father and siblings but something about the place that he was in seemed very comforting. He felt very loved and taken care of. It actually didn’t seem so bad that he was in a new home. His wing still hurt him badly, but the nice lady that was helping him seemed to know how to make his pain go away.
Days had passed by and Petie was having the time of his life in his new home. His wing was healing up and he felt much stronger every day. He loved it that he could make the woman that cared for him laugh at some of the things that he could do. Like hang upside down on his perch and act crazy, or tease the little dog that she had by nipping at his tail and making him scurry under the couch.
One day the woman took Petie outside to get some fresh air, it was a beautiful day. She set him on top of his cage. Petie basked in the sun and felt the warm rays of the sun beat down on his silky black wings. Then he heard the sound. “CAW! CAW!” He looked up and saw a crow perched on a branch high in the tree in the back yard. He recognized the CAW and looked up. The crow swooped down off of the tree branch and landed in the yard. Petie couldn’t believe his eyes, it was his mother! He danced around on his cage excitedly when he saw her. She flew up and landed on his cage and nuzzled close to him and gave him a kiss with her soft beak.
He kissed her with his beak and nuzzled close to her.
“Oh mamma, I have missed you.” Petie said.
“Your father and I and the rest of the siblings have missed you Petie.” She told him.
“You know that I tried to fly and I failed?” Petie asked.
“Yes, I know, but that’s okay because at least you tried.” Peties mother answered.
“I hurt my wing badly and a nice lady came to my rescue and is taking such good care of me.” Petie told her.
“Yes, I know all about her.” Mother crow answered.
“Are you here to bring me back to the nest?” Petie asked.
No Petie, your father and I left you alone on the branch that day because we felt it was time to let you go, we felt it was time for you to try to fly and go on with your journey.”
“My journey?” Petie asked.
“Yes Petie, everybody has a journey that he or she must take in their life, it’s a journey that is meant just for them. On your journey there will be many things you will accomplish and many people that you will meet as well as other crows. Part of the journey is being part of another ones life. Sometimes we become part of another one’s life because they are in need of help
You see, when you tried to fly and you broke your wing, you answered somebody’s prayer that was in desperate need.” Mother crow told him.
“I still don’t understand.” Petie said.
“Well, you know how bad that you were hurting when you tried to fly and broke your wing?” Mother crow asked.
“Yes. It hurt real bad.” Petie answered.
“Well the lady that rescued you hurt just like you did, only she hurt in her heart. She has suffered from a broken heart for a very long time, and sometimes that is much more painful than any other pain we go through because it is very hard to heal a broken heart.”
Petie stared at his mother not quite understanding what she was saying. Mother crow continued on.
“Remember how sad you were when you could not leave the tree branch and join your other fledgling siblings while they were learning how to fly?”
“Yes mamma, it hurt real bad.” Petie answered.
“Well that’s how that young lady has felt for a long time now, she felt very hurt just like you did and she too felt like she was unable to fly.”
“Huh?” Petie asked
“When you tried to fly and you broke your wing, she found you, you were a gift and a prayer answered for her and you, you have healed her broken heart Petie., by healing her broken heart you helped her to fly once again.”
“How did I do that?” Petie asked.”Because you make her happy, she is the happiest that she has been in a long time, she is happy because you taught her some things about herself that she never even know existed. “She is very happy. And I am looking at you and you seem very happy also.”
“I am momma, she is taking real good care of me.” Petie said.
“You see, this is part of your journey. Do you remember when you sat on the branch and asked me if you would ever learn to fly and I promised you that you would?””Yes.” Petie answered.
“Well I was right and you are flying, you aren’t flying in the way that you wanted to fly, but you are flying. You must always continue to keep on flying and be proud of yourself and what you have learned.”
“That lady is helping to heal your broken wing and you in turn are helping her to heal her broken heart.”
“Wow!” Petie said. “I never thought of it that way.”
“Yes, you are her angel that saved her. She is your angel that saved you. We all have to look out for each other and help one another. You are flying Petie, and you are soaring high above the rest of us.”
“I love you momma.” Petie said
“I love you too, and I am so proud of you.” Mother crow said.
Petie kissed his mother and nuzzled in under her wing. He felt a teardrop run from his eye.
“I don’t want you to go momma.” He said.
“I have to, I have to leave you now Petie.” Mother crow said to her son.
“Will I ever see you again?” Petie asked.
Mother crow laughed. “Yes of course you will, you are my son and I love you.”
“When, when will I see you and papa and my crow brothers and sister again?” Petie asked.
“When the time is right, you will see us and we will all be together again. Right now, you must continue on with your journey, you have a job to finish here and this is where you belong.”
Petie stared at the ground sadly.
“Just remember what I told you, you must always continue to keep on flying and be proud of who you are.” Mother crow said as she reached over and hugged her son with her wing.
“I will momma! I will!” Petie answered.
Petie looked up at the tree above and saw his father and then heard him CAW out for Peties mother. He waved to Petie with his wing and Petie watched as his mother lifted her wings up and took off to join him at the top of the tree. He watched as they flew off together.
Many more days had passed by and Petie felt very strong, he would flap his wings and feel the breeze underneath them and he loved to pretend like he was soaring in the air with his family. He also noticed that he had grown, his wings were larger and his tail feathers had grown out.
Another sunny day had come around and the nice lady took Petie outside and set him on top of his cage. Only this time she did not leave him alone, she stood next to his cage and she looked very sad. She stroked Peties silky black feathers and talked to him.
“Oh little one, you have grown so much and you are a very very strong crow now. I love you and will always love you. I will never forget what you have done for me. I feel very lucky and very blessed to have had you be a part of my life, but now I feel, I feel that it is time for me to let you go. You must go now and join all your other crow friends and go on with your life. I will miss you so.” She said tearfully
Petie was shocked and hurt by what she had said to him. He thought to himself “Why are you doing this? And what if my attempts to fly fail again?” Then he remembered his mother’s last words to him before she flew off, “You must always continue to keep on flying and be proud of who you are.”
A strong wind blew through the trees in the back yard and nearly knocked Petie off of his feet. Then Petie heard the sound, CAW! CAW! He looked up in the tree and saw his mother and father staring down at him. The lady looked up and saw the crows in her tree. And a tear gently fell from her eye. “Go on little one, it’s time for you to go join the others. Go on they are waiting, you can fly now, your wings are very sturdy and strong. I will be okay and I owe it all to you, you have made me a better person and much stronger than I was.”
Petie stared at the woman with a tear in his eye. The love he had for her was very strong yet he knew she was right and that the time had come for both himself and her to let go and carry on.
She bent down and gave Petie a kiss on his wing, “Always remember I love you and I will never ever forget you as long as I live.” She said wiping the tears away from her eyes.
Petie stared at the ground sadly. Then he heard the sound once again CAW! CAW! He looked up at the tree. His heart pounding wildly. He was afraid, he was terrified that if he would try to fly that he would fail once again. The lady spoke softly to him once again.
“It’s okay, you’re going to make it, you don’t need me anymore. Go on, you must try to fly. You will make it. Your wings are very strong.” She said.
Another strong breeze blew through the backyard and Petie lifted his wings and started to flap them. Then suddenly like magic, he lifted himself up in the air and began flying. It was wonderful! He no longer felt weak and his wings felt strong and sturdy. He flew to the top of the tree and met his mother and his father. They both greeted him with crow kisses. The lady stood on the ground and watched with a smile on her face as she watched him reunite with his mother and his father. They all gazed down at her, as if to thank her, then his mother and father let out a CAW and took off. Petie stood on the branch and looked down at the lady, then he let out one final CAW, then gently lifted his wings and began flapping and lifted off of the tree branch and flew off to join his mother and father. It was the saddest day, yet the happiest day of his life. He had to let go of someone that he loved and cared for, he was going to miss her and he would never forget her as well. He was very grateful, he had her in his life as well, for she had mended him and made him much stronger than he ever dreamed he would be, and in return he had helped her to be a stronger happier person. He was happy he was back with his family again, and he could fly, he could fly the way that he had always dreamed of.
Jenny M
Jweepingcrow
