She hit the ground hard, knees bleeding, arms scraped, wings askew.
Every bone ached as she got to her feet. She looked at the high cliff perch through the broken branches that had ‘cushioned’ her fall.
‘You okay?’ Her friend jogged up, their expression worried. ‘God, when you plummeted …’
The girl gingerly folded her bruised wings. ‘When will I ever make it? Every time I make the leap, I fall. Every time!’
‘Maybe it’s not time yet. You’ve just got to keep trying.’
—