We all suffer under the weight of the world sometimes. We have our worries about work, money, love, friendships… Wouldn’t it be amazing to free ourselves of all those things? Well, once there was a girl who did exactly that. Ever since she was born she decided to be weightless and let the wind take her wherever it desired.
It’s true what they say, if you really want something you can make it happen, and so this little girl remained light enough to be lifted by any gust of wind. Every day she would walk outside, spread her arms, and wait for the soft touch of her lover to take her away.
The wind was always generous to her. He brought her many beautiful places and on great adventures. He danced with her above the treetops, played with her between grains of sand, he made twirls for her, and always dropped her in the sun, surrounded by the scent of flowers. It was in one of these paradise-like places that a bird landed right next to her.
‘What are doing here?’ he asked.
‘I was brought here by the wind.’
The bird hopped around a bit and looked at her from every angle.
‘Taken by the wind? Isn’t that dangerous? I have my wings that bring me everywhere, but you have to trust something as unpredictable as the wind. You never have the freedom to choose your own destiny.’
The girl laughed.
‘What do you suggest then? That I have to flap wings to take me places? To always know where I will go? No thanks. My freedom is in trusting the wind to bring me somewhere my mind can’t even imagine.’
‘Suit yourself,’ the bird said after which he flapped his wings and flew away.
There she was, lying all alone again. Could he be right? Noooo… Of course not! She had always lived this way and it had brought her places others could only dream of. Why would she need weight to keep her down or a destination to keep her going?
The little girl had however overlooked one little fact of life. She had always been so busy dancing with the wind, that nobody got the chance to tell her about the seasons. And so she found out the hard way that the wind can be a moody lover. As the autumn came he dragged her from the ground and threw her around in grey, cloudy skies, all the way into a deep puddle with an orange streetlight shining in her face. The water and the wind took turns teasing her until all of a sudden she heard a tapping sound. As she looked up she saw the orange beak and shiny feathers she remembered from better times.
‘So, I guess you could use some wings right now.’
A little tear started to run down the little girl’s cheek.
‘I suppose so,’ she answered and expected his scornful laughter.
‘Mmm, and there’s no way you can get up?’
She shook her head.
‘Let me see.’
The bird flapped his wings, creating a wind that moved the girl. Higher and higher she went into the sky as his strokes became more powerful. Soon they were flying together and they kept on doing so. The girl with a wind in her back she could trust, and the bird with an unexpected destination for every journey.