THE ARCTIC TERN
May 06, 2021
5 minutes
Short story by Natalie Wolf
Illustration by Tiffany Dang
It took two months of wishing for the wings to grow. After standing in front of his mirror each night, scrunching his shoulder blades together, and hoping with all his might, the boy woke one morning to feel the new appendages smushed unpleasantly beneath his blankets. When he sat up and threw back the covers, they spread wide without warning, one knocking the lamp from his bedside table.
He felt them delicately with his fingertips to make sure that they were real and then ran downstairs to show his mother. She was surprised at first but soon grew accustomed to the idea. People were far more accepting of difference these days, so why should her son’s wings be any concern?
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