元になった長女の短編小説
長女は１４歳です。
英語の成績は、いいほうです。
Rough Landing
I beat my useless wings as I fell through the sky.
My panic stricken brain tried to calm my body down.
I extended my wings, to no avail.
I kept falling, tumbling through the clouds.
The wind wrenched my wings from their sockets.
Not earth, not yet.
“I’m sorry!”I yelled into the wind.
The sky and clouds disappeared and I was dropped on the hard tiled floor of the house of archangels. The breath I had left whooshed out of my lungs.
“This is your last warning Ryan West.”
“I know, I’m sorry.”
“One more time and you will be banished.”
“Where to?”
“It depends, how far you go an-“
“That didn’t ans-“
“Do not interrupt,” he lifted a hand, “Earth, or… Hell.”
I gasped and flattened my wings against my back.
“One more chance, Ryan. One more chance.”
I nodded and lowered my head.
“Dismissed,” He waved his hand for me to go.
I walked out of the building on to the platform. I looked around, wondering where I should go.
Buildings of all sizes sat on clouds, forever moving. Someone pushed me from behind and I toppled off the platform.
“Hey!” I yelled, spreading my wings.
“Shouldn’t stand so close to the edge,” he chuckled.
“You always push me off the edge, Darren.”
Darren laughed and flew upside down beneath me.
“How do you do that?”
“Carefully,” Darren chuckled again.
He folded his tawny coloured wings against his body and dived rolled down and out. He pulled up out of the dive and flew in beside me. Our wings beat alternately so we wouldn’t collide. I folded my sleek black raven wings against my body and angled down.
Darren followed suit.
As I neared the ground I pulled out of my dive and extended my wings. I levelled out so I glided along on the wind, I caught a thermal and rose up and then I twisted around dived again. This time when I pulled up I glided along near the ground then back winged into the courtyard, alighting on the cobblestones in a prefect landing.
Darren came running, tripped on a stone and face planted.
I laughed, “You so need to practice your landing. It’s what your flying teacher would call a ‘rough landing’”
I sat down on a park bench, laughing quietly.
“Why so perfect in the air? You’re scary to look at when you land and take off.”
“Shuddup,” he sat down beside me, “so, what’d you do this time?”
“I interacted with my human when she wasn’t in any danger.”
“Oh yeah, why?”
“I want her to know I’m there.”
“You’re not supposed to do that, it’s against the rules.”
“I know.”
“Right… How old?”
“Fifteen, sixteen in three weeks.”
Darren jumped up, “you’re not going to do what I think you’re going to do!”
I looked at him, “and what’s that?”
“Get banished to earth to be with her! That’s why you’ve been doing this, preparing.”
“Not quite.”
“What then?”He started pacing, “you like her!”
I nodded, “I’m planning to jump.”
“You’re what!?” He stopped pacing and grabbed my shoulders.
“I said I’m planning to jump.”
He shook me, “you can’t”
“Who is there to stop me?”
“Me! I’ll tell Michael, or, or, Gabriel!”
“Oh?”
“They’ll stop you!”
“They think I’m enough trouble already, they’ll be glad when I’m gone,” I stood up to leave.
“I’m telling!”Darren stumbled back a few paces and then launched himself into the sky.
A little bundle crashed into me, nearly overbalancing me.
“Don’t leave us!” A second bundle wrapped itself around my legs, “yeah, don’t leave.”
“How did you two get here?”
“We flew on treble.”
“Oh right.”
“You’re not leaving us are you?”
“Jordan you should stop spying on people.”
“It was Aimee’s idea!” Jordan pointed to my feet.
“It was not!” She squealed flapping her too small wings.
I untangled her from my legs and put her down beside her brother.
“Go home with Treble, okay?”
I gave them both a quick hug then I flew into the air leaving them behind.
“Don’t leave us…”
Their voices faded as I flew higher.
I alighted on the platform outside my house; I let myself in and found something to eat. I walked to my room and wondered what to take with me.
Money.
I went to my sock draw and pulled a wad of human money out and put it in the inside pocket of my jacket. I looked around again.
I walked to my dresser and looked at the contents strewn across the top.
A necklace with a dove with its wings outstretched, it went in the same pocket as the money. I searched the top for the matching necklace. A raven, this I put on.
I checked once more.
Nothing else.
I jumped out of my window and flew to the outskirts of the city.
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
By the time I reached the boundary wall, the sun was setting. I stood on the wall; down there it was night time already. It was like another sky. The lights were the stars, and it was a new moon.
I turned around to face the city; I saw a figure silhouetted against the setting sun.
I fell back.
“Nooooooo!” I heard Darren’s yell as I tumbled down to Earth.
As I fell I noticed feathers falling away from me. I looked at my wings; the feathers were falling away until only bone was left. Then that then disappeared leaving a small dust cloud in my wake.
I hit the ground hard then started rolling down a hill, creating a mini avalanche of mud and stones. I came to a stop at the bottom.
The last thing I heard was Darren’s laugh.
“Rough landing, Ryan West. Rough landing.”
ラフ・ランディング
ウェブリオでは「荒い着陸」……。
軟着陸とか、そんな意味合いでしょうか。
胴体着陸みたいな。
