From the flat roof of the high-rise, Gwendolyn watched the rain pound the streets below.
        The sun was hiding from the storm.
        What’s taking them so long? We’ve got to get out of here.
        Rain blew across her angular face.  Her short, wavy brown hair clung to her head.  The severity of her mouth made her appear far older than thirty.
        Soon the wind will knock people down, Gwendolyn thought.
        Anxiety made her feel cold.
    
A hurricane was about to make landfall; it was the first of a predicted series of storms that could devastate the area.  Most of the population had already evacuated the city, but there were still a few pockets of people who remained.  Although some of them would not survive, the majority of those folks would be rescued by boats and helicopters after the storm.  These transports would take the survivors to the mountains fifty miles west of the city, where the hurricane would have little impact.
    
Gwendolyn, her husband, Doran, and his business partner, Caleb, planned on flying to the mountains using large, artificial wings.  The two men were university professors and first cousins.   Their goal had been to create a mode of transportation that would withstand all kinds of weather conditions.  After years of research and careful development, they had constructed the wings and tested them in isolated, uninhabited places.
        Gwendolyn was their assistant, and all three had looked forward to the day when they would, for the first time, use the wings in an actual situation.  They also happily anticipated the instant fame that the wings would bring.  Wings that were, so far, unknown to anyone except the three.  Wings that would soon be available to the entire world.  And what better time to showcase their durability than during a hurricane?
    
Gwendolyn felt Doran’s presence behind her. She whirled around.  “You have only two sets of wings with you,” she said.  Her hazel eyes flashed.  “Where’s Caleb?”  
       “He’s not coming with us.”  
       “Why not?”  
       “He says the wings aren’t ready yet.”
        “He’s completely contradicting what he told us yesterday,” Gwendolyn said.  
        “He’s wrong, of course.”  Doran’s gray hair shone in the rain.  His eyes were steel.  “I have complete confidence in them.”
        “So, he’s going to hang around and wait to be rescued?  I have to go talk to him.”
        Doran grabbed her arm.  “No.  I had to tie him up and gag him to get the two pairs of wings out of the lab.”
        “He must be furious,” Gwendolyn said.  “He’s going to miss out on all the glory.”
    
Doran looked westward.  “I made sure his bonds weren’t too tight.  He’ll work himself free and be rescued long before you and I reach the mountains.”
        “We’ll be arrested when we get there.  Caleb has to punish us for leaving him here.”
        “Caleb will forgive me when I give him equal credit for the success of our flight.”
        “It won’t be that easy,” Gwendolyn said.  “He has a huge ego.”
        “I’m not worried.”  Doran eyed the wings.  “Are you ready to go?”
        “Yes, I am.  Let’s do this.”
        Doran took her hands in his. “You’re not afraid?” 
        “Hell, no.  When have you ever known me to be scared of anything?”
    
Orphaned as a baby and raised by an unloving aunt and uncle, Gwendolyn had grown up fierce and defensive.  After graduating from high school, she left home forever.  It was while working as a server in a diner that she met Doran, a man twenty years her senior.  During their year-long courtship, she discovered what it was like to love someone and be loved in return.  He had changed her entire outlook on life.
        They married.  In addition to her job, she went to college at night, taking every science class available to her.
    
Doran smiled.  “Do you want to change into some other clothes before you put on your covering?”
        “No,” Gwendolyn said.  “These are my favorite jeans.  I’m wearing them for good luck.”
        She thought the covering felt warm and comforting. Doran slipped the wings onto her back and tightened them across her shoulders.  She was always amazed at how lightweight they felt.
        “All you have to do is flap like a bird,” he said.
        He then showed her what to do if, for some unforeseen reason, the wings failed.  While he demonstrated the procedure, she suddenly felt uneasy. Doran immediately sensed it.
        “We don’t have to do this today, honey.  We can wait with the others for rescue.”
        “No.  I’ll be fine.  I wouldn’t miss this for anything.  I just hope that Caleb will be okay.”

        “Believe me, he’s in good shape.  Don’t worry about him.”
        “We really shouldn’t leave him here,” Gwendolyn said.  “What if he can’t free himself and they don’t find him?”
        “I promise you, he’s in no danger.”  Doran put the second pair of wings on.  “Remember, when the wind and rain are at their worst, the wings will be at their best.”
        She watched him tighten the wings across his shoulders.  “I’ll go first,” he said.
    
Doran leaned forward and kissed Gwendolyn before he leaped off the edge of the building.  She gasped as he slowly and easily manipulated the wings.  He paused in the air.  “Care to join me?”
    
The wind and rain slapped Gwendolyn as she stood on the ledge.  She wasn’t afraid of falling, yet she closed her eyes as she plunged off the roof of the building.  She flapped her wings.
        She felt free and alive in a way she never had before.
        “You are a natural!” her husband called out to her.
        She glided forward like a majestic doll, trailing Doran at a moderate distance.  Even though he paused frequently and waited for her, she could not catch up to him.  Despite this, Gwendolyn enjoyed flying.
    
What could Caleb have found wrong with these wings?  They worked smoothly.  And she felt safe.  Why would he think they hadn’t been perfected?
    
It was a journey Gwendolyn could not have imagined in her wildest daydreams. She was in awe of the beauty of her city’s buildings, bridges and rivers.  The wind and rain smelled fresh, rich and clean as the earth itself. She saw people below looking up as they passed.  She felt like calling out to them.
        Gwendolyn wished that Caleb was with them. She knew it was his rightful place to be a part of this special first flight across the sky.
        Yet Gwendolyn wondered if her wings were moving as quickly as they were supposed to be.  It annoyed her that she could not catch up to her husband.  But he didn’t seem to be bothered by this.  He kept moving forward, easily cutting through the wind and rain, his motions purposeful, intent, fluid.  Doran’s concentration was broken only by his glancing back at her now and then, to make sure all was well with her flight.
    
At last, the mountains appeared.  Doran gave her the victory sign.  They had passed beyond the hurricane’s reach.  Only a thin veil of rain remained.  It soon parted, revealing a crowd gathered at the clearing where the three had planned to land.
        Why are there so many people? Gwendolyn wondered.  She knew Doran was thinking the same when she saw the bewilderment on his face.
        Then she saw the photographers and news trucks.  She heard the noisy group as they surrounded what had to be a celebrity.
        Doran and Gwendolyn were ignored as they flew toward the mountain.
    
Gwendolyn couldn’t believe what she saw next: There stood Caleb, still in his wings, posing like a king, basking in the praise and savoring his triumph.
        It was then Gwendolyn realized that Caleb had intended to get there first, to arrive at the mountain unaccompanied by Doran and herself.  He had only to make certain that his wings worked faster than theirs, take a different route, and this historic moment would be his.
 
 
                         About The Author
  
        Susan Liev Taylor is a full-time caregiver and a part-time book clerk for a large retail chain.  She writes short stories and poetry, and is a moviegoer whenever time allows for it.
        Her last piece to appear in Calliope was the short story, “The Tailor’s Silk,” (Issue #114, Winter 2006-2007).
  
  
                              Copyright © Susan Liev Taylor