By Shyamali Perera

Years ago, in a secluded clearing deep within the woods, a man and a woman stumbled upon an abandoned baby lying in the tall grass. Her tiny body was wrapped in a tattered cloth, and nearby, hidden among the bushes, lay a pair of giant, fragile, and feathered wings, as if they had once belonged to something otherworldly. The clearing, bathed in an eerie stillness, seemed untouched by time; the wings were an unsettling reminder of the mystery surrounding the child. 

But the man and the woman would soon raise her like their own. 

The Secret 

The soft clatter of dishes echoed through the kitchen, and the wall clock ticked monotonously. Eliza wiped her hands on a dish towel, glancing nervously toward Scott, who stood by the window, gazing out into the shadowy woods beyond their backyard. 

“We can’t keep up this pretext forever,” Eliza said, her voice barely above a whisper. Her fingers twisted the towel, betraying the tension she tried to suppress. “She’s asking questions, Scott.” 

Scott didn’t move, his back rigid, hands stuffed deep into his pockets. His silence weighed heavier than the words hanging in the air between them. “You don’t think I know that?” he muttered, finally breaking the silence, though his eyes never left the view outside. “But what choice do we have?” 

Eliza bit her lip, her heart pounding. “We could tell her… at least part of the truth. She deserves that, doesn’t she?” 

Scott turned to face her, his expression stern. “Tell her what, exactly? That everything she knows isn’t quite what it seems? That we’ve kept this secret from her all these years. What good would that do, Eliza? It would only make things worse.” 

Eliza lowered her eyes, feeling the familiar ache in her chest. “I’m scared, Scott. She’s changing. She’s not the same little girl she used to be. She’s… different. She’s looking through books and asking questions. It’s only a matter of time before she figures out—” 

The shadowy figure stood tall, cloaked in a flowing, dark robe that seemed to blend with the night. His face was partially obscured, but faint glimmers of light revealed sharp features and eyes that glowed faintly with an otherworldly intensity. His movements were fluid, almost unnaturally graceful, as if he barely touched the ground. A faint aura surrounded him, casting a subtle golden shimmer that hinted at his celestial origin. Despite the shadows, a quiet power in his presence commanded attention without a single word. 

Was Eliza scared of SaraKnyal discovering her identity, or was she afraid of telling Scott what she saw several times near the edge of the woods? It was the ghostly silhouette of a man staring at the house, a scary sight. She rubbed her eyes each time to ensure she was not dreaming; she was not. But then, as quickly as he appeared, the man was gone.  

Eliza shivered thinking about him… 

Scott ran a hand over his face, sighing deeply. “We knew this day would come eventually,” he said, his voice low. Eliza’s throat tightened. She couldn’t deny that a part of her had always dreaded this moment when their carefully constructed life would start to unravel.  

Scott’s eyes darkened, his jaw tightening. “Then we’ll have to be ready when she does. But for now, we say nothing. We protect her the only way we know how.” 

Then they heard the kitchen door close and footsteps fading up the stairs. 

The Argument 

The evening sun cast long, golden shadows through the kitchen window, bathing the room in an unsettling glow. The air was thick with the smell of simmering stew. But SaraKynal couldn’t bear to taste any stew when her mom, Eliza, poured some into her bowl. She slammed her fork onto the table, the clatter echoing in the quiet kitchen. Eliza looked up nervously at SaraKynal, almost expecting to hear the dreaded question coming out of her mouth. 

“Why won’t you just tell me the truth, Mom?” SaraKynal’s voice quivered, not from fear but from the frustration building in her mind for years.  

She stood up abruptly, her chair scraping against the hardwood floor. “You know I’m not like 

Rushdie or Mona. I feel it.” 

Yes, she could feel someone watching her from the dark.  

Then she remembered… Her dream! 

SaraKynal was in deep sleep when a cold hand touched her. She opened her eyes and saw a tall, shadowy figure standing by her. His face was hazy. So, she could not see it!  

“SaraKynal, open your eyes,” a voice whispered near her. “I have come to take you home.”   

She screamed as loud as she could, but no sound came out! Was it a dream, or was there really a man standing near her bed?  

Still standing by the stove, Eliza sighed deeply, her hands gripping the counter’s edge as if to steady herself. For the first time, Eliza turned, her face pale, her eyes avoiding the mark. “SaraKynal, please—” 

“No, you’ve avoided talking about it my whole life! My hair—it’s never grown, Mom!” SaraKynal lifted her curls, revealing the same length they had been since she was a child and pointing to her elongated ears peeking out of them.  

“And this—” she stretched out her left palm, displaying the delicate birthmark of angel wings. 

“What is this? Why am I like this?” 

“Why do I have these—powers?” Her hand trembled as she gestured, and a chair across the room shifted, scraping the floor slightly as if nudged by an invisible force. 

Eliza’s eyes widened, but she quickly composed herself. “You have to stop doing that,” she whispered, almost pleading. “People will notice.” 

“Notice what? That I can move things without touching them? That I’m some kind of freak?” SaraKynal got up, her heart pounding in her chest.  

“I’m not normal, Mom, and you know it.” 

Eliza didn’t respond, but the silence spoke louder than any words ever could. Outside, a sudden gust of wind rattled the windows as if the world was responding to the storm that had just broken inside. SaraKynal pushed back her chair and ran out of the kitchen before Eliza could turn around to stop her. 

The Truth 

The woods were almost eerily quiet. SaraKnyal stood at the edge of the trees, staring into the dense underbrush, her heart racing. The wind whispered through the leaves, and for a moment, she could almost hear it calling her name. The feeling was familiar—this urge to go toward the woods—but it felt stronger and urgent tonight. Her hands tightened into fists, and she glanced at the sky. The stars twinkled, distant and cold, as if watching her. 

“I know there’s something here,” she whispered, her voice barely heard over the wind.  

The same dream had haunted her for weeks: the woods, the shadows, and something hidden just out of reach. She knew she had to come here before. Her mind raced with questions she’d never dared ask her parents—questions that had plagued her since she was old enough to realize how different she was. Her fingers absentmindedly touched the birthmark on her palm—the faint outline of wings, a mark she’d spent years hiding. No one knew what it meant. Not even Gia, her closest friend, could help her find answers. She’d searched books, folklore, anything that might explain why she could move objects with just a glance or why her hair never grew, never changed. 

“Why am I like this?” SaraKynal muttered, her voice tight with frustration. 

Though there was no wind, the trees around her rustled as if in response. Her heart skipped a beat, and she froze, eyes scanning the shadows. 

Suddenly, a voice cut through the silence. It was soft, almost melodic, but unsettling. “You’re looking for something, aren’t you?” 

Sara spun around, her pulse quickening. “Who’s there?” 

A shadow emerged from the darkness, but it wasn’t someone she recognized. It was a man, his face obscured by the darkness, but his presence felt heavy, as though he knew more than he was letting on. 

“You’ve felt it, haven’t you?” the man said, stepping closer. “The pull to these woods. It’s no accident.” 

Sara took a step back, her body tensing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

The man tilted his head, his eyes glinting in the dim light. “You know what I’m talking about. You’re not like them, SaraKynal. You never were.” 

“How do you know my name?” Her voice wavered. A cold dread settled in her stomach, but at the same time, she couldn’t look away. 

“I know many things,” he said softly. “I know that you’ve been searching. I know you’ve wondered why you never fit in.” 

SaraKynal clenched her jaw. “I don’t know who you are, but you must leave.” 

The man smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “You were found here. Left as a baby, abandoned.” 

Sara’s breath caught in her throat. “That’s none of your business.” 

He stepped closer, his voice almost a whisper now. “But it is. You need to know.” 

Every instinct told her to run, to leave this strange man behind, and never return to the woods. But something rooted her to the spot. She glanced down at her palm; at the birthmark she had always hidden. “I… I don’t know,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. 

“You’re not human, SaraKynal,” the man said, his voice cutting through the quiet night like a blade.  SaraKynal’s mind raced. It didn’t make sense. None of this made sense. She took a shaky breath and shook her head. “No… that’s impossible.” 

The man’s eyes softened, almost pitying. “You were never meant for this human world.” 

Sara’s legs trembled as she took a step back. Her vision blurred, and for a moment, everything felt too sharp, too bright. She wanted to scream, to demand answers, but all that came out was a whisper. 

“What am I?”

The man’s voice lingered, “You’re a fallen angel, SaraKynal. And you’ve been lost for far too long.” 

The words hit her like a gust of wind, knocking the air from her lungs. The ground beneath her seemed to shift as if the world she knew had just cracked open. She had spent years searching for answers, but now that they were right before her, they felt too much to bear. 

“I… I don’t believe you,” she stammered, her hands trembling. 

“You will,” the man said, his eyes locked on hers. “Soon, you’ll remember everything. And when you do, you will have to make a choice. A choice to be human or return to heaven and be an angel.” 

Sara’s heart raced as the man’s figure faded into the shadows, leaving her alone with nothing but the echo of his words.  

The Decision 

SaraKynal exhaled slowly, trying to steady herself. The air around her grew unnaturally still, as if the forest held its breath. “I choose to stay,” she shouted, her voice echoing in the eerie silence.  

Suddenly, a golden light burst from her chest, blazing like the sun and engulfing her entire body. The ground trembled, and a strong wind whipped through the trees, swirling leaves and bending branches as the light lifted her effortlessly into the air. 

She hovered above the trees, her body suspended in the glowing light, caught between the earth and something far beyond. The world below blurred, but she could make out the terrified faces of her parents, Mona, Rushdie, and Gia. They stood frozen, shielding their eyes against the blinding light, staring at her in disbelief. 

The light pulsed, sending a deep, vibrating hum through the air, and for a brief moment, time seemed to pause. Whispers—otherworldly, unintelligible—filled her ears as if ancient voices were speaking directly to her and pulling her toward something unknown. A strange phenomenon! SaraKynal’s heart raced as she felt the pull of both worlds—the human one below and the mysterious realm above. 

Then, with a sharp crack that sounded like the sky splitting open, the light vanished, plunging her into darkness. She fell, plummeting toward the earth, but just before she hit the ground, invisible hands caught her and gently lowered her onto the soft grass. She lay there for a moment, breathless, her body trembling. 

Slowly, SaraKynal lifted her hand. Her birthmark—the angel wings that had always set her apart— left only smooth skin behind. Her ears, once elongated, were now completely normal. She touched them, disbelief and fear swirling inside her. The strange power she had felt all her life, to move objects, to feel the energy of the world around her, was gone. A deep emptiness settled in her chest, yet a sense of relief beneath it. 

She staggered to her feet and ran toward Eliza and Scott, tears streaming down her face. “I love you and will never leave, not even for Heaven,” she cried, her voice breaking. When she reached them, they wrapped her in their arms, holding her tightly as if they feared she might disappear again. 

For the first time, SaraKynal felt entirely human, bound to the earth and the family she had chosen over the mystery of her powers. The whispers and light had vanished, but she found something more tangible in their place: love and belonging.  

SaraKynal had found Heaven on Earth… 

Author Bio

---