Wings

The poets say Icarus laughed as he fell. Nyx supposes he laughed with the joy of flying, but when he was falling? She thinks not. It must’ve hurt; the hot wax running down his back. Nyx would know, even though her situation was nothing like his. Nonetheless, how could someone laugh when they were moments from their inevitable death? His father told him not to fly too high, for his wings would melt, nor too low, for his wings would be weighed down by the spray of the sea.

Was his last thought regretful?

Did he wish he listened to his father?

Would he have wanted to apologize for letting his euphoric emotions take control?

Nyx rolls over in the grass carefully, making sure she doesn’t put pressure on her injured back. Who would Icarus have wanted to apologize to? His father, of course, Daedalas. The master craftsman and inventor had been imprisoned for helping Princess Ariadne and the hero Thesus. They escaped the labyrinth he created to imprison the Minotaur on King Minos’ orders after defeating it. Naturally, the King was enraged. But Icarus had done nothing wrong then. He was imprisoned to give his father a reason to not break out. Yet, they took flight when Daedalas made the wings.

Maybe Icarus wasn’t one to apologize. The myths do say it was his pride that was his ultimate downfall. Surely there was someone. His mother, perhaps. A friend. Did he have siblings?

Could Icarus have had a soulmate?

Nyx sits up abruptly at the thought, inhaling sharply as the muscles responsible for her wings contract to make them flutter. The lack of the soft rustle of feathers to her right was almost more painful than what felt like someone digging their fingers right under the flat of her shoulder blade and rotating their wrist to open her wound. She didn’t understand why there was a cut down the right side of her back anyway. It’s not like she cut her wing off.

But what if Icarus did have a soulmate? The person would be just like her– one winged. Would they have gone through the same pain and humiliation she did? Did they have to endure the pitying glances everyday, along with being treated like a dandelion that could blow away with the slightest breeze? Well, the myths are nothing like reality, of course. But what if?

Surely they wanted an apology. Nyx wanted an apology. It wasn’t a walk in the park, being the only one in her family with a single wing, now that she couldn’t fly. They didn’t understand. Saying things like ‘it’ll be fine, darling’ when they shot into the air, leaving her on the ground wouldn’t fix it. She was still lonely. So lonely.

The poets say Icarus laughed as he fell. Maybe he did. Maybe it’s easier to laugh when you don’t have to live afterwards.