Stranger in the Sky

The boy stood silent in the open window of 11th floor. Birds were making circles in the grand sky. He remembered his own experience of flying. "Could this be a dream?", he wondered as gentle breeze greeted him with a kiss.

He had this problem. He couldn't distinguish between the reality and what he saw during the sleep. He often had a dream where he saw himself flying like a bird. Flying past villages for escaping his enemies or rescuing people from the water-flood. Flying gave him tremendous joy but he was a bit scared too because he couldn't fully control his flight. Sometimes he would fall down and hit trees and buidlings. Sooner he discovered that flying in the dream was harmless. Then he would comfortably pass through the walls and see himself fall on earth without a fear.

Today the boy was puzzled because this moment had an illusion of being real. The day was setting, and his deep urge to fly in the direction of sun was making him restless. He looked down at the cars and people in the street who appeared very tiny from this height. His heart was throbbing fast. He had to choose between reality and dream. Jumping from a high spot was necessary, this is how he went on to start flying everytime in the dream. "Come, ride on me", said the wind. He couldn't resist longer as the wind took his hand out. The birds were amazed to see a stranger in the sky. He was coming down rapidly. With no fear he waited until the last moment for the magic of flying to happen.

The sky smiled at him and the boy became awake for the first time. A bird flew away from a nearby tree.

-- Kamran Ali; short story # 1
Stranger in the sky (song at youtube)