Mouse wanted to fly. That’s all he dreamed about - night and day. When he was small he read books. All the books he read about were about great birds. Birds who flew high in the sky. Birds who crossed whole forests in a single stroke of their wings. Birds whose wings flap came down as storm winds on the mere mortals below. He dreamed about being one of them. He longed to be up there. He wanted to be worshipped like he worshipped the great birds. The desire ate every cell in his body. For a while it was good. For he imagined that the day would come soon when he could fly. He was still small. There was time still.
For a while all was good.. but that changed. As days passed, he grew more and more sad. The mouse who always smiled was no more. The mouse everyone loved was no more. He forgot how to smile. For he could not fly. He had many a friend among the birds. They expected him to fly too. He thought he would. He thought he could be a great bird one day. He thought he was destined to be a great one. His bird friends all encouraged him. Despite his failures, they thought he could fly. It was only a matter of time.
Things started getting worse. Many attempts he made to fly. None succeeded. He tried and tried. But couldn’t fly. The mice no longer counted him as one of their own. The birds had hoped that he would fly one day like them. They too lost hope. And the mouse.. he started to understand - he would never fly. He didn’t have wings. God had not made him to fly. But he thought he could.. and that’s all he cared about. It’s not a nice feeling. A mere mouse doesn’t feel very sad when he can’t fly. But our mouse was no mere mouse. He wanted to fly. He dreamed about it night and day. There were times when he knew he could fly. He was crushed. What was his life worth now?
The story doesn’t end here. It could go on if you wanted. Maybe his children will grow wings. Or their children, or theirs. The spark, the desire to fly.. maybe it will live on in his cells and take wing one day in his children. But one truth remains - our mouse will never fly. His destiny is to be alone. His destiny is to never fly.
