Child of Thunder

"Once I met a child," the firefly said. "A child feared by the world. He was kind and always thinking ahead. He does not like to bother others and so he would often on his own cast himself away. As you can see, the world does not hate the child. He was feared. The things that made him fearful were his wings."

"So he's a angel?" the old woman asked. "An angel of death? The ones who guide people in the afterlife?"

"No," the firefly said. "He isn't an angel. You see, the wings he have were given to him. He never said by who but it was a memento."

"A family treasure? But how can wings be given? Aren't they supposed to grow on your back or for birds, it's their arms."

"I have not much clue about that. But it doesn't matter right now. You see, the wings he have were made of thunder."

"The spark we see on rain clouds?"

"No, not the lightning. But actual sounds."

"Sounds?"

"The boom you hear after lightning crashes down."

"You mean actual thunder sound?"

"It was so loud that whenever he stretches and flaps his wings, it shocks everyone around him."

"I too would be afraid of that."

"Everyone did," the firefly laughed but suddenly put on a stern face. "It's because of that, that he was always alone. Along with the world, he too was afraid to himself. It was this reason that could only fly so far. And also the reason why his wings never fully spanned. He never always had it out. When he does, he twist and bend it to it's minimum."

"Did it hurt?" the old woman asked.

"Yes. He never told anyone but whenever he does open his wings, his face shows it. It hurts him when it does."

"What of his ears? A distant thunder wouldn't be so loud but one just directly behind you would be really painful to bear."

"It is his wings," the firefly smiled. "It wouldn't hurt him for that matter. What hurts him though was his wings unable to fully fly."

"So what happened to him?"

"He stayed on the ground," the firefly said.

"What about his peers, his friends, his family? Surely there must be someone that knew and cared for him."

"They left him. Or rather, he left them."