“What will you pay for your family’s life?” The Thief, the Snatcher, the Gift-Giver’s foe, demanded. My pack only carried the essentials—water, food, clothes. The bluff’s wind tore at my wings, threatening to pluck the feathers. Azure, the wind whispered my name. Azure. He wants my wings. All these schemes—the goal was my wings. I glanced over at the boy. His wings, twice the size of mine, brushed the ground with each feeble leap. The Gift-Giver’s name echoed in my heart. My gifts cannot be taken. Only given. The words pushed me into a still, cool place, with the emotions of stone. “You may have my wings.” The Snatcher raised an eyebrow. “Yes, you may have my wings, if you promise that you and your servants will leave my family unmolested for one turn of the moon.” He grinned. The sound of the boy’s fruitless efforts pierced my ears. “And you must give my wings to him.” The Thief’s eyes darkened. I could feel his anger stretching over me like a stormcloud seeking to extinguish the sun. His hands ripped away my wings. Pain welled like blood seeping from between my shoulder blades. Crushing, oppressing weight shoved me to the ground. The cliff shuddered beneath me. I slowly raised my head. His errand accomplished, the Thief fled But the boy’s shoulders twitched like massive mice. His oversized wings crumbled at the edges, slowly replaced by two beautiful, feathered canopies. My wings…             His wings. He leapt into the air, eyes shining. “I can fly…I can fly!”   Tears of joy dripped from his eyes, splashing on my stained tunic. “W—wait,” I croaked. He flew away without looking back.   Regret roared back. I had dreamt of wings as long as I could remember. And when I was old enough to embark on my quest, many—even my family—doubted my goal. “The Gift-Giver is a child’s fable, girl. And even if he did exist, why would he give you wings?” I traced the scars on my arms from the valley of thorns, the calluses on my feet from the stony paths. My hair was still tangled and knotted from the grasping branches of the dark forest. I lost everything in pursuit of his gift. Now I had lost it.   Tears poured down my face. My chest ached; only an empty space remained where my heart had been. A shadow fell across the sun. Through my tears, I spied a great eagle circling overhead. I raised my hands, trying touching the sky; once so close, now more distant then ever. Gusts of wind shoved the tears back into my eyes as I wondered why I had given His Gift away.       Author’s Note: Before you start flinging overripe apricots at me, let me explain. I originally dreamt this story; I had wings that I gave away to a boy who had a counterfeit gift from evil. And since I can’t imagine why I would do so, Azure has no answer either.