Bound to Freedom

“Sit here.” Hayden did as he was told. His mentor, Noden, waiting patiently as always. Noden was middle aged. He containged the ability to appear both young and old. One second you’d blink and you saw all the experience he’d gained in his 52 years, the next second you could see the youth in him. Noden had the vibrance of a 14 year old.

“Look around, Hayden. What do you see?” asked Noden, his voice resembling his appearance—ambiguously adult and childlike at the same time.

Again, Hayden followed instructions. He and Noden were on a small hill on a rolling country side. The sky was the blue of clean unpolluted skies, like robin’s eggs. Clouds stretched, like visible whispers, across the expanse. Hayden saw beauty. He saw nature; it’s resilience, it’s strength, and it’s fragility. He mentioned this to his mentor.

“Very good. Now…what do you feel?”

Hayden hated questions like that. They always seemed like a trick of some sort to him. He closed his eyes so he could actually feel instead of see. First he felt himself, his presence. An insect buzzed past him and he felt the disturbance of air. Hayden felt his mentor watching him intently and expectantly. The warmth of the sun beamed on his bare back. It was comforting. It’s the comfort the sun offers in the height of the Spring before it becomes a violent ball of heat exhaustion.

“I feel..I feel…life.” Hayden opened his eyes to see Noden’s nod of approval.

“Very good.” Said Noden as he reclined on his back which was also bare. The muscles in his stomach stretching as well. It was evident that Noden stayed in shape. He wasn’t what one would call ripped but he was toned, lean. Hayden was as well. It was a requirement of those who received training such as this.

“Hayden, do you know why the angels can fly?” Again, Hayden thought this was another trick question but he answered anyway. “Ummm…because they have wings?” He tried to harness the sarcasm in his voice but doubted that he succeeded. Noden could sense a flea a mile away if he desired to do so.

“Hmm. That’s the obvious answer. But it’s the false one as well. Angels can fly because they are free of earth. They are not bound to the laws that bind humanity.”

“What laws, sir?” Hayden was intrigued.

“Laws such as gravity for one. But there are other laws. None too scientific. Most mythologies, religions, and philosophical thought in regards to higher powers touch on it. Christians and Jews call it “The Fall of Humanity”. In Greek mythology it was the opening of Pandora’s box. Those are the most common. But to simplify it for you, humans are bound to each other. Incarcerated by faults, worries, fears, thoughts, needs…and other countless things that are virtually innumerable. But angels, angels are free from such concerns.”

Noden was sitting back up by the time he finished his little dissertation. Noden’s grey-green eyes blazing in the sunlight in his brown face; his peppered hair trimmed neatly by the barbers in the court. His legs were arranged in what most know as Indian style. Hayden noted a ladybug on the sole of his mentor’s barefoot. He was barefoot as well. The only thing that covered them both was the ceremonial garb of those who sought to escape. The garb was merely a pair of pants the same color as the sky when it’s at it’s purest. They were sewn from a silken material yet they never stained or tore even though they were loose fitting.

“So, their wings have nothing to do with it?” Hayden inquired doubtfully.

“Well, who said that angels truly have wings?” Noden’s tone was teasing. “But, I wouldn’t say that the wings have nothing to do with it. I’m sure they assist in the aerodynamics. But, Hayden, what I want you to understand is their freedom. They are truly free. Angels are bound to freedom. And in order to fly you must be as well.”

“But how? How do I become bound to freedom? I’m no angel. And I do have human concerns.” Hayden sounded a bit panicked but it’s only because flight was his only desire.

“Angels aren’t held down by human concerns but they do feel.” There was a pause and Hayden knew it was for him so he took his cue.

“What do they feel?”

“Joy. Immeasurable joy. They were gifted with the innate ability to tap into pure unadulterated joy. Humans can tap into this joy as well but it’s not innate. You have to be trained to do it. And it’s that joy that gives you the peace that enables you to partake in the ultimate freedom which is manifested in flight.” With this said, Noden stood. He stood and there was an invisible force that surrounded him. Hayden couldn’t see it but he could sense it with that part of the human brain that is more than physical. In a breath, Noden was no longer standing atop the hill with Hayden. He was in the sky.