My life wasn't always like how it is now. I didn't always get bullied and ridiculed by everyone on the island, especially the kids. I actually had a normal life at one point.
I remember now. I had forgotten, but Brenn and I would play together often. We were the best of friends. We would always be together. It was great having him as a friend because I didn't have any parents or siblings, so he was the company I had. We would run around the island, playing catch or tag, and sometimes we would annoy the other islanders, but mostly, we were liked. Back then, he was like a brother.
Joe, the shopkeeper, would always give me something extra whenever I bought tools or food from his shop. He would wink at me and say, "Keep this between us. It will be our little secret." and it was nice. He would smile at me, give me the best items at a low price. I think he was so kind because he knew I didn't have any family. He would offer me some shelter whenever it was raining. He was a nice guy at that time.
Angela was the baker of Dravern Reach. Her family was the only family who could bake. I remember walking past her house everyday and smelling the pie or bread that she had baked. She would always offer me a slice of it, and it would taste so good. She would pat my head, tell me to eat slowly. She was the one who was worried about me and Brenn. She was like a mother to me in those times.
The mayor's name was Dan. He was elected as mayor by the town, and everybody liked and appreciated him. He was a little old, but still quite full of life. He helped me a lot. He gave me that house to sleep in, and for a while, he even gave me a monthly allowance. Back then, he was the one who helped me survive. He would even talk about me in his speeches, saying that I was destined to do great things. He was like a father back then.
Of course, all good things must come to an end. I was happy back then, but at 8 years old, my gift awakened. Just a few days prior, Brenn's gift had awakened, and it was telekinesis. It was good, in the islanders' eyes, it was going to make life easier for Brenn. After all, he could easily get a good job with it.
Then, my gift awakened. It didn't awaken peacefully like Brenn's did. I was walking with him when we passed the mayor's office. He was standing outside it, and he noticed us. He smiled warmly, and offered me his hand so I could shake it.
I moved my hand up to do so, but right before I shook it, I could feel something changing in me. I heard a buzzing sound, but at that point it was too late for me to stop myself. As soon as our hands touched, I heard a shock, and both of us pulled back our hands.
I looked at my hand. I was slowly vibrating, and small arcs of blue lightning passed between my fingers. Was that smoke? I looked up at the mayor. He was looking at his own hand. I saw smoke curling from it, and I could tell that he was hurt. Physically and emotionally. He looked at me, and for the first time, I saw fear in his eyes. Fear of me.
"What's wrong, Max?" Brenn said, moving his hand to put it on my shoulder. I tried to stop him, but I was too late, again. Instantly, he was shocked as well.
"Ow!" He looked at his hand with tears in his eyes.
"I-I'm sorry, I don't know why...." I tried to explain that I didn't know what was going on. A crowd was forming. Everyone was watching, everyone saw how I had hurt their precious mayor and the innocent Brenn. The only thing that I saw in all of their eyes was fear.
My gift had awakened and it had hurt people. Instantly, I could see how the islanders' perspective had changed. Until now, they had believed I would be great, and that my gift would be great. But no. Instead, it had hurt innocent people, and it wasn't even all that special. The people's opinion changed. Instead of being the kid everyone liked, I was the one who was useless, who had wasted their time, given them false hope. Hope for what? Freedom? Progress? I don't know. I don't know what they expected from me, but ever since that day...
Ever since that day, I didn't smile, and I didn't get any smiles from everyone else. Brenn slowly drifted off and stopped talking to me for a bit, until kids started making fun of me. Then, he started to lead them. Joe would look at me in a different way. He increased the prices of everything by a lot, just for me. It looked like he regretted helping me before. Angela would shoo me away whenever I passed by her house. She was the one who yelled at us this morning. She wouldn't even let me smell her baking, let alone offer me some. She Instantly stopped caring about me.
And Dan. Once, he had been proud of me, and he believed in me. He would look at me with hope in his eyes. Maybe he thought one day I would replace him, and make this town even better. But after my gift awakened, he ignored me. Whenever I saw him, he would look at the burn mark on his hand. He started acting like I wasn't even there. Whenever he did talk to me, he was cold and cruel.
I couldn't believe it. I mean...was my gift really that important? My whole life had turned upside down in an instant. How was that even possible? After that, it stopped smiling, except when I was alone, building things, hidden away in the junkyard. Since then, I started work on my project. The ship that would get me out of here. These people didn't care about me. So I was going to leave.
But...there was someone. I remember. I was afraid, alone, broken. And I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see who it was but....I don't remember. Their face is a blur. All I know is, at some point, someone wasn't afraid of me. Someone cared.
Suddenly, I woke up. I had been dreaming about my past...again. But that wasn't why I woke up. I heard noises. They were faint and far away, but were closer than the main plaza was. It sounded like...shouting? I climbed off my bed and went to the top deck. The sun had only just risen, so my estimate was that it was around 6 o'clock. I walked to the edge of my ship and peered over it, into the junkyard.
The entire island had grabbed various different weapons and were all around thd junkyard. I knew what this meant. They were looking for me. My ship blended in with junk, so they couldn't see me, but I saw them. And they were slowly getting closer to my shack. Brenn was in the front, along with Dan and Joe. Clearly he was guiding them. We used to play together here, after all. I thought he had changed. I guess not.
I needed to do something. If they got here, they would destroy my ship and all my hard work. I ran to the control room and started the activation sequence. The engines down below started working. I heard the hum, and so did the islanders, since I could see them in the mirror I had made. Now they were coming straight for me. Now that the sails had full risen, they would easily see me, and would get here soon.
"Come on, just a few more seconds....please work..." I whispered as I saw them get to the front of my shack.
The panels on the sides of the ship opened up, and slowly, some important parts of the ship revealed themselves. The wings unfolded, taking up the whole open area, and behind them, turbines that I had taken months to make slowly started to spin.
"This is it...time for take off...let's fly!"
I pulled on the lever next to the ship wheel, and the wings started to flap slowly. It was a design that I had come up with myself, looking at the birds in the sky. The wings created a powerful wind around the ship, but by now the islanders had managed to unlock the secret wall and were watching in awe as my ship slowly lifted into the air.
I looked back at them from the control room. They were looking at the ship, confused and amazed. The ship was now mid-air, and the wings continued to flap, the wind blasting in all directions, pushing them back, and me upwards and forwards. The flipped a switch as the back turbines changed directions, now pushing me forward, while the button turbines pushed me upwards and kept me afloat. The wings had stopped flapping, and were now fully stretched out.
I had done it. I had built the first flying ship. It was now above nothing but thin air. I turned the wheel to the right and the wings titled to turn the ship. I looked at them all. They had wronged me. They had persecuted a child for something he was born with, something he couldn't control. But they wre good people. They had just chosen the wrong path. They needed a leader to guide them back.
And I knew who that leader would be. It would not be Dan, the Mayor. It would be Brenn. He was the first one to change. I saw him standing at the front of the crowd, looking at me. He looked frustrated, regretful, guilty. But he didn't do anything to stop me. None of them did. Perhaps they had finally remembered what they expected from me. And what I had achieved.
I nodded subtly at Brenn, and raised my hand in a sort of salute. He looked surprised, but then he smiled and saluted back. Then Dan raised his hand too. The same one I had burned so many years ago. And waved. Slowly, all the islanders waved me goodbye. Joe and Angela too.
I was surprised. Maybe this island would change. I decided I would visit it again. In a long time, yes, but I would come back.
I stopped saluting and put my gloved hand back on the wheel. I turned it and the ship turned along with it, onward, towards the unknown.
My adventure had begun.