The Winged Man: Part 2 (The Rebirth)

By Rhoades Maibam

It was already many years since the winged men had found the purpose of their wings. The legacy of ‘the awakened’, the one who deciphered the purpose and paved the path for many others, was kept protected in the form of a statue in the village. A statue of a winged man plunging into the sky from a cliff, carved out from the biggest of boulders and by the best of sculptors, it was a sight to behold for anyone in the village. Also, the line - “Embrace the difference in you and one day you’ll make the difference.”, was engraved as the epigraph so that his principle would live on.

One day, a group of laborers came to the village to seek shelter, and in return, they would provide the village with any labor possible. Among them were an aging blacksmith and his son who had just taken over the blacksmithing responsibilities of his father. He was a good blacksmith but not as good as his father. He had every skill and talent to become the best of blacksmiths but his heart, his heart was somewhere else. He wanted to do more than just blacksmithing, he wanted to do more than just put food on the table every day, he wanted to dream and if possible live that dream. In short, he wanted a meaning to his life.

A few weeks passed and the son continued with his monotonous life at his newfound home. Then, as it happens with everyone in the village, he too came to know about the story of ‘the awakened’. Astonished and inspired by it, he would sit for hours just looking at the statue and reading the epigraph over and over again. And at those times when he would feel down and purposeless, the statue gave him hope, the statue gave him meaning.

Then, months later, it was finally time for the ‘holy plunge’ of the winged men. It had become an annual event now and those participating were to prepare themselves for both the best and the worst of outcomes. All those successful would soar the sky and have their names etched among the greatest of winged men, while all those unsuccessful were to have their wings cut off in shame!

Moreover, ever since the awakening, the village was hit with a plague, a plague of amputated limbs and shattered dreams. For among those who fell hard on the rocks beneath, many came out worse - unfit to fly, unfit to work, and unfit to hope! , they were only a liability now. The village elders thus came up with the harsh consequence, that way there would be lesser liabilities and more workforce.

Then, on the day of the ‘holy plunge’, what was supposed to be an exciting and inspiring incident to the son, sadly unfolded into one of the most horrific scenes that any man could imagine. For every successful plunge into the sky, ten fell on the hard rocks beneath, rendering them limbless, lifeless, and if not, hopeless! And to add insult to injury, all of them had their wings cut off in shame.

A son or a daughter so full of life and ambition once, nothing more than a lifeless vessel now – indeed their loved ones were to suffer the worst. And for those who survived, their families could never walk with pride again. This haunted the blacksmith’s son for months, he couldn’t bear the fact that behind the unfathomable greatness of the statue would lie the unimaginable misery of the fallen ones. Also, the very fact that the wingless and the limbless would spend the rest of their lives dreamless and meaningless shattered his heart into pieces. For no matter what dream he had, he too was a dreamer, he too was in search for a meaning to his life. And seeing someone live with his dream and meaning to life snatched away, he wasn’t having that, and instead, he wanted to change that.

So, he went up to his aging father and asked for wisdom. To this, the father replied,” We are blacksmiths, we only forge metals to make weapons and armour, what can we possibly do?” The son affirmed, “Armour! That’s it. We can forge a metal both light enough and strong enough to make an armour with wings.” Thus, with vision and purpose on his side, the son worked tirelessly for months to ‘give back’ the wings to the wingless and the dreamless. Moreover, his heart was finally into the art of blacksmithing and the meaning to his life was finally found. Numerous recalibrations and hundreds of unsuccessful trial flights followed, yet he never gave up. And finally, with a weight as light as a handful of feathers and a mechanism powerful enough to take any man to heights that even the eagles can’t reach, the first ever flight-capable armour with wings was made. The aging blacksmith witnessed all of this with pride beaming through his eyes, he was more than happy to hand over the baton to the new master!

Then when the time for the ‘holy plunge’ came once again, the son was determined to make it a day of victory and celebration rather than a tragic one. So, with determination and purpose in his stride, he walked up to the cliff of the mountain holding the winged armour in his hands. And in a voice that reverberated through the hearts of everyone, he said, “Today we no longer have to witness pain and misery. Today, we no longer have to have our wings cut off and our dreams shattered. Instead, today we give back the wings to the wingless and the limbs to the limbless. Today, we celebrate victory, victory over hopelessness and dreamlessness. Today, we will be reborn!”

To this, in voices so feeble yet so courageous, out came from the shaky lips of each of the once hopeless and dreamless villagers, the word reborn!…reborn!…reborn! Then, in the ever-increasing loudness of the roars and the cries, the trembling mountain stood there to bear witness to the rebirth of the century!

Months later, in place of the statue of ‘the awakened’, a new one was erected. A statue of a wingless man kneeling in respect to a blacksmith giving him back his wings, indeed it was a sight that transcended boundaries and it was a sight that honored the purpose of each man.

Now, for such an immensely meaningful architecture, the sculptors wanted an immensely meaningful epigraph. So, they went to the blacksmith’s son himself for help. To this, the son smiled and with a tone that sounded like it was rehearsed over and over again, he said…“Embrace the difference in you, and one day you’ll make the difference.”

By Rhoades Maibam