Even before I opened my eyes, I felt the oppressive heat beating down on me from above. I found myself on a flat plain upon opening my eyes. All around, I could see red dirt with clumps of dry grass and the occasional tree or bush. The sun was on the horizon but I couldn’t tell if it was morning or evening. Finally, looking behind me, I spotted one landmark, a large mountain that broke the horizon in the distance. It looked relatively flat on top and gave me the familiar feeling that this place was home. Like I had been born here and was returning after a long absence.

I could feel the call again it led me not to the top of the hill like I had expected, but to the side of it. I made my way across the grass. It was hot and dry, though thankfully, as real as the heat felt. I wasn’t sweating or becoming thirsty.

I heard a cry above and glanced up to see a large bird that I was fairly sure was an eagle. Seeing it gave me a feeling of comfort and something else that didn't make sense. I could have sworn it looked like my mom. It confused me, but it also felt right. My mom wasn't an eagle. It made a few more calls and circled again before disappearing into the distance. The message was clear. I was to follow it.

After a few hours of walking towards the mountain, I saw its features more clearly. I was sure that I had seen it in a book or on tv, somewhere in Australia it seemed like. It was called something rock, but I couldn't remember more.

Above me, the sun rose higher in the sky as the temperature continued to increase. In the distance, the eagle cried. The sound made me long for home, and a gentle touch, which confused me. It wasn't just calling to me. it was looking for a lost soul. Hearing this made me quicken my pace wanting to find answers.

My instinct told me to go around the side of the mountain and follow it, that I would know what I was looking for when I saw it. Some weathered caves formed the side of the mountain, but that wasn't what interested me. It was the most unassuming of objects, something that I had seen in the distance. In a large thin tree, a nest sat near the top, where all the branches were.

From there I once again heard the cry of my mother. I could no longer deny what I felt; even if it seemed odd to me, it was right. Upon reaching the tree, I started to climb and nearly fell a couple of times as it had been a while since I last tried to climb a tree. Finally, after some effort, I managed to climb into the nest.

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Standing on the edge of the nest was an eagle. it looked almost like a golden eagle, or immature bald eagle. As she turned, I saw a stripe along its wing where some of the feathers were a slightly different colour. It looked at me and gave a dip of her head.

Then I heard her voice. Her words sounded right. Son, you finally made it.

The words pierced through me with the realization this should have been my mother. Tears welled in my eyes as I tried to understand. “What do you mean?”

She looked at me with a shake of her head. You were lost to me. We will likely never meet again, but I can give you this gift. She held out a talon to me and I lightly grasped it. She dug into my skin a little. Become my son.

As she spoke, she let go of my hand, and again the surge of knowledge and power of how to change slammed into me. It wasn’t like before. This was forceful, a command. As my arms stretched out, my fingers fused and grew longer. My mouth and nose and chin stretched forward to become a beak. My feet curled up and formed into talons. Across my entire body, the ticklish pinpricks of feathers sprouted everywhere. I was becoming an eagle, like her, it all felt right. My heart soared.

As the transformation finished, I took a few deep breaths and looked around. I could see further and even the most minute details. I glanced back at my mom, though I still didn’t know how that was possible.

She gave a nod of her head. My son, go find your destiny and be your true self. As she spoke, she faded away leaving only a single feather behind.

I felt the loss of her as she vanished. I gave a silent Goodbye before turning to the edge of the nest. It was high on the tree and made me a little scared, but I knew I was meant for the air. With a small gulp, I spread my wings and dropped off the edge.

There was a heart-pounding moment when nothing happened and I saw the ground coming towards me. Just before I reached the ground, my wings caught the air. I pulled up and shot straight back into the sky. Behind me, the mountain disappeared into the distance.

As I turned back, I found myself no longer in a desert, but in a forest full of fall colours, trees surrounded me as felt the wind through my wings and over my body. The elation of being above the ground and traveling at high speeds filled me. There was something there, like the feeling when your stomach flips, but instead of panic or dread, it was elation that the air was where I was meant to be. Weaving between the trees, I felt the joy of being in the air.

The further I traveled, the more and more I saw leaves fall from the trees. The leaves started to fade in colour and instead were white…like snow. At the same time, as the leaves changed, it got colder, and then it hit me….that was snow that I was seeing. I tried to wake up as it was a bit too hard to see and it was so cold, but I wasn't able to. As if I was already awake. I realized I WAS awake.

In my shock, two things happened. First, I pulled back and stopped in mid-air in surprise. And second, I found that staying stopping in mid-air doesn't work like it does in cartoons. I plummeted out of the sky.