The girl looked down at her feet and looked back up to see a thin, almost thread like bridge with dozens of paper lanterns tied on almost every nook and cranny.  What was once a dusk sky transformed and melted into a blue twilight full of stars that stretched endlessly. On the other side of the bridge was another island of celestial land with a twisted path that lead to a small source of light, no bigger than a candle’s flame. The girl felt this strong urge to get to that light.

“I’m scared to cross the bridge Indigo Orb. It looks so thin and fragile! What if I fall?”

“There’s nothing to fear dear girl. It may seem timid and fragile, but in reality it is so much stronger than you think it is.” The orb nudged the girl’s shoulder forward. “Besides, even if you did, you have wings now!” Feather barked and bolted across the bridge to the other side. The bridge didn’t move a single inch when Feather ran cross it. As soon as he got to the other side, he scratched his ear for a moment, then sat down on the edge of the celestial land and stared at the girl.

The girl took a deep breath and stepped onto the bridge. The bridge did sway for a moment, which caused the girl to death grip the handles of the bridge. Her stomach dropped and her body began to shake. She looked down to see an endless abyss of cosmic clouds and stars between the crevices of the bridge’s ancient planks.

“Keep going dear girl! Don’t stop!” The orb came up to the girl’s side, but did not touch her shoulder. “I’m right here. Keep going.” The girl held her breath for a moment and took a large step onto the bridge and it dramatically swayed side to side.

“I can’t do it!” cried the girl. “I can’t”, tears began to form in the girl’s eyes, blurring her vision.

“Yes you can! You must. Even if it is one step at a time.”

“How was feather able to get across it so quickly?”

“Feather does not know fear and neither does fear know him.”

“That doesn’t make any sense at all Indigo Orb. I mean, the bridge didn’t even budge when he ran across it!”

“Take a breath dear girl….”, the girl took a massive deep breath in,”… and let go.” She exhaled at the end of his words. “It does not matter how long it takes for you to cross this bridge. You will cross it and you will be alright. Let’s go.”

The girl wiped away her tears, closed her eyes, took another deep breath, and steadied her grip onto the railings of the bridge. The girl took a step forward with her eyes closed and the bridge barely swayed. The girl took another deep breath and took another step forward. This time, the bridge did not sway.

“Yes! Yes! You got this!” The girl’s grip on the railings loosened and her steps became more solid. Within a few steps, the girl’s foot touched the cold earth on the other side of the bridge. She opened her eyes and jumped forward. Feather jumped up and down, then ran to the girl. The girl took a few steps forward, opened her eyes, and found that she was on the other side of the bridge.

“YESSS! I did it!” The girl grabbed the spirit orb and held it close to her chest. “Thank you so much for believing in me when I couldn’t believe in myself.” The orb’s warmth against her chest was one she never felt before. A flash of light overwhelmed her vision for a few moments; and within those few moments, a gentle humanoid like apparition with bright rose gold wings kissed her forehead. She opened her eyes to see that the gentle apparition was gone, but the Indigo orb was still tightly wrapped in her arms.

What was that? The twisted road that was once in front of the girl when she made it to the other side of the bridge was gone. What took its place was something the girl would never forget.

|  Intro   |  Part 2- The Development of Wings  |   Part 3 – An Awakening  | Part 5- Growing Pains  |   Part 6- Saying Goodbye to the Old World  |  Part 7- The New World pt 1   |   Next Part   |