Burning Wings - My Year 9 Creative Writing Award Entry

The burning wings of the Phoenixes that Tawera could see flying above them streaked across the deep
and inky, black, blanket that covered the land, and the feathers they left behind in their flight forever
twinkled in the darkness as stars, they followed in the path of The Great White Phoenix, who circled
the land and oceans showing itself to those in need of its light and guidance. Showing itself to the lost
and guiding them to where they are needed and wanted. The ships lost at sea will be at the docks and
shore by the morning after the great storm, the lost travelers would appear at the doors of their homes
by the afternoon, after the floods and fires that burdened the forests they had walked that morning. It is
said that these miracles happen because the creature that guides the land sees them as valuable, and
worthy of saving from the perils.
Tawera’s thoughts were interrupted, as they often were, by a babies cries. The sound was Tawera’s
younger brother, at nine months, the child didn’t know how to do much else but cry and sleep. Tawera
rocked in her chair next to the crib he laid in, and as she lifted the small baby into her lap the cries turned
softer and softer until there was nothing left to hear but the babies delicate breaths and Tawera’s own.
‘I’m sorry Lucca, Mama isn’t coming home, but don’t worry she left to give you to me and papa. You are
the light of my life and his. You shine brighter than any Phoenix's coat and you will grow knowing that.’
As Tawera looked out the window, there were no tears for her left to cry in her horrible life, but the
Phoenix feathers and the Great White Phoenix still shone against the deep, blue, inky darkness, with
brilliant light, but to Tawera, nothing like these lights could even begin to compare to Lucca’s own.

Tawera could do nothing but hold the crying child, Lucca had reason to cry, it was just him and Tawera
now, against the world, nothing was left except for a lonely house of memories.
‘I’m sorry Lucca, Papa won’t be coming back, but don’t worry he never meant to leave to hurt us, you
know Papa wouldn’t do that. He just went to visit Mama. Just know, you are the light of my life and were
his. You shine brighter than any Phoenix's coat and you will grow knowing that.’
Tawera gripped the seven-year old’s body tighter as he continued to cry, but even his sadness was a
beacon of light to Tawera, his despair showing that even he, could still shine in any dark time. She knew
that somewhere, The Great White Phoenix and their people would shed a tear for him and someday,
guide him home.

Lucca’s tears ran down the gashes, scars, and bruises that coated Tawera’s body, he didn’t even know
he had the tears to cry, he had shed them so often, still, he felt no shame in Tawera seeing him cry, they
had raised them and seen the same tears shed so often. Nothing could make him feel shame about the
tears he cried in front of her.
‘I’m sorry Lucca, I thought he could help us but don’t worry we won’t ever have to see him again, he’ll be
going somewhere where he can get what he deserves. Just know, you are the light of my life and forever
will be. You shine brighter than any Phoenix's coat and you will grow knowing that.’
This didn’t stop Lucca’s tear, though, the tears just came to his eyes quicker, no other thirteen-old boys
cried as often as he did. His sister said those types of words so often they just made him cry and hug Tawera even tighter.

The bulging lump that stuck from Tawera’s stomach had made Lucca cry more than ever, it was a
mixture of joy and despair. Yet, she still cradled it, she held her brother and the lump, Tawera’s feelings
were as mixed as Lucca’s.

‘I’m sorry Lucca, you’ll be meeting someone new soon, but I don’t think I’ll be there to meet them. Just
know, you and this new someone, are the lights of my life and forever have and will be. You both will
shine brighter than any Phoenix's coat and you know that.’

A single tear fell onto Lucca’s shoulder as he hugged his sister, yet his own tears were like waterfall’s
from his eyes, cascading onto her.

The baby cried and cried, asking for their mother. Tawera was there, but she wasn’t. She laid in the bed
just as the woman who had given her life had. Her face was covered in tears, but they weren't even her
own. She hadn’t shed a single tear while laying in that bed, neither upon seeing her brother watch as she
gave her life for another to have one. She hadn’t shed a single tear while laying in that bed, neither upon
saying her final words to the light she had raised from a small boy.

‘I’m sorry Lucca, I’m sorry Lucca, but this child will need you more than anyone. I want you to give them
a name, give them a purpose, give them something to live for, I want you to give them burning wings so
they can fly among the Phoenixes, but most of all, I want you to give them you. I also want you to hear
me tell you this one last time, you have been the light of my life and forever will be, while I fly among the
Phoenixes, you will shine brighter than any Phoenix's coat and you will know this, and you will tell this
child the same. They are the light of your life, they always will be the light of your life, and that they are
your life. I’m sorry Lucca, but I have to say goodbye, I see Mama and Papa up ahead. They say they
love you, they say that you were the light of their lives. May The Great White Phoenix guide you home,
Lucca.’

The tears didn’t stop for days, they wouldn’t, and they didn’t, not until Lucca heard a baby’s cries. He sat in
the same chair that she had years ago, and he pulled the child into his lap, just as his carer had done
herself, he gently rocked with the chair as the babies cry softened and the room turned to silence, Lucca’s
ears hearing nothing but the breathing of his niece and his own breath.

‘I’m sorry Taffia, but your Mama isn’t coming home, but don’t worry she left to give you to me and give you
the chance to live. You are the light of my life. You shine brighter than any Phoenix's feather and you will
grow knowing that.’

He realized his words were the truth, Taffia was the light of his life and would be as long as the Phoenix
feathers shone in the sky. The Great White Phoenix had come to him with great, burning wings and had
guided him home, and for once, it seemed as if he had no tears left to cry.