The Boy With Invisible Wings

Photo Credit: Emilio Garcia

“All the quirks you’ve spent years trying to hide, they are actually your superpowers; they’re what set you apart. They don’t make you better. They don’t make you worse. They make you you, and only you can be that.” ~ Oliver Stark

When I sat down to write, I was thinking about last week’s blog, Equality for Everyone, and how we all have different gifts and talents. I was pondering my statement, that our strength is embedded in our diversity. As I ruminated on how our quirks set us apart, I knew I wanted to write another Grandma story, with a lesson embedded inside it for my grandchildren that would encourage them to discover their superpowers. I hope my musings spark your curiosity and have you pondering what your superpowers are. What makes you, dear reader, the one and only you?

Grandma and I were walking down by the ocean, picking up sticks and gathering shells like we always did on our beach adventures. The rocks that were strewn about and mixed in with the grey and beige sand were of all different shapes and sizes, and Grandma had to be careful with her footing, so she wouldn’t fall and break a bone. Grandma has something called osteoporosis, which is just a fancy word for saying her bones are thinning. She says it’s normal, and not to worry, but I do anyway, ‘cause I love her so much. Anyway, like I was saying, it was slow-going. I’m used to being fast. I can run faster than anyone in my class, which Grandma says is ‘cause I have such long legs, tall and lean like my Daddy. But that morning I was walking slow, slow, just like Grandma, and it was lucky for me, because that’s when I saw, out of the corner of my eye, a flash of something far, far, away, out on the surface of the choppy dark blue waves.

            “Did you see that Grandma?” I asked, pointing towards where I’d seen the flash.

            “See what?” Grandma asked. She stopped walking and turned to look where my finger pointed, her hand shielding her eyes from the bright late morning sun as she squinted behind her glasses, glancing right and left. Just then, the flash appeared again, a little further to the left.

            “Over there!” I squealed. “Don’t you see it Grandma?”

            Grandma tried, but she doesn’t have as good of eyes as me, and she couldn’t see it. I was feeling a bit frustrated, but then, all of a sudden, a whole bunch of silver-grey dots the size of dimes exploded out by where I’d been pointing. There were maybe four or five, I couldn’t count fast enough before they disappeared again into the deep ocean waters.

            “I see now, it looks like a pod of dolphins to me!” Grandma said.

I think she was even more excited than me because her cheeks were stretched so tight in a big, wide grin that some of her wrinkles disappeared and for a second I thought she looked like Mommy.

            “Do you really think so?” I asked, hardly able to believe it. I’d never seen dolphins in real life before, only in movies.

            “I’m almost positive,” Grandma said. “I saw an even larger pod once, much closer up, when I was in Maui on a guided boat tour. It was such a treat. There were maybe twenty dolphins, and they looked like they were trying to entertain the people on board on purpose, swishing their tails to dance along the surface. It looked like they were waving their fins at us, and I could almost picture them with top hats and topcoats in a Broadway musical.”

            “You never told me that!” I said, suddenly feeling left out. “When was that?”

            “Oh my, that was years ago, before you even born, still just a bubble in the blue,” Grandma laughed, then changed the subject, as she often does. “Dolphins are very smart creatures you know. When a female dolphin is pregnant, all the dolphins in the group can sense it, even before her body changes and grows. The entire pod encircles the pregnant dolphin to protect her and her unborn baby from predators.”

            “Wow!” I said, finding that incredible. “That is SO smart! I wish I was as clever as that.”

            “Now child, you’re just as clever as a dolphin, or any other being on the whole planet for that matter,” Grandma said.

            By that time, the dolphins had disappeared completely, further out into the depths of the ocean, but I could still see them in my mind. Grandma’s legs were tired, so we sat down on a big rock to rest.

            “Grandma, if I’m as smart as dolphins, why can’t I sense when a woman is pregnant?” I said.

            “That’s because all living beings have different gifts and different kinds of smart,” Grandma said. “But really, it doesn’t matter. It’s not a competition. What matters is that you recognize your own unique talents. You have things inside you that no one else in the whole world has. All of us do, and it’s our job to find out what they are, and how to use them best while we’re here.”

            “Like how I’m so good at building things with my Lego bricks?” I asked.

            “Yes, like that,” Grandma said. She picked up my hand and held it in hers, then turned it over and traced the lines on my palm. “Remember when I told you about the squirrels being able to run so fast without falling off the branches because of their intuition?”

            “Yeah, you said their intuition meant they didn’t have to even think about balancing, they just did it, automatically,” I said. “And I remember you told me I have intuition too. I’ve been practicing listening for it, like you said, but it’s hard to tell which thoughts are my own and which are intuition.”

            “It can be tricky to discern, that’s for sure,” Grandma said. “But just keep practicing.”

            “You always say practice makes perfect,” I laughed.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, just holding hands and looking out at the ocean. Grandma’s hands felt dry and crinkly, like papier mache. Her veins are big and dark blue, like worms, not smooth and soft and light blue-green, like mine. You can really tell by our hands that I’m young and she’s old, even when she doesn’t act like it.

“I’m curious what other gifts and talents I have besides building with Lego,” I said. “What do you think Grandma?”

“Oh goodness, you have so many, I hardly know where to start,” Grandma said.

“Start with your favourite one!” I said, kicking my feet together with excitement.

“Well, if I had to choose only one, I suppose it would be your incredible imagination,” Grandma said. “Whenever we’re playing pretend, you come up with such original stories. And the characters you create are so interesting too. Remember the other day, when we were playing Superheroes, and you made a new one you called Butterfly Boy, who had invisible wings?”

“Yeah, I remember,” I said. “He was like Spiderman and Superman combined, only he was my age, and had invisible wings the colour of rainbows.”

“If I recall, he used his superpower of being able to fly to help other children,” Grandma said. “Wasn’t it Butterfly Boy who swooped down and picked up a little girl who was in danger after the bad guy got out of jail, and flew her to safety?”

“Yeah, and not just her,” I said. “He rescued lots of little boys and girls who were scared. I like that character too Grandma, because he’s so strong and brave and kind.”

“Yes, he is,” Grandma said with a wink. “And you are too, my dearest child.”

“Thanks Grandma,” I said. I was happy, but I was also feeling a bit restless, just sitting there on a rock for so long. “Are you ready to walk some more?”

“I think we should walk back home now, and have a snack,” Grandma said. “What do you think?”

“Okay,” I said. “Can we have some of the chocolate chip cookies we made yesterday?”

“That’s an excellent idea,” Grandma said, a twinkle in her eye. “You lead the way.”

COMING UP…

Books & Projects:

·      In December 2025 I signed a contract with Austin Macauley Publishers for my manuscript, The Trials of Alex Anderson, a character-driven novel that explores the relationship between mental illness and trauma.  I am now on the road to publication, with an expected release date near the end of 2026. I’ll be posting regular updates here on  my blog and on social media, so stay tuned for exciting new developments.

·      The Rogue Scorpion is available online at Amazon, Chapters-Indigo, and Barnes & Noble. You can also find it at select Chapters-Indigo and El Hombre de la Mancha bookstores.

Reviews & Interviews:

·      You can read, listen, or watch a large selection of reviews and interviews on my website.

Events:

·      There are no events currently scheduled in my calendar.

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