I don't understand how he does it but he lowers us down. It feels like we're on the gentlest elevator, simply descending a few levels until my feet are planted on the ground. My common sense tells me not to believe we were flying but a chunk of my life has been forcefully devoted to discovering a way to give humans flight. There is something poetic about all of this. There's also something terrifying. 

Aaron doesn't let go of me immediately. He resembles a deer caught in the headlights and I think if I move I'll startle him. The forest around us is silent aside from the buzz of nature and the occasional chirp of a bird. We're locked in a staring contest for what feels like forever. He probably wants me to say something more but I'm shot for words. What do you say when you discover someone's DNA was altered to give them superhuman capabilities? 

"Yes," he finally says, exhaling a steady stream of breath he was holding. "I can fly." 

"Who knows about this?" 

"No one." 

I think of all the boys back at the castle. They seem to always be on the run or up to something. I could imagine telling them would be difficult. Not to mention, they actually appear to be peaceful here. His ability to fly is connected to a past they'd rather forget so why tell them when it could mess with their heads? 

I would have still liked to know if I were them. Especially if I were older like Luka, Willow or Shawn. 

"Not even Nakpuna?" 

He shakes his head. "Only you. That's why I'm asking you to keep it between us." 

It's weird to think that I only met him yesterday but I'm being trusted to keep a secret as big as this. Also, this is the second time he's saved me. It feels like I should know more than his tragic backstory and that he can fly. There are so many gaps in there, things that should have come before. 

"I won't tell." It's a promise I intend to keep.

He releases me and gestures to my leg. "Does it hurt?" 

I'm resting fully on my right leg and not ready to test it out after the pain I felt up on the tree. If I place weight on it, it would hurt immensely. I shrug to disguise my discomfort. "It'd be nice if I could stay off it for a little bit." 

"We can sit then." He plops down under the tree and I follow though I have to do so more carefully. The tree offers a good amount of shade from the sun that has gone back to beaming down on us. Out of reach from where I'm sitting are patches of white clovers that glinsel, catching the rays of sun that peek through the leaves and branches. 

I bring my good leg to my chest and stare at him. He's right beside me so all I get is his side profile - which is perfect. His nose is small and angular, his eyelashes are long and wispy. He looks like he was meant to have the forest as his backdrop. 

The air between us is charged. Maybe changing the subject would ease things over but I have to know more. I won't be able to function if I don't know more. 

"When did you first discover you were able to fly?" 

He hesitates, tipping his head in thought. "A few weeks ago?" 

"That recently? But haven't you been free from Jolly Roger for years?" 

"I thought you hated that nickname," he says with a smirk creeping onto his face. I like the idea that I put it there.

"I might be warming up to it." 

"Well, it's as simple as this, one day I woke up and I was able to fly - just like that." 

During my time on the Jolly Roger, I tried to collect as much information on what they were putting into me as possible. There was some level of comfort in knowing, even if the answer was bad. Sneaking peeks at documents and poking at the workers until they'd let something slip only let me find that the injections were meant to change our DNA by sending some foreign body into us. What that foreign body is - I'm not certain. 

"Something they did to you years ago just started working? All on its own?" 

"That's how it seems." 

I think about the countless different times they had injected me with microscopic creatures and the countless times they had harmed me. I worry this could happen to Aaron and no researcher or doctor will be here to fix it. Voicing that concern won't help him. "Could that happen for the rest of us?" 

"Maybe but from what I know it hasn't yet." He sighs. "Don't look at me like that." 

"Like what?" 

"Like I'm magic or something. They altered my DNA. It wasn't fairy dust or something." I'm not convinced he actually believes it's as bland as that. He can't when he delights in games of tag and competitively balancing on railroad tracks. A part of him has to be psyched about this. 

"But flying . . . Isn't that kind of magical?" 

"I guess it is." He plays with the ring around his finger, watching it fly in the air and fall back down. The green in his eyes becomes more vibrant as he speaks. "I can show you. It's kind of thrilling actually. I usually can't do much of it because the boys are always on my back but it's just you and me out here." 

It's an offer I can't refuse. Not only because it's a one in a million chance but because of how quickly his countenance changed. What a gift it would be to share something like this with him. "I'd love to see." 

He jumps up and surveys the area while rubbing his hands together. I watch in anticipation until his gaze lands back on me. 

"First, close your eyes." 

"I don't know if you're aware but typically people can't see with their eyes closed," I say watching as he fidgets around. 

"I know that. Just do it!" 

"Okay, okay! They're closed!" I place my hands over my eyes and start to wonder if this is going to be another game - possibly an extreme round of hide and seek where the hider can hide in the clouds if he wants to. 

"Are you sure they're closed?" 

He can't see it but I roll my eyes again. "Yes!" 

"No peeking!" 

"I'm not peeking!"

A few moments pass by and he doesn't say anything else. I don't hear the crunch of leaves beneath his sneakers either. I'm so tempted to peek that I remove my hands from my face. 

"I said no peeking." His voice is right in my ear and I can feel the tickle of his breath against my skin. I instinctively turn around but he's not there. Being aware of his abilities, I search above for him but am only met with the trees. 

"Where did you go?" 

There's a gust of wind behind me. "Miss me already, darling?" 

This time I spin around fast but he's faster. Using the tree as leverage, I hoist myself into a standing position with my weight against the bark. I can't help but let a childish giggle escape. "Come on! You said you'd show me." 

My eyes are thoroughly scanning the area for him but I still can't spot him. If this were a game of hide and seek I would lose hands down because I'd only see him if he wanted to be seen. Maybe that isn't surprising when I remember the level of stealth he had when we ran down the fire escapes yesterday. The flying just adds to it. 

"How's this for showing you?" My head turns in the direction of his voice just in time to catch him diving from a neighboring tree. His arms are tucked by his sides and he's going at the speed of a car driving down a highway. He's about to crash into me but his arms extend and loop around me, taking me with him. 

Butterflies take flight in my stomach. 

The greens and browns of the scenery blur together as we zoom by. The humidity of the day is diminished as we cut through the air, my wild curls tickling Aaron's neck. I squeal as he swoops up so we are more than a few feet above the ground. I don't know how he's managing to carry me with such ease but I imagine I'm only feeling a fraction of what he's feeling. 

It's a feeling of being weightless - an extension of the flutter of butterflies in your stomach and a delicious form of being dizzy. Gravity seems like an already fading nightmare and the sky isn't even the limit. It's the feeling you get when you think of the happiest thing. 

"This is unreal!" 

Aaron laughs, his chest bouncing against my back. "Tell me about it!" 

I extend my arms out like a bird. The wind feels amazing against my skin. "It's like having wings!" 

"I think I enjoy being your wings." 

As we continue, he grows more confident - maybe not in himself but in the idea that I can handle it. He spins in the air and it flips the world upside down like the roller coasters on the boardwalk back in the town. It's even more exhilarating because there are no seats or straps to keep me in place. I could go plummeting down towards the earth but I'm not. I'm flying. 

Everytime we stop and land, Aaron comes up with a new idea of a trick we can do or something else he wants to show me and we take off again. We go on like this - soaring through the tree tops and around the northern side of the island - until the sun is setting and our stomachs are growling. He flies us as close to the castle as he can without risking getting spotted before he puts me down. My leg no longer hurts as bad as earlier but I'm still limping - not that I notice. I'm too busy laughing with Aaron who's hair is wild due to the constant rush of air. 

"I've never done anything like that before," he says. "It's nice to have someone know about it. It's been no fun keeping it all to myself." 

"It's weird." I tuck the sketchbook Logan told me to take under my arm. I'm glad I remembered to go back for it. "I feel like I should have hated that because it was only made possible through Nakpuna. It stinks that something as amazing as this has to be connected to him." 

"I felt the same way." He flashes a smile as the castle comes into view. "But after the time we had, I think flying feels more connected to you." 

I return the toothy grin as I get the same butterflies I did when we were flying. I'm beginning to realize Aaron has a weird effect on me. 

The rest of the journey is spent chatting. When Aaron and I open the door to the castle and head in, we are met with about a dozen heads and two dozen eyes. Willow is at the head of the dining table. She shoots up, the seat sliding back until it hits the wall. Her face collapses when she spots me. 

"I thought she fell!" She flicks Shawn who is seated to her right. "You said she was dangling thirty feet in the air!" 

He snickers, rubbing his forehead. "She was!" 

I look to Aaron and see the gears turning in his head. 

"I got her down," he says. He goes over to the table and takes an apple out of the fruit bowl. "I climbed up there and saved her but she very well could have fell thanks to a particular group of you." 

"Why didn't you come back immediately?" Willow's not addressing Aaron but me and I'm too busy being frozen in the doorway to respond. "I thought something happened." 

None of the boys are chatting or moving at all. Something tells me that they had been hearing it from Willow for the last several hours. She's red in the face and her eyes are tearing up. 

I can't tell them the truth about what Aaron and I were up to. I come up with the best lie I can on the fly. 

"I didn't mean to scare you. I was just upset with the boys because of the prank and wanted to cool off. I should have thought about you. I'm really sorry." 

I really should have thought about her. And the boys. They must have been so anxious thinking I was hurt because of them. 

She opens her mouth to speak but all that comes out is a sob. She runs out of the room, her hair trailing behind her like a veil. Shawn gets up next, slamming his chair underneath the table. "Nice going. You made Willow cry." 

The boys all begin to file out. José pats my shoulder on the way out and tells me he's glad I'm alright. I know the boys are mostly in the wrong for this but that won't stop me from finding Willow to make sure things are alright between us. 

Aaron's the only one left at the table, eating his apple with his head down. "She isn't angry at you. She just cares a lot." 

As thrilling as flying was, I don't think I'll do it again. Aaron might have moral reasons for keeping it to himself but I want this place to feel like a home and it can't if I'm being deceitful. I'll keep flying a secret only out of respect for Aaron. 

"You should rethink telling them," I say. "Like you said, it's no fun to keep it to yourself." 

And wouldn't I know about giant secrets? Deciding to tell one was what got me on this island in the first place. Charlie got me on this island. Trusting him took me to Neverland. 

Willow finds me before I can find her. 

Her eyes are still glassy and her nose is red but her stride is stronger than it was when she was fleeing the room. She meets me in the middle of the corridor and shoves two photographs into my hands. 

"That's Micheal and John." She points to the ink across her thigh and then back at the photos. "I don't know if they're dead or not. I can hardly fall asleep at night because I have no idea what's happened to them." 

The first photograph is of a blonde toddler in green pajamas hugging a St. Bernard. The second is of a boy a few years older with glasses like Luka's. They both have the same smile. They're brothers.

"I met them on the ship. I took care of them." Willow's voice wavers and she pauses to take a breath. She displays all the emotion that Aaron did when talking about Tina and though I gather she isn't related to these boys, she might as well be. "When Aaron and the insider on the ship came into our cell, they were supposed to take all three of us here." 

"What happened?" 

"The insider had a connection out of the country. It would be better the farther we were from Nakpuna so if there was a chance we could get out of the country we had to take it. The couple in London could only afford to take in two of us. I had to let them go." 

I stare at the photographs until the images blur. "Did they make it to London?" 

"I don't know. The couple hasn't been heard from since Micheal and John stepped foot on the plane. I can't help but think something went wrong." She shakes her head, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "I hate not knowing, Dovie. Not knowing if you were okay took me right back to that feeling of helplessness." 

Her lip is trembling from the effort of holding back tears and even though I'm the reason she's crying, I pull her against me for a hug. She doesn't fight it. She cries on my shoulder and I hold her until the sobs stop. 

I know what it's like to have the ship steal things from my life. I spent weeks in the hospital thinking that Charlie was going to get hurt because of me. If it weren't for this rescue mission, I would have been in the same position as Willow. I would have thought he was in trouble. It must be an unbearable burden for her to carry. 

"I won't do anything like that ever again. I'm truly sorry." I'm even more sorry that I can't be honest with her about why I stayed out long. 

It feels kind of strange to end this moment by saying good night and parting ways. I want Willow to know that she has a friend in me. And, if I'm being honest with myself, I really want to be her friend. 

"Why don't we hang out for the rest of the night? We can sleep over in my room and braid each other's hair or whatever." 

"I have cards! Oh, and we can play truth or dare. I love truth or dare!" Willow claps her hands together and leads me back to her room. While her face is still blotchy, the fragility of her voice is gone. 

"You better be careful if you pick a dare," Willow says. "I once made Shawn run around the whole castle in his underwear." 

It's hard to imagine him letting himself be subjected to something like that with the amount of pride he carries himself with. It's nice to know that he had been publicly humiliated like he did to me earlier today though. It's also nice to know that Willow isn't going to hold what happened tonight against me. Maybe we have a good shot at becoming friends after all. 

"Think we can get him to do it again?"

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