Chương 86: Book 3; Chapter 85; Being Brave

A long time passed before Blake could finally think about anything else apart from his flight. But slowly other thoughts started to get into his head which up until now was occupied only with the recent experience. With that, many questions started to pile into his head.

"So you came on this bird to save me?" he asked Rainee after fragments of today's events started to connect into one picture.

"I came on Aspen," Rainee replied, "and the bird came after."

"Why did it come?"

"Because I wanted to help you and neither I nor Aspen can fly, so she came to help."

"She?"

"I think the bird is a she. However, she never stays around for long enough for me to find out much more about her."

"So it is your bird?" Blake asked in awe, thinking to himself that he would love to have such a bird of his own.

"She is not my bird, but she has come to my aid a few times before."

"Why would she come to you if she is not your bird?" Blake could not understand.

"I don't know," Rainee admitted, "maybe because I needed help. But I like to think that she comes because she is my friend. When she comes, it feels like she is my friend. A very good friend."

"I see," Blake said, thinking that he would love to have such a friend.

"How did you know that I was there?"

"I heard you shouting for help."

"I didn't shout for help," Blake was confused by these words. He thought hard about what had happened and repeated with even more conviction, "I didn't shout for help. I would have shouted if I had thought that there was anyone who could come and help me. But I was sure that there was no one."

"Still, I heard you," Rainee smiled, not knowing how to explain what it means for someone who doesn't know what it is.

"What happened? How did you end up like this?"

"I don't really know," Blake admitted.

"We came too close to the edge, I slipped on some pebbles, Deamon came after me, and when all seemed okay, the ground under Deamon collapsed and he slid down. I caught him but was pulled down too and ended up hanging on that tree. Twice I thought I lost him, first when he fell, but I managed to catch him. And then when, no matter what, I could not pull him up."

"You were very brave," Rainee said with a soft smile, looking at him.

"No, I was scared all the time," Blake disagreed, remembering the event.

"There is no bravery involved when you do things that you are not afraid of. Why would it? Why would you be brave while doing something that is not scary for you to do? Even if the whole world thinks you are brave, it doesn't make any difference. You are brave only when you do things that you would rather not dare to do, but you find the courage to do it anyway. That is the only time when bravery is required. And you have been brave many times today."

"I think it is you who have been brave," Blake disagreed.

"How did you end up next to me?" Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. After listening to Rainee's short explanation, he was looking at her with more and more awe.

"You jumped before the bird came?!! From the cliff? What if he had not come in time or had missed you?"

"You overthink too much, that's why you don't see the full picture," Rainee disagreed, "I knew that she would come in time and she knew what I was doing, so it was easy for her to come in time. If I overthought and didn't know myself what the best way for me to act was, how would she know what I was going to do? Then it would be very difficult for her to help me as she would have to guess.

And what would be the point for me to stop and wait till she lands, then get on her back and then fly to you when you would be already at the bottom? What would be the point even to do anything then? And still it would be much more difficult for her to land and go back into the air because of the size of her wings. And to make her do so just because I don't trust that she will catch me would not make any sense, if I don't trust her then why would I even bother to get on her?

That would be a really brave thing to do. I don't think I am so brave."

"I think you are very brave, to come to the aid and jump into the abyss and then jump from the bird again… I don't think I would ever be able to do so," Blake was full of awe and not understanding how Rainee could call herself not brave after what she had done.

"If you think, then you will never dare to do. If you had thought before saving Deamon, you would never have saved him, as while thinking, you would have realised that there was no way you could save him."

"That's true," Blake agreed with deep thought, "But you saved him, not me."

"It would never have happened if you had not held him as long as you did, so I guess we both saved him."

"Then being brave is to do things that you know you will not be able to do?"

"No!" Rainee strongly disagreed, "That is stupid, not brave. Once you know that you cannot do something, but choose to do it anyway, there is no other outcome than failure. Unless someone saves you from such a suicide. But that is good on them, not on you."

"Then what is to be brave?"

"To be honest? I don't know." Rainee said openly, just now realising that she really didn't know what being brave is,"I constantly see people doing things that they are afraid to do. And while doing them, they don't see nor understand the surroundings and the influence of others who are involved, but they do it anyway, and ever so often they succeed. I think that's very brave. But they call me brave instead when I can see and understand the surroundings and I don't take such big risks as they do.

Truth be told, I never take these kinds of risks at all. I know how strong, how fast and how accurate the falcon is and I saw it coming, so I wasn't taking any risks, nor was I brave as I didn't do anything that was scary for me. You, on the other hand, did many things that were scary for you and you didn't have any understanding about it, but you trusted. Even when you were flying on her, you didn't know what she could do, but you trusted and tried and you succeeded.

I think to trust someone is very brave, much braver than to be trusted by. Trust in other probably is the bravest thing one can ever do."

"Even if you were not afraid, you did many things where you could not succeed. Think what could have happened to you…"

"I don't like going into the "what could, or should happen" place." Rainee said, not letting him venture down that path.

"It is a very strange place and very unpleasant. I don't go there myself and I don't like seeing others go there. I don't know how to help them come back once they go to that place, and no one is happy there."

"So you never do things that are new and you don't know what will happen?" Blake double checked.

"Oh but I love to do things that are new to me and that I don't know, or understand, or know what will happen. But to do what you love is not brave, is it?"

"For me it is," Blake said with a hidden longing in his voice, "for me it is the bravest thing in the world."

"Then maybe we both were brave today," Rainee didn't argue with this statement as after all maybe it was what being brave meant and she just didn't know it.

"So what now?" Blake asked after a little pause.

"Now? Now we will have to take you home. Do you live far away?"

"No," Blake said, "just about a two-hour walk. Will you come with me?"

"I can," Rainee agreed, "how did you end up on the other side?"

"I live on the other side."

"I see," Rainee said, "then it is going to be a bit longer walk than just two hours."

"Why?"

"Because we have to find a crossing to go over the canyon. We cannot climb here, it is too steep and the river is very fast. Even if we managed to climb the walls, it would be difficult to cross it. I will definitely come with you because you are very little and not used to travelling and I didn't see many people around, at least not on this side. It would be difficult for you to reach home by yourself."

"Why do we have to walk around?" Blake couldn't understand.

"Why?" now it was Rainee's time to be confused, "Didn't you say that you live on the other side? How else would we get there?"

"By flying," Blake said with a shine in his eyes. Rainee looked around, not understanding what she was missing.

"How are we going to fly there?" She asked eventually.

"On your bird." Blake said, and it could be seen that he couldn't wait to experience it again.

"On my bird?" Rainee laughed at such a thought.

"But it flew away."

"Can't you call it?"

"No, it doesn't listen to me."

"What do you mean it doesn't listen to you? I thought it is your bird."

"I already told you that it is not my bird, that it is my friend who comes to my aid when I am in need."

"But we need to go to the other side. No?" Blake could not understand.

"Yes, but we can walk. It doesn't come for such reasons." It was obvious that Blake was very disappointed by what he was hearing and he tried to probe a bit further.

"Did you ever try to call it?"

"No. How would I call it?"

"I don't know. By telling it that you need its help."

"But it would be a lie, as I don't really need her help. Why would she come to me when I am lying?"

"I see," Blake said with open disappointment. It could be clearly seen that he wanted very badly to fly on it again and realising that it was not going to happen didn't make him happy.