As the van was speeding down the street, lamps overhanging above us flashed by quickly. I yawned while taking extreme precaution of trying not to bump my back against the front passenger seat. Though my mom had told me to buckle up while the car was moving, but I couldn't, not without hurting myself further. Mom and I were arguing for a while before she finally gave up. She saw the determination in my eyes, like a blade that refused to snap. For the first time, I thought I had bested her finally.

With the radio blaring on full blast, I opened the window to let the cold, night air flowing into the interior of the vehicle. I needed something to cool my sweat-drenched body. Though I tried not to yell out in pain whenever the car had hit a bump, nevertheless, I managed to cry out when either side of my shoulders slammed into the seat.

"Will you pipe down? I can't concentrate here," Mom glared at me while she made a right turn into a small neighborhood. Leaves danced in the air behind us.

There, down in the road was this giant, building with a big parking lot slowly looming into view. The old streetlights on the sides of the avenue had given off this orange-colored light that was reflected upon the white, smooth walls of the structure, giving the place an eerie feeling.

Mom parked the car and rushed to the other side to assist me. We trotted through the autumn leaves with coat collars nearly covering our entire face. I didn't know why it was so cold tonight. Perhaps winter was coming earlier than what was expected.

Knocking on the front door twice, we waited for the doctor to open the door. Finally, I heard a click, and the physician let us in.

Inside the hallway, we walked down and entered a room. A chair with a wooden back and a stool were positioned in front of an archaic oak table. On the table were pens and documents with a computer on the side. The air smelled like medicine, which I didn't like.

"Please, sit down you two," the gray hair, nearly bald doctor beckoned us to the seats.

Mom sat in the chair, while I sat on a stool, back hunched. The man in front of us reviewed my case for a moment before bringing up his head and taking us into his eyes.

"Well, Ms. Rendil. This is a very simple situation according to me. I think Tobieaz has injured himself while playing, maybe twisted a ligament or two. But this is nothing serious, I can assure you."

Sighing, my Mom looked relieved. "I am glad to hear that. I just can't bear to think about all the medical expenses that we might have to spend on my son. You know my bank is having a slight economic problem, and I just can't possibly forbear our income efficiently if Tobieaz has a bone fracture or something like that."

I held my head down, sulking. Why did she have to act as if I was not worthy enough to be examined? Was I really that worthless? Was I just a piece of trash, an obstruction of some kind?

The doctor nodded as if he agreed. Then he straightened up. "Well, just in case, I think we'll do an x-ray on him. You know, to make sure that all he has damaged are just some muscles and not bones."

"I guess so, Phil," Mom started to call him by his first name. She had the tendency to call other people by their first name. I didn't really approve of that. Somehow, to me it seemed... inappropriate. "Can you count it cheap, please, dear?"

He chuckled. "Well, I'll see what I can do about that." Then he turned to me. "Tobieaz! Long time no see! What do you say we go and take a picture or two of your inside, eh?"

He extended his large, wrinkled hand toward me. I grabbed it and hopped onto the marble floor. We walked out of the room, left my Mom behind, and continued down the corridor into another room where the x-ray machine was.

Mom leaned closer to check up the sections of deformity. "I don't get it. Why is Tobieaz developing these bony clumps?" Then she started to get frustrated. "Phil Triden. You better explain this carefully. I've had a rough day today, and I am not in the mood to play guessing game. Tell me what is happening to my son!"

Dr. Triden sank into his black, leather chair. Crossing his fingers on the table, he shrugged. "I'll have to do more tests on the boy to find out the root of the problem. But for now, one thing is certain: the lumps will continue to grow bigger. During the time of enlargement, the bones themselves will press against the muscles on his shoulders and back. Tobieaz will experience pain. Now, once the bones are removed, the pain, the pressure, will subside. For now, I guess poor Tobieaz will just have to bear it out and wait for further instructions."

Mom sighed as she got up. I staggered onto my feet and grimaced. How could I hold out the aches while the doctor was consulting to his colleagues?

I had to wait at least a week before Dr. Triden called me back to his office. During that time, I had to stay at home. The poor condition of my body grew worse. I was now losing a lot of weight over a short amount of time. Before I was around one hundred pounds, now I was like seventy, more or less. I started to dislike greasy food, and I started to eat more vegetables instead. School had started as well and Jake had come almost everyday after school, but all we did was talk and that was it. Of course, he brought my schoolwork for me. I couldn't play any sport, nor could I go out and run around with my best friend. I had to be confined at home, in my bedroom, reading books, doing homework, and watching television with my sixty-two cable channels. Occasionally, I went on the Internet and surf around.

I couldn't lean against anything, so I had to sit on a stool to read and do other stuff, and I had to lie on my stomach to sleep each night. It was tiresome, and I was getting frustrated at just how weak I was.

Mom had to spend more time at home now, because of me. Though she didn't say it out loud, but I could see that she was really fed up with the work of taking care of me while she could have stayed at her bank and gained more money.

Dad didn't come home these days. He had this huge contract with another dealer and it must be completed by the end of November the Tenth. He only phoned home a few times and talked to me. I thought he would ask questions like: "How's your back?" or "You feeling all right? Don't worry, I'll always be here for ya, kiddo!"

How wrong I was. All I had ever received were lectures about how I had to "become a man and take in all the pain without showing it to anyone." And how I had "produced so much trouble to my mom that she couldn't work as dedicated to her job as usual."

It looked like as if I wasn't even commendable enough to hold a position in their hearts. I was just a piece of trash. They never loved me. Just how did our relationship evolve into this way?

Cards and letters were sent from the students in the class, probably my teacher, Ms. Will, forced them into writing and sending those get-well cards. All of them were worried about me for I had missed nearly a week of class without even telling them what was wrong with me. As if they would actually worry about me. They always bullied me... I told Jake to tell the others that I was fine, and they should expect me to return pretty soon. Yeah. I hoped that I could return to the side of my "pals". Staying home and becoming a stress ball were not the most comfortable feelings in the world.

Silence swept through the small room as I stopped breathing. My Mom just blinked dumbly. She too, didn't breathe.

I sat on the side with my head between my hands. The voices of the adults were muffled and echoing somewhere beyond the room. I was sweating. No way could this be happening. Growing wings? Wings? How the hell in the world could a human grow wings? Suddenly, my eyes were wide. It couldn't be the wish. It couldn't be the wish that I wanted to grow a pair of wings. There was no way a wish could come true. In such a sophisticated world today, there were no magic. None. Only scientific experiments remained.

After what seemed like a long time, I noticed someone was shaking me. Slowly, I brought up my head and looked at John. Mom was gone. She had left to attend to her meeting. Dr. Triden was nowhere to be seen either. Only John Flake, the ornithologist, was staying with me.

"Hey, buddy!" His voice was soft with concern. "I'm sorry you have to go through all this."

I shook my head.

"Listen, I am to drive you home now. Your Mom have told me the address. She has to leave early, you know that right?"

I nodded.

"Dr. Triden is off making plans for the 'secret discussion conference'. You mother has specifically told the poor old chap not to tell anyone else who are not essential in the plan of bringing you back to normal. She doesn't want reporters and other nosy people coming and turning you and your family's life upside-down."

I felt a drop of tear rolling down my cheek.

"Hey, hey. There's no need to feel sad or even afraid!" John chuckled friendly. He got down to his knees and looked at me face to face. "Look. We'll figure something out and help you. However, this isn't gonna be easy, dude. We have absolutely no idea of why you are growing wings. Even if you don't want to accept the fact that you are different from the rest of the society, but you must face the truth, the reality. You have to become strong."

"How?" My voice cracked. I coughed once to get rid of the dryness and tightness of my throat.

"By embracing the fact that you are becoming what the results have shown. Don't worry. I still think you are a fine kid and I am not going to run away from you, or even hate you because you are... special, in a way."

I stared at the adult. Some how, he had managed to calm my mind. With his rich voice and confidence, I was able to stop the agony in my heart from showing. I slowly got up, with John supporting me.

"I'm going to drive you home, okay? You can show me your room and the place where you play. How about that?" John smiled as he walked slowly with me to the door.

I sniffed and nodded. He opened the door and we got out of the office and into the cool hallway. The air here now smelled as if the place had been sterilized. When we were in the parking lot, leaves fell from the trees towering high above us. A few landed on my face and my hair. I shook them off and gritted my teeth when the oh-so-familiar-throbbing took my breath away. John slowed down his pace even more, allowing me to have time to recover. The sun lit up the path clearly. I squinted my eyes as the black, shiny automobile in front of us reflected the rays into my eyes effectively.

"Tobieaz," John stopped as he opened his jeep door. I looked up at him. "I hope that you will be come well once again. Remember, it doesn't matter what others think of you. As long as you remain the same inside, you are still yourself and nothing can change that."

I glanced at my feet while I thought about it. Softly, I muttered: "What do you mean by that? Aren't people treating me the same?"

He helped me up onto the giant passenger seat and buckled the belt. I leaned forward a little, for I dreaded the throe that could appear when I touched the soft back-support.