I remember the toy helicopter that my father had brought home for me and my brothers when we were young. It was modeled by a French man named Alphonse Penaud. My brothers, Orville and Wilbur, and I would always play with it outside and around the house. I loved watching the little wooden propellers on it spin as it came down from the air. At the time I had wished that I could be the little toy and dance around, spinning throughout the air. I wished that I could fly.

 

***

 

It was another breezy day at Big Kill Devil Hill in North Carolina. My hair whipped me in my face as the grass tickled my toes. I loved our extraordinary gliding days. They always gave me such a rush whenever I was in the air. My dream was to fly, and I hoped to one day make that possible. I watched as my brothers Orville and Wilbur flew down the hill, softly landing amongst the sun soaked grass. The grass seemed to do a little dance in the wind, softly flowing from side to side. I looked at my brothers climbing back up the hill. I watched the clouds move slowly across the sky. Sometimes I like to imagine that I was amongst the fluffy white pillows, or that I was a bird flitting and fluttering around, feeling the wind in my feathers.

“Do you think one day we’ll be up there?” I wondered as I pointed towards the brilliant, blue sky.

“I’d say we’re all a bit nutty to dream of such a thing, but nothing is ever impossible,” Wilbur responded.

“Tis possible to fly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill,” Orville claimed as he gazed upon the clouds. My brothers had always been quite the inventors, and so was I. We wanted to build our own aircraft one day, but before that there was a lot we had to learn.

My brothers and I had spent some time working in a bicycle shop, building our own bikes and repairing them, so we already knew a thing or two, but this was much more of a challenge. We spent much time on trying to build our own engine, constantly making more tweaks and modifications here and there. My brothers and I always loved bird watching, yet as we watched them more closely, we discovered how they used their wings for balance and control. My brothers then came up with the concept of wing warping, which led us to creating a rudder to make the aircraft a bit more controlled and stable. As I was getting lost in my thoughts I heard some seagulls off in the distance singing their lovely song.

 

                                                     ***

 

My brothers and I soon moved to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to get stronger winds for the aircraft and testing. We had finished crafting the first model, but then came the hard part, getting it to fly.

“Can I do the first test?” I asked excitedly.

“No, we don’t want you to get hurt,” Wilbur replied. I frowned at him and sighed. I guess I would let him do the first test. I knew that my brothers were also quite excited because if it ended up working, then it would possibly change the world.

After working in the bike and newspaper business, we had gained quite a bit of money. Luckily, it was enough to fund our big project.

I helped my brothers wheel the first aircraft to where we were testing. Man was it heavy. Wilbur got onto the plane, gripping the controls tightly. I could tell that he was muttering to himself, praying that the aircraft would work. He started up the engine as it gave off a loud buzzing noise.  Orville and I cheered him on, but I noticed that as he took off, that the plane was not going up in the air but quite the opposite way. The plane took a nosedive and headed straight for the ground. The engine sputtered and eventually gave out. Orville and I rushed over to make sure that our brother wasn’t injured. Luckily, he hadn’t been injured, but by the look on his and Orville’s faces, I could tell that frustration was getting to them. The aircraft was in pretty rough condition, as both of its wings were badly damaged, and the engine needed repairs. We spent another seven weeks working on the aircraft. My brothers were now beyond frustrated, and so was I.

“This is going to be the one. The one where we fly,” I declared with a glimmer of hope in my eyes.

“Elizabeth, I truly hope so,” Wilbur remarked. I could tell that he was anxious, a drip of sweat sliding down his face, scared to see what would happen on this test run. I smiled at my brothers, trying to get their hopes up because they still seemed to have no faith at all in the aircraft. All I wanted to do was to be with the birds, the wind blowing in my face, flying through the clouds.

“Please don’t give up on this,” I said with desperation in my voice.

“We never said that we were giving up on this. Even though it may look like it, all of us are determined to fly. As I said before, nothing is impossible,” Wilbur replied with an exhausted smile. We were all so tired from working on the plane day and night, barely getting enough sleep. It was clear with the dark bags around all of our eyes.

“I’ll do the first test this time,” Orville stated. I sighed, wondering when I’d get my chance to try. One day I know that I will be there. Up in the sky, flying. As I watched my brother Orville get on the repaired aircraft, I crossed my fingers in hope that it would fly.

He started up the engine once again, yet this time it gave off a slightly less of a noise than the last time. I watched as he started to take off, the grass pushed and pulled from the wind. The next thing I knew, I was sprinting after him at full speed, trying to catch up to the plane as it went higher up into the air. Wilbur and I were shouting at the top of our lungs, cheering, though I doubt Orville could hear anything from up there. There was a slight sting of jealousy watching him fly, but I was ecstatic that it had worked. It worked...It actually worked! I thought to myself. It was as if all of my excitement and happiness was boiling inside of me like a volcano about to erupt!

As Orville landed, Wilbur and I crowded around him in a giant hug. All you could hear was the waves along the beach as we stood there hugging each other.

“We did it guys,” I said, the tears flowing down my cheeks like a waterfall.

“Indeed we have,” Wilbur replied. I could tell that he too was trying to hold back the tears of pure joy. Orville just kept smiling.

“What was it like up there?” I questioned, drying my tears with my tattered skirt.

“Oh, why it was wonderful!” Orville replied, staring up at the sky.

“Oh, I can just imagine how lovely it must have been,” I said,  gazing upon the clouds.

“Do you want to give it a go?” Wilbur asked. I looked at him with a face of pure excitement.

“Why of course I do! Let’s go!” I exclaimed. I could hardly contain myself as I lay down on the plane, gripping the controls. I started up the engine as it made the same soft buzzing noise it made before. 3...2...1 I counted down in my head. I began to take off, the wind getting louder and louder every second. I felt the aircraft rising into the air. I glanced down at my brothers cheering for me. I flew forward as the waves crashed along the shore of the beach. I looked to my side and saw a seagull gliding along next to me.

  I can finally fly.

 

 

 

 

-Emma C.