Midnight Ride

 

        Tanner yawned as he glanced at his alarm clock. 11:57 p.m. He rubbed his eyes and put his head down on his arms in despair. He was never going to be ready for the test tomorrow.

        Tanner took deep breaths as he thought about how the test would go. It wouldn’t take place until the afternoon, at the end of the school day. World History was his last class. Maybe he could just stay home and study until then. He sighed in frustration. There was no way Mom would let him do that. He had to go to school in the morning.

        Tanner rubbed his eyes again as he lay down on his bed. He wasn’t sure that he would even be able to sleep with all the things he was trying to remember repeating themselves in his head. He couldn’t wait until after the test was over. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. He tried to relax his mind, but what was that sound?

        There it was again – a thumping sound that seemed to be emanating from his window. It was like someone was knocking on his window with something soft. Tanner got out of bed to investigate. He pulled open the blinds, and all he could see were feathers covering the entire window. “What the…?” he muttered. His bedroom was on the second floor. Something feathery was rubbing against his window. He couldn’t really tell what it was, so he decided to open the window and find out.

        Very carefully, he undid the latch and slid the window open an inch. The feathers immediately shifted, and Tanner found himself looking into a lion’s face.

        Tanner jumped back in shock, and then the lion spoke. “Ah, finally! There you are! I don’t suppose you could let me inside, could you? There’s not much room out here.”

        All Tanner could do was stare. Did the lion really talk? What was it doing here? He had so many questions, he didn’t know which one to ask first.

        The lion seemed amused at Tanner’s stunned silence. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I won’t bite you. I’ve just come to offer you my help.”

        “W-what help?” Tanner finally asked.

        “Well, you’re worried about your World History test tomorrow, right?”

        Tanner nodded mutely.

        “Well, let’s go then. We’re wasting time. Let me in.”

        Without really knowing what he was doing, Tanner opened the window all the way. The lion squeezed himself inside, and Tanner realized that this wasn’t just any lion. This was a lion with wings. The lion spread out his giant feathery wings and stretched. Then he folded his wings so they lay smoothly along the rest of his feathery body. “Thank you, Tanner,” he said gratefully. “There’s not much room on the roof out there. It was getting a little cramped.”

        “What are you?” Tanner asked in concern. “And how do you know my name?”

        The lion sat down and said, “My name is Griffin, and I’m a winged lion...obviously.”

        “But, that’s not a real thing.”

        “Why not?”

        “Because it’s not. This must be a dream.” Tanner started slapping his cheeks, trying to wake himself up.

        Griffin chuckled and said, “Well, whatever you want to believe, Tanner. However, I am here to help you.” He looked with kindness at Tanner. “You’ve got a big test tomorrow, and you don’t feel ready.”

        Tanner groaned and whined. “I’ll never be able to remember all those dates and things. If I don’t pass this final exam, I’m going to fail the class. There are no other assignments. Whatever I get on this test will be my grade for the entire class. It isn’t fair!”

        “You know the dates and the information,” Griffin said patiently. “All you need to do now is rest and relax so you will feel refreshed and ready tomorrow. That’s why I’m here.”

        “To help me relax?” Tanner asked incredulously. “How?”

        “Come on, let’s go outside.” Griffin got up and squeezed back out through the window.

        Wondering how this could be a good idea, Tanner followed him. There wasn’t much room on the roof, and the ground looked far away from up here. Tanner held on to the windowsill for balance. “How is this supposed to make me relax?” he asked in a slightly higher-pitched voice than usual.

        “Climb up on my back. We’re going for a ride.”

        “Are you crazy?”

        “Trust me. Just climb on.”

        Well, Tanner had followed a winged lion through the window. Why not climb on his back and fly away? Gingerly he climbed on Griffin’s back, just in front of his feathery wings. “What if I fall?” he asked worriedly.

        “Just wrap your arms around my neck,” Griffin said confidently. “You’ll be fine.”

        Tanner hugged Griffin’s neck as the great lion leaped into the air and then they were flying. At first, Tanner’s heart felt like it was in his throat as they flew higher and higher. But Griffin beat his wings steadily, and the rhythm was soothing. The night air felt deliciously cool on his face, but not too cold. Griffin seemed to exude heat, and Tanner felt himself growing quite comfortable. Looking down, he was surprised at how small the city appeared.

        “Where would you like to go?” Griffin asked.

        “Somewhere awesome,” Tanner replied.

        Griffin immediately sped up without seeming to actually move any faster. Tanner watched the land beneath them magically whoosh by until suddenly, he saw the Pyramids. “Are we in Egypt?” he asked incredulously.

        “Yes,” Griffin answered. “This is where I’m originally from. I would say that it’s pretty awesome.”

        Tanner agreed. After they saw the Pyramids, Griffin whooshed again, and then they were in France. The Eiffel Tower stood majestically above the city of Paris. They also went to see the London Bridge and the Great Wall of China. Finally, Griffin whooshed one more time, and Tanner recognized his own city.

        When they landed outside of his window, Tanner couldn’t believe how much better he felt. He slid off of Griffin’s back and climbed in through the window. Griffin followed him. “Well, that was absolutely amazing!” Tanner said happily. “Thank you!”

        Griffin nodded his head and replied, “You’re welcome.” Then he squeezed himself out of the window again and took off into the night.

        Tanner watched him as he disappeared. He got back into bed and glanced at his clock again. 12:02 a.m. Tanner started as he realized that almost no time at all had passed. Had it all been a dream? He closed his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.

        The next morning, Tanner got up, feeling refreshed and only a little nervous about his test. He had decided that Griffin had just been a dream. An amazing dream, it’s true, but still just a dream. He got everything he needed in his backpack, and that’s when he discovered the feather. A long golden feather lay on the windowsill. Tanner picked it up and smiled. He hoped he would get to see Griffin again someday.