Toshiya Kamei ~ Skyward

Flapping wings wake me. With a faint, musty scent, a warm Persian breeze caress­es my face. Am I still alive? Only a faint groan comes from my parched throat. Another pain shoots through me, and I shut my eyes in agony. Drifting between wake­ful­ness and dream­land, I stir on this rocky ground. A pres­ence hov­ers over me. I open my eyes slow­ly. A clus­ter of feath­ers cov­ers my entire field of vision. A famil­iar beak peeks out. Is that you, Simurgh? I’ve missed you, my friend! I pass out again as the giant bird hoists me up and soars skyward.

~

Toshiya Kamei holds an MFA in Literary Translation from the University of Arkansas. His trans­la­tions have appeared in such venues as ClarkesworldThe Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Strange Horizons.