text: In a distant time, in a distant place, there lived a very old eagle. The eagle had lived a long life, but always thought that he was still a young bird. When his feathers turned ragged and gray, he insisted it was just dirt. When his beak and talons weathered away, he blamed the rocks of his nest for dulling them down. When his wings grew too frail to fly, he lied and said that he no longer wished to soar the winds. The eagle refused to accept his age and pass on, even after all of his other animal friends had gone away. Rhino. Elephant. Giraffe. Lion. All of them were gone now, but the Eagle was stubborn, and stayed. Every day, the eagle would take the long walk down the cliff to the murky watering hole nearby where he would take a drink out of his broken beak, and use his dull talons to dig through the dirt for worms. One such day, the eagle was dragging his talons through the mud when a dragonfly flew out from the marsh. "Sir eagle, I see you here every day but I must ask- why do you dig for our worms when there are rabbits that run through the fields?" "Because..." Began the eagle. "The rocks of my nest have broken my talons. I cannot hunt for rabbits anymore. I can only dig for easier prey." The dragonfly landed on a nearby rock. "That may be so, sir Eagle, but why do you drink from our murky waters? Surely there are many more ponds with fresh, clean, water to drink." "I do not wish to fly anymore." The eagle lied. "I grow tired of the winds and want to walk the earth. This is the nearest pond to my cliff, even if the waters are murky." The dragonfly hovered behind the eagle. "There is no need to lie, Eagle. Your feathers tell the truth. You are as gray as a thunderstorm, and your wings are brittle like dried grass." "I do not lie, insect. My feathers are simply coated in dust, and my wings are as strong as they could ever be. Do not insult me again or I will eat you like these worms." The dragonfly hovered upwards, out of the eagle's reach. "You may try, eagle, but we both know that it is not in your power to succeed. You may have been the hunter of the skies many seasons ago, but now you are weathered and aged. It is time to move onto the land beyond the horizon." The eagle began walking back to his cliff. "I am not an old bird like you suggest. I am noble, strong, and proud, and have many more years left." The dragonfly followed the eagle as he began walking up the cliff path back to his nest. "You are designed to fly and hunt down your problems, not run and hide from them. Do not keep tricking yourself into thinking you are a hatchling anymore." "I know that I am no longer a chick, but I have no intentions to lie down and die." The eagle crossed a log but was halted by the dragonfly blocking his path. "You need not lie down, sir eagle. I simply ask that you understand where you came from. Do you have children?" "Yes." Said the eagle, pushing past the dragonfly. "They travelled north towards more bountiful lands." "And how about a wife?" "Once, but no longer." The dragonfly hovered around the eagle's head. "What of your friends within the savannah?" "They too travelled beyond the horizon many seasons ago." The dragonfly dared to perch upon the eagle's feathered skull. "So you are the last member of your life, eagle?" "Yes." "Then why fight destiny? Why must you cling to a world for which you may provide nothing more? Your legacy will be carried on by your children, and their children, and their children's children. The scratch marks of your talons amongst these stones will forever tell your stories, long after you are gone. You have ensured that the world will remember you, so I ask again: why must you keep walking across the earth instead of soaring the skies beyond the horizon?" As they crested the edge of the rock and entered the eagle's nest, the eagle looked around. His grey, weathered feathers adorned the ragged mess that were the remains of his nest. He did not have the means to repair it, but as the twigs and branches fell away, he could recall distant, faint memories. His wife, with her beautiful feathers. The pair of eggs that sat in the center of this very nest so, so long ago. His friends that would look up towards the rocks and cheered when he flew down to meet them. The eagle's old eyes narrowed as he looked at the dragonfly. "Because I am afraid, dragonfly. I do not wish to forget the wonders of my life. They are the feathers that I scatter among the winds. They are the sun and moon, the stars in the night, and the clouds in the sky. They are my heart, my soul, and everything I was, am, and ever will be. I am afraid that if I move on beyond the horizon, I will lose my memory of everything that gave my life purpose." The dragonfly flew towards the nest, perched at the edge of the rock, and stared towards the sunset. "Sir eagle, there is not much more time for you to remember. I will not claim to know what lies in the land beyond the horizon, but I do know this. If you truly wish to remember, then those memories will never fade. In every world, in every life, you will always have the wonders of your life with you. They will stay in your heart, and move with you wherever you may fly. They will love you as much as you love them, and will never, ever let you forget them." The dragonfly turned to look at the eagle. "Everything that the light touches will eventually crumble in time, but love and memory will persist beyond every obstacle. If you wish not to forget, then you will always have what matters most wherever you go." The eagle stepped forward and ruffled a few feathers. "Then what do you suppose I should do next?" "Fly to the horizon, and proceed to the land that beckons you." "But I cannot fly! My wings are too brittle, my feathers too frail!" "You can." Said the dragonfly, who began hovering in the air. "When fate beckons, the breeze will carry you where you need to go. All you need to do is spread your wings, remember what matters most, and let the winds take you beyond the sunset." As the dragonfly smiled, gave a wink, and buzzed away down the rocks, the eagle took another step forward until his dull, broken talons scraped at the edge of the cliff. He felt the breeze pick up around him, and he flexed his frail wings. For the first time in many, many seasons, he was not afraid of falling. As the wind caught his feathers, they scattered amidst the gust and blew into the shapes of his wonders: His wife. His friends. And not now, but maybe later, after many more seasons have passed, his children. They all beckoned to him, and a smile crossed the eagle's face as he let the breeze lift him into the sky. While his wonders fluttered around him, he too danced in the wind and let out a mighty screech to join in their song of rest. The horizon grew closer, though the eagle's fears didn't return. He may have been on his last flight, but he flew all the way home.