Affogato

There were fireworks lighting up the sky, loud bursts of colour filling the sky and his ears. He blinked, and there was a silhouette in front of him, smiling so brightly that something in his heart clenched and hurt.

“What are you waiting for?” the silhouette teased, as cheers resounded from all around them. “Come on, don’t be shy! Just follow me!”

A hand reached out to him — an invitation, a promise, hope. Fascinated, he reached out to grab it and-

-Affogato woke up.

Rubbing his eyes, he glanced around. The same old walls and floors within his tiny bedroom in the orphanage, with a few toys and crayons on the floor, possibly from when some of the younger hatchlings broke into his room and played.

…how dull.

Maybe that weird doctor did have a point. Affogato wanted to stay in that dreamland forever.

With a quiet sigh, he clumsily reached up and unlatched the window lock, slipping out without a trace. The guardian wouldn’t check on him until it was lunch time, and the time he had would be enough.