Isle of flightless birds

Dan worked at the bakery, just like his father did and his grandfather before him; no one in his family was ever anything else. Every day on the small island they would do the same thing, Dan would go to school and learn maths and how to read then go home and make bread for the town. The town's people would have their own jobs to do and no one did anything different and no one questioned it. But every so often a child would be born different, red hair and two different coloured eyes; Dan was one of these children. His parents forced him to work in the back of the bakery; his parents would worry what the town's people would think of them having a "different" child. Rumors would spread about the red haired children. "Some say they are sent away at sixteen" said David Fisher the fisherman's son. "I heard they are killed" his sister Sophia gossiped, the chatting pair looked back at Dan. Dan's classmates where very fascinated with what happens to them, to him.

Dan's 16th birthday was only days away and he became more and more anxious as to what would actually happen to him, would he be sent off the island or off to be killed as Sophia said. But there it was again; the pains just behind his eyes making his head ache. Dan cringed and rest his head in his hands trying to reduce the pain. For some reason ever since he turned fifteen he would get the pain but it wasn't as bad or as frequent s it was now, sometimes it was accompanied by images of people in bright coloured clothes. I must be going crazy he thought as he shook his head. "What do you think's wrong with him?" whispered Ben Smith, the blacksmiths son, to John Carpenter, the carpenter's son, who only shrugged. "Attention class!" shouted Mrs. Greyweather as she marched into the class. Chatter died immediately. She was a tall, thin woman with a scowl permanently frozen on her face; her long black hair was in a tight bun so not a hair could escape. "Today we will be reading a paragraph from 'the book'"

Mrs. Greyweather opened the book and began to read but Dan's head ache was so painful that he couldn't hear a word she was saying. The pain became so unbearable that Dan slumped forward and passed out on the desk.

He dreamed he was in a different classroom, no, it was the same classroom but different, everything was... brighter, more colourful. The people in the classroom looked back at him they were all like him, red hair and two different coloured eyes. The teacher at the front of the room turned to look at him. She was much kinder looking than Mrs. Greyweather.

Where Mrs. Greyweather wore a permanent frown this teacher had a lovely smile, she also had red hair and two different coloured eyes. "Hello, Daniel" she said in the kindest, softest voice Dan had ever heard. But the beautiful classroom was abruptly replaced by his class mate's voices.

"Do you think he's dead?" asked a voice above him.

"No look he's still breathing."

"What a shame I would have won the bet."

When Dan opened his eyes he was greeted with the grey faces of the other students. "What happened?" Dan groaned as he sat up. "You passed out, freak." said Ben walking away from him like the rest of the students, some giggled and whispered to their friends before looking back at him.

"Go home Daniel" Mrs. Greyweather loomed over him "Tell your parents about how you interrupted my class and get cheeked by the physician, we can't have a sick boy working at the bakery." Her eyes were like daggers seemingly piercing into his very soul. "y-yes ma'am." Dan scrambled to collect his things so he could leave. He exited the school and walked down the dirt path towards the bakery. He hesitated to walk over the bridge because ever since he turned fifteen the old bum who lived under it would try and talk to him whenever he was alone.

In Dan's moment of hesitation a man emerged from beneath the bridge. He was fat for a bum and very dirty. The dirt coated his brown hair giving it an almost orange tint; he had a bandage covering his eye, probably covering a wound. He stood up straight and looked and Dan." Hey-" he was cut off when Dan started to run across the bridge. "I just need to talk to you!" the man shouted behind Dan, but Dan kept on running until he reached the bakery. He opened the door and waked in. It was empty. The town's people wouldn't come for their bread until four. The bakery was small and still smelled like fresh baked bread, the bread was in rows on the display rack.