Skies Over Sweetwater

SKIES OVER SWEETWATER

PROLOGUE 1936

Pa turned back toward the controls and stared the engine up. Mom stood below on the ground, shaking her head in disapproval.
“Prepare for takeoff!” Pa shouted as the propeller began to spin and the engine rumbled, causing my heart to jump with nervous excitement. Less than a minute later, we lurched forward and began to drive along the endless stretch of grass behind our house. Rolling down the field, our speed increased and the plane zigzagged to each side, as it usually did the minute before we took off. Pa gently pulled back on the stick and I could feel the plane’s wheels lift up off the ground with a jolt as we began our ascent.
As we lifted up and over the cornfields off in the distance, the wind whipped my hair in all directions and the force of gravity pushed me back against the seat as our pace increased and we gained altitude. The air in my lungs plunged to the pit of my stomach as the nose of the plane tilted up toward the clouds, and the earth below dropped farther and farther away from us.
I looked at the altimeter, just like he taught me to. We were at 13,00 feet. I could feel the plane turn to one side. We were about to do a spin. As we tilted toward the left side, I stared down at the world below us. I could see our farmhouse and the neighbor’s horses. The cornfields stretched out in all directions and intricate patterns, and with the sun shining down, it looked like a giant sea of gold thread. It was the first crop of the summer.
Above us, the clouds danced all around, and I imagined what it would be like to live in a house made of clouds. And to eat clouds instead of food. They would taste like cotton candy. Or mashed potatoes.
“Thinking about the clouds again?” Pa yelled at me. I nodded. “You’ll be the next Amelia Earhart, and I’ll make sure of it. I smiled. Pa always told me things like that. He loved how excited I was about flying.
“Dive Pa. Please,” I pleaded. Dives were my favorite. I loved the way they felt. All the breath in my body would leave for a moment, and I would become a little light-headed. It was better than the roller coaster ride at the Iowa State Fair.
“Hold on tight!” Pa yelled. But instead of holding on, I raised my arms high above my head and tried to touch the clouds as they zipped by us, faster than the speed of light.
“We’ll be back!” I told them.
We began to fall downward, and my heart danced. Down, down, down we went, and I allowed my eyes to close as the wind ran its spindly fingers through my hair and rippled against my eyelashes. And that’s when the shaking began.
I tried to open my eyes but they wouldn’t budge. Neither would either of my arms. I could feel the wind flapping against my face. It was faster and stronger than I had ever felt it before, and a thundering noise echoed in both of my ears. When I called out for Pa, I couldn’t even hear my won voice.
And then everything suddenly turned black.

Text copyright © 2008 Julia Moberg