Blowing in the Wind - A Story of a Boy and Invisible People PDF

'A STORM'S COMING,' called Dad. 'We'd better head in.' In the distance the sky grew dark. Our sailboat rocked alarmingly as the waves got bigger. Dad called out instructions, but as I reached for a rope, I lost my balance and tumbled over the side. Dad lunged for me, but too late. I hit the water a...

'A STORM'S COMING,' called Dad. 'We'd better head in.' In the distance the sky grew dark. Our sailboat rocked alarmingly as the waves got bigger. Dad called out instructions, but as I reached for a rope, I lost my balance and tumbled over the side. Dad lunged for me, but too late. I hit the water and went under. My world became murky and cold, then my lifejacket brought me back to the surface where I bobbed like a cork. 'Stay calm,' Dad yelled. I kept losing sight of him as the waves rolled past. And that's when I saw them---maybe half a dozen winged people, each clear as glass. They had massive wings that stirred the air and blew our boat towards me. Dad threw a life-preserver, but it went wide. A winged boy who looked no older than me blew the life-preserver my way with a single beat of his wings. I grabbed it and Dad pulled me on board. As the boy flew past he gave me a big smile and a thumbs up. Our rescuers helped blow our boat towards shore. 'It's like the boat knows where to go!' yelled Dad, amazed. Which is when I realised he couldn't see them. I didn't say anything. I knew I'd sound crazy. \* \* \* That wasn't the last I saw of the nearly-invisible flying boy. Sometimes I'd see him at the skate park and he'd give me a bit more air when I needed it. Once when I was mountain biking up a steep track, he blew me to the top. I didn't even have to pedal. On hot windless days I missed his company, but he'd eventually turn up and fan me gently with his wings. And then one day he disappeared. Well, more so than usual. \* \* \* Dad worked for the Wind Institute, developing technology to power our laptops and keep us cool during summer. 'It's happened,' Dad grinned one day. 'We've discovered a new source of wind energy. It could revolutionise life on Earth!' There was a great unveiling at Dad's lab. Top politicians and business people, the news media too, all gathered to see Dad's discovery. 'Not that you can see wind,' Dad said in his speech. He was standing on a stage. Behind him was a large cube covered in a cloth. 'But we can measure it. We hope one day our discovery will provide unlimited energy.' He pressed a button. The cover fell away, revealing a glass cube the size of a small room. 'It looks completely empty,' Dad continued. 'But look at the readings we're getting.' He pressed another button. Numbers appeared on a screen nearby. 'Wind energy in a sealed room!' People started clapping and cheering. But I just felt sick. I could see the winged boy in the cube, staring back at me, his eyes wide with fear and confusion. *Help*, he mouthed. *Help me!* 'Let him out,' I cried, running to the cube. But the only way to open it was with a keypad, and I didn't know the code. I banged against the glass. Hands grabbed me. 'What are you doing?' pleaded Dad. 'You're embarrassing me.' It was then that I saw the lamp. One with a really heavy base. \* \* \* The online video went viral. I'm running with a lamp above my head. I'm swinging the base at an empty glass cube ... *Boy Tries to Save Invisible Friend* is the video title. It's embarrassing. I thought the cube was made of normal glass, not extra-strong acrylic security glass ... The video shows the lamp rebounding and hitting me in the head. It also shows me being carried out on a stretcher by ambulance officers. It doesn't show Mum grounding me for a month on the ride to the hospital. \* \* \* Dad sat down on my bed. 'What's going on?' he asked, concerned. 'You know you can talk to me about anything.' So I told him, despite how crazy it sounded. When I finished he sat there and pinched above his nose like he does when he's got a headache. 'Did you hit your head when you went overboard?' he asked quietly. 'No,' I said. 'I don't think so.' Dad hugged me and said, 'Go to bed and get some rest.' \* \* \* It was the afternoon of the next day and a storm was brewing. I hadn't drawn back my curtains because a) my head hurt and b) I was too busy watching the view numbers grow on the video. I heard Dad's car and the front door slam. Dad was back early. 'Didn't want to risk being stuck at work,' I heard him tell Mum. 'The storm's bad.' I pulled the curtains to have a look, and gasped. It wasn't the sight of trees bending to near-breaking point that stunned me. It was the air ...... full of invisible winged people, furious and frustrated, stirring up the wind. I knew what they were after, and that they were going to tear my town apart to find him. I had to free the boy, but how? I needed Dad's password to activate the keypad. I snuck into his study where he kept a piece of paper with all of his passwords. I glanced over it. Which one was the right one? I wasn't sure so I stuffed it into my pocket, then set out into the raging storm. \* \* \* I got no further than our gate when one of the winged people saw me. He was huge; a single blast of his wings could send me smashing into a building. *Through a building *... 'I can help you,' I cried. Through the roaring gale I heard a voice as sad as the wind that moans across the desert. 'How can you help?' 'You're looking for a boy,' I replied. 'I can show you where he is. But please don't do any more damage; don't hurt anyone.' 'We won't if my son is returned,' replied the man, the wind around me dropping suddenly. I grabbed my bike that had been blown against a tree. The front wheel was bent but I could still use it. 'Follow me,' I called, and as I cycled, I could feel the wind from his wings pushing me along. The building where Dad worked was five storeys high with an outdoor atrium in the centre. Dad's lab was on the second floor. The carpark was empty; the building locked. I thought about the atrium. The internal doors to it were seldom locked. But how could I get to it? I couldn't go through. I couldn't go under. There was only one way left. \* \* \* I was flying, soaring up and over the roof, carried in his wind-bound arms. The town was spread out before me, roads empty except for a car creeping towards us, picking its way through the debris. Dad's car. I was dropped into the ferns near the centre of the atrium. The man folded his wings and waited. He looked nervous. 'I will not go in, it is ... unnatural.' I raced inside and up the stairs to Dad's lab. In the centre of the room lay the cube, the boy huddled in a corner. He smiled when he realised it was me. I typed in a password from the list. A light blinked redly; the cube remained locked. I tried another and another. Then I noticed the keypad had a slot for a security card. Something I did not have. I slumped to the ground. I'd failed. I held up my hands to show the boy I was out of ideas. He just gave me a sad smile. The door burst open, and Dad rushed towards me. He grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. 'You're okay,' he said. 'It's okay.' 'No, it's not, Dad,' I cried. 'I know you can't see him, but he's there. He's real ... and his family will blow down our town if we don't set him free.' Dad handed me his security card. 'I came back to open the cube,' said Dad. 'My colleagues might call me mad, my research might lose its funding, but I trust you. I believe you.' \* \* \* People said that the storm happened because of the changing weather patterns. But Dad and I knew differently. The storm blew the rubbish up into big piles, returned trampolines to gardens, put overturned cars the right way up. This was caused by localised whirlwinds, people said. But Dad and I knew differently. I was the only one who could see the invisible people trying to repair some of the damage. Far above, the boy rode on the air currents, happy to be free. Dad and I went sailing every weekend from then on. Every weekend, perfect wind conditions. Lucky sailors, people said. But Dad and I knew differently.