The wind came in gales and mercurial swirls. Dust kicked up from the fields and orchards like angels and cherubs dancing without restraint or care. Branches and brambles skittered across the asphalt and cement, tumbling recklessly from one place to another. Clouds swam across the sky with smooth, swift movements like fowl gliding across the surface of a lake.

The children had been guide to the playground as they were everyday. But on this day, the children discovered something peculiar. Some stood atop the jungle gym, others stood waiting to go down the slide. Still others ran back and forth across the field playing sharks and minnows. A particularly rambunctious gust of wind chased the feet of a second grade boy running on the field and before he realized what was happening, his feet were lifted off the ground. As his arms and legs flailed, he was carried higher and higher into the air. Soon, he was joined by a girl from the jungle gym whose long, pigtail braids whipped around her body as she was swept away from the ropes. The fourth grade boy who stood waiting to go down the slide reached for a pole as his feet lost contact with the play structure. He gripped with all his might but the wind was stronger than his will.

Soon the rest of the children had ceased their games and their climbing and gawked at the sky. Some pointed, others shouted, and more than a few ran to find a recess supervisor. As they supervisors’ reached for their radios, another roaring tempest lifted the rest of the children off their feet. At first there were screams of terror but soon, all the children were laughing with delight. They spun and twirled, maneuvering their arms to bring them closer or further from their classmates and friends.

As the winds carried the children closer and closer to the sky, the recess supervisors stood with mouths agape. Soon,fire trucks and police cars arrived at the school but no one could come up with a logical explanation for what was causing this peculiar phenomenon.

And so it was that the children learned they could fly.