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Flight

By: Highland Fox



I can't remember when last I wasn't running, since love, or lust, drove me to the betrayal of my father and my homeland. Now I run through dry woods, through fallen trees and branches that block my path, picked out by a swollen moon. The catastrophe that destroyed my home struck here too, the constant taste of ash in my mouth a thing I cannot become used to. I can hear him behind me, even through the pounding of my own heart, the constant rush of my breathing and whatever it is that has filled my body from that sweet fermented brew we all shared.

The loose robe snags and tears. I yank free and continue running. It's becoming easier, my instincts leading me over and around more and more obstacles, but he doesn't seem to be slowed at all, just as he won't be impeded when he catches me. My body is soaked in sweat, my inner thighs slippery from my own desire, my breasts, almost virgin-firm, a gift for my pursuer, ripple under fabric. For now, he has to chase me down.

My blood is up, and I run like the wind that brought me here, after my lover's father destroyed the only home I ever knew. My feet are tough – sandals are merely formal and it was once safe to run the streets of mighty Knossos barefoot and alone. This is different. This is sacred. I try to find a way through the gorge that looms in front of me, trying to keep running. I fail and tumble, as my home tumbled so few days ago.

He's on me then, hot and hard. I see a staff, topped with a pinecone, before it falls behind us and I know this man is not truly a man. We fall together, faces first, to the ground, his breath on my ear, his legs between mine, and his arms around me from behind, and we roll into hidden seclusion. The scent of fresh male sweat fills me. My lover can turn me on. The moonlight, the woods, the wine and herbs they gave me, this man, rock solid; these are turning me into something else. I see a soft cape, clearly his only garment, tossed aside. Back at the temple the men of this rite wore no garments. I pretend to struggle, but he holds me down, sitting on my legs, the hair on his thighs and between brushing my skin, then rips my robe from neck to hem and twice more from tear to arms. The pressure on my thighs eases, and he turns me over. 

To my surprise his face is beardless, like a boy's. Then I see his eyes, deep in moonlight. I fall again, into darkness, then into light. My belly sears with lust. He reaches over me. I expect him to fill me, but he pulls my robe away, tossing the rag aside and leaving me lying upon dry moss. I hear him whisper.

'No, Mistress of the Corn.' A title, and my name in the ancient language of the east. 'You have yet to learn patience. First, I drink your honeydew. Then I winnow your past from your future.' His tongue slips inside my open mouth, wet, demanding. I feel his shaft, hot and hard, against me and I clasp him, my fingertips on his spine. He rises, and draws his own from throat to breasts. Power flows between us as he strokes my hardened nipples, and my senses lurch as he kneads firm softness beneath. 

I see him smile, and I reach for thighs of hardened muscle. I should respect and fear this being, but other things are stronger. I can't reach the shaft that I need to feel inside me. His fingers slide down, across my flattened belly to the neat patch of fur below. I quiver, and again the weight of man, or more, is eased. Both hands slide between moistened legs, and I allow him to part them. He kneels between, using one hand to balance, while the palm of the other covers my mound, and a finger slides easily between by lips. He dabbles, stroking my hardened bud, then down to my sacred wellspring. Wet heat sears my body.

I see his head descend in the moonlight and feel hot breath begin to dry the dampness at my cleft. His hands, one damp with sweat, the other slick with nectar, clasp my thighs and raise them as I feel his tongue thrust inside. I grip his head, hair against my palms as I arch and scream. He doesn't stop, lapping round my petals, then upwards. Mind and body throb, and all that's left is sensation.

His thirst sated, but his appetite undimmed he rises, my legs still held in his grip. He has drunk from me, and now finally I must be filled. One thrust takes him deep, and in womb and mind brightness grows. Time departs, and from his flashing eyes it is no longer night. He, I, this place, its people, fields and shattered trees, are one. My body pulses in time with my heart and his throbbing shaft, and he allows my legs to twine his hips. 

'The world has changed' he whispers. I feel worry swell, as I realize another betrayal must lie on my conscience. 'Forget your fears. Here you must stay.' 

Flight 505



He looked at his watch, "3am", he was 30 minutes early. He didn't want to seem to anxious so he found a seat in the back corner. There were only one or two other people around as he laid his head back, closed his eyes and tired relax. It had been a long day and he hadn't gotten much sleep and he must of relaxed too much because the next thing he knew he was being woken up my the soft touch of lips on his cheek. He blinked his eyes open.

There she was standing in front of him. He rubbed his eyes not believing what he was seeing. She was wearing a pair of short black shorts and a tight blue tank top. It quickly became apparent to him that she wasn't wearing a bra as he could see her hard nipples pressing against the thin material of her shirt. He wanted to badly to reach up and touch them, but quickly became aware of the other people standing around them. He stood up and pulled her close and whispered in her ear, "I've missed you so much" then kissed her deeply, his tongue darting deep into her throat. 

They stood in each others arms, neither one wanting to let go. His hands squeezing her ass tight. She could feel herself getting wetter and wetter, not sure if she would be able to make it all the way home. They walked quickly through the airport and to his car. He opened the door for her and she slowly climbed in not able to take her eyes off of him. He waked around and got into the car net to her. 

He leaned over and kissed her softly. It had been a long flight and as they pulled out of the parking lot she laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist. As she did her hand brushed across his crotch and smiled when she noticed that he was as excited as she was. She smiled softly at him and kissed his cheek softly. Then slowly let he hand slide down to his belt line. She unzipped his shorts and slowly let her hand slide down his stomach to his belt line. She unzipped his shorts and slowly pulled out his already hard cock. She leaned down and licked the head of his cock. 

Running her tongue up and down his cock. Licking it like a melting popsicle then slowly but hungrily taking him into her mouth. She could hear him moaning softly, this made her want him more. She took in deep into her mouth and then slowly letting him slide almost all the way out before sucking him back into her mouth. She pressed her lips hard against his cock and softly squeezed his balls. Letting her tongue roll around his cock. She felt his body tensing and she let him slide out of her mouth and stroked him hard with her hand taking each of his balls and slowly sucking them into her mouth. Giving them each a good deal of attention from her tongue. 

His moaning got louder and louder "oh God baby I'm gonna cum!" Hearing that she quickly put her mouth around his cock again and fucked him hard with her mouth. Sucking him hard and fast as he left his load deep in her mouth. She milked his cock then licked it clean. She slowly licked her lips and tucked his cock back into his pants. She kissed him again and laid back on his shoulder, a smile on both of their faces. They rode home quiet the rest of the way. His hand rested on her leg and would occasionally slide up and rub against her wet shorts, he was teasing her and he knew it. She could feel herself getting wetter with every touch, and couldn't wait 'til they got home. They finally got home.

The second they got in the door he pulled her close and kissed her deeply. He reached down the back of her shorts and grabbed her ass, squeezing it tight. He grabbed her thong and pulled it up, tight, so that it was pressing against her swollen clit making her squirm. He moved his hands up and pulled off her shirt exposing her beautiful breasts. He massaged them softly before leaning down and taking one into his mouth. He sucked on her nipple making it even wetter and causing her to moan. His hand cupped around the other one, pinching her nipple softly. 

He continued to suck and bite her nipples 'til he could tell she couldn't take it any more. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his body. He carried her to the bedroom, moaning as she kissed his neck and sucked on his ear. She wanted him so badly she couldn't take it any longer, and he could sense it. He threw her on to the bed and was quickly over her body. She wrapped her legs around him trying to feel his hard cock next to her body, but he had a different idea. He slid down her body and quickly removed her pants leaving her lying there in just her thongs. 

She squirmed with excitement and anticipation. He started at her feet and sucked softly on her toes, moving down and kissing her ankles spending lots of time there knowing how much it excited her. He moved down her legs slowly kissing and licking as he got closer and closer to her tight little pussy. When his lips were just inches away from her sweet pussy, he was stopped watching her squirm, wanting him so badly. He moved a little closer, kissing her swollen lips through her panties. Licking them softly and slowly through her tight panties. She moaned, begging him to fuck her with his tongue. He was all to willing to oblige. 

He pulled her panties off and she lifted her ass slightly off the bed. She put her hands behind his head and pulled him into her smooth pussy. As his tongue shot into her she screamed, he had made her so hot it wasn't going to take much for her to reach orgasm. She started bucking her hips "fuck me with that tongue baby" that was all he needed, he shot his tongue in and out of her tight little pussy. tasting her juices all over his face. She pulled his head tight into her pussy and came all over his face. Collapsing onto the bed. He licked up her juices and slowly moved up and kissed her letting her taste her sweet juices. 

She licked his lips and smiled. She was so caught up in her own pleasure that she didn't even realize that he had removed his pants and had his hard cock rubbing up against her pussy. She moaned as he slowly entered her. He started slowly, pumping his cock into her, his balls slapping her ass. He reached down and grabbed her breasts squeezing them pushing her over the edge again. Her body tightened around his cock. The feeling of her body tensing around his sent him over the edge too. He shot his load deep into her filling her with his warm cum. 

She wrapped her legs around him wanting to hold him inside her just a little longer. He collapsed on top of her kissing her softly before rolling next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek as she snuggled up against his body.



Flight 5395



Over the PA, I heard, "Those passengers awaiting the departure of flight #5395 to Syracuse, the flight is delayed. We expect the new departure to occur in an hour. We are sorry for the delay and will have you at your designation as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience." 

I was flying on business and I did not have my first meeting until the afternoon. Luckily I had planned extra time for traveling on this trip - not that it mattered since I was the key person for the afternoon meeting. I was on my way to upstate New York to provide expert testimony at a trial for a person who used drugs and was caught stealing from the company. I was the forensic expert. 

Being a people-watching type of person, I look around the gate area to see who was there. I noticed several other business people who looked annoyed at our delay or other delays that were announced. Some were talking on their cell phones while others were busy typing on their laptops. As I continued to look around, I noticed you walking towards me. 

From a distance, I could tell that you were a confident woman by the way that you walked - head high, shoulders straight with your back and a nice casual gait to your step. You were wearing a two-piece business suit with a white, nearly transparent blouse beneath your jacket. You carried a simple black leather brief case that must also serve as a purse due to the apparent absence. You walked towards the agent working at the counter for the flight that I was on and I smiled hoping that you, at minimum, sat nearby. You finished your business, you sat in a seat directly across from me and our eyes met and we both smiled at each other. You crossed your legs and just seem to enjoy the eye contact. In fact, you actually made me feel uncomfortable and I was the first to break the eye contact. Even though I was not looking into your eyes, I could still remember how clear, beautiful and flirtatious your gray eyes were. I looked back several times and each time you made eye contact with me and smiled. 

I finally got up the nerve to move next to you so we could talk. Just as I stood up that thought was interrupted by: 

"Flight 5395 to Syracuse is ready to board through Gate 62. Please have your boarding pass and picture ID out when you get to the gate. Thank you again for your patience." 

Since I was standing, I proceeded to the gate to board. That way, I could at least watch you board the plane and see where you sat. 

We were flying on a small turbo prop airplane. Most people do not enjoy these flights since they tend to be too "bumpy." As I boarded the plane, I was greeted by a young beautiful flight attendant that told me to sit anywhere behind row 4. I decided to sit towards the back and decided to take the last row but on the two sit side of the plane. Through the small windows, I saw you approaching the plane. 

I watched as you boarded the plane and gave the flight attendant a smile and nodded at the instructions. When you turned down the aisle, you immediately found my eyes and proceeded back towards me. Before I can say anything, you told me that your seat assignment was next to me. I smiled and started to stand to let you in, but you said, "I will sit on the other side of the aisle since it was a light flight. No reason to be cramped."

I thought to myself, just another damn tease. "I would not mind being cramped next to you," I replied.

You just smiled and took the seat across the aisle. 

The flight attendant gave her normal presentation, the captain apologized for the delay and said that he would make up as much lost time as possible. 

As we started to taxi to the runway, the flight attendant proceeded to the back of the plane and took the passenger sit directly behind you. She smiled and greeted both of us pleasantly. I then introduced myself to you and we talked while waiting to take off. 

The take off was rough. The plane bucked and jerked right and left due to the turbulence. You just sat straight in your seat reading the magazine that you brought with you - Cosmo. Once we were air born, you never turned to continue the conversation. I decided to read as well. After 5 minutes, I noticed how much vibration was in the plane due to the pilot flying "balls to the wall." I then noticed that both you and the flight attendant were squirming a little in your seats. After I focused on the vibrations in my crotch, I could only imagine the sensations that the two of you were feeling. 

I acted like I was reading but I was watching you and occasionally the flight attendant. You had placed on of your hands between your crossed legs and slid it up high into your pussy. The flight attendant was opening and closing her legs and bouncing them up and down. After about 10 minutes, I started hearing really low moans but could not figure out who was making them. You gave up reading your magazine. At first you placed it in your lap and put your hands on top of the magazine. Obviously, this was not working for you because after a minute, you shifted and leaned forward to place the magazine back into your briefcase. When you leaned forward, we hit an air pothole and you actually jumped a little. I doubt it was from the jolt itself but from the effects that it had on you. You stayed in this forward seated position for a while acting like you were looking through your briefcase. I noticed little movements in your hips as you did this. 

I looked over my shoulder at the flight attendant and at that point, she closed her eyes, tilted her head back against the seat and pushed both of her hands between her legs and closed them tight around the hands. Her hands were rubbing her pussy through her uniform pants and it was obvious that she was in the throes of an orgasm. Amazingly she only gasped once. 

You heard the gasp but did not even turn to investigate the source. I suspect that you knew who it was. You just leaned back in your sit, placed your hands between your crossed legs and closed your eyes. You looked like you were trying to sleep but I knew full well what you were doing. 

Every few minutes you would slid your hands up towards your crotch and hold them there. You would slide your hands down and then move them forward towards your knees. You continued to do this but the rate at which you moved became faster. One time when your hands reached your pussy and they were on their downward motion, the plane hit a bump. Your hips moved forward but were restrained by the sit belt. You hands stayed against your pussy and your hips jerked twice and then relaxed. I could not figure out if you had a full orgasm or just a mini one. 

My answer came when you hands started to slide up and down. You were masturbating in front of me. From my point of view, I could see your hard nipples through your bra and your moans were getting louder. You started rubbing your pussy and clit through your pants with your fingers. You were getting closer. Your hips were jerking to meet your fingers and your face became flushed. It only took you 3 or 4 minutes to cum. Your hand just froze and from my vantage point, it was obvious that you had your thumb against your clit and fingers looked like they were pushed inside you a little. You stayed like that for a minute - little moans escaping from you.

I had forgotten about the flight attendant sitting behind you. She was paying attention to you as well and to my amazement, she too was masturbating quite obviously. She came just as I looked back over my shoulder and this time it was much more intense. She was biting her lip and was obviously trying to control her moans. However, you and I heard her. Unlike you, during her orgasm, she continued to furiously rub her pussy through her pants and even reached up to pinch a nipple.

At this point, I was rock hard and wanted to cum too but wanted a little help from either of you or even both. You turned around and looked at me and then down to my crotch. A smile formed on your face when you saw how hard I was. You then looked over your shoulder at the flight attendant and smiled at her. Both of you then looked at me and at my hard dick.

At that point, the captained announced that we were going to be on the ground in 10 minutes. The flight attendant quickly collected her composure and announced the standard preparation for landing. 

I leaned over to you and asked if you would like to get together when we arrived in Syracuse. You said, "No, my husband will be waiting for me but if I had more time, I would take care of you on the plane." I was going to have to take care of things myself or find someone else.

When we exited the plane, I noticed the wet spot on your seat and on the flight attendant's seat. Both of you seemed to be walking on wobbly legs as well. 

When you got to the flight attendant, she said that was one of the most enjoyable flights that she has had. You replied that it was the best flight that you ever had.

When I got to my hotel room that night, I masturbated to the thought of you having an orgasm on the flight.

I will always fly turbo props when I can and hope to have a similar experience again. Next time though, I am going to participate!



Flight



Be forewarned, like all but one of my earlier stories, there is absolutely no sex here, in fact, not even so much as a kiss. This is more of a teenage coming of age story. Also, like one of earlier stories, I have borrowed an idea from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

*

When you were growing up, was there a kid that everybody laughed at, a kid who was always the last to be picked for teams, a kid who couldn't catch a fly ball if his life depended on it? Maybe he was fat and wore glasses. Maybe he was a klutz or he just looked a bit goofy or acted a bit strange. I suspect there was probably at least one in every class and if you were the one, I sure as hell feel sorry for you. I know it wasn't pleasant.

Some of these kids, the different ones, made up for it by just trying harder. Sometimes they succeeded and sometimes they just laughed along with everyone else when they failed. Others buried their heads in books or computers and over compensated by being smarter than everyone else. These were the kids that ended up starting Silicon Valley. I mean honestly ladies, do you really consider Bill Gates handsome?

These kids, these different kids, didn't hang out with the popular ones, they often clung to each other. Besides, the popular ones weren't into computer programming, they were into football and baseball and cars and girls and all that was well beyond the different ones. The different ones had each other and if it wasn't enough, if they day dreamed about being popular, they at least had each other and they made do.

Except for Ralph. Ralph was a klutz. Ralph had two left feet, was nearsighted and chubby and probably couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag. To make matters worse, he wasn't quite smart enough to fit in with the other smarter different kids. That was not to say he was dumb, just that instead of getting A's and B's like the really smart kids, he got mostly B's and C's. He wasn't dumb but he was not a genius either.

Ralph had another strike against him. His home life wasn't the best. Some different kids are lucky enough to have caring parents who understand. These great parents encourage their kids to make the most of whatever gifts they have and try harder to be the best that they can be and not get upset if they don't always succeed.

Ralph's parents weren't that good. They were more indifferent. They had their own problems and really couldn't deal with his. His mother had battled depression most of her life and had self medicated way too many times. She had also over indulged in just about everything at one time or another, including sex and although she had never told Ralph, she honestly didn't know who his biological father was. The man she ended up marrying knew that and dealt with it in his own way but the ups and downs of his mother just wore him out and left him little time for Ralph.

To be fair, it could have been worse. There was no abuse. There was a roof over his head, food on the table and presents at Christmas and birthdays, but there wasn't a lot of that huggy, kissy stuff either. Nobody every really said "I love you" to him whether it was parents, relatives or anyone else.

Ralph grew up pretty much on his own as an only child in the age before Facebook and Twitter, the internet and cell phones, home computers and cable TV. It was a big town in a rural area in a time where most people didn't even lock their doors and where everybody pretty much trusted everyone.

It really wasn't a bad life but when you're a different kid, trying to find your own way with little guidance from anyone, even kids your own age, it can be a bit daunting, even for the best and wisest of kids and when you're constantly reminded that you can't keep up with the other kids, not as smart as them, not as big or as handsome or anything else, it can get to you. It started early on getting to Ralph.

He knew about this thing called "depression". He heard all about it from his mother and saw her deal with it as best she could. There just weren't too many good drugs back then. Electro-shock was common. That scared him. It also scared his mother. She just tried as best she could.

He also knew about "suicide". It had been whispered around the house but never talked about in front of him. He read about it in the library when he could. He wanted to ask questions but there was no one he could turn to for answers, no one he could really trust.

At the age of sixteen, there came another setback in his life. At first, it didn't seem like such a big deal. The company where his father worked closed up. His father was lucky though, he found another job almost right away. The only problem was, it paid less, not a lot less, but enough to make a difference. His father was going to have to postpone buying a new car like he had done every three years since Ralph could remember. The year he turned sixteen would have been that year too and his father had agreed that instead of trading in the hideous old Buick, he would let Ralph drive it. Ralph would be one of the lucky ones. He would actually have a car and if it wasn't actually his out right, he could at least claim that he didn't have to share it with anyone. He was going to be popular!

It didn't sink in right away. After all, finances were not something his parents actually talked about in front of him. It was just something that slowly became apparent to him. He was going to continue to be laughed at and he was not going to become popular. He would be stuck riding his three speed bike while everyone else was out driving. To be sure, he did get his license. He did get to drive the old Buick from time to time, but it was never his car, always his father's. He had to move the seat back, make sure the tank was filled and change the radio station back to where his father liked it. It was not Ralph's car and he would never be able to give Mary Beth a ride home in it.

Like all teenagers, when the hormones kicked in, he developed an interest in the opposite sex. There was the usual chit chat and telling of outrageous stories and viewing of hand me down magazines among the young men and bold faced lies about who had done what and with whom. Mostly though, the reality was just a lot of wishful idle daydreaming.

Ralph daydreamed about Mary Beth. I know it's cliché but she actually was a cheerleader. She was one of the popular ones. In fairness to her, she was reasonably cute but her big problem was that she knew it and played on it to get pretty much whatever she wanted whenever she wanted it. While Ralph may have daydreamed about her, she certainly never daydreamed about him and if he had ever entered her thoughts, and there is no evidence to suggest that he ever did, she would have considered it a nightmare.

To his credit, Ralph did realize that trying to go out with Mary Beth was going to be a complete waste of time. At sixteen, he had already been laughed at far too many times to willingly put himself through a useless effort like that. Why bother to try if you're only going to fail anyway became something of a motto for him.

The really sad thing of it is, there was actually a girl that would have gone out with him if he had asked her. Susan was a bit of a female version of him only less extreme. Yes, she was chubby and wore glasses, but she was cheerful and pleasant and smart but not too smart. She would occasionally admit to even liking Ralph but she was also very shy and instead of asking him, kept waiting for him to ask her. Whatever subtle signals she may have sent, were clearly far too subtle for the socially inept Ralph to decipher.

And so it happened that in the fall of his junior year in high school, Ralph decided that he had had enough of life. It was time to call it quits, time to stop the bullying, the laughing, the ignoring and all the other nonsense. He was going to quit life itself.

He thought about how to do it. He knew his mother had taken drugs, but then she had survived. He didn't really have easy access to them unless he stole from his mother and he wasn't entirely sure what she was taking anyway.

He supposed he could find a gun somewhere. Lots of people around there had them but his father didn't. Hanging just didn't seem like a good way to go either.

There was an abandoned quarry though, not far from town. All the kids hung out there in the summer, even Ralph. Part of it filled up with water and they swam there, except Ralph who never did learn how. There was also a fenced off cliff with rocks below. It looked high enough. He thought that would do it.

A few nights after making his decision, he waited until his parents were asleep, then carefully opened up his bedroom window, climbed out and rode his three speed bike out along the deserted road, out of town.

He left his bike near the fence, wiggled through a hole and used his flashlight and the moonlight to make his way to the cliff.

He got dizzy when he looked down. "That should do it," he said out loud. He paced along the cliff, wondering if he should do it or not, listing all the reasons he had for doing it and all the reasons he had for not doing it. To him, it was a no-brainer. He ran toward the edge closed his eyes and jumped.

As he did, three very odd things happened. The first is that his body spun around 360 degrees. The second is that he realized that he was going to miss marshmallows and the third was he stopped falling without hitting the ground.

"What the heck?" he thought. "Am I dead?" His eyes were still closed. "How can I miss the ground? I must be dead."

He opened his eyes. In the dim light, he could see the ground not more than a foot or two below him. He was floating in the air. "This is impossible. This can't happen."

As mentioned, while he may not have been the smartest kid in class, he was not the dumbest, certainly not dumb enough to think that anyone could just jump off a cliff, fall down and never hit the ground. Superman did it but that was television and he knew it was all faked anyway. While he only had a high school knowledge of gravity, he did understand that it was something you just didn't mess with and clearly, he was messing with it or it was messing with him.

Very tentatively, he wiggled his fingers and then his toes and then tried to bring his outstretched hands in toward his body. He found that he could. He wondered if he could actually move and attempted to paddle as if the air was actually water and found that he could.

"Totally amazing! I'm swimming in the air!"

He drifted sideways, forward and backward, up and down as he tried to figure out what actually was going on. The only thing he knew was that he had no real answers. He wasn't even sure that he was actually alive either but it seemed so real, so very real. 

At last he tired. He wondered what would happen if he actually reached out and touched something solid. He floated down to within a foot of the ground then very carefully lowered his feet down until they touched the soil now below him. Ever so gently, the air released its grip on him and he put his hands out as his body came in contact with the ground.

"So what the heck happened?" he asked and not surprisingly he did not get an answer. Still holding his flashlight, he walked and climbed and finally made his way carefully back to his bike and rode home, all the while wondering and realizing there was nothing more he could do that night.

Back in his bed, he tossed and turned all night, not getting much sleep until it was time to go back to school the next morning.

There he was, in school, after having had an amazing adventure and there was absolutely no one he could tell, no one at all. Not that he didn't talk to his friends mind you but he knew that no one would ever believe him and that as soon as he opened his mouth and told anyone that he had actually flown, he was certain to be the laughingstock of the entire school. He had been there and done that often enough to know better and did not want it to happen again.

Like many young kids his age in that gentler era, he had an interest in science and the scientific method. That would be his starting point. He decided that he had witnessed a scientific event. Now he needed to duplicate it. But how? Unless he was truly suicidal -- and didn't think he was right then -- he wasn't sure he could risk going back to the quarry and jumping off the cliff again. There was another cliff there that over looked a swimming hole and he had seen other, far braver young men, dive off it and impress everyone with their abilities. Ralph couldn't swim so that was out. He came upon an idea on his way home from school and after dinner, he checked it out.

His parent's house sat on a half acre lot that bordered an abandoned farm. From his bedroom window he could see the old barn that still stood. He and his friends had often played there. It was rickety but it did have one important thing in its favor. There were bales of hay on the floor beneath the old loft. He knew they could cushion his fall because he and his friends had often jumped from the old loft and landed on them. All he had to do was climb up the ladder and jump.

Late that night, he again slipped out of the house and this time he almost ran through the field to the old barn. Using his flashlight, he inspected the bales of hay and even climbed up on them and jumped up and down on them, even falling on them to make sure it was as safe as he could make it and tried to see what it would feel like it if he actually fell onto them. It had been a couple of years since he had last done that on a dare from some of his acquaintances and he remembered that it had hurt but not too bad.

Once satisfied, he climbed up a ladder and onto the narrow walkway above the bales of hay. It was no more than twenty feet up and he wondered if he was high enough but he had no other alternative.

He jumped.

He hit the hay.

He jumped again.

He hit the hay again, and again, and again.

He did not fly and he wondered why.

He tried to look at things scientifically. What was different? The first thing he realized was that he had spun the first time so he tried spinning while falling. He didn't have much luck except that he ended up either on his back or side instead of his front when he landed.

Then he realized that he had been distracted when he had fallen and had also closed his eyes. How to distract himself? 

He had been there two hours and was getting very tired and knew he would have a hard time explaining the scratches and bruises he now had. "Just a couple more times," he said and then climbed the ladder once again.

He closed his eyes. 

He jumped.

He spun.

He thought of marshmallows.

He floated.

"Yes!" he yelled. He relaxed and drifted inside the old barn for a few minutes, then tried and succeeded in floating upward, back to the rafter that he had jumped from. He reached out and grabbed it and was right back where he had been moments before. He closed his eyes, jumped, spun around, thought of marshmallows again and once more he never made contact with the bales of hay below. He did this a couple of more times just to be sure and then just sat on the bales of hay and realized he was very, very tired. It was time to go home and back to bed.

Over the next few nights, he continued his flying experiments. As usual with him, his efforts were rather clumsy. He kept hitting things in the barn inadvertently but he was flying nonetheless and in a somewhat controlled manner too. He even got to the point where he could actually jump off of a chair and still fly. He found that he could actually move too. It was almost like Superman but he was no where near as fast. Then again, Superman was a comic book and a TV show and he was actually doing it.

The next step was to fly outside the barn and now he was a bit cautious. What if he hit something other than bales of hay? What if he suddenly fell? He ought to have some protection. Yes, that was it. That was what he needed.

It took him several nights of searching to find what he needed. There had been a high school football game that ended late. Some of the equipment was still scattered around the field. He tried on a couple of helmets, finally finding one that fit. There were also a set of kneepads. Those would do nicely. He wasn't sure what else he needed but that was a start.

He thought about flying home but he still had trouble with control so he walked. There were actually a couple of cars out and if anyone had bothered to pay attention to him, they assumed he was just another football player going home, nothing more or less.

Two nights later, he was ready for his big adventure. He went to the barn, put on the helmet and pads and jumped and flew around the barn and then, ever so carefully and slowly, out the door and above the field. He paused and just drifted, floated there in the dark, moonless night.

"Wow, I'm actually doing this. I'm really flying!" he said to no one in particular. "Now, what do I do with this?"

"I know, I can become a UFO!" He laughed so hard he almost fell down and only at the last second did he resume flying. He made some attempts at crude acrobatics and worked at gaining control. It wasn't easy for him, nothing ever was, but much to his credit, he did work at it. Unlike riding a bike, (which took him forever to learn) there was no one who had actually ever done this before so he had nothing to go by. In some ways, he thought it better. His father had almost hounded him, trying to get him to learn to ride the bike and had finally given up. Ralph learned when Ralph was ready and all the nagging and encouraging made no difference at all. As usual, when Ralph did tell his father that he was riding his bike, his father merely said something like, "well good for you." Or was it more like "it's about time,"? Ralph wasn't sure any more.

Like most people of that era, he had heard stories about UFO's. The newspapers and magazines were littered with them. Everyone was sure that aliens had landed on earth. His mother had even mentioned being at Roswell and was certain she had seen one but her story was certainly suspect as that had been during a time she had over indulged in various drugs. Oddly, but not coincidentally, it was also about the time she had become pregnant with Ralph.

Ralph did not believe in UFO's. He was of the mind that while there might be intelligent life on other planets, they certainly wouldn't waste their time with earth.

He spent a couple of days thinking about his next move and how to make himself look like a UFO or whatever one looked like. Lights, he realized, he needed lights but that meant a power source of some kind. One of those big flood lights would do nicely but like many of his ideas, he quickly realized it would be hugely impractical.

He let the whole problem sit for a few days and didn't fly. His late night excursions had meant he was tired during the day at school and that in turn was causing problems he wanted to avoid.

When he resumed flying one Friday night, he decided to see if he could actually carry something. He floated above the bales of hay in the barn and reached down and grasped the wire holding it together. After a little bit of trial and error -- and a couple of falls -- he found he was able to pick it up one handed. As soon as he grasped it, it was as if the bale had no weight at all and it floated with him.

"Truly amazing," he exclaimed. "Now for some lights!"

It took a couple of weeks. He had several late night excursions and a few accidents but it was all part of the learning process for him. Flying at night, he landed behind the fence of the old junkyard on the other side of the railroad tracks that ran through town. There were lots of parts to pick through and he flew them back to the barn one by one and as he did, his confidence grew.




Flight



One curious thing did happen though that he would not think about until later. During his entire life up until then, he had never really stolen anything from anyone except the odd small change from his father's night stand or the occasional dollar or two from his mother's purse. He didn't actually consider what he was doing as stealing. The football gear, the car head lights, the car batteries had all been out in the open, waiting for someone to come along. Ralph just considered himself to be that someone. Besides, "they" owed him. He wasn't too sure just then who "they" were or what it was he was owed but that was how he justified what would otherwise be considered out right theft.

He built a small wooden frame and mounted four headlights on it and secured an old car battery to it for power. He charged it using his father's battery charger. The battery on the old Buick had been notorious for not holding a charge and in the cold winters where they lived, his father felt it good insurance. 

The whole rig must have weighed in at over fifty pounds but as soon as he was flying, it, like him was weightless. After a test flight in the barn, he waited for the next new moon.

Over the next ten nights, he made a couple of practice flights, trying out configurations of battery, harness, cables and lights. It was actually a lot of work, especially for a rather lazy kid like him. He felt good, though, perhaps better than he had in a long, long time. He had a purpose in life. He had a reason to get up in the morning and a reason to work hard. At school, if he was laughed at, he took it in stride and sometimes laughed back or ignored it altogether. He could do something none of them could.

Finally, the big night came and he went to bed early except that when he awoke after midnight, it was raining. He wasn't sure if that would cause a problem with his flying but he knew it might cause electrical problems so he waited another night.

His parents didn't hear him open up the bedroom window. No one saw him run across the field in the moonless night. No one saw him put on his harness and take flight across the open field.

He gained some altitude then swooped down on a field where some cows were grazing and turned on the lights and chased them around for a few minutes until they made such a ruckus that they woke up the old farmer and his wife. He actually kept the lights on for a moment or two and then quickly turned them off, turned around and gained altitude again.

"What now?" he laughed. He knew where he wanted to go, the abandoned drive in movie theater. It had been closed for a couple of years but it was still a local make out spot. Ralph regretted that it had closed before he had had the opportunity to actually use it but then he quickly realized that with his lack of success with girls, he'd probably never have gotten around to using it anyway.

He was perhaps two or three hundred feet up in the air as he spotted the parking lot. There were two cars there, one a sleek new Chrysler convertible. "That must be Mark Lung's," he said. The top was down and they were doing something in the back seat. The lights came one and Ralph almost dove down, being careful to stop about twenty feet away. He turned the lights off and heard the screaming as he dove on the second car and gave them a good fright too, then turned the lights off and went back to the convertible as the top was being raised and turned the lights back on again. He tried to follow the car as it sped out of the parking lot but he wasn't that fast.

He turned the lights off and flew back to the barn and set down the lights. It had been fun while it lasted but there ought to be something more he could do. There was a tractor supply company outside of town. He looked at a tractor and wondered if he could do it, then decided why not. He floated over a tractor and grabbed a hold of it. He flew it over to the nearby police station and arrived just as one of the deputies was scurrying out the front door. Apparently the kids making out had called the police. "Bombs away," laughed Ralph to himself as he let go of the tractor, sending it down to the ground crashing inches away from a police car and scaring the hell out of the poor young officer who had the night beat in the town.

It was all the news the next morning. The radio and the news paper both carried the story of the UFO. There were pictures of the tractor and quotes from the kids. No mention was made of the fact that Tina Johnson got grounded for the rest of the school year for being out with Mark Lung in the first place or that the driver of the other car just plain lied about where he was and what he was doing there but his father grounded him anyway more on principle than anything else.

"Hey Ralphie, hear about the aliens?" taunted one of the class bullies that morning. "Know what I think? I think they were coming to take your mother back." As usual Lee Flick was difficult to ignore. For some unknown reason, he made it his mission to make Ralph's life as miserable as he possible could and rarely missed an opportunity to make fun of him. It is quite possible that he did this simply because Ralph was one of the few kids not big enough to simply smack his head and make him shut up. He was one of those pitiful people who apparently had to make other people look small before they could make themselves look big.

It was on the radio that afternoon that the government was sending people into town to investigate the incident. Anyone who had seen or heard anything was urged to come forward. "All because of me," he realized. "If they only knew."

In a way, all the attention was not very welcome. Ralph realized that morning that he would have to curtail his flying for a while, at least until after the government people left town. To be safe, he went back to the barn and took apart the simple harness and rig he had made for the lights and hid the pieces beneath the bales of hay.

It seemed as if the men in suits from the Air Force were never going to leave town. They weren't there just for a day or two but a couple of months. This wasn't some doctored photograph they were dealing with. Something had picked up a four ton tractor and dropped it, smashing a police car and almost killing a police officer. That was something they took very seriously. Scaring cows and kids making out was one thing but smashing a police car was something else and they seemed determined to get to the bottom of it.

Still, except for the kids making out, no one had really seen anything and all the kids had seen were four lights shining down on them from above. There had been no noise, no sound at all and the lights had been too bright for them to really see anything else.

Ralph knew he had gotten very lucky. He was also lucky that the police officer had not been hurt. At first, he hadn't cared but then began to question himself. After all, the police had never bothered him. They had left him alone because up until then, he had never really done anything wrong. So why did he drop the tractor on the police car? Ralph didn't really know. He did decide that he would have to be even more careful in the future.

Fall transitioned into winter and with no more sightings of the UFO, no more incidents to report, no more witnesses coming forward, the government people packed their bags, wrote their reports and left town.

Snow fell and Ralph thought it too cold to go flying. To be sure, he did practice in his room once in a while. He would stand on a chair and jump off and just float inches over his bed. He tried sleeping like that but found that as soon as he went to sleep, he would fall anyway.

Spring time and Ralph turned seventeen. There was a small party. His parents invited some of his friends over and most actually showed up. He didn't get what he really wanted -- the old Buick -- but there was a Kodak camera and some books he had wanted so it wasn't all that bad. He was still depressed though. He was seventeen in a hick town going nowhere and going there very slowly, or so he thought. All of his problems were still there.

It was on the way to school one spring day that his nemesis set Ralph off. Lee was on one of his "I can do anything better than you can" rants. Unfortunately, those around them quickly scattered because they had heard it all before. Ralph had little choice. He couldn't out run or out walk Lee.

"You say you can do anything I can?" asked Ralph as he turned to confront his tormenter. An idea was taking shape.

"Damned right, anything."

"Well, there's something I can do that you can't."

"No way, squirt, no way."

"Yes, there is."

"Prove it, runt."

"I will but you'll have to meet me here at midnight, tonight."

"Say what?"

"Meet me here, right here at midnight tonight and I'll prove it."

"Hey, I can't get away with that. My old man will kill me."

"So, I guess there are two things I can do that you can't and one of them is sneak out of the house and get here by midnight."

"And what's the other one?" he demanded.

"You'll never know because unlike you, I know how to sneak out of my house and not get caught and because you can't be here at midnight, you won't ever know. What's the matter? Afraid your parents might find out?" he taunted his tormenter. "Midnight, be here unless you're too chicken."

"I'll be here you little shit and you'd better be here or I'll beat the crap out of you."

During the day, Ralph finalized his plan. It was almost going to be foolproof. That night, he had no trouble opening up his bedroom window and sneaking back over to the school, right to the spot where he had challenged Lee.

For a few minutes, he thought Lee wasn't going to show up but about ten minutes late, he did.

"So, what can you do that I can't?" Lee almost snarled.

"I can jump out of old man Hacket's window and land right here," he said using his foot to draw an "X" on the grass. The teacher known as Old Man Hacket taught math and was well known to terrorize and intimidate some of his students. He was rumored to be at least seventy years old but in actuality was closer to sixty. His classroom, his domain was on the fourth floor of the old wing of the aging school. What made the dare intriguing to Ralph was that directly below the windows was a large patch of rose bushes that extended out a good twenty feet from the building and Ralph's "X" was perhaps ten feet beyond that. The rose bushes were there for two reasons. The first was that Mrs. Nagle, who taught English from the first floor classroom, was something of a rose addict. The second was that they hid a metal grate that had originally been used as part of the heating system but which was no longer needed. Ralph knew that anything dropped directly from the window would either land in the bushes or hit the grate.

"No way, you can't do that," said Lee. "You're full of it. Besides, we can't get up there."

"First of all, yes I can do that and secondly we both know that you know how to get into the building. I heard you bragging a couple of times about how you could do it anytime you wanted. That's how you got the answers to Mr. Cramer's chemistry test that you aced this year. Now me, I didn't care so I didn't say anything and I really don't care if you got into the school in the past but now, here's your chance to show me what you can really do."

Lee took the bait. "All right squirt, you're on but you're jumping first and if you don't make it, I'm leaving you there. Is that a deal or what?"

"It's a deal."

So Lee took them around the back of the building to one of the gymnasium doors. "This one never locks properly. If you treat it just right, it will open," he smiled and gently nudged the door, pressed the handle and opened it.

The two kids walked quickly through the darkened halls and made there way up to the fourth floor class room.

"You first, Ralphie, you first."

Lee had opened up a window. Ralph stuck his head out and then leaped out. He closed his eyes, spun and then gently floated down to the ground precisely on the spot he had marked on the grass.

"How did you do that?" asked Lee.

"Bet you can't even come close," replied Ralph ignoring the question.

"I'm not so sure, Ralph."

"What are you anyway, a chicken?"

"I'm not a chicken."

"Well, you sure look like one, hanging your head out that window. Better make up your mind before someone sees us, unless you're just plain afraid."

"I am not afraid," roared Lee and leaped out of the window.

He landed almost in the worst possible spot, half on the metal grate, half in the bushes. There was a loud thud and it sounded as if something snapped, perhaps even a couple of somethings.

"Oh, shit," swore Lee.

"What's the matter, Lee?" asked Ralph moving closer. "You said you could do anything I could. It looks to me like you were wrong about this one."

"You little shit. I'm going to get you for this!"

"Then in that case, I'm just going to go home and go back to bed."

"What? No, you can't do that! I think I broke one of my legs. You've got to get help and get me out of here."

"Me, help you? You've got to be kidding. You just called me a little shit. Why in the world should I help you? A couple of minutes ago, you said if I fell and got hurt, you were going to leave me here. I think it's only fair that I do the same for you."

"Hey, I was just kidding. I would never to that to anyone, honest."

"I don't think you know what the word 'honest' means, and if what you said was your idea of kidding, well I guess I just don't get it, just like I don't get all of the kidding and bullying you do to me and I've had enough." He turned to walk away.

"Don't leave me here!"

Something inside Ralph told him it was wrong to just walk away so he turned back and moved closer. "Here's the deal. I'm going to go to the payphone and call the cops. I'm going to tell them I couldn't sleep and went for a walk. I passed by the school and found you here. What you were up to, I don't know. I didn't see anything, not a thing. Don't know how you got here at all. I just found you and called it in. That's all."

"But that's not what happened. You and I were in there and I saw you."

"No, no we weren't in there. We were never together. Besides, why would I hang out with you? You're the guy who always makes fun of me, almost every day. Why in the world would I do something with you? And as for whatever you saw or think you saw, who in the world will believe you? My guess is just about nobody. Think about it and while you're at it, think about how you're going to explain breaking into the school tonight. Oh, and one other thing. From now on, you leave me alone. You don't bother me. You don't make fun of me. You don't take my lunch or trash my locker. You ignore me and I will ignore you. I don't want to be friends with you. I don't want to hang out with you. I don't want a ride in your car. I just want you to leave me alone. That's all. Now, it's your choice. I can go home and go back to bed and you can hope someone finds you soon or I can go to the payphone and call for help and you can leave me alone. I want you to promise me."

"OK, it's a deal."

"Promise?"

"I promise, Ralphie, I promise."

"By the way, it's Ralph, not Ralphie or squirt or runt or little shit," he turned to leave. "And in case you are thinking of not keeping your promise, ask yourself if you saw me do what you think you saw me do, is that all I can do or is it just the tip of the iceberg? Don't keep your promise and you might find out. Well, gotta run."

True to his word, Ralph ran down to the payphone a block away and called the police and ran back and showed them were Lee was. He answered dozens of questions from police and the ambulance drivers as well as Lee's parents and his own.

"Sorry, but I couldn't sleep so I just went out for a quick walk and heard Lee moaning there. I just couldn't leave him. It's not right. I know I shouldn't have gone out but I did."

"Why would I be doing anything with him? He's not my friend. We don't hang out. He's one of the class bullies and he's always making fun of me. Ask around. Ask anyone. They'll tell you. He hates me so why would I do anything with him?"

Ralph ended up looking like a minor hero. He had seen someone he didn't like in trouble and called for help. What could be more Christian?

Inside, Ralph was laughing. It was almost too funny. He got off with a mere warning from his father not to sneak out at night and Lee ended up with a cracked rib, a broken leg and a sprained ankle. He did manage to avoid getting arrested for breaking into the school because even though there was an open window, there was no actual proof he had jumped and Lee wasn't saying anything to the police. His father did ground him for a year and take away his car keys but then with the injuries, it wasn't like he was going to be doing any driving for a while anyway. In fact, his girl friend Marie felt sorry for him so she ended up driving him around so that wasn't too bad.

Privately, though, Lee vowed he would get even with Ralph. He had no idea how but he knew what he had seen. There must be something he could do. He just didn't know how or what but if it took him until the day he died, he would get even. In the meantime, he would keep his word and leave Ralph alone -- for now.

The school year ended without any more incidents. As much as he had been tempted, Ralph just didn't think it safe to fly. In fact, it had been but he didn't know that. Lee was certain he had seen Ralph fly but until his injuries healed, there was nothing he could do about it. It gave him a lot of time to think but he really didn't have any good answers. He knew he couldn't say anything to anyone. As Ralph had so pointedly mentioned, no one would believe him -- not without some proof and Lee had no idea how to go about getting it.

Ralph returned to the barn that summer, perhaps once a week and did some late night flying. He tried to be careful, mostly flying on cloudy nights and avoiding full moons and wearing dark clothing. He didn't use the lights again and although very tempted, didn't lift anything either.

Lee saw him though. He had been patient. He too had prowled around late at night, just guessing when Ralph might be out and about. He stayed in the shadows, beneath trees or on porches as much as possible. He even managed a few pictures which he had his nerdy brother develop for him after finally confiding in him what he was up too.

"It's impossible," said his brother.

"Yeah, I guess it is, but I didn't doctor the picture. Ralph was out there flying."

Lee and his brother kept up a vigil and slowly they realized that Ralph was using the old barn as a hangar. "I'm going to go check it out," decided Lee.

"If he finds out, he'll be mad," warned his brother Brian.

"Then I better make sure he doesn't find out."

It was almost too easy. Most hot days kids who weren't working summer jobs -- and that was almost all of them -- hung out at either the quarry or the town swimming pool. The cool kids, the ones who liked to smoke and drink and party, hung out at the quarry. Everyone else, including those brought there by their mothers ended up at the more civilized city run park. Ralph had actually preferred the quarry but that summer, to avoid Lee and some of the others, he spent his afternoons at the town park with a few of his friends. Lee and Brian knew that. It wasn't hard to find out.

One hot afternoon, Brian casually rode his bike over to the town park and saw that Ralph was there, and then made his way along the side streets to where Lee was waiting on his own bike as he was still grounded. The two rode to the farm using a back road and made their way into the barn.

"So, this is where he takes off and lands, does he?" smiled Lee once inside the steamy barn. "Let's see what we can find."




Flight



The two boys quickly found the helmet and pads and took pictures of them. They were careful to put everything back exactly as they found it. They poked around some more and then found the lights. "Damn, I bet he really was the UFO!" said Lee. "I'll bet you five bucks that he was actually it."

"How can he? People can't fly," said his brother.

"Don't know how, but I think he can. We've got to stake this place out and get more pictures before we turn him in to the police. He ought to get in trouble for dropping that tractor on the police car," said Lee. He laughed. "He thought it was funny, what he did to me. Let's see how long he laughs now."

The two boys almost camped out in the abandoned house near the farm for three weeks but in the end, they got their pictures. At last, there was no doubt. Ralph was flying.

"So, now what?" asked his brother. "Even with the pictures, who will believe you?"

"Officer Morris, the one who almost got hit by that falling tractor, that's who. He's stopped me a couple of times but I think he'll help me. Ralphie is going to be in big trouble now."

Naturally, Officer Morris didn't believe Lee any more than anyone else would have. He thought the pictures were faked. People can't fly. He knew that but he also knew that something had dropped a farm tractor on his shiny new police car only seconds before he would have gotten into it and he didn't like that. No one had offered up an explanation. He took Lee's evidence to the police chief who also looked at it and talked to Lee and the police chief called in the Air Force.

Ever so quietly, two men in a plain truck drove up to the farm house one afternoon and unloaded some equipment and drove away. They set up an observation post in the house with cameras and binoculars aimed at the barn. No one noticed them, especially not Ralph.

Ralph went flying one night, swooping around over the sleepy town and gliding back into the barn. Everything seemed normal until he landed. Suddenly, lights flashed on.

"Hello Ralph, I'm Captain Harris from the Air Force. I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Ralph, who hadn't quite landed suddenly fell to the ground.

"You were actually flying!" exclaimed a second well dressed man. "I'm Doctor Thomas. I'm delighted to meet you. This is truly amazing."

"I'm not so sure it is," said Ralph. "Am I in trouble?"

"Nonsense, son, why would you be?" replied the Captain.

"We just want to know how you do it, how you fly," added the doctor. "Can you show us?"

"Um, sure I guess. I just jump at the ground and miss, that's all. Just jump and miss."

"Jump and miss?"

"Yeah, like this," he replied and stood on a bale of hay and jumped and missed the ground and floated. "Just like this. I have to spin and think of something too. At first it was marshmallows."

"Marshmallows? You think of marshmallows while jumping?"

"Well, anything really. I just need a distraction and I have to close my eyes and spin, or try to. This really wasn't high enough to spin but my body has to think it is. It was harder at first but now it's pretty easy."

"And how in the world did you learn how to do this?"

"It was an accident," he began. He was not about to tell them he actually was going to kill himself. Instead, he simply said that he couldn't sleep, went to the quarry, slipped and fell and flew.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. I floated there for a while then landed and wondered what happened. I came here trying to duplicate it and it took me a couple of hours one night but I learned to fly."

"Simply amazing. How high and how fast can you go?" asked the doctor.

"Don't really know," he replied. "Not very fast I guess and I've never had any reason to go very high. I mean, why?"

"And can you lift anything?"

"Yes, I can. It's like they don't weigh anything either once I do." Ralph was glad they didn't ask about the tractor. He was still floating and lifted up a bale of hay. "Like this. Once I break it free of the ground, it's weightless like I am."

"Son, have you told anyone about this? Does anyone else know you can do this?"

"Well, I haven't told anyone though I think one or two people might know, one of them being a bully by the name of Lee Flick. He hates me."

"Don't you worry about him, son. We need to think about this for a few days or so. In the meantime, I want your word you won't say anything to anyone about this, not even your parents."

"Am I in trouble?" he asked again.

"No way. You're not in any trouble at all. You're a very special person and we just want to be sure we do this right. We've got to figure out some things first though," said the captain.

"Yes, we do. You do understand that what you're doing defies all the laws of gravity and biology that we know. You are indeed a very special person and we don't want anything to happen to you. We want you to be careful and not get hurt and not tell anyone what you are doing."

"And I think it might be best if you didn't do any more flying over the next few days."

After about half an hour of polite conversation and more questions, Ralph left and went back home. The two very well educated men just stood there and looked at each other and said "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it."

"He jumps at the ground and just misses as if it is just that simple and just that easy."

For Ralph, it certainly was.

He was relieved when he got back into bed that night. Someone knew his secret, someone important. The Air Force knew or at least someone in the Air Force knew. He was special. He was now someone important.

Five days later in the early evening, the Air Force officer and the doctor were talking to Ralph's parents. Privately, they had already told him what their story was going to be.

"Your son, Ralph, entered a contest that we ran in a couple of magazines."

"You didn't tell me about this," said his mother.

"Sorry mom, but I didn't think anything of it at the time and forgot about it until now. You know, nobody ever wins those things."

"They're all rigged," said his father and Ralph laughed to himself because this one certainly was.

"Anyway, from all the entrants, we had a random drawing and the prize is three months at a special Air Force Science camp, all expenses paid including travel. All your son has to do is pack his bags. We'll take him there and back and he can call you any time he wants. We'll even bring him home for Thanks Giving and Christmas. We'll also see to it that he keeps up on his studies. He shouldn't miss a day. All you have to do is sign here."

Well, it wasn't quite that simple but just about. There were official looking forms to fill out and the two men asked his parents lots of questions, a few of which seemed a bit too personal but by the time the two men left, it was agreed that two days later the men would return and take Ralph away.

Ralph tried to be very nonchalant about it as he told his friends. "It's no big deal, really," he tried to explain. "I just entered some silly contest and won, that's all. I don't even remember doing it, really."

Most of the kids couldn't believe it. There he was, nerdy, geeky Ralph, butt of all jokes, winning an all expenses paid three months at an Air Force Science camp. Lee Flick certainly couldn't believe it.

He talked to the police chief. "You mean to tell me he drops a tractor on a police car and he gets to go to a science camp? He ought to be going to jail!"

"Now listen here young man," glared the police chief. "First of all, there is no real proof he did that, at least nothing that will hold up in court any more than there is proof you broke into the school that night you broke your leg. I mean try telling a jury that he can fly like Superman or something and see where that gets you. Secondly is that when the United States Air Force comes here and says to leave someone alone and make sure everyone else does too, I make sure I leave him alone and suggest you do too, unless that is, you'd rather be in more trouble."

"It ain't fair!"

"Son, I learned a hell of a long time ago that very little in life is fair. My advice is get over it and get on with your life. If what you've told me is true, then it sure as hell looks like he pulled one over on you, but then again, considering all the bullying you've done to him..."

"I never bothered him."

"Don't lie to me. I know a lot more about you than I want to. I know what's gone on and quite frankly, it looks to me like you kind of got what you deserved. I suggest you move on or like I said, you may get into more trouble. I'm not happy that he may get away with dropping a tractor on my police car but if he did, it's no longer my problem. Don't make it yours."

Ralph was excited and could barely sleep. He was leaving what he considered a small hick town and privately, he hoped it would be forever. Just after breakfast, Captain Harris arrived and Ralph said his goodbyes to his parents.

"We'll take good care of him, ma'am," said the captain very sincerely. "Don't you worry about a thing."

He was driven to a small airport not too far away where there was a shiny new Lockheed Electra waiting for them. Like most of his generation, the generation before the Boeing 707, neither Ralph nor his parents had ever been in an airplane. It was pretty amazing to him as someone took his bags and he climbed up the stairs and found a seat inside the air plane. He and the Captain were the only ones in it.

"You need to understand a few things," explained the Captain once they had taken off. "We've got use of a small part of a base out in Nevada. It's being used for other secret stuff so don't go poking around or asking questions of the other people there. At the same time, if anyone asks you what you're doing there, you can tell them politely to see me or Doctor Harris who will meet us there. If someone doesn't like your answer, you can get a hold of me right away and I assure you, they'll like my answer even less.

"The next thing is that I've promised a lot of people that you will keep up on your studies so on our way there, we're picking up a couple of teachers. Needless to say, they don't know anything at all about your special abilities and I'd prefer to keep it that way. Understand?"

"Yes, sir, I do." It was incredible. He was so special, he even rated his own private teachers!

"Last thing is that this base is a bit primitive. You'll have your own rooms, probably a mobile home and you can come and go from them pretty much on your own, but again, we only get a little bit of the base. Don't be asking questions or snooping around. You'll quickly find out where you can go and where you can't. There's a common mess hall where you can eat your meals. Food is supposed to be pretty good but kind of basic. You may get a lot of strange looks at first because you're just a kid but as soon as we get there, you'll get a badge to hang from your neck so you shouldn't have any problems with anyone there."

"And if I do, they can see you?"

"You got it, Ralph. Look, all we want to do is find out how and why you do what you do, that's all. You do realize that you've managed to defy all the laws of science as we know them. People just can't fly."

"But I can."

"And that's what we want to find out. We want to know why. In the first day or two, there may be some medical tests but they won't be anything to worry about. They'll probably draw blood and take measurements and maybe put you on a treadmill but it shouldn't be anything uncomfortable or painful, then we'll start having you fly."

True to his word, the plane made a few stops and picked up a couple of passengers including his two tutors. Mr. Jenkins, an older fifty-ish man, would handle the math and science. Miss Hale, a twenty something cute blonde, would take care of English and History. Ralph thought Jenkins was pompous and Hale was cute but more of a party girl.

As the plane approached the Nevada base, the copilot came through and instructed everyone to close the window blinds. "If anyone is caught looking out the window, you will be prosecuted, no exceptions. We are entering a highly classified area," he announced.

Ralph casually wondered if they would really prosecute him but decided against actually finding out. It wasn't worth it. After all, he was going to fly.

Even though it was after dark when they landed, it was still quite hot outside. There was a jeep and driver who took Ralph and the Captain to see the commanding General. He had his picture taken and was issued an ID card that he had to hang around his neck at all times. Then it was to his very own trailer that he would have to himself. It had seen better days but it had electricity, running water, air conditioning and television.

"Don't snoop around, Ralph," cautioned the Captain. "You need anything, my trailer and office are right next door. We'll get going first thing in the morning."

The next morning the Captain walked him over to the mess hall, introduced him to a few of the people there and made sure that everyone knew that Ralph was actually supposed to be there. Then it was on to a small Quonset hut where Doctor Harris was waiting for them.

"Just a few basic tests this morning," he explained. "I don't really have the ability to do anything too serious anyway but then I don't know what I'm looking for either." He did run an EKG and an EEG and the usual basic blood pressure, heartbeat type stuff. It was all very, very ordinary. Had it been forty or fifty years later, they might have run a DNA test and found their answers but that was before DNA testing was even a dream.

"It's all too normal," proclaimed the Doctor.

In the afternoon, Ralph met his two tutors and spent four hours with them going over what was going to be covered over the next few weeks. Mr. Jenkins clearly thought that this assignment was beneath him. Miss Hale was more interested in some of the single young men at the base.

After dinner, the Captain and the doctor came by with a jeep and drove him out beyond the main buildings to an old, run down hangar. A guard stood by the closed door. "No one comes in without my permission," ordered the Captain.

Once inside the hot, stuffy hangar, they found a large trampoline had been set up. "Sorry Ralph, no bales of hay. I hope this is safe enough for you but it's the best we could do on short notice."

Ralph climbed up onto it, jumped up and down a couple of times. "Works for me," he agreed and then jumped up and started flying before anyone could say anything.

"I will be damned," said the doctor. "We didn't imagine it, did we?"

"No, we didn't." The captain looked up a Ralph. "How are you feeling? Any problems?"

"No, it feels fine, just like back home in Indiana. In fact, it feels pretty good to be doing this again."

"And you just jump at the ground and miss?" asked the doctor for about the twentieth time.

"Honest, I don't know how I do it. I just do it. That's all."

They had Ralph fly around the hangar for a while and do some simple maneuvers in the confined space. There was a jeep parked inside and Ralph was able to easily pick it up and fly it over to the other side of the building and gently set it down. "Light as a feather," said Ralph.

"Well, we have to get back to the base pretty soon," said the Captain. "I was told they've got something going on that we're not supposed to see."

"Let me just check his blood pressure and run another EKG and we'll go."

Everything was normal.

That was how it went over the next few days. One afternoon, he was measured for an air force pressure suit. "We'd like to see how high you can fly," explained the Captain, "and we certainly don't want anything to happen to you. That's why we've thought about giving you a parachute in case you get tired and start to fall."

That's how Ralph learned to sky dive. An Air Force officer arrived and spent a couple of days teaching him the basics without being told why. He even went up in a small airplane and made two dives. It was actually a lot of fun and Ralph was very tempted to surprise the officer by flying but managed not to. By then, flying had almost become automatic and he had to concentrate on not fly during the freefall before the parachute opened.

Ralph also spent a couple of evenings just floating around inside the hangar as they tried to figure out how long he could stay airborne. Mostly, it seemed to depend on how tired he was to begin with. They decided a practical limit was about three hours.

"They are closing down the runway for us tonight," explained the Captain. "We want you to put on the pressure suit and try and find out how high you can fly."

Not only did he have the suit but there was also an oxygen tank, radio and the parachute to contend with and it all made for a pretty awkward combination. Ralph managed it though and quickly became airborne as usual.

As it turned out, the pressure suit and tank were pretty unnecessary. Ralph had to really struggle to get more than about three thousand feet above the ground.

"Wonder if that means he can't fly in Denver?" asked the doctor, "or if the limit is above ground level?" Ralph certainly didn't know the answer to that one. Instead, there was another series of test flights.

As the days wore on, Ralph grew bored. He was either in the hangar flying, the mess hall eating, or in his trailer studying or sleeping. There was very little else to do. There was television of sorts at the base, but only three stations and reception was fuzzy at best. There were movies in the mess hall but he had seen most of them already, at least the ones that interested him. And although he had few friends back home, at the base, he had none. There was literally no one his age and because of his abilities, even if there had been, he wondered if he wouldn't have been considered a freak anyway.

"That's what I am, a freak," he sighed one afternoon. "I'm just some sort of lab rat or fire breathing circus clown." It certainly wasn't a happy thought and it made him more than a little bit depressed. Suddenly, he started laughing. He thought of the old cliché about grass being greener on the other side. It certainly wasn't, at least not if Nevada was the other side. He wondered if he shouldn't just go up to the Captain and tell him he wanted to go back home and to forget about all this flying stuff but he doubted they would pay him much attention. He had agreed to this and there was not much he could do. He couldn't just stop flying could he?

An answer appeared before him a few days later. He was flying around the hangar when his arm accidentally bumped into one of the support beams. It really hurt and he mentioned it to the Doctor.

"We'd better take an x-ray of it and make sure it isn't broken."

The Captain wondered if it was such a good idea. Ralph had never been x-rayed before and wondered if it would interfere with Ralph's flying. Ralph smiled to himself. Even if it wouldn't, it would. That was his ticket home.

They skipped the flying for a couple of days and once the bruise healed, it was back to the hangar. Ralph worried over his decision but that evening, his mind was made up. He climbed onto the trampoline and bounced up but instead of flying, he fell back down and bounced again and again. "I can't seem to fly today," he explained. He put on a show for the two men for another half hour or so until they decided to give up for the night. "I don't know why."

They reran the battery of tests. "Nothing's different," announced the doctor.

"Except you x-rayed his arm."

"That shouldn't have affected anything."

"And you know that because you know exactly how and why he can fly?"

The two men shook their heads but inwardly, Ralph smiled. They let him rest for a few more days and tried again but once more, Ralph just bounced around on the trampoline. He never flew.




Flight



They stuffed Ralph back onto an airplane just before Thanksgiving. This time, there was no Captain with him and his parents met him at the airport. They both seemed happy to see him although it was tough to tell sometimes with them. For his part, Ralph lied about the great time he had and gave them the cover story the air force officers had him memorize with threats of jail time if he ever told the truth.

Inwardly, Ralph was very depressed, Home was about the last place he wanted to be. He was still stuck in a hick town going nowhere and he had blown his one good opportunity to leave, except that his one good opportunity had turned out to be not so good. He did not know what to do at all.

When he got back, it was as if nothing had changed. Only gone a couple of months, it seemed as if no one had really noticed that he had been gone and no one barely noticed his return. There was one major change though. After Ralph left, Lee decided to pick on someone else only this time, he wasn't so lucky. Kevin Hyatt got so mad at Lee one afternoon that he dared Lee to hit him and when he did, Kevin responded with a right hook to Lee's jaw that sent him to the hospital just before Ralph's return. "Taking his meals through a straw," explained someone. "Expelled from the school," said another.

There was also another consolation. The tutoring apparently paid off. His teachers were pleasantly surprised that he was now getting A's and B's and he appeared to be working harder at his studies and in fact, he was.

That spring, Ralph even applied to a couple of Universities, not that his parents could really afford it but State wasn't too far away and much to everyone's surprise, he was accepted and even managed a partial scholarship.

It was a quiet Saturday afternoon and Ralph went out for a walk through the neighborhood. He was graduating soon with a still uncertain future and no idea what to do. He was still a bit depressed and a bit lonely.

As he walked, he noticed Susan attempting to climb a very large, tall tree in front of her house and he wasn't sure why but he decided to see what was going on.

"Mister Ruggles has been up there for three days now," she explained as she attempted to inch her way carefully up the tree without success. "He's my cat," she pointed up into the higher branches. "I think he's afraid to come down."

"Have you called the fire department?"

"Yes, but they said they don't do those types of things any more."

"Well, I'm not sure it's safe for you to climb like this. I think if you can find a ladder, you might be able to make it up to that branch up there," he said pointing about ten feet up. "I think my father has a ladder that might reach." Oh no, he was about to do it. He promised himself that he would never again fly. How would he get away with it? The ladder would only take him so far.

"Would you? That would be fantastic. He really is a sweet cat. I have no idea what got into him, no idea at all. I really am afraid of heights you know."

"Not me," he smiled. "Went sky diving at the science camp and made a couple of dives. Not afraid of heights at all. Let me go get the ladder."

He knew right where it was and carried it the three blocks back and set it up against the tree. It was still too short.

"I think Mister Jackson has a longer one," she explained. "Why don't I go see if he can help us?"

"Good idea and I'll see if I can't get up there on my own."

"Be careful, Ralph. I don't want you to get hurt."

Ralph started up the tree and looked around. It looked as if no one could see him. He let go of the tree and fell ever so slightly then floated up the tree. "Hello there Mister Ruggles," he smiled at the cat. He reached out and touched the strange cat who purred as he gently picked him up and the two of them ever so slowly descended to the ground.

"Oh my God, Ralph" Susan screamed. "I saw you! What happened? What happened, Ralph?"

"I climbed up the tree and rescued your cat who was making his way down, that's all, nothing more."

"But Ralph, I saw you. I saw you fly!"

"No. You didn't see me fly. People can't fly except in comic books and on TV. People can't fly and I didn't fly."

Susan took her cat and held it. "I know what I saw, even if I didn't and thank you, thank you very much for saving Mister Ruggles. Would you like to come inside and have a soda? It's the least I can do for you."

"OK but let me put the ladder back first. I don't want my father to get mad at me or anything."

"Promise you'll come right back."

"I will," he smiled and wondered if he was lying again. He put the ladder back right where he had found it and wondered if he shouldn't just ignore her. Damn, but his secret would be out again. How could he have been so stupid? Yet, it had felt really wonderful to fly again, if even for only a minute or two. Then again, he realized he had told so many lies and broken so many promises to so many people that it had to stop some time and now was as good as any. So, he walked and half ran back to her house and knocked on the door and realized that was where he wanted to be just then.

In the kitchen, with ice cold sodas in hand and Mister Ruggles happily purring on Susan's lap, she fidgeted with her eye glasses for a moment and then said, "Lee Flick told everyone that you could fly, you know. No one believed him, no one at all. He was the laughingstock of the entire school and that's probably what got him mad enough to hit Kevin. Frankly, he deserved what he got if you ask me. I never liked him and I never understood why he picked on you the way he did."

"I never understood why either," he admitted.

"Lee was also thoroughly mad when we heard you were going to the science camp. He said it was so unfair. He said that you were the UFO and had dropped the tractor on the police car and now instead of being put in jail, you were being rewarded. He just complained that it was so unfair."

"Life really isn't very fair at all," he agreed and wondered and was afraid of where the conversation was going.

"You can fly, can't you?"

"Susan, I like you."

"I like you too, Ralph, really I do."

"But I can't tell you the truth, either. It's all very classified by the Air Force. I can go to jail for a very long, long time and so can you and I certainly don't want that for you." He paused. "But I don't and won't lie to you either and believe me I've told so many over the last couple of years that it's just amazing how many I've told and gotten away with. Just amazing. I've lied to just about everyone, my parents, my teachers, my friends, the police and the Air Force. That's why I came home early. I was supposed to stay away for a lot longer but I got tired of being a freak and so I lied again. No more." He really wanted to break down and cry.

"I promise, Ralph, I promise you I will never tell anyone what I saw. I just wish you could tell me the truth. You know what the Bible says, don't you? 'The truth will set you free.'"

"Trust me on this one, it will only send you to jail and cause you more problems than you can begin to imagine."

"Thank you for not lying to me," she smiled and reached out and touched his hand as the cat jumped from her lap and onto his. "Mister Ruggles is thanking you for saving him and so am I."

Ralph looked at the cat, his face an inch or two away and smiled and said, "no more tree climbing for you. I really don't think I can get way with rescuing you again."

Suddenly, Susan started laughing. "This is almost too funny in away."

"Oh?"

"You do realize that Lee hardly ever told the truth? He is nothing but a chronic liar and yet most people think he's the greatest. I never did like him though, always saw right through him but the one time he does tell the truth, no one believes him and to top it all off, he gets into trouble because of it. You told the truth about him bullying you and hardly anyone ever believed you, well I did, but when you started lying, people believed you. How's that for strange?"

"You know, that is kind of funny now that I think about it," and for once, he started to both laugh and cry as he sat there in the kitchen with Susan and her cat.

"It's OK, Ralph, really it is. I will never tell anyone, I promise."

After a few moments in the quiet, they heard the front door open and in walked Susan's mom.

"He helped get Mister Ruggles down from the tree," she explained.

"Thank you, Ralph, thank you very much. I was wondering what he was doing in your lap. He's very particular about who he likes. Did I hear you got a partial scholarship to state?"

"Yes, I did," he admitted politely.

"Well, Susan did you tell him?"

"No, I haven't yet," she admitted. "I don't like to brag."

"Well I'm proud and entitled to brag a bit I guess. That's part of being a mother. Susan also got accepted and she's got a full scholarship. I really hope that doesn't bother you but I am just so proud of her. Her father and I just couldn't afford it if it wasn't for that."

"Neither could mine," he agreed. He looked at Susan. "You should have said something sooner."

"It's not who I am," she smiled "or who I want to be."

"Have you thought about a major yet, Ralph?"

"I think I want to try and be a veterinarian," said Susan. "How about you?"

"Not sure. Haven't given it too much thought yet."

"You should become an aeronautical engineer," and Susan and Ralph both had a mild laugh at that.

"You know," began Susan, "the senior prom is coming up. Are you going?"

"No, it never even occurred to me," he replied and then looked at her and then quickly added, "until now."

"Good, then it's settled. We're going."

"I think that's wonderful," agreed her mother.

What was he getting himself into? One minute he had been out for a walk and now he was going to the prom with this girl he barely knew. It was all a bit much for him and when her mother left them alone again, Susan turned to him and said, "sorry to spring that on you all of a sudden but I really do like you. I always have you know but if you don't want to, I won't be upset, really I won't and I do keep my promises."

"You know, I think I really do want to go out with you," he smiled.

"I know I'm not the prettiest,"

"And I'm not the most handsome,"

"But there's no reason why we can't both go and have a good time and if some one else doesn't like it, that's their problem, not ours. Seriously, don't make other people's problems yours. Be true to yourself, Ralph, that's all."

So, they sat there and talked in the kitchen that warm May Saturday afternoon and found out their likes and dislikes and found they had a lot more in common than either of them had thought. When he left there, it felt as if a great weight had been lifted off of him and more than once on the walk back home he had to look down on the ground to see if he was actually touching it and not walking on air, yet his feet were firmly there, just as it should be.

His parents were both shocked and delighted when he told them about Susan and the prom. 

"Ralph, going to the prom with Susan?" joked a few of his classmates but others said in response, "why not? If they want to go with each other, so what?"

Ralph had to admit, he had a good time and so did Susan. They continued dating that summer even as Ralph managed to find a summer job bagging groceries part time.

Ralph and Susan did take it slowly after that. They decided they were in no big hurry. There was no overwhelming reason to get married so they waited until after college. It was Ralph who became the veterinarian. Mister Ruggles had grown on him while Susan decided she wanted to teach science. Things moved along quietly and slowly.

"Susan, you need to come in here now!" yelled Ralph from the nursery. She raced from the kitchen into their daughter Alexandra's room. "Look!" he began. "I just took her from the crib and set her down on the bed for a moment to fix the broken leg on the crib and she must have slipped off the bed somehow fallen to the floor."

"Is she OK?" and Susan quickly knelt by the infant's side as the baby started giggling and laughing and Susan saw it. "This is not a trick is it?"

"No, it isn't and I had nothing to do with it, nothing at all. There really is a gap between her and the floor. It would appear that she can fly."



Flight 574



A little something to say hello, boys!

kisses,
ycim

* * * * *

Click Here to listen: .mp3 format or .ogg format. (14 min/mp3)

* * * * *



Flight 716



It was a long journey, but one Philip had to take, and due to conditions beyond his control he ended up booking passage on a red eye flight. As it turned out though Kathy too was traveling that way, going it seems to meet someone special for her arms were laden with presents all neatly wrapped. Without thinking Philip stood and assisted her in storing them away, and then offered the window seat for he had planned to write anyway. Kathy tilted her head in a questioning fashion, and Philip quickly add that he figured at least with the window seat she'd have something to lean against should she decide to sleep. Chuckling lightly Kathy declined saying she had intended to read anyway, and so they assumed their respective seats. Philip could not say that he didn't notice Kathy, nor in fact was he displeased that her ticket forced her to sit beside him. He knew he found her to be attractive, but more than this he knew that any woman was better than being seated beside a man. 

Its funny how life is really, for here just mere inches away was a lady who he knew next to nothing about, and yet already his mind, and eyes took stock. Kathy wore a long well tailored cloth coat which regrettably covered her form, and hid the soft curves he knew were hidden beneath, and yet he still noted her nice high heels and the soft turn of her ankle. His heart momentarily raced at the sound of Kathy crossing her legs for he was without a doubt a leg man. There was just something about that sweet sound of nylon rubbing against nylon which always triggered a primal urge within him, and although he could not see her legs he knew they were great. It was also about this time that he noticed much to his regret her wedding ring. That tiny symbol of gold and diamonds which sparked his fantasies and barred him from pursuing. 

As the plane leveled into its cruising height and the wheels retracted so too did many of the seats within the cabin. This was quickly followed by dimming of the interior lights and soon most of the overhead lights were turned off as other passengers curled up to sleep. For the first hour or so both Philip and Kathy went about their designed activities, him writing and she reading, but after the stewardess passed with coffee Kathy stood and removed her coat. 

It must have been a combination of Philip's writing and Kathy's outfit for as she began to store her coat in the overhead bin her short top rode up to the bottom of her bare breasts, and he responded with a soft gasp. Hearing this noise Kathy glanced down at Philip only to find he had already lowered his eyes. Following them with her own, Kathy knew it wasn't because he was embarrassed but because he was looking at her legs jutting out from beneath the short skirt. She could imagine that perhaps the dark ring of her stocking tops became visible as she had stretched for the overhead bin, and smiled to herself. It had been a long time since anyone other than her husband had seen so much, and it kind of excited her.

Then raising her eyes from her legs Kathy found herself looking directly into Philip's. He manage a weak smile, before forcing his gaze back to his writing, and thus felt more than saw Kathy slip back into the seat beside him. Once she was in place though, he could not resist taking a peak at those smooth, silky thighs once more. Even now Philip is not sure if Kathy planned this or not but just then she uncrossed her legs and her knee brushed his own. 

Oh sorry; Kathy said placing her hand briefly upon Philip's leg. I guess I'm more tired than I thought. Again their eyes meet and this time it is Kathy who manages a weak smile. Then in voice not much louder than a whisper she asked Philip if his offer was still available. It took him a moment to realize just what it was Kathy was asking, and then he smiled said; of course.

As Kathy stood and moved into the isle Philip waited patiently, all the while taking in her sexy form. Her legs were so curvaceous him mind sort of just drooled, but then he regained his composure and placed his pad in her seat, before also moving to the isle. Even though Philip had managed to move aside in the isle, Kathy's body still managed to brush briefly against his own. Something in that tiniest of contacts triggered Philip's primal urges again. Instantly his hand rose to guide her back into the seats. The tips of his fingers brushed the soft skin of her exposed ribcage and it was Kathy's turn to gasp ever so softly. The shiver which passes through her body startled him back to reality, but he was at a loss for words. How could he caress a poor unsuspecting married woman? Her skin so hot and yet so soft seemed alive, and made it all the harder to resist, and yet resist he must. Philip couldn't even face the accusing stare he knew Kathy had, and he knew the rest of this long journey would be hell for both of them. Momentarily he looked hopefully down the isle searching for a vacant seat, but the sound of Kathy's purring drew his attention back. 

Mmmm warm, she was saying with a smile. Her body shifting back and forth much like that of a cat attempting to find a comfortable position, and suddenly everything was ok. She missed it,,, somehow the caress went unnoticed. Now relieved Philip's natural instincts kick in again. He reached up and opened the overhead compartment, retrieving a blanket and pillow and then handed them to Kathy before slipping into the seat beside her. With lightning quick reflexes Kathy's hand darted out snatching away the writing pad before Philip sat on it, but as she withdrew her hand it brushed the taunt curve of his buttocks. Instantly Philip's body tensed, perhaps form the fear of sitting on something, or perhaps from the contact, but in any event it was over before realization set in. Then Kathy smiled and handed the pad back to Philip, without so much as a word being spoken. For Philip there was a definite sexual charge in the air, and he watch as Kathy's body disappeared behind the veil of the blanket. Silently he chastised and congratulated himself for making that possible, for he knew had Kathy not been covered the sexual frustration would only become worse.

After a few moments Kathy finally settles in, and Philip reaches up to turn off her light. He thinks he hears "thank you darling" but isn't about to ask her, and so returns to his writing. It must have been an hour or so later when Kathy's body shifted and her legs curled up beneath her. Perhaps Philip wouldn't have paid much attention to this, but her head slipped from the headrest onto his shoulder. There he sat frozen unsure what to do for the longest time. Her hair smelled wonderful and that perfume oh how it made his mind wander. He tried to again write but the constant movement of his arm was disturbing Kathy's sleep and so he slipped his pad into the netting of the seat in front of him and shut off his own light.

Philip is unsure how long he remained in that position, but someone brushed past him on their way to the bathroom and his eyes suddenly opened. No longer was Kathy's head on his shoulder for at some point she shifted positions. Now her legs lay across his own while her back rested against the wall of the plane. Oh God what a predicament to be in,,,, instantly Philip could feel his cock stirring, but if the sight of those sexy courvaeous legs resting mere fractions of an inch from his hands was not enough, the sight of Kathy's incrediblely hard nipples was. The blanket which had been covering Kathy to this point, had slipped just below her chest reveilling the sexy sight. Philip could never have imagined such a scene, and only regretted that his digital camera was stored above in the overhead bin. Kathy's blouse did little to hide her sexy body for the material was thin, and had it not been for the blanket perhaps even more would have been visible. Licking his lips Philip's mind was racing again. He knew the distinctive twitch in his slacks indicated his growing arousal, and he had to do something to get his mind off her. He reached for his pad, but it was gone. His eyes darted about quickly, fearing he'd lost it, but then came to focus on his pad in Kathy's netting. His brow curled as he questioned himself,,,,Did I put it there? No,,,,. No I'm sure I didn't. Then how???

Finally Philip came to the realization that Kathy in shifting had kicked it out of it's place and just picked it up and stored it in the most convenient place. He couldn't reach it to write and he did not want Kathy to awaken, as she might removed those hot thighs from his lap. God he was getting so hard, if only he could shift a bit,,,, In the end Philip decided the pleasure of having Kathy's body so close out weighted the pain and frustration of his condition and so again tried to sleep. It is no easy task to sleep when you are sexually frustrated though, but eventually Philip did manage.

This time it was not a person who awoke him, this time it was a sound. There was a gasp, then another, and he felt shiver after shiver pass through Kathy's legs. His eyes opened, fearing for her health, but what they saw was from a health concern. One of Kathy's hands had slipped beneath her short blouse and was cupping her breast, while the other was moving in long slow motions beneath the blanket. Her eyes were closed but her lips glistened with moisture. Her breathing was coming in soft rapid gasps and Philip knew she was close to cumming. He could feel the hot skin of Kathy's thigh just above a stocking, and realized his hand had somehow found it's way there, but were he to withdraw it now so close to Kathy's orgasm he was sure she'd scream out waking the whole plane. Instead Philip tried to take his eyes off Kathy but he couldn't. He tried to ignore it, but it was already too late. As Kathy's leg spasmed again, it brushed over the tip of his aching hard cock, and Philip bit his lip so as not to make a sound. Then he closed his eyes to the merest of slits for he didn't want her to catch him looking. He need not have worried though, for Kathy was already lost in her own orgasm and her soft cry was accented by the thud of Philip's pad.

Oh my God Philip thought,,,,, she read my story,,,,,,, was all that came to mind, and instinctively he reached for his pad. The movement caused Kathy's legs to be trapped between Philip's chest and legs and her eyes snapped open. There was fear in them. Fear of being caught, but I guess the image was mirrored in his own for suddenly Kathy smiled the sweetest smile Philip could ever remember. Kathy's hand then slipped away from her breast and picked up the pad which was out of Philip's reach. I'm sorry she said,,,,, I couldn't resist. 

Now it was Philip's turn to smile as he took the pad from her, allowing his hand to touch her own briefly. The very air about them seemed somehow charged with electricity, but still Philip managed to respond, No,,, It's my fault, I should take better care of my things.

Slipping her legs from Philip's lap Kathy now noticed his condition. For once her orgasm had subsided her senses had returned. She showed no outward sign though that she had noticed; that is until she returned to a normal sitting position and slipped her hand under the blanket onto his thigh. Instantly Philip's head turned in shock, but Kathy quickly absorbed any sound by covering his mouth with her own, and soon they were passionately kissing. As their tongues danced together Kathy's hand closed around Philip's shaft through his slacks. Her fingertip scraped the already swollen head causing Philip to respond with an Mmmmmmmmm into Kathy's mouth, squirming from the sensation. Now Philip's hand slipped up under Kathy's blouse and lightly cupped her breast. It was warm, soft, and round, and he squeezed lightly allowing his fingers to slide towards the nipple. When his fingers sensed the aureola though he stopped. Now it was Kathy's turn to moan into Philip's mouth, but she was far from finished. With a slight pumping motion Kathy's hand begins to glide up and down Philip's shaft, while her finger tip lightly taps the tip of his cock. Perhaps much like the dentist this was a trick to distract him,,, but in any event it worked. Philip's cock, hard, and aching loved this attention, and he never felt the zipper sliding open. His hands too kept busy, sliding finally up against the hot, hard nipple then slipping it along the length of his fingers instead of trapping it. As the nipple reached the end of Philip's finger he shifted his hand so it dragged through his palm until it reached the center. Then Philip closed his hand around the soft orb. Soooo sweet were Kathy's hot breasts Philip almost missed her hand slipping inside his slacks and onto his hard cock. The warmth of her palm sent new waves of pleasure through him, and Philip wanted so to reciprocate. Now he shifted his hand away from Kathy's breast and began to glide up her thigh. Her body shifted as his hand touched the hem of her skirt, allowing easier access and just as Philip's hand slipped beneath his eyes caught a glimpse of movement. Turning his head Philip managed to see the stewardess moving down the isle occasionally stopping to say something to a passenger, and so regrettably he slipped his hand away and turn to face her. Kathy was shocked that her stimulation had ceased but even more so when Philip whispered,,,, stop. Her face pulled away from his own yet her hand never released her prize, curious perhaps as to what he had in mind. It was then that the stewardess entered Kathy's field of view, and she knew it was over.

As she approached the stewardess smiled and looked down into their respective laps. They were still covered by the blanket but Philip sensed that she knew just what they were up to. 

Fasten your seat belts please; the stewardess says with a renewed smile, pausing a moment longer before proceeding into the back.

Damn,,, Philip mutters to himself, then glances once more in Kathy's direction. Her eyes are still filled with passion as they look back at him, and he wanted to say something but suddenly realized one of Kathy's breasts was fully exposed.

I'm sorry Kathy says releasing her prize...I truly am sorry. 

Me too, Philip responds as he leans in and brushes her lips. Me too. This time as he kisses Kathy one final time Philip tugged her blouse back into place. 

Kathy's eyes look down at her blouse, then back up to Philip suddenly comprehending the situation. Thanks she whispers. 

The next ten minutes as they descend and taxi into the terminal were perhaps the longest ten minutes of Philip's entire life. He was hot, excited, and sorely disappointed. They didn't say another word to each other, but as Philip started to assist Kathy with her parcels again, she brushed against him. He knew this time it was on purpose, and only smiled. Donning her coat, Kathy joins the other passengers, and Philip barely catch a final glimpse of her as she disappears in the rush. God what a story this will make Philip thinks smiling. Perhaps though, it should have a happier ending... 

Once inside the airport Philip glances around hoping as it were to catch a final sight of Kathy, the mystery woman of flight 716. It never happened though...

Now as Philip sits typing out his story from the plane, he is shocked to see what he had written. Somehow he had described the heroine of his latest work; Kathy to a tee. Her mannerisms, her dress, her sweet sexy curves, and then Philip had put her in some amazing sexual situations. So detailed was he in fact that, Philip had even stopped typing, and just sat there reading his own story. He became so enthralled wanting to know more, wanting to see just where he had lead her, that each scene was as anxiously awaited as the previous. Then when Philip's mind and body were entirely consumed there was a different handwriting. This was a note from Kathy giving her name and telephone number along with a time of day to call. Then under the sweetest lips prints ever put on paper she wrote "Anxiously awaiting my next adventure..."