THE GIRL FROM THE SKY T e s s
D u n n
The Girl From The Sky
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Acknowledgments I do not know many things, but I do know how useful a good editor is. Thank you to Lewis for always being encouraging and noticing things I couldn’t. And to my dad, who’s edits could be harsh, but elevated my writing to what it should be, thank you. A final thank you to all those who keep w in the modern imagination. I would not have written this without you.
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Copyright Tess Dunn 2020
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THE GIRL FROM THE SKY B y Te s s D u n n
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The sky was dark and stormy. The clouds swarmed together. The birds cry out. A spec of white appears in the dark. It looks like a human figure falling quickly. A farmer below saw in horror that it was a young girl. 7
He watches her fall towards a field full of freshly cut hay. At the same time a plane flies by, a passenger seeing the figure. The woman on board is a reporter for the local paper and quickly snaps a blurry shot. The photo shows what looks like a long white gown and brilliant red hair. The photograph is too blurred to see the figure’s features. The girl is still falling.
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In a nearby forest, a bird watcher sees her fall as the birds fly up around her. The girl falls quicker now and lands hard in the hay. The farmer doesn’t want to see her mangled body but still looks. She lays unharmed in the hay. The farmer puts his head against her chest and feels the faint beat of her heart. 9
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Not knowing what else to do he carries her to his truck and lays her on his truck bed. Only now he notices her appearance. She is dressed in a high-collared cotton gown. The sleeves are puffed and hemmed with lace. The farmer had not seen a dress like it outside of a museum. On her feet were golden silk slippers. 11
He drove her to his house where his wife burst out the back door. She was angry about something or another. But she said nothing as he carried the girl inside the house. Then the farmer’s wife asked questions non-stop. The reporter had now landed and ran to her car. She was on the phone with her editor telling him the story of the falling girl. The editor had heard it from a
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friend of a friend and couldn’t believe it. The next day the photo, coined “Girl From The Sky” was everywhere. The search was on. UFO watchers were trying to pinpoint where she landed. The army was patrolling the area. The weather network was watching the sky. All the while the farmer and his wife cared for the girl.
She had not yet woken so they moved her to their grown child’s empty bedroom. They coddled her, hoping their love would work its way into her heart. The farmer, gun in hand, watched the fields on his back porch protectively. The farmer’s wife went to church as usual, only now paying close attention to the gossip. They guarded the girl against the world.
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One day a man appeared at their door step. He asked odd questions and was dressed head to toe in black. The couple eyed him warily as he asked to come inside. The farmer’s wife, thinking quickly spilled her drink onto the white carpet. The two started fussing over the carpet, and the man was left to stand awkwardly in the doorway. 15
The man told them he would come back again another day. The couple seemed to sigh in relief. From the other room, they heard a groan. The girl from the sky had awakened. The couple ran to the room she stayed in. She looked up at them with deep blue eyes full of unshed tears.
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The farmer’s wife sat down next to the girl and patted her hand. The girl from the sky flinched. But as she looked into the eyes of the woman, she felt at ease and leaned in. The farmer and the farmer’s wife could not be happier. After the day she woke, she started to slowly adapt to life on the farm.
She had not yet spoken which worried the farmer’s wife. But the farmer always reminded her that as long as she was alive and well, that is what mattered. The visits from strangers didn’t stop. The couple started dressing the girl from the sky in their grown son’s clothes. Covered her ruby-red hair in a paperboy’s cap.
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In return the silent girl helped take care of the chickens. She reaped the corn from the fields. Sometimes the farmer and his wife would look out the window to see her staring up at the sky. This sat with the farmer deep in his gut. One day he went to the big old garage at the back of the property. The farmer brought the girl 20
along and showed her his prize possession. A rusty old two-seater plane. The girl’s eyes were full of trepidation as she watched the farmer climb into the front seat. After some beckoning she got into the seat behind him, strapping in. The farmer gave her a pair of goggles and a pat on the head.
As she adjusted the goggles the plane sputtered to life. The battered body of the plane took off from the ground. The farmer looked behind him quickly to smile at the wonder in the girl’s face. The two flew up high into the clouds, over a flock of geese.
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The girl reached her arms up higher, she strained against the wind, stretching her fingers taught. Long, white feather sprouted through her sleeves. The farmer gave a cry of surprise as he watched her start to hover in her seat. The girl from the sky looked happily surprised as well. 23
The farmer’s heart wrenched as he thought this was goodbye. But the girl from the sky sat back down and smiled at him. Time passed, the moon changed and the days grew shorter. The girl from the sky grew to love her adopted parents. She still never spoke a word, but she showed her love in other ways. That year’s
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harvest was the most bountiful yet. The strange men still came by, though not as often. Townsfolk were saying it was all a big hoax. The birdwatcher convinced themselves it was a falling swan. The reporter kept researching, without result.
The editor refused to print the gossip. The farmer and his wife were thankful for this. At night, they would sit in their old rocking chairs. The pair would watch the sky, and in doing so watch Ruby fly. Ruby used to be known as the girl from the sky. Now she was just their daughter who knew how to fly. The end. 25