Poppin Out of the Sky

The storm had been fierce throughout the night, but morn had come with bright light shining on the dew-covered yard. Farmer Bancroft stepped out of his cottage to survey the damage.

Seeing only one tree felled, Bancroft breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Sylena, the Goddess of the Sky for her generosity.

He was about to go back inside when a glint in the yard caught his eye. Cocking his head to the side, he strode to investigate.

As he neared, he could see that there were two items strewn upon the grass. One he could identify as some sort of large, heavily woven bag, though he had never seen the likes of the material before. The other was a metal staff of some strange design. Though the handle was curved as some walking sticks were, the length of the shiny metal was covered in folds of a slick black material. And there were strange metallic spines running through it.

Unsure of the alien staff, he carefully released the closure on the bag. It sprung open like a gaping maw. It took every bit of his will not to jump back. Instead, Bancroft knelt and put his hand in the bag. When his whole arm fit inside without reaching the bottom, he put his other hand in. Still not feeling the bottom, he stuck his head in so far that he almost fell in.

Pulling back quickly, he came to the conclusion that it was one of those magical bags of holding that the Wizards of Keltar made, though he had never heard of one being made so large.

Closing the bag, he turned to the staff and nearly jumped out of his skin as he saw his young daughter holding it.

“Papa, what is this?” she chirped as her fingers played over the handle and metal bar.

“Daughter,” Bancroft barked. “Don’t!”

But he was too late. With a wooshing sound, the slick, black fabric sprung away from the staff, forming a domed shape at its end.

“Oooh!” his daughter squealed as she whirled it around her head. “It blocks the sun.”

Tension eased out of his body as Bancroft saw no harm coming to his daughter. He even smiled when she picked up the bag and started prancing about.

“Look at me, Papa!” she shouted with joy.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew across the yard. It swirled around Bancroft, but when it reached his daughter, it filled the fabric of the staff like the sails of a ship and lifted her off the ground.

Bancroft rushed to her, but the wind blew her higher than he could reach. “Mary!”

“Papa!” she cried.

“Don’t let go, Mary!” he shouted before she disappeared into the horizon. He dropped to his knees and prayed. “Goddes Sylena, please keep my daughter Mary safe. Don’t let her go poppin’ into strange new worlds.”


Word count: 482