Boxed Set: Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood: [The 12 book 1st adventure + the series prequel]

by Robert Iannone

  “Grammy, you look hundred years younger in blue jeans.”

  “Thank you dear. And you look like you’re ready to fly.”

  “I’m so nervous. I’m not sure eating all that bacon was such a good idea. Do you think I might throw up?”

  “Hmmm…as I recall, I did just that. And I might do it again. Do you realize it’s been fifty years since I’ve flown?”

  Egg had no comprehension of how long fifty years might be. But it sounded like a very long time. “Will you still remember what to do?”

  “Once you learn how to fly, you never forget. Well are you ready?”

  Egg’s eyes were sparkling with excitement. “Oh, my gosh, yes.”

  “Let’s go outside and over to that little hill behind the house.”

  They left through the back door and ran the hundred feet or so to the spot that Grammy had chosen. As they stood there, they could see the small valley and the river in the distance. It was a beautiful day with only a few clouds in the sky and just a hint of a breeze.

  “So what do I do?”

  “You clear your mind of all other thoughts except flying. The suit will start to feel a little tighter around you. It takes anywhere from one to ten seconds then you’ll know it’s ready. Just bend your knees, extend one or both hands above your head and push off.”

  “But how do I control where I’m going?”

  “You just think it. The suit will do the rest. Are you ready?”

  Egg squeezed her hands together in front of her chin and smiled. Her eyes were wide in anticipation. “I’m so glad you’re going with me.”

  “Take my hand. Now concentrate. When the suit tells you, push up.”

  Egg took a gigantic deep breath, looked at her Grammy, smiled then looked straight ahead concentrating on flying. The seconds ticked by and nothing happened…5 seconds…6 seconds...7 seconds...8. Then she felt the suit squeeze her gently. She bent her knees, raised her left hand and pushed up.

  Nothing. She looked over at her Grammy and asked, “Did I do something wrong?”

  “No, sweetheart, you did it just right.”

  “But we’re not flying.”

  “Look down.”

  So Egg looked down . . . and screamed. They were about twenty feet in the air, higher than the big elm that stood on top of the hill. But they were just hovering.

  “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Grammy this is awesome. But why aren’t we moving?”

  “Tell the suit where you want to go . . . just think it.”

  And she did. She told it to take her down the valley and over the river. And with a big rush of air, they were sailing over the hills and fields toward the place she had selected.

  To describe flying to someone who never did it . . . well it would be like describing a beautiful red sunset to a person who couldn’t see. Every one of the five senses was involved.

  You could see far into the distance, but anyone standing on a mountaintop could do that. But when you fly, you can soar just above the tops of trees and see what a bird sees . . . the leaves gently swaying in the breeze, cows meandering through the meadows, fish swimming in the clear waters of the river.

  The air is filled with the smells of life that float over the land.

  If you open your mouth, the air rushes in and you can taste it as it changes flavor from meadows, to hilltops to rivers.

  Then there’s the feel of air brushing your face. And no matter how fast you go, the suit protects you from all but the most gentle of touches.

  And the sounds . . . well, other than the air brushing past your ears, there is no sound. The silence is almost complete . . . and completely unexpected. It’s as if you’re flying in a dream. There is nothing but the sounds of your own thoughts.

  Egg was in a trance. Grammy was right, of course, this wasn’t fantastic . . . it was miraculous. Oh, how she wished she could do this forever. She only had seven years . . . not enough time. But more time than anyone else would have, except her granddaughter. Oh, she couldn’t wait for that day when she could pass the suit on. What a gift to give someone.

  She flew up and down. She climbed high into the sky and hid inside a cloud. Then she dove straight down until Grammy asked her to stop. She felt guilty because even though she was holding her hand, Egg had completely forgotten her Grammy was there.

  After what seem like only a few minutes, she flew to the farmhouse and landed gently next to the back door. Her face was lit in happiness. “Oh, Grammy. Thank you, thank you.” She hugged her for all she was worth and didn’t let go until the older woman gently pried her hands away.

  “Egg, what you just did up there has never been done before. At least not as far as I know.”

  “What do you mean? I was just flying like you told me.”

  “You were in complete control. You and the suit acted like one. It always takes a new flyer weeks and weeks of practice to control the suit. You did it the first time.”

  “Is that good?”

  “That, my dear, is awesome. There’s no telling what adventures lay ahead for you now. You just might change the world.”

  “I’m just eight.”

  “You’re almost nine. And it’s not about age. It’s about heart.”

  Chapter 4 – Cat in the Hat

  “Your mom will be here in about thirty minutes, so let’s finish our talk.”

  “I thought you told me everything last night?”

  “Almost all. There are two more things we should discuss. First of all, I know how exciting flying is. Believe me I do. But you must promise me that you will maintain a balance in your life.”

  “What does that mean, Grammy?”

  “It means that you cannot let this new love of flying dominate every waking moment of your life. It’s quite like your former obsession with winning. Most, if not all, obsessions will be destructive. So you must continue a normal, everyday life just as before and try to find time to fly. It must not be the other way around. Do you understand?”

  “I think so.”

  ”Then promise me.”

  “I promise.”

  “Egg, if I find out that you can’t handle this new challenge, I’ll be forced to take the suit away until you are older. This is very serious business to me and to you. Understand?”

  Egg stared at her grandmother for many seconds. “You’re just trying to protect me from messing up my life, right?”

  “Exactly, dear. School, friends, dodge ball and all the other things little girls do are so terribly important if you’re to grow up to be the best that you can be.”

  “I really do understand. And if I get into trouble, can I talk to you about it?”

  “Always. In fact, I insist.”

  “Thank you. What was the other thing, Grammy?”

  “Ah, yes. The other thing is that when you try to do your good deeds, be careful not to put yourself into any danger. You have the ability to fly…but you’re not Super Girl. Is that understood?”

  “Grammy, that’s an easy one. I’ll never put myself in danger.”

  “No, my dear, that’s actually the hard one. There may come a time when you might have to put yourself in harm’s way to save someone. But I’m going to trust you to use good judgment. Always remember that if there is a safe way to help, do it. If not . . . well just remember I would never forgive myself if you were hurt because I gave you this suit.”

  “I understand. Umm, Grammy, before I start doing my good deeds, can I take a little time and just . . . uh . . . well, you know just . . . uh . . .”

  “Just fly and enjoy the experience. Absolutely. Even though you did so very well today, it’s important that you become completely comfortable with your new powers. So take as much time as you need to explore the limits of what you can do.”

  “Grammy, I love you a million times more than I love hot dogs. Thank you for choosing me. And for trusting me. I promise I won’t let you down.”

  “You’re very welcome. And I know you won’t disappoint me. I
n fact, I know that you’ll make me incredibly proud.”

  *****

  Two days later and Egg still hadn’t been able to sneak out and fly. But tomorrow was Saturday and she would have a great opportunity in the morning to slip away. She could hardly wait.

  As she sat in her room staring at the small chest containing the outfit and mysterious jewelry, her mother knocked on the door.

  “Come in.”

  “Sweetheart, you got a letter.”

  “Really? From who?”

  “Umm . . . the return address says Hampton. I don’t recognize the street address or the town. Anyway, here you go.”

  Egg took the envelope and carefully opened it. Other than birthday cards, she never got mail. Inside was a letter and a photograph . . . from Sylvia. She looked at the picture, and then she read the letter . . .

  Dear Egg,

  Here is the picture I promised to send you. I think it turned out really well. I’m sorry that we didn’t become good friends at camp. I’m sure it was my fault. But I thought you were the most interesting girl there. You certainly were very good at sports and I was very lucky that you didn’t win. If you ever want to talk or something, here is my email address:

  SylviaHampton@giggle.com

  Hope you have a great year at school. Maybe I’ll see you at camp next summer.

  Your friend, Sylvia.

  Egg read the letter a second time. And then she started to cry. Her mom was standing just outside her room and walked back in. “What’s wrong, Egg? Who sent you that letter? What did it say?” She was obviously very concerned.

  “Oh, Mom. I was so mean to this girl at camp and now she sends me this letter. I feel terrible.”

  “May I read it?” Egg handed her the piece of paper. “Oh, I see. Well, you made a mistake. I think this one is easy to fix.”

  “What should I do?”

  “You’re smart enough to figure that out yourself. Dinner is in an hour.” And she walked out, closing the door gently behind her.

  Egg wiped away her tears and reread the letter a third time. Then she went to her computer and clicked on the internet connection. She logged into her email account and began to type . . .

  Dear Sylvia,

  Thank you for the picture. It is very nice and I will put it in a special frame and hang it over my desk. I’m the one that should apologize. I was very mean to you and you didn’t deserve it. You beat me fair and square and I was the sore loser. If you like, I’ll write you an email every week and we can talk about school and music and anything you want.

  Your new friend, Egg.

  She hit the send button and felt a whole lot better. Grammy said a person should learn from their mistakes, and Egg just did.

  *****

  The next morning her dad played golf and her mom went shopping. She was home alone with her sister, which was like being home alone. Ashley’s boyfriend, Brad, was visiting and the two of them were down in the basement listening to music. Or so they said. Egg knew they were down there kissing.

  But she wasn’t complaining. She took down the little chest, unlocked it and pulled out her flying suit. She slipped it on and checked herself out in the bathroom mirror. She smiled at her reflection then went to the small balcony that was attached to her room and walked out. Clearing her mind of all thoughts, she concentrated on flying. Almost immediately, she felt the suit squeeze her gently and she launched herself skyward. A heartbeat later, she flew away.

  At first, she went straight up and found a cloud to hide in. Getting her bearings, she decided to head for the center of town that was a few miles from where they lived. The suit obeyed immediately.

  As she soared above it, she was able to make out the school, the big church and the movie theater. She was having so much fun looking at the ground that she didn’t see the birds just ahead of her. Before she knew it, she was right in the middle of the flock. They stared at her but must have figured she was just a bigger version of them, because they ignored her and kept on flying.

  She decided to fly with them to see what it was like. And after about five minutes, she did . . . it was boring. So she turned towards the west and into the hills. There was a beautiful waterfall that fed the river by Grammy’s place, and she wanted to see it up close.

  As she headed towards her destination, she realized that the suit really was reading her mind. The thought of the waterfall was just that…an image in her mind. The suit understood and responded immediately. This was so cool.

  As she approached the falls, it dawned on her how magnificent it really was. You could never get the full beauty of it when you’re on the ground. She circled overhead a couple of times then dove down. Stopping when she got even with the top of falls, she slowly let herself settle down to the very bottom . . . but just above the river. The noise was deafening. Why she wasn’t afraid was a mystery to her . . . but she wasn’t. It was just exciting. At one point, she got so close that she was able to reach out her hand and touch the water as it plummeted into the river.

  After a minute or two, she went back up maybe a thousand feet above the river. She hovered there and looked around for someplace else to visit. To her surprise, not too far off was a hot air balloon. She decided to go investigate.

  As she approached, the two occupants of the balloon spotted her and started to point. She smiled and waved to them. As she got closer, she could see the shock in their faces. It’s not every day you see a girl flying.

  She wasn’t worried about being seen. Her Grammy said that people would completely forget that they ever saw her in an hour. So until then, she thought they should enjoy the sight. She circled the balloon three times as fast as she could . . . which was fast. Then she hovered close to the basket so she could talk to the two people.

  “Hello.”

  “Who are you? What are you?” asked one of the startled men.

  “I’m a . . . well it doesn’t matter. I just wanted to say hi. Have a nice day.” She laughed, blew them a kiss, then flew away.

  She headed back to her house at a leisurely pace so she could enjoy the sights and the wonderful feeling of freedom. It wasn’t too long before she was just a couple of streets from her house. As she flew lower, she could see a crowd of people in front of Old Mrs. Leary’s house. She decided to investigate.

  Landing in some trees so she was out of sight of the people, she walked over to a girl she knew from school. “Morning, Ellen. What’s going on?”

  The girl looked at her but didn’t recognize that it was Egg. It was the magic of the suit, of course. “Oh, Mrs. Leary’s cat is stuck on the roof and they’re trying to get it down with that crane thing. But every time they get close, it runs away.”

  “Maybe I can help.” Egg flew up into the air and over to the house. She circled the roof until she spotted a cat in a hat.

  “Here kitty, kitty. Now don’t you look darling in that hat? It’s very pretty. Why don’t you come here and I’ll take you down and Mrs. Leary will give you a nice bowl of milk.”

  The cat looked at the girl and did what cats don’t usually do . . . she obeyed and jumped into Egg’s outstretched arms. Egg gave it a big squeeze and then slowly let herself drift down to the ground.

  Every one of the forty-three people who had gathered stared at the girl in the strange costume. No one spoke a word.

  Egg walked over to Mrs. Leary and handed her the cat. “I just love her hat.” Then she gave the old woman a quick kiss on the cheek, waved to the forty-two other people who still hadn’t made a sound and flew straight up and out of sight.

  A minute later, she landed on her balcony and walked to the bathroom to change out of her suit. She replaced it in the chest and locked it. She went back to the mirror, but not to admire herself. Instead, she said to her reflection, “That was very nice helping Mrs. Leary. Did you see the look of happiness on her face when I gave her the cat in the hat back? I think I’m going to make a very good . . . ummm. . .” She hesitated because she didn’t have a name for wha
t she was. Then it came to her . . .

  “I’m going to be a very good Flying Girl.”

  Chapter 5 – Flying Girl

  There was a small article in the local newspaper, lost somewhere on the bottom of page thirty-one. Hardly anyone read it because it seemed so silly . . .

  Strange Sighting

  A number of people who had congregated in front of Mrs. Leary’s house to watch the rescue of her cat Calamity Jane called the police to report a flying girl. When the police arrived to check out the reports, no one remembered seeing any such person. Officers assumed the calls were just a prank.

  The phone rang and Egg answered it. “Hi, Grammy.”

  “Hello, my little darling. I just called to tell you that I read the strangest article in today’s newspaper. Apparently some people thought they saw a flying girl rescue Mrs. Leary’s cat.”

  “A flying girl? Isn’t that the silliest thing you ever heard?” Egg started to laugh and her grandmother joined in.

  “Congratulations on doing your first good deed. How did it feel?”

  “Oh, Grammy, it felt wonderful. Mrs. Leary was so happy to get her cat back.”

  “But you didn’t get the credit for saving it. Did that bother you?”

  “Funniest thing, Grammy. I never even thought about that.”

  “That’s the best answer you could give. You make me so proud.”

  “Thank you. And guess what . . . I got a letter from Sylvia.”

  “Ah, she sent you that picture.”

  “I emailed her back and apologized for being so mean. Now we talk or text each other every day.”

  “That’s wonderful. You are a truly remarkable young lady.”

  “Oh, Grammy, you always say that.”

  “That’s because it’s true.”

  “Grammy, can I ask you something?”

  “Of course.”

  “If I invite Sylvia to my birthday party, could I take her flying?”