Couriers of the Sunny Isles

I am currently working on expanding the world of Cordolium, but before I shared more of that story I wanted to revisit an older writing of mine. This is a story I first started drafting while I was still in college, all those many years ago…

From a young age, Leo always desired the life of adventure that a Courier offered. In the Sunny Isles, a vast archipelago, new thrills, and excitement could be found on every island. And riding on the giant thresh birds to deliver mail as a Courier was the quickest way to see it all. When Leo turned 11 he is finally ready to take the first steps toward adventure. After passing the entrance exam, Leo must prove his worth to Clem, the stubborn chief Courier who seems to have it out for him, to earn his place in the group. Leo must win a race, confront his insecurities, and overcome being held captive in a kingdom of bees all to prove he has what it takes. If he fails, Leo will be the only one of his friends that is not a Courier and he will be all alone. Again.

Anywho…

Here’s the opening to COURIES OF THE SUNNY ISLES

Prologue: How to Fall With No One There To Catch You

The thing about air, Leo realized, is that you never notice how cold it can be until it’s rushing past you. Whether it’s a windy day, or you’re running pretty fast, or you’re falling out of the sky. Leo would have worn his goggles to protect his eyes had he known he was going to be falling. But, then again, no one ever plans to be falling toward the hard ground.

Moments ago he had been almost 5,000 feet in the air. Okay, he was more like 4,983 feet in the air, but it was still really high up, and without warning, he was dropped. He couldn’t believe what was happening, and Leo knew how badly this could end. At first, he tumbled down through the sky. He rolled and twisted in the air, breaking through clouds as he fell; the tossing and turning making him sick. He head throbbed and his eyes watered. What Leo once thought would be exciting was now terrifying. Flying, not falling. He had nothing to save him or stop his fall. Well, nothing other than the ground below.

Think, he thought. You have to think! Leo held out his arms to try and steady himself. He slowly stopped spinning and felt a little less like hurling.

Whatever you do, don’t puke on yourself. That would definitely be embarrassing, and the last thing Leo needed right now, especially with both girls nearby. The air blew past Leo’s face and stung his eyes. He squinted to try and see what was around him. The sandy coast of the island was below and the waves of the ocean slowly rolled toward the land and broke apart over the sand. But the coast was getting closer the longer Leo looked at it. He rolled himself over in the wind and looked up.

“Leo!” a voice from above shouted. “I’m coming!”

“Hang on, Leo!” another voice shouted. The two cries were loud and shrill. Leo could see two figures from above flying down toward him, but he had a head start. He was falling faster than they were flying. This is bad, Leo thought.

He heard more cries and saw hands being stretched out for him. But they were too far to reach. This is really bad, Leo thought. He flipped over and stared at the fast approaching ground. If something didn’t happen soon, Leo would hit the ground going so fast that he probably wouldn’t- No, you can’t think like that. Not now! What was he supposed to do? What did the manual say about falling? He couldn’t remember, and he was running out of time.

Then, a thought erupted in his mind. While the hands reaching for him were still far away, there was someone who could help him. Leo rolled over and looked up at the blue sky and the white clouds. It all looked so peaceful. Probably because the clouds were never afraid of falling. But now was the time to act. Leo pulled his arms in, put his pinky fingers in the corners of his mouth, and whistled as loud as he could.

Above him, people were rushing to reach him. Below him, the ground was waiting. Leo was caught, tumbling, alone in the open air. He could only hope that everything was going to be fine. He thought, of course this is how my first solo mission as a Courier would go. I’ve messed everything else up. I couldn’t even go on a simple mission without messing it all up. He closed his eyes and hoped. Then, suddenly, from out of nowhere…

Actually, why don’t we back up a little bit? Leo has a bit to fall before anything bad happens, so let’s see what happened before this.