Out from his grandfather’s satchel
James took a pair of flying goggles
He stole out of the house
and down the path
to the street
Parked in the laneway
was a shiny red plane
the street lights glimmered off its surfaces
and it called out to James
‘James…
come fly me…’
so James scooted on board
popped the goggles over his eyes
and quietly turned the key
He didn’t want anyone to hear him,
but he needn’t have worried
The plane took off
silently, like a sigh
So there he was
high above the sleepy streets
in his butternut pyjamas
all prepared
he knew what to do
He flew low over the fields out of the city
and just missed the tops of the misty mounts
he waved at the bats
and raced the owls
till he came closer to his destination
It was a tiny place on the map
if you blinked you’d miss it
but James knew what to do
He put the shiny plane on autopilot
and took out his pencil
and his notebook
he switched on the convenient little light
that the plane had
and wrote these words
“I’m just above your head.
“I really cannot stay, although I’d like to
“I looked down and saw the light on
“and thought I’d let you know
“I’ve brought a message from up North
“She loves you
“She loves you
“and she wishes she was here to give you this message herself”
James rolled it up
around the marble he’d carried
and sealed it with the paperclip
and he dropped it down
It fell onto the roses
where he knew it would be found
Then James turned his plane for home
he was really very tired
So he put the plane on autopilot
and she flew him all the way home
inspired in part by Eveline Tarunadjaja
