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Student Story
Tropical
Glory
One child’s fantasy trip to the islands
By Caitlyn Swanson
O
ne day while walking
to school I heard a loud
screech. I looked up and
saw a huge falcon about to land
on my head!
Then the falcon spoke. It said
it would take me anywhere I
wanted to go. I kept walking. I
was afraid the falcon was going
to snatch me up and take me to
its nest. The falcon started to get
lower and closer, so I ran into the
school.
After the school day was over
I had forgotten about the falcon,
until I was almost home. I was
walking by myself when I heard
the screech again. It was that pes-
ky falcon. Again it said it would
take me anywhere I wanted to go.
I didn’t run this time. I felt like I
should trust this bird.
“You’ll really take me where
I want to go?” I asked it. “Yes,
of course!” he replied. So I took
out my phone, called my mom
and told her I was going to my
friend’s house.
I told the falcon that I wanted
to go to Hawaii. The falcon
picked me up and before I knew
it, I was in Hawaii! It was so
beautiful there! There was a
beach, tropical flowers, beautiful
birds and tons of people.
The falcon put me down. The
sand felt smooth between my
toes. I started to hear music. Not
just any music, though; Hawai-
ian music! I turned and saw three
Hawaiian girls dancing, all with
long black hair, flower head-
bands, coconut bras, grass skirts,
and they all were tan.
“Tell me about you,” the falcon
said.
“My name is Penny Brooks, I
am 10 years old, I go to Evergreen
Middle School in Georgia, and
my favorite color is orange.”
“That’s interesting,” said the
falcon.
“What should I know about
you?” I asked.
“I’m a falcon and I took you
to Hawaii. That’s all you need to
know for now.”
As I strolled near the ocean
rough waves crashed over the
beach. Suddenly I saw a flash in
the sky, heard a rumble, saw the
clouds becoming grey, and before
I knew it I was soaking wet! It
started to get so windy I fell over
and felt a coconut hit my head. I
started to hear screams. “Hur-
ricane! Everybody run!” I heard
someone yell.
The waves crashed over the
surface. I was very frightened.
Then, it was quiet. All I could see
was blackness. I could see noth-
ing else. I started to worry. Was I
dead, or unconscious? I couldn’t
see anything, feel anything or
hear anything. I was scared out of
my mind.
Just as I was about to lose
all thought, a light appeared. I
started to walk near the light but
it kept getting farther and farther
away. “Wait!” I screamed.
But it wouldn’t stop. Then I fell
into a hole. I screamed over and
over again, even though I knew it
wouldn’t help the situation. Then
I started to hear people talking.
“You can set her right there,”
I heard the falcon say. Someone
put me down. I didn’t want to
open my eyes. I was too afraid.
I didn’t know if there were any
other survivors.
I opened my eyes. There in
front of me, sure enough, was the
falcon. “How long have I been
asleep?” I asked. “For about a
day and a half,” he said. “There is
no damage to your body. You are
perfectly fine.”
“What about my parents? I bet
they are going crazy wondering
where I am!” I said. I felt sick to
my stomach just thinking about it.
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