Below is a small part of a story from “The Odessa Chronicles” which is now available in eBook, paperback and hardcover formats … from the Friesen Press Bookstore, Amazon, and all the usual on-line book retailers. (Click book over in right side column for more information).

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When Odessa said farewell to Hermione and took off, her only thought was to get as much height as possible, and then conserve her energy by using the air currents as much as she could. She settled into a slow wing-beat, which together with some gliding, became her routine as the sun set on the far edge of the Big Water ahead of her.

It was a cool night. The moon was lighting up the waves below, and she kept alternating between gliding on the air currents, and using the slow wing-beat in order to regain any lost height. After many hours of flying, she happened to glance behind her and saw a light on the horizon. A new day was about to greet her, and she would soon be able to see what was ahead much more clearly, but she was also starting to feel hungry and tired.

She looked down, and all around, but there was only water! She told herself that she must not panic, but keep flying and looking out for a place to rest and find some food. All through the day, she flew … but the more tired she became, the more gliding she did, and the lower she sank. By that evening, and as the sun was once again setting, she fell asleep while flying, and woke up just in time to use her wings to regain control. As she looked down at the waves, a few feet below her, she realized how lucky she had been. She knew that she must stay awake!

Another night changed into dawn, and Odessa was having great difficulty maintaining a safe height above the waves. She could see land on the horizon, but it was so far away. She knew that she must put a lot of height between her and the water below, but could not find the strength to really work her wings. As she struggled to keep flying, she started to feel disoriented and suddenly realized that she had turned away from the land. She made a quick course correction, but was deep in thought.

Her only goal now was to reach that land, but it did not seem to be getting any closer. She knew that she must keep working. She must stay awake. She must focus on the land. Odessa made an enormous effort to gain some height, but with little effect, and started to see her situation as futile. She was hungry and had no strength. The land did not seem to be getting any closer, and she was feeling so tired.

All she remembered after that was the feeling of floating on air. She was conscious of still feeling exhausted and hungry, but all the aches she had been feeling from her over-worked muscles had disappeared. It felt as if she was somehow being carried. She looked down and could only see the waves below. However, she was overwhelmed by such a strong feeling of warmth and security.

She traveled like that, being carried by an unknown force, all the way to the land, which she could now see was in fact a steep cliff. As she got nearer to the cliff, Odessa knew that she was being taken down to the beach below and, after a few minutes, she was gently placed on the sand. She stood up and looked around, but although there was nobody to be seen, she heard a very soft voice say, “Welcome back, my dear sweet Odessa. Somebody gave you a lovely name!”

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If the above excerpt aroused your interest, then may I suggest you buy the book! Almost 300 pages of wonderful stories from Moonbeam Farm! Enjoy!