The words fell short as he suddenly realized that he was standing in a clearing of crushed and matted wheat.  As he turned slowly in each direction, following the outline of the bent stems around him, he knew that he’d stumbled into a piece of the area’s latest phenomenon.  They had begun to appear all over the Midwestern countryside weeks ago, and now this farm, too, had been victimized.  Though admittedly some of the designs were fascinating, farmers were not pleased with the amount of crop lost to the creation of the circles.  Local superstition claimed the crop circles to be the work of aliens, while others believed them to be the product of careless human genius.  Either way, the farmhand was standing in one, cradling an unconscious Mara, his employers’ adopted daughter.  A shadow crept over him, and he turned, startled to see the girl’s grandfather watching him. Crop Circle Images