qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm

HIGH SKIESATSU DAVOH

1/15/2012

©Atsu Davoh

CHAPTER ONE

Southville High School is like many other high schools in its locality. Attended by the middle-middle class kids who come from families where there isn’t a profuse amount of wealth but they aren’t needy anyway. Kids from families with moderate budgets by which all basic needs and wants are provided. And like many other schools of its kind, Southville High School was endowed with necessary facilities like a science lab, computer lab, a library and sports field. The students of the school also walk in groups and associated themselves in certain social cliques that are very familiar worldwide. Jocks, goths, dumb girls, cheer leaders, fat guys (and girls of course), freaks and geeks. And typical of any other high School, there were teachers who were mocked by the students. Mr. Denny Brookeville of the chemistry department, a fat and shout man who was mocked of his ‘confused’ behavior which the students associated with chemical entering his head. This man has gone on to engage in bizarre and eccentric endeavors which have made him very popular among students. Once he was chasing some students down the hall-way and they ran into the kitchen. He did not find them there so he went into the store room and he was seen by some students turning inverted buckets to check if they were under. Very bizarre indeed. But that could not have rivaled Ms. Corrignson who all viewed as a beautiful and quiet woman until

she was seen dancing to a rock song on Youtube with her hair off--she wore a wig. Ms. Corrignson had to deal with the humiliation because she was the teacher specially appointed by the director’s board to deliver the school’s messages to students. And today, she had yet another message to deliver, a very important one at that. She entered the 1st Science class and stood in front of the class to deliver her massage. There were the usual giggles, and chuckles which she has become used to over the time and showed no response to the reaction whatsoever. ‘‘I would like you to pay attention, ladies and gentlemen, she began . ‘I want you to be all ears about what I am about to say. I choose to disclose this message to this class for your academic excellence during the previous term. There is a cause for humor right now but I would like you to pay strict attention.” She took three steps towards the students and continued her speech. ‘You know it’s the time of the year again and your academic excellence has made you kids the first to hear this message. It’s time for the annual science fair.” Mummer started among the seated children. The annual science fare is the most anticipated event on the school calendar. Students prepare very well for the fair where they get the chance to exhibit their work to very important people in the field of science. The fair is also an event of awe where magnificent inventions are made. But there is a unique aspect of this science fair than differentiates it from all other science fairs. Each year a new theme is given. And the inventions are made in alignment to the sector of science where the theme falls. Previous years have seen themes of high complexity. From

astronomy, to laser technology to even the pseudo-scientific astrology. But when Ms. Corrignson mentioned this year’s theme, The children were shocked. She went on, ‘this fare has bean the host of complex and rigid themes of work over the few years. But this year, the organizer decided to twist things a little bit. The theme for this year’s science fair is ‘Time’. Time? Confusion crossed the minds of the students. What was the fare expecting them to create? Clocks? “Madam, this is quite a limited area of application I would say because not much appliance and invention can be made given this area of study.’ A nice girl said. She sighed and answered. ‘I for one would agree that the area of time is very limited and that the only ideas in your mind right now would be watches and clocks if you would be honest with me. However, I would like you to see this as a challenge to use your brain in a way you haven’t used it before.

To release the great potential of your creative faculty and to make a bright light shine. For what pride is there in inventing a device from an unlimited source of idea.

Another kid, a fat one also stood and asked, ‘Ms. Corrignson, what do you think would be the reaction of the organizers of this fair if they turn up for the show and all they see is clocks and watches of various sizes?” She turned to him and answered. ‘‘Child, I see a possibility of a future like that. But every now and then an opportunity comes for as to show innate brilliance. Go on kids, turn your fantasies into reality, and see the awe the world views it with.’ Turn your fantasies into

realities? Well some of the students did consider that statement an ordinary addition to a speech by some old woman and other kids on the contrary took it quite literally, very quite literally. Turn your fantasies into reality. Maggie’s head was full. Could this be the perfect time for this? Over the previous science fairs Maggie had done her best. She has been a prominent attraction to the many guests at the annual fair. Once, a renowned scientist in the locality gave Maggie a tour of his lab after seeing the exception from her year after year. One evening Maggie visited her grand – mother who was on her dying bed. She gave Maggie a small pink box with the inscription E=mc2 written on it. This inscription made Maggie remember when she was first being taught about Einstein’s Theory of relativity. At first it was hard for the topic of relativity to stick in her head but as time went on, everything got fine when Maggie adopted the acronym Elvis = Michael x Claire. Elvis, Michael and Claire being the names of her closest group of friends. When the box was given to her, Maggie did not hurry to ask anything about it because she knew her grand-mother would tell her everything. A woman of patience whose every virtue Maggie tried to follow accurately. ‘‘My child,’’ her grandmother started. ‘‘I do not feel very good discussing this to you in this condition. But circumstances beyond my control have put me in this position. I would have wished for a better setting for this but fate has put me in this position. I would have wished for a better setting for this but I have no time to waste now. Let’s face it. The sugar has blocked my veins and I am dying. Nevertheless, I need to pass on this information

to you. I was supposed to pass it on to your mother. And here is the case where she died in a car accident with your father. I really have to do this though it is against my conscience. In there, in the box is a key.’’ Maggie opened the box gently and found a purple cloth covering something. She pulled the cloth off and found a big bronze key laying in the box. The key is one Maggie has never seen before. Imagine a key that has two sides of the part that is inserted into the door. A really bizarre one. Maggie raised the key up, examined it carefully and looked at her grandmother. Her grandmother drew nearer and continued, ‘‘ The key looks odd, I reckon. It opens the attic you have not been allowed to visit since you were born.’’ Maggie’s mind went to the attic. During her childhood years, Maggie has heard many stories from her friends about the fun they used to have in the various attics at their homes. She also read countless stories about attics and fantasized endlessly about it. But she was never allowed to enter the attic neither by her parents nor her grandparents. Just left to play with her dolls downstairs. But as puberty sprang up, that passion was geared into the science and technology. A decision showing brightness towards the future. What about the attic?’’ Maggie ask. ‘‘It contains something that will shock you…” Her grandmother whispered with a phlegm chocked voice. She was dead. Maggie’s grandmother was burred the next Sunday at a church near the city park. Maggie waited a few days after the funeral to mourn her grandmother before opening the attic. But when the day came for her to open it, she was filled with fear to the extent that she declined to do

it. The fact that her grandmother did not complete her speech before dying increased the reluctance Maggie had. Maggie remembered all the sweet moments she shared with her grandmother. All those cold nights when her grandmother would cover her up with thick blankets and read her bedtime stories, sing her hymes and give her words of encouragement that elevated her spirit in those depressing times. The one thing that interested Maggie most about her grandmother was her ever-patient heart. She being ready to wait a thousand years for whatever she had to wait for. And just like the opposite polarity of magnets, Maggie was no way like her grandmother. She did not posses that calm heart that can wait so long for anything. She was well the restive type. Jumping into conclusions about so much in her life. She was quiet shrewd anyway. Hanging out mostly with the boys but maintaining a close affiliation with her three closest friends Elvis, Michael and Claire. Maggie under went weeds of thinking to decided whether to open the attic or not. She finally decided that opening the attic was such a good idea anyway because her grandmother died trying to explain it to her. One night she entered the study room where the attic was locked at the ceiling. She took a deep breath and a ladder and positioned it to the appropriate location to climb to the attic. She felt butterflies in her stomach when the ladder was a bit clumsy. When she got to the top, she took the key from her pajamas’ pocket and slotted it in to open the attic she half-felt the weight of the key was going to bring her down. What Maggie saw in the attic shocked her.

CHAPTER TWO

Southville High School is like every other high school around. Full of the usual cliques that are so numerous and detailed that almost

everyone falls into one. From freaks, the kids with the smelly cloths and awkward behaviors who find it difficult to be around other people even other freaks. There are the goths who were black shirts black shorts, black skirts, black lipstick and black make-up even. These are the kids who are attracted to the dark arts, to psychic reading and astrology. And when they do not get the perfect reading from their psychics, these children take on suicidal tendencies. Also very popular are the nerds, the kids who dress in boring fashion, clumsily most of the time and are always stuck with their computers. And the whole list would not be complete without the geeks. These are the kids who study their heads off and do extra cramming getting to examination time without even making it to the top 30. Maggie really did not know which group to put herself in but high school identifies did not thrill Maggie much. She found all her joy hanging around with her friends, Michael, Elvis and Claire, according to brains at least. Michael was the tall and handsome basketball player, jazz lover and big fan of the Swedish band ABBA. The type of guy the girls fall all over. Michael met Maggie at a jazz music store in town and they engaged in a thick conversation. Maggie found Michael very muscular and handsome with a very authoritative voice. Michael found Maggie smart and quiet knowledgeable about everything she spoke about. They started going out, not on dates but to movie shows. Once they went to a horror movie where they met Elvis who seemed not be in anyway scared by the gore on the screen. They were fascinated by his bravery and eccentric sense of fashion. Elvis is a plump dark boy who would fit

perfectly into the goth section. With his huge craving for Stephen King books which he repeatedly read countless times to his daring expeditions of amusement park roller coasters that the other kids would not try to venture. Elvis is the type of guy you would describe as almost fat. With circle glasses with the ever dominant black colors of his clothes. Kind of the direct opposite of Claire. Claire is a very colorful and beautiful girl. She is quit the one with the golden heart. This has put her in favor of a lot people, leading her to become the president of the Llama love society, chess club and club official of dozen other groups. She is a very respected person in the whole of Southville High School. She has been appointed on many occasions to represent the School on many platforms.

This beautiful selection of friends by Maggie has made her the envy of many in school. And this friendship has benefited the four of the kids in the group because of their diversity. These kids are experts in various fields and have helped each other when ever the need arose. And like every entity, there is an opposite side. To good there is bad.

To white there is black. Even in the field of magnetism, there are two opposite polarities. The north pole and the south pole. I would not be surprised that Galileo developed his theory of dualism from the above ideas. Maggie and her group had opponents. Let’s just call them rivals in this context. They were Kimberly and Jon, siblings and Sidekick, one who’s name is not truly known in the school. Kimberly the head of the group is a proud and arrogant girl. She is the quintessential all-pink

girl. Kimberly is a girl who perfectly fits into the dumb girl high school clique. Her blonde beauty combined with her fondness of sport boys to her wealthy family proves this point hands down. Her twin brother, Jon, is far smarter than she is. This makes them the oddest twins on campus. Jon is the kind of guy who follows his sister’s orders to-and – fro. If there was any group for dumb boys, he would make it hands down. Sidekick , a girl who can be described as the robot of Kimberly and Jon has not yet gained popularly. She does not think for herself but follow Kimberly and Jon around. This has made her be known as their sidekick hence the name Sidekick. Maggie and Kimberly’s groups have carried on numerous rivalry in the annual science fair and each year each group sends spies round to find what the other is up to. This year did not provide a theme for instant exploration. Both groups hanged in the clouds. It’s not always that a member of one group gets to visit their rival’s home. They may as usual send spies to see what their rival’s home looks like. Group movies are held in the house of the group leaders. Group members must be sure not to have their rivals spying on them by making sure that the room of the meeting has not been bugged by cameras, wires and other appliances. Today, Kimberly, Jon and Sidekick have been invited to come for a meeting in the house of Maggie. The only other time in history where either Maggie or Kimberly have been in each other’s house was when one time they both made the same exhibition for a science fair. The theme of that year’s fair was food processing and both parties made a peanut butter into margarine by squeezing

the oil from it. That was the first time such a coincidence has occurred and therefore drew a lot of attention from the fair’s organization. Maggie then went to Kimberly’s house to inquire on how she was able to bring up the same idea as her. ‘‘I don’t remember sharing the same idea with you.’’ Maggie started. “And yet you showed up with the same project as me. I just hope you have not been following me around. And I can surely say that Elvis, Michael and Claire are in no way behind this.’’ Kimberly wasted a few seconds polishing her nails behind the desk in her room and then answered with her usual cheeky and reluctant response. ‘‘Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, I am quite impressed by the trust you have put in your friends, or should I say followers. I think I would have to stop viewing Jon and Sidekick as my sidekicks and see them as friends.” She got close to Maggie. ‘‘You didn’t think I was serious did you.” Just trying to pull usual tricks. Maggie was in no mood for such a conversation so she made her mind clear. “Look, Kimberly, I did not come here to chat with you. I just want the answer I came for and if you are unwilling to tell me then I would have to leave.” This is how almost all conversations ended between the two, but today, Kimberly and her followers were not in Maggie’s house to repay her visit but rather to honor an invitation. It was obvious that both parties did not have an idea for a project based on the theme given to them but what prompted Maggie to invite Kimberly was what she saw in the attic she taught it was best to have people on both sides to have a fair judgment of her encounter. There was the usual cynicism from Kimberly’s side but that this was no way an attempt to

get back at them for anything of the past so she was able to fuse them into the house and then into attic. In the attic, Kimberly’s cynicism dropped and she saw the real reason to pay attention. Inside the attic lay a huge silver machine. ‘‘This is the shocking thing I came to meet here and I decided to let you both help me check it out. Having information from both sides would be more relevant than from one.” She told both groups. The machine was quiet elegant in its own way. Just a silver colored cube with a door and an electronic keypad on one side. ‘Oh, so this is a way you guys are trying to trap us isn’t it? I am smarter than that. Come-on guys, lets leave.” Maggie reacted quickly before it was too late. ‘To prove that this isn’t a trap, I would like all of us to enter this machine – looking device. Elvis, Michael, Claire and I first before you guys just to prove the point to you.’ And so they did. In the machine, there were several other keypads like the outer one. ‘‘This looks kind of weird to me.’ Jon said. ‘‘Just one shiny room filled with buttons and clocks.” Yes, there were a dozen clocks of different sizes. ‘‘Could this in any way be in connection to the science fair? The clocks are why I’ am asking.’’ Jon said ‘Don’t worry yet Jon’’ Kimberly began, ‘‘If these kids think they are going to pull a fast one on us, then they are in for a rough ride.’’ ‘‘What does this do?’’ Elvis asked while he pulled a lever on the operating board. Suddenly, the door behind them shut close.

The internal lighted red and the machine began to spin. ‘‘What is going on?’’, Sidekick shouted. “Close your eyes. I think the red lights

are lasers.” They all obeyed Michael and closed their eyes. The light got intense and intense. All laid flat of the floor and grew colder. When they opened their eyes, they were in another world.

CHAPTER THREE

Their backs ached from the sudden stone they felt behind their backs but it can in no way be compared to the bewilderment they felt upon seeing their new environment. ‘‘Is this some kind of visual effect or something? Well if it is, you truly pulled a fast one on me. Now turn it off. I want to go home!’’ shouted Kimberly. ‘‘Can’t you see? This is no special effect. It’s real.’’ Michael said as they stood up from the ground. “Where are we, how did we got here.” Claire said. “No matter where this is, it is supper cool.” Elvis said. ‘‘Guys, I hope it’s not what I’m thinking. We were in a room covered with keypads and clocks and now we are on some strange land? I really hope it’s not what I’m thinking.” Maggie took a deep breath. ‘‘We couldn’t have been tele-, teleported’’ ‘‘ Come-on guys, that’s daydreaming. I am not ready for no science – fiction crap. Somebody just get me out of here.’’ Shouted Jon. “Stop acting like a baby because last time I checked, that did not get us anywhere.” Kimberly said. “Point of correction, I am not your little brother, more over I am not acting like a baby.’’ Jon fired at Kimberly. ‘‘You know very well you do not have the right to talk to me

like that!” Kimberly’s face became pink with anger, Maybe even outwitting the pink color of her necklace. “If you dare yell at me that way again, I promise I’m going to tell everybody what happened at the junior prom last year.’’ She blackmailed him. “Sister, you wouldn’t do that, I promise I’ll be good.’’ Maggie was walking around the place in the environment she was in. She tried very hard to convince herself that this wasn’t a dream and that this was a reality she had to face and deal with. The environment was the most bizarre scene any of them had ever seen. Stranger than anything they have ever seen in a movie or a video game. Maybe they have actually encountered some eccentric scenes in the media but the reality of this place thrilled them. The environment they stood in was a mountainous place with powder smooth hills lying side by side. Hills of various sizes and heights made of items of different textures. The roadways between these hills are made of different types of rocks finely laid with no pointing sides facing upwards. The sizes of these road ways had shinny pebbles. These transparent and tiny pebbles had fine crystals floating slowly through them. At the base of some of the hills were small shining ponds. The water in the ponds seemed to be moving in an alternating spiral movement. Sometime in a clockwise direction and then anti-clockwise direction. The air was filled with small glowing insects each glowing of its own distinct rainbow color. Had it not been the colors, this place would have been rendered a snow heaven. Well, everything in this strange place can be compared to most on the features of the planet earth expect of the mystical qualities of course. One aspect of

the bizarre place which would be hard to compare to earthy features but was allotted one is the sky, or so we would relate it. It did not look like anything a sky should look like in the classical sense. It was a glass – like cover covering the entire upper section, where the sky should have been. The glass is the type that could be related to stain glasses. Without the obvious designs that is. The glass seemed to extend to boundless territories. But the sapphire nature was predominant, diminishing as the glass extended. At where seemed to be the centre of the glass was a bulb. Imagine an egg placed to show through a cut in a paper making only half its body visible. That was what it looked like. It was the light source of the land. More, intense at the centre but rather dull as the glass extends. Like a large ball room with one central light at the ceiling which cannot sufficiently light the whole room. The various shade of green that the hills had also made the place look like the final scene of a hit video game. ‘‘But what about where we are standing, Sidekick asked.” Just like the designed ornamental carpet of a grand hall, the place where the kids were standing was the central part of the land and therefore was exactly parallel to the giant bulb at the top. The floor beneath them was cold glassy ice quite different from the granite that the roadways were made of. “What ever this place is, it’s nothing near anything I have ever read about.” Michael said. It looks so plastic. It’s beginning to scare me already.” “Someone just get me out of here.” Kimberly shouted. ‘‘You still don’t understand that we are all in this, do you? We are all down so talk about us all, not only you.’’ Claire said. ‘Who was talking to you anyway. Maggie

got us her and she has to get me back or else…” Kimberly continued. All along, something was watching. The creature was weird but familiar. Well that’s the reason we can call it a creature. Imagine a robot – like thing with living cells. Well this was what this creature looked like. Its head looked just like a horizontal system unit of a desktop computer. Its legs, arms and neck were like the nose of a vacuum cleaner and its mid-section was like a huge box with blunt vertex. The creature took some time to gather courage to approach the kids. But he had to do it anyway, considering the stakes at hand. He never knew he would be the one who fate would bestow upon the honorable position of redeeming his land. Over the past years, according to earth time, the whole land watched in freight as the land died as the moment went, but upon seeing these people, hope came back to the creature’s heart. A feeling he had not experienced for some time now. Hope is indeed one of the most desirable of emotions of human beings. It is the feeling we crave for when we are in tragic situations. The feeling we crave for when we find ourselves in delusional circumstances. Hoping beyond doubt that this can be all the antidote we need. In situations where we are supposed to stand up tall but do not have the courage, hope is the true friend we can cling to. A real irony lies in the fact that hope helps us come out of our evil delusion but at the same time this same hope is a delusion we use to dodge our sorrows. It is the emotion we all will forever revere. And today this creature was full of it. He put off any fear that may have been in earlier and took a bold step. Emerged from behind and kids.

From afar, they could see it coming and fear became saturated in them. ‘‘That thing. It’s coming at us. It looks so strange. Weirder than those creatures in the video games. What do we do? I think it’s going to eat us. It does not look harmful but we can’t take chance.’’ “You are right, all we have to do is run.’’ And yes they did. They took to their heels running out of the central place they found themselves towards one of the roadways. They passed through some shallow streams because it blocked the way to the rocky roadways.

The fast movement they had when running through the stream produced splashes, An amount of the liquid poured on their legs. This wet their feet. After a few seconds the liquid dries off completely leaving behind white powder where the liquid was earlier. Just after they ran out of the shallow streams, Kimberly looks at her feet and that of her friends.

‘‘Looks like that thing in the stream dries up real fast. It also leaves white powder after.”

“This place isn’t only weird, it’s…” She tried to explain. ‘‘No time for that. Come-on now, let’s go. Seems it’s catching up with us.’’ They continued running onto the rocky roadway. Going on and on, on a road that seemed to come to no end. They finally arrived at a crossroad. “ I should not have invited you to my house in the first place. That way, we all would not be here. Even if I ended up here alone I wouldn’t feel as guilty as I feel

right now.’’ Maggie lamented. “How are we sure this is not a set-up by you and that you are only leading us into the bigger trap?’’ Jon posed. “Don’t be silly. I for one have never heard of a predator and prey falling in the same trap.’’ Claire coed. This is no time for biting at each other. We have to stick together in order to win if only we want to go back home.’’ Maggie started, but paused because she heard something unusual. Another voice, human voice, was whispering in the silence. ‘Come, I’m here to save you. Take the second path to the left.’’ In all the turmoil, the kids had no option than to trust the voice. After all it sounded human and they did not expect the creature they saw earlier to speak. They moved along the path to a point where the voice had directed them. Then the unexpected happened!

The place where the kids where standing become very soft and develop into a very narrow hole and kept going down. The hole was so narrow that they were falling, each on top of each other like a vertical chain that has been dismembered. And then came the great fall. Just like the stream they encountered earlier, they fell on a wet floor probably of the same liquid as the pond. They got up and dusted off the powder from their bodies. To their great bewilderment, in front of them was the very creative they were running away from. The very creature was the owner of voice that had been directing them. “Hello people I am Kanbra, I am an android. Welcome to High Skies.”

CHAPTER FOUR

‘‘I am not the same android you claimed you saw. We androids look alike so that explains your thinking that way.’’ The creature claimed. The kids could have bet that was the same creature. From their structures to their color ranges, the androids looked the same. There was virtually no difference between the android that was chasing them at first and the one that had them tied here. They followed the voice because it sounded human. And well they did not in their wildest dreams believe that the creatures could speak like them. It seemed to them this place was getting worse by the moment. The set-up made them fall through a narrow hole and dropped very painfully onto a platform which had the same effect on them as the ponds earlier.

The Android tied them up. An attempt which did not require much effort since the kids were petrified with fear. He looked them straight in the eye and could probably measure the fear in their eyes. ‘‘We are so sorry. We did not know what you wanted from us that was why we run away, please don’t hurt us.’’ Sidekick pleaded. ‘‘I am not the same android you met down there.’’ He started. ‘I am Kanbra. And this is High Skies, the land of the androids. This place may seem so strange to you but that would just be normal because that is what legend claims. And you are the faithful one’s chosen to redeem the land. You should take this as a great honor bestowed upon you. You are now

martyrs.’’ “We have no idea what you are talking about. I think this is all my fault, a mistake that could have fairly been avoided. I feel very well with you not to hurt us.’’ Maggie presented. ‘‘Is that all you have to say? Apart from the fact that your house smells so bad, I came there since I did not want my sidekicks to call me a nagger. And well now look at where I am. I hope very well you don’t make me lose my date with John May I dreamed all year for that moment. We planned to go see his favorite band. I will never forgive you for this!” Kimberly said. ‘‘Come on sister, don’t be such a pessimist. I’ve told you that character isn’t going to help us.’’ Jon advised. ‘You really want to expose what happened last junior prom don’t you.” “Look here. You have no time to waste.” Kanbra said while walking round the place with its upper limbs behind it. A movement that would resemble a human being walking slowly in a large room with his or her hand behind him or her as a form of meditation. “The real reason why you are here is to redeem High Skies from the tragedy ready to befall it. And if we let this change pass away, it would be to the disadvantage of us both.

To me in a way that I am already used to but to you in a very shocking way.” “I still don’t see the connection here,” Maggie started. ‘‘My grandmother gives me a key to an attic and then in the attic I find this silver –colored machine and then I try to be more confident by bringing my friends and rivals to share the

discovery with me and now I had us all teleported into this place. My grandmother well did not tell me what I would meet in the room. She however said what I would find was going to shock me. Right now, I am not so sure whether the perplexing state of being teleported here was the shock she referred to. Maybe there are bigger shocks ahead. But I want to believe it has nothing to do with the redemption journey you started describing.” Maggie said. “Look here,” Kanbra said, in a way that showed reluctance to do what he was about to do but had to do it anyway. It can be finely compared to a doctor being reluctant to tell someone that they have lost a loved one. Kanbra continued, “this is your mission. You are supposed to find a widget that is going to save High Skies. The description of the widget would be communicated to you during the journey. You must therefore pursue this journey with navigation not of the eyes but of the heart. You must also be each other’s keeper. Because there a true test lies. In a few hours the bulb that gives light to High Skies is going to go off and that would be the end of High Skies, the androids and other creatures herein. It is only you humans who can find the widget because you only posses the navigation of the heart.

If you fail in this quest, the whole of High Skies would go dark and disappear and you with it into an eternal spinning vortex. You now see the importance of your presence here.’’ He could

see their eyes getting soaked with tears. But he wondered if there would be more tears if they found out that half his speech was a deception.

The kids looked so helpless in their posture being tied back to back each other in twos mostly and the last in three because of their odd number. But now the android, Kanbra untied them. This put a great sense of relief through them. But the mission statement they just heard put them in reflection. It made them feel like being in a video game. Now they would be aware of what those animated characters really go through and would now feel the glory of the winner and the agony of the looser. The air was filled with ambivalence. The conflict arising from the indecision to treat this as good news or bad. Thinking of what would go wrong if they did not succeed in getting the widget, a widget they knew so little about. If they got swallowed into a vortex that would keep them in its belly for eternity. The glory that would come from surviving and finding the widget. The martyrs they were to become. Each one had his or her own reflection. Kimberly thought about missing her date with John May. She though about all the shopping malls she had not visited. All the cute boys at school that she had not gone out with. All the pink perfumes she had not tried. Jon focused on all his life, letting his twin sister Kimberly control him thoroughly. In case they got swallowed by the vortex he would have wished

for a life in which he would have more control over the affairs of his life and not let anyone, let alone his own twin sister control him like a puppet. In a way in which his own parents would never have. Sidekick had not much to live for. Constant rejection and fear of criticism made her shed away her old self and put a new identity, in order to fit into Kimberly and Jon’s Clan. She would however have wished for a life where she would be herself. Maggie was filled with great regret. Never has she in her life ever felt this kind of depression. Maggie has throughout her adolescence experienced various levels and surges of Major Depressive Disorder which has lead to her harming herself in many ways emotional and physical. She looked to her grandmother most of the time for comfort. She felt so worthless and useless to the world. But her grandmother helped her so much by giving her words of affirmation to boost her courage. Now, she felt so down in this situation. One moment, she was in her house with her peers and another moment she is about to go on a journey to find a widget which nothing was known about. A widget which no one knows how it looks like. A very depressing state indeed. If everything goes bad, she would really feel very bad for putting her friends in such mess. Michael had always been the ladies’ man. Possessing a charming appeal that drove all the girls to him. His father being a coach, Michael joined the sports scene quite earlier than most of his teammates. His favorite game became basketball, a game

in which he became a local star. Michael has many ambitions for the field of sports and his biggest dream is to here in the NBA. Here in High Skies, all hope seemed to be lost. Michael didn’t really have any regrets in life. If he died young, he believed he would be remembered for a lot of things. Elvis would however have some regrets. A few regret for not being fond of any other author than Stephen King. This has limited his reading range. A fair regret for him there, so strange what many people consider dear to them even at the point of death. Claire has had a very clean and simply life. The prospect of all this coming to a tragic end scared her. “This mission is going to be real hectic for you therefore I’m putting you in two groups.” Kanbra said they were put in two groups. The first group consisted of Maggie, Michael, Elvis and Claire. The rest of the kids were in the other group. “Kimberly, Jon and Sidekick, you would follow me. Maggie, Michael, Elvis and Claire, you would be moved into another part of High Skies where you would meet another creature called Skumul who would lead you on your journey. The land is non-android inhabitant of High Skies. You would have to trust him. Trust is the first step in heart navigation. Skumul will help you on your way.” Kanbra said. Kanbra asked Maggie and her group to step forward. In the twinkle of an eye, the same thing that got them where they presently were sent them somewhere else falling through a narrow hole.

CHAPTER FIVE

The journey was quiet hectic for Maggie, Elvis, Michael and Claire but not as frightening as it happened at first. “So this is where our journey starts from.” Started Elvis. “We have to do our best to stick to each other. We have been together as a group for a long time so this union should be nothing new to us. Kimberly and her friends have not understood each other like we have. Lets get this widget fast so that we can go back home and have the good life we have always longed for.’’ You’re right Elvis, we have to do it fast to save High Skies and our live for the betterment of both parties. “Where is Skumul anyway.” Maggie asked. They waited very long for the arrival of Skumul just as Kanbra had instructed them. The environment they found themselves in currently looked not too different from the previous parts of High Skies they have been to except of the abundant palm-looking trees that covered this part of High Skies. High Skies on its own was not a bad place to live but the proximity of the danger that lay ahead deleted any form of aesthetic admiration from the minds of the kids. “Let’s take a walk. I suggest it’s the advisable thing to do. We shouldn’t wait for Skumul to meet us here, We have to go find him. Besides, time is running out so fast.” Michael suggested. And yes they did. They decided to take the walk through the palm trees. The palm tress have been arranged in alleys beautifully spread across the land with colorful hills visible in the distance. Looks like many things in High Skies have a mystical side. Out of the

bloom Skumul came. Skumul is the quintessential giant rabbit. The only fair description of it. Imagine a rabbit the height of a teenager. When it spoke, its voice has the whispery mystical tone. Like of a hit song playing on a radio station with poor signals. “ I am Skumul, Kanbra must have told you a lot about me.” Skumul started. “You may be surprised at how familiar the habitats of High Skies were of you. Relating to you as though they were expecting you. This is because of the many stories and descriptions we have heard of you. Creatures from earth, human beings they all you. You would have noticed the differences between this world on yours.” Skumul explained.” “Thank you Skumul, can we now get to the main subject of this meeting.” “You have to help us get the widget before the whole of High Skies be destroyed.” Michael feared. “What did Kanbra tell you about the widget?” Skumul asked. The kids explained all what Kanbra said to Skumul. “I am surprised at Kanbra. The widget is of course going to save High Skies from tragedy but I am shocked at the fact that Kanbra did not reveal his real intentions for the widget. The greed on his heart would not let him tell you the truth.” Skumul confessed. “Kanbra directed us to you, you are supposed to be on his side or shouldn’t that be so?” Maggie questioned. “That is a part of the matter I would not like to get into now.” “Why are we supposed to believe you?” Michael asked. “Kids, do not just lay your heart low. Kanbra divided you in groups so that he keep the others away from you.

He is going to use them as his slaves. You are the actual ones to bring the widget. So we have to find a way to get the widget quickly to save High Skies and then have you teleported back to earth, We are prone to being attacked by Kanbra. If he finds out we are aware of his plans, he take bad action. Before they knew it, stones started falling from the skies. “We have to run fast towards the hills. I think Kanbra just sensed us. He knows we know about him.” Skumul said. They began running fast towards the hills. Staying nearer to the trees to provide shade. The stones fell faster yet. The stones also increased in size. “Keep moving, don’t look back!” Skumul screamed. They kept running until the very unfortunate happened. Elvis was hit by a huge stone in the mid-section. He started bleeding all over. This was a very shocking moment for them. They had to leave to the hills without him. Elvis had died.

Yes, Skumul said a lot of things about Kanbra and Kanbra also had his part of the story to share. “I made a really big mistake sending your friends to the west section of High Skies . The Skumul they went to meet isn’t the real Skumul. He is Skamul, Skumul’s twin. He killed his brother so that he would be the one to meet your friends. Unlike the real Skumul, Skamul is very possessive, selfish, greedy and creative.” Kanbra said. “Why would Skumul be so eager to meet Maggie and the rest. Even to the extent of killing his blood-brother?” Kimberly asked. Kanbra

answered. “There is so much that you guys don’t know about. The widget does not only posses the ability of setting High Skies free. It gives power to the creature that helps to uncover it. It is greed that has driven him to that extent.” “So what if they find the widget before us. Does that mean that I and my friends would be destroyed with you?” Sidekick inquired. “That has already been taken care of. I have sent some stones down on them at this very instant. They are unlikely to make it. I am so sorry that you have lost your friends. The turn out of events were very fortuitous.” Kanbra said. “You have to trust and stick to me so that we can find the widget in time. That way you will go back to earth. Otherwise the whole of High Skies would be put in a turmoil of destruction.” Kanbra added. “Why was the real Skumul the quintessential guy for this journey?” “Because he possessed the kind of heart needed to relate with humans. In the whole of High Skies, never has there been any creature endowed so much with that virtue. It was only fair to include him in the glorious history by engaging him in the saving story. That was his use, until his twin brother killed him and took his place.” Kanbra explained. “So what brought High Skies into this state? A state of distraction.” Kimberly requested. Kanbra took a deep breath and gave out the story. A story he usually did not like talking about because of the tragedy. He said his own short version of the very complex series of events. “Once when they was peace in the whole of High Skies, when there were female

androids and beautiful flowers came a very beautiful fairy. The fairly was from a far away land that creatures heard of only in stories. She was so beautiful that she made all female androids jealous. A futile jealousy because they could never have been like her. Never in structure nor in looks. The fairy was the usual middle – sized golden-glow flying thing. She enticed them all with her magical side. Performing tricks which their wildest imaginations could never conceive. One more interesting thing about the fairy was her willingness to tell any creature about her past, her origin and the reason why she left the fairy world. Soon, the fairy became known as Esmaltha, which in native High Skies language means ‘most beautiful one’. Esmaltha then became associated with the High ranks of the land.

She enticed the then android ruler of the land and lured him into making her the ruler.’’ Kanbra paused, took a deep breath and then continued. “This made rage break throughout the whole of High Skies. All the female androids of High Skies came together to take her off the throne. She boiled with anger. Esmaltha placed a spell on the female androids making them extinct from the land. And then places a spell on the sky freezing it into glass and baking the light source into a gaint bulb. Esmaltha placed a spell on the final destruction of High Skies when the bulb goes off, the whole of High Skies would be destroyed. But Esthmaltha made a very foolish mistake. She took

the male androids that the only ways to reverse the spells was to find a widget. A widget hidden at the golden peak of the east oak mountains. A widget that had the power to reverse all the spells. A widget that would bring female androids back, restore the sky and have beautiful flowers lying around at again. And since human beings are the nearest looking creatures to the fairy, you are destined by nature to save the land because of your possession of heart navigation.” Kandra ended. “Since you said the bulb would be due in some hours it means we wouldn’t be missing much on earth, right? Kinderly asked in a restive manner. “I forget to tell you one thing. Esmaltha put another spell on High Skies. This spell has to do with time. Every hour you spend here in High Skies is converted to two days on earth. So since you guys have been here for a few hours already, it’s like you have been missing for three weeks on earth.” Kanbra answered. Their mouths fell open.

CHAPTER SIX

It’s been three earth weeks since the departure of the kids and their absence has caused a lot of chaos a t school. At first it was considered a mere prank being pulled by the students. But as time went on, the school authorities became more alert.

The school head thought of all that might have happened to the kids. One child missing can cause a nation-wide turmoil, how much more seven children getting lost.

This time the whole world was going to hear of this. What could possibly have happened to them. Could they have been abducted by a kidnapper. Not likely because if that was the case the abductor would have most likely requested for some money. So it can’t be that case.

Could it be that they went on a trip without informing any one? Well Maggie and Kimberly are known for their crude rivalry. It would be very unlikely for them to go on a trip together. And even if it be a very bizarre coincidence even if it was one at all. The rivalry between Maggie and Kimberly is so strong to the extent that even the neighboring schools are aware. So Maggie’s group and Kimberly’s group getting missing sent shocking headlines which have been rather edited for a little sarcasm. The Southville Weekly, Southville High School’s official weekly newspaper came out with a cover story of the mission kids. ‘Polar partners get swallowed by the earth’-- is was dubbed. The story contained all the possible things that might have happened to them. Some skeptical but some humorously fictional. It’s very funny how High School students see a joke out of almost every situation. There have been posters all around campus. The daily and weekly newspapers of the neighboring High Schools have

also made cover stories about the situation. Headlines ranging from ‘‘Beware! A rival ghost is in town’’ to

‘Magic is real, we have proof’’ have featured on these papers. But this matter was no local affair or let’s just say it did not stay like that for long if one child getting missing can change a nation then this should be seen as an issue of national security. Television ratings of evening news programs on various television stations reached all time high when the news of the missing people came on air. It was the topic of discussion for almost every talk show. Networks cancelled their well planned schedules just to air the talk shows talking about this. The online scene was not left out of the buzz. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter became the place where everybody could free their mind on the issue. But whatever they said has nothing to do with whether Maggie and Kimberly’s groups arrived from where ever they had gone to. Posters where not a bad idea either. Throughout the locality and scarcely around the country posters of the kids were spread around. Group pictures, single pictures that have been digitally edited. But Maggie and Kimberly’s groups getting missing is nothing unheard of at Southville High School, many heads of the school have encountered cases of missing pupils on several occasion. Once a girl called Lucy Berkins got lost when the school science club went on an excursion to a botanical garden. After the excursion

tour, Lucy was no where to be found. This send shock out. But it was later discovered that Lucy was just pulling a fast one on them. And that the framed kidnap which it was, was all just a prank. Could Maggie an Kimberly’s case be a prank. How can two well known rivals come together to make such a prank. This would be very unbelievable. But that was the only option left for the general public. To believe that the kids are just pulling a fast one on the public and that it would not be long till the whole problem got solved. The clubs and societies that these pupils had affiliations with also suffered from their absence. Claire was the head of the Llama Love Society and Chess Club. Both clubs went on strikes since their club president was no where to be found. Claire was the most revered class president the whole of Southville High School has over known. Claire not coming back would be a great loss. But what they would miss about her most is not her organizational skills and her creativity but her goodness and her pure unrefined kindness. Her radiant beauty is also one the boys find hard to resist. Many other of the kids would be greatly remembered for the things they involved themselves in. Well, this would put a lot of thought in the minds of those High School students who do not involve themselves in much. What would you be remembered for when you get abducted?. The big chaos was not from the fact that the media was all over the case but from the fact that the missing kids’ parents were red-faced angry. There is a traditional annual

parents and teachers association (PTA) meeting before the science fair. And this year the parents did not come to raise funds as usual but came to question the security of the school. Well maybe the school had the right to stay on the fence of this matter. All the kids were seen after school the day they were reported missing so at that time the school did not have custody of them. But the kids parents did not have custody of them. But the kids parents did not see them either so the only body to attack was Southville High School. The previous pre-science fair PTA meeting have seen lavish donations by well-to-do people and reasonable gifts from other who work hard to make ends meet. But the scene at this year’s event was quite contradictory. Parents came completely furious even to the point of thinking of taking their children out of the school. Kimberly and Jon are the essential daddy and mummy’s babies. Not in the sense of their parents ordering them around but in the manners of all their needs being provided. Maybe the right word to use is wants but not needs. Kimberly and Jon had everything provided for them. Music concerts in Albuquerque to summer vacation in Paris. They wore the best and most expensive clothes as long as it was bought with money. Their birthday parties are the biggest out-of school event on the calendar. Could all this extragant lifestyle be responsible, responsible for their notorious lifestyle. Why are most rich kids naughty? Or do you think it is a phenomenon that can be proofed with some long scientific staff? Well all that

does not matter now. Kimberly and Jon’s parents arrived at the PTA meeting. They got out of the car faster this time. They had lost touch of their kids for some time now and came back from their vacation in Barbados to find out what was going on. When they arrived in town, they heard the news that their children, along with other kids have gone missing from Southville High School. The more bewildering aspect of the matter was the fact that all the kids were seen after class arguing together. They entered the P.T.A Meeting hall with a rush and Kimberly’s dad shouted at the chairman who was trying to put things in order. “What in hell, is happening. My kids have not contacted me in almost a month. And you are the only ones I can hold responsible. The house keeper said they didn’t arrive after school on the day they got missing.” The PTA chairman had no right to protest and attack. Or let’s just say his conscience did not allow him to do that. He taught of the best excuse to give to the angry man standing in front of him. “Sir, I understand you. Kimberly, Jon and the rest getting missing has been a big ball hit in our face. I think this might be an abduction. Maybe the housekeeper did not give you the truth. Maybe he or she has something to do with this. You should try interrogating your housekeeper.” The PTA Chairman said. Kimberly’s mother was not the talkative type but her mood right now shows how hormones rise up when we find ourselves in certain situations. Our DNA provided us with shells in which we can hide

ourselves, these shells get eroded and something new comes out. Ideal self or not is an issue worth writing a book on. Kimberly’s mother was a down–to-earth person. She said, “Don’t try to be fast here, Mister. You should be very ashamed of yourselves. What adult doesn’t take responsibility for his actions? My house has a state of the art security system which includes a very effective camera technology. He rewinded through all the takes of the past few weeks. If my children had arrived at home or anywhere near that, I would be aware. So give me something proper to fill my mind with.” the P.T.A Chairman found out that he was dealing with superrich individuals who had all digital technology at their disposal. As the school’s representative in this case, the P.T.A Chairman had no option than to bring out his frustration. These people standing in front of him right now were almost going to eat him up. The P.T.A Chairman sobbed to the amazement of the two, “Look what am I to do here. They were in rival groups. This means this could not have been a conspiracy. This is by far the strangest occasion in my life. I care about this kids too, all of them. So stop acting bossing.” He finished and ran out of the room crying. Only if they knew exactly where the children were…

CHAPTER SEVEN

Elvis is dead. ‘‘Elvis is dead!” Maggie cried. Her depression went up high. Nowadays it has become common for teenagers to suffer from depression. Sometimes even to the point of suicide. Unipolar and Bipolar. And many of them resort to their passions for healing. Maggie found her healing in science but how can that apply now that she is in a world that doesn’t obey the laws

of physics, looks like the mental juices are mixing up again. Elvis was dead. Elvis was the one with the sense of humor. Maggie so remembers when she and Michael met him at a horror movie. They were so attracted to the fact that all the gore on the screen did not scare a hair off his body. His addiction to Stephen King books made the attraction stronger. His gothy dressing also appealed to all. Elvis is the member of this group with an eccentricity which can hardly be forgotten. A plump cute boy with dark clothes and a sense of humor that would be found by anybody to be completely irresistible. Put in this world there was no way back. Save High Skies and go back to earth or fail to do it and go swallowed up by a vortex. Now one of their friends was gone and they had nothing to do except to find the widget. Skumul saw the sorrow in Maggie and Claire’s eyes. Michael tried hard not to cry though his eyes were watery. Skumul started “I am so sorry for the death of your friend. He was so fat he couldn’t run. But we have to forget about him, Maggie couldn’t imagine forgetting about Elvis that easily.” “You don’t expect us to forget about Elvis that easily. Humans don’t. Please lets mourn him for some time.” Skumul looks straight at her, “You talk about being human. If you really ever want to have that feeding again then we have to find the widget fast and save High Skies so you can go back to earth.” Claire cleared her mind, “Where is this widget thing? Let’s get it fast and save our lives.” Skumul explained, “Legend has it that a cave

called the Chamber of Aviella has a map that would lead us to where the widget is. The Chamber of Aviella contains a creature called the aveilla who posses the thing we are looking for.” Something seemed odd to Claire. “What if we arrive at the cave of aviella and this aviella guy isn’t around or what if he has died from all those years of waiting?” Skumul answered her. “You still don’t get it that High Skies is a very mystic place, at the very moment you arrived on the land of High Skies, the Aviella was created. The Chamber of Aviella had existed far long than anyone can remember. As if it was created for this purpose. The real story has not been passed down to us.’’ They left for the chamber of Aviella. The chamber was located high on top of a mountain. The children found it very incredible how many things in High Skies was related to mountains and hills. Climbing their way to the top of the mountain was not as tiring as would have been expected. The children remembered when they went on an excursion to the regional maintain ranges, some few miles from Southville High School. They remembered how tiring the journey was. How Elvis being fat found it most difficult climbing the hill. He ended up fainting. Now he his not fainted but is dead. Would they prefer him being in an endless faint or death? What would the difference be anyway? Now, the mountain they arrived on was so big not even the regional mountain ranges stood a chance of comparison. The stakes took all forms of reluctance or tiredness from them. The Chamber of

Aviella did not look like anyplace. But at least they would get a chance of saving High Skies. The usual granite wall with a glassy table in the middle. Then emerged the aviella from behind the table. An almost Elf-like creature with the exagarated eyes and nose with a curly tail. “This is the golden peak of the east oak mountains.” Skumul said as if it were a line in a theatrical production that has been rehearsed for several weeks. Aviella scrutinized the humans for a while and brought out a map. The map was a golden scroll with inscription and layout made of silver. He handed the map to Skumul. There was now a flicker of hope in their hearts. Hope of going back to earth. Hope of meeting families again and of continuation of a normal life. And then Skumul did something that shocked Maggie , Claire and Michael. He opened his left hand and stretched it toward the aviella. He fell on the floor and something began to drip from his body. The aviella has just been murdered.

When they arrival at the chamber of aviella, they were filled with shock. They entered the cave and saw aviella laying dead on the floor. His eyes had turned red, this means that the map had already been given out. Kanbra, Kimberly, Jon and Sidekick found it very hard climbing up the mountain. As rebellious as they can be, Kimberly and Jon refused to join the trip their school organized to the regional mountain ranges. They

complained that the bus to carry them did not have right air conditting and that the cushion on the seat were not Italian. Kimberly and Jon therefore decided to go to a local spa and a rock show instead. They have acted like this on several occasions before. Like when the school was to volunteer at the soup kitchen, when they were offered the chance to represent the school in a global warming awareness program in Sri Lanka. Sidekick however went for the trip. Just that he did not take it too serious to use any of mountain-climbing techniques here. The endeavour was much tiring to them but they had to do it anyway, considering the situation at hand. Kanbra had told them that he had thrown a hail of stones over where Maggie and the others were supposed to be but some questions kept popping in their heads. What if Maggie and friends weren’t actually dead. What if they came for the map and are on their way to get the widget? Would that mean that Maggie and friends would go back to earth leaving them here in High Skies? All these question were floating in their heads. Kanbra on the other hand did not have any of the perimism to his credit. He was very sure Skumul and the humans would be dead by now. Maybe not even their bodies remaining. Could it be that humanity was what gave Kimberly and her group mates the tendency of thinking the way they did? Well it may. Creatures of High Skies seem to have almost the same moral code as earthly human beings. But Kanbra not having any fear of failure

is quite incredible no matter what notion each other had, what they saw in the cave shocked them. It seems Kimberly and her friends’ negative thinking is an evident proof of the law of attraction or maybe it was the sad event that actually triggered the evil thinking. In the Chamber of Aviella, they saw the Aviella laying on the floor covered all around his body by a green liquid. Then his body started to decay immediately and turned into dark power which also plastered itself against the hard granite floor to increase the level of the floor. They drew back in fear. ‘‘Oh no!” Kambra realized in fear. “It seems Skumul and your other friends are not dead after all. They came here to take the map from the Aviella but why did they decided to kill him. There must be something fishy somewhere.’’ “What are we going to do now. I though we were just going to find the widget and go back to earth. Now everything is going in reverse. So am I really going to miss my date with John May? We were going to see his favorite band.” Kimberly said out. Jon answered her, but he did it in a way that brought him much regret. “Don’t be stupid, sister! Our lives are at stake here. Maggie, Claire and Michael are in the company of a murderer. There is a fair chance we will not go back home, and all you care about is your date with John May? Don’t be such a fool!’’ “You have been making me angry for some time now, but I have not paid attention. Today I think you have to pay for this.” She turned and spoke to Sidekick. She said it in a way that would pain Jon a

lot. Jon over the years has had problems with his love life. Always dating girls considered in the school as leftover. At the last junior prom, Kimberly met him with someone wired, Jon asked Mandy Simpson out. Yeah you got it right. Mandy Simpson, that fat girl in the business class who puts on those turtle–back shaped glassed and famous for picking her nose. Kimberly said. To great surprise, Jon started bursting out in tears. “OK now, you have said it all, is there anything else you can hold against me?” Jon sobbed. Kimberly answered him, “You are Jon, you always have some bad stuff on you credit.” Kanbra seemed to be out of the teenage conversation going on, or was it because of the pain he was facing?

Skumul in a distance emitted his beam of light. The same intensity he used on the Aviella he used on Kanbra to kill him. The teenage conversation came to a halt when they heard a sound. Kanbra had hit the ground. Then the obvious happened. Kanbra started disintegrating of course.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Kanbra is dead now. How sad how things are now for Kimberly and her friends. What were they to do now? It was not their fault they got teleported into High Skies. And now the one guy supposed to help them is now no more. The real chemistry of High Skies is quite interesting. Kanbra gets a decay just as the Aviella did. What that meant was quite terrifying. Kanbra disappeared into the ground or should I say thin air? Without even a trace. Now Kimberly, Jon and Sidekick have to figure the quest all on their own. But was that entirely possible? All hope

was lost at this point. To Kimberly, this was the end of the world. Kimberly’s life has had very few disappointments for an average civic. She had everything in the world. It seemed all her wants and needs were just clicks away. Never would she have believed that her life would be so stranded by someone. Let alone her rival Maggie. “This is it. I knew Maggie had something beneath her belt after all. Now some rabbit has gotten Kanbra killed. Maggie, Michael and Clair are probably going to find the widget and go back to earth. I just hope we don’t get stuck here.” Kimberly said in her depreciating cheeky tone. Her brother also had his opinion. “We have to do something real fast, sister. Sidekick, what do you think?” “Blaming anybody is not going to solve matters. I think it’s just going to increase the apprehension we already feel.” Sidekick who as usual was not too engaged in what was currently going on decided to take a stroll. She climbed down the hill by the more gentle slope. Slowly descending into the bushes. Sidekick had always been the creepy one and quiet lonely too. Always preferring to be alone. Locking herself up in her room most of the time. Maybe so creepy as to change her name from Alice-Mabel Benison to Sidekick. Well a good thing. That made her fit into Kimberly’s group. Sidekick was always fine being with herself. Her parents tried several times to make her mingle with the other kids to fit in, but she always declined. Sometimes we want to unite with our innerself and know who we really are. Sometimes we just

want to be the last one standing. Could one really feel special? Could there be a moment in up there in our mind where our creative faculty unites with infinite intelligence to show us who we really are? That we were truly made for a reason, and that we are not worthless as we may think. Exactly what Sidekick has been searching for all her life. And since she has been making no progress towards that goal, it wouldn’t hurt to put on her alter ego --Sidekick. Sidekick continued done the hill gently till what she new shocked her. Down the hill at the direct opposite of the section they had climbed the hill from lied a small village. The village could pass for a typical northen west African village with the usual thatch huts with muddy walls. There were big huts and small huts. The village had a central point, a very big hut. The huts getting bigger as one approached the central point. Clay/mud hut with straw roofing – quintessential African style. Many things in High Skies had its own rules, apart from the rules of the physical on earth. Sidekick went on to call her friends. “Looks like all hope isn’t lost yet.” Jon said, “We have no time on our hands. That is if time even still existed.” They descended down to the village and felt a sense of hope. From afar, the creatures they saw look more or less like the creature that had been dying when they arrived at the chamber of Aviella. They started to walk towards the huts. Any of the creatures who saw them ran away. This put fear in them. What world was this place? Was High Skies even

qualified of even being called a world. They had experience many hectic situations already and to think of another round of turmoil was not quiet what they had the appetite for right now. They got near to the biggest hut in the central point. And out of the hut emerged one big Aviella. This one was incredibly larger than the others. He said, “I am the king of the Aviellas. And I know why you are here. I am here to help you.” “That would be so great because we were wondering if you could help us find the widget.” “I suppose you have heard of the widget.” Kimberly said. The Aviella answered. “The widget is a deception it does not exist. The widget is a deception. It is not true.” The Aviella said. He had brought them into his hut. His hut was the most appealing place in High Skies Kimberly and her friends have seen so far. With a warm but snowy effect to it. It featured hanging roses that were floating in the air to glowing insects with good scents. Kimberly thought the scene could pass well for a perfume advertisement with the background of course animated. Well, Kimberly has featured in a television commercial before. Her good looks and affluent family background got her there even though she found it difficult reading lines from a script. But they put her in anyway because her father was a major donor of the company. The background of the commercial you would have guessed was the traditional pink for Kimberly. The commercial premiered on television to good reviews by many. This made her ego overgrow and made

her extremely popular in school. Among the jocks at least. They were seated on crystal as the Aviella continued. “The idea of the widget was all just a deception. A set–up to make the light – hearted fall to the ground. The fairy Esmaltha just said that to put creatures on a fruitless quest.” Kimberly repelled, “He said there was some widget located at the golden peak of the east oak mountains. He told us humans are the only creatures that possess heart navigation. So what is our true essence here?” The Aviella answered. “He did do well to tell you the truth about the power in this kingdom, even though it has nothing to do with the so called widget you guys have been trying to uncover.” Jon asked, “So what do we do now? Now you claim there is no widget. A widget we so put our heart in. How are we going to save High Skies and how are we going to go back to earth. I am sick and tired of this High Skies place!” Jon has all his life been sick and tried of a lot of things. He has a very tragic love life. Is beauty really a prerequisite for love? Or does the true magnetism come from deep down within? Jon had a very handsome face. And that combined with his riches should make girls run to him. In traditional high school sense. But things were rather the contrary. Almost every girl he asked out did not want to go out with him. So last junior prom night, he got stuck up with Mandy Simpson. One fat girl from business glass who everybody knows to pick her nose. Mandy was considered prom left – over. She however left Jon in the middle of the prom night

for another guy. Jon was so embarrassed by the incident that he decided not to tell anyone about it. But when Kimberly found out how embarrassed he was of the situation, she used it against him in blackmail. Jon would do anything for his story not to go public. He soon became Kimberly’s robot. Obeying her every command. Maybe beauty really isn’t a prerequisite of love. Love is free. It’s supposed to be something we share freely. What goes around comes around. No wonder the law of attraction is also known as the law of love. “High Skies is actually in danger.” The Aviella started, “But it has nothing to do with the widget of course.” “Please go straight to the point. Time is running out. Our life back on earth is at hand. Please help us to do this.” This was one the first times in her life Kimberly was pleading for something. “I’m going to hit the nail right on the head. I had wanted to put a bit more sugar to the words I am going to bring out. But since you are in such a hurry, I’m going to say it raw. In the land of High Skies exits strong rivalry between the Aviellas and the Rabzes, the giant rabbits. For 2000 years the Androids have been ruling High Skies and the time is due for new creatures to rule. Either the Aviellas or the Rabzzes. But there has been argument on who to rule the land. Since the Androids were angry with Esmaltha the fairy, she decided to reflect the anger by placing a spell on the sky of High Skies. And setting a countdown for the destruction of High Skies. But she put a condition on the spell. If any of the creatures could get extict,

the other would rule High Skies. That is the truth of the matter. You humans posses the heart navigation to lead us there. Then High Skies in its own mystical sense would find a way of sending you back to earth peacefully.” The Aviella explained. Upon hearing this, the kids were down-hearted but the possibility of going back to earth gave them hope. “Where do we begin?”

CHAPTER NINE

The east oak mountains of High Skies is by far the tallest mountain ranges in the whole of the land. But one interesting thing was that it could not be seen from many parts of High Skies. The regional mountain ranges which these children were familiar with could be seen from many points of the town. This is one distinction that High Skies would be noted for. All the other hills of High Skies had either blue or green shades, the east oak rater has them both. This could make the east oak mountains as paramount or would it be that the golden peak gave it the paramount effect instead? The east oak mountains had a very small peak. The peak was coated with a golden color with a chalice-like crevice. The peak frequently sparkled. This would draw attention to anyone yet it was near unconquerable. That no one would be able to climb to make it, to the peak, to touch the real gold. It is known in all of High Skies that anyone who could go to the top of the east oak would be capable of

viewing the boundaries of High Skies. But did High Skies really have a boundary. Isn’t High Skies supposed to be like other planets, without boundaries? Is High Skies even a planet? But like many mystical aspects of High Skies, this mountain has a mechanism used to climb to the top. Surrounding the mountain from the bottom of the mountain to the top are two set of moving stair-cases. Shopping mall class. One moves up and the other in the opposite direction. Maggie, Michael, Claire and Skumul have arrived at the base of the mountain.. They walked onto the stairs and began the dull journey to the top. It seemed the journey was going to take forever. All hope came back. Their hearts were filled with hope now. Hope, the only thing we need in such times. The fuel that keeps us going. They anticipated what the widget would look like. “This is what is going to save High Skies, the widget. I really am finding it difficult to think about what the widget could look like.” Michael said. Michael was one who did things to the extreme. One day he would be positive and on another day a strong pessimist. His unpredictable nature was one of his qualities that made him attractive. Michael was a natural – born athlete. Joining the basketball team at a young age. Jock styles traditional. He is so easy going with everyone and is not picky on who becomes his friend. He is not like the other jocks who relate themselves only to the social high class of the high school. He loves pop music and jazz music. The latter being evident with his meeting

Maggie in a jazz music store. Kimberly once tried to go out with Michael but he decided against it because he did not like her cheeky style of behavior. Maggie and Claire had a rather sad face right now. Most probably because they were missing Elvis again already. Not that Michael wasn’t mourning Elvis. He was just being a boy, but Elvis’s death was not the only death on their minds. The kids watched in the dismay as Skumul sent a beam of light to kill Kanbra. Was the widget worth so much that one would want to kill another just for getting it first. Shouldn’t the finding of the widget bring joy to all in High Skies? Well, they all wouldn’t want to dare ask Skumul about any of that. If the widget could cause Skumul to kill a High Skies native, how much more human beings from another planet? The journey did seem long though but as they were being elevated, the view of the rest of High Skies from their position became so splendid. And then as suddenly, they were at the peak. The view was so great. More beautiful than anything they have ever seen. Maybe more because of its authenticity. In the distance they could see the boundaries of High Skies. A perfect square with its sides in the unreachable distance. Shades of blue and green. And then came the moment they were waiting for. To go to the chalice –like crevice and get the widget. Skumul took it upon himself the honor of bringing the widget out. The map had directed them to its exact position and had given them the right order to use in entering placed that has been firewalled. Finally the kids

would be on their way to save High Skies and go back to earth or maybe going to see the crevice was not an honor after all. When Skumul entered the crevice, it was totally empty, there was no widget. They have just lost their one thing-hope. How could the widget not be there? Or could it be there but they can’t see it because they do not know what it looks like? After Skumul went into the crevice and did not find the widget, he came back to get the humans to verity. Maybe human beings have a different eye mechanism. This can’t be possible. The time of the destruction of High Skies is to be due pretty soon. And now the widget is no where the map had directed. “What is to be of us? How are we to go back to earth? I can’t believe this even imagine this. Well, I know we are just going to be swallowed by some vortex forever. So I would never get the chance to go to the senior prom. I never thought my life would come to this. Having my friends teleported into a world we know so little about.” Maggie stated. Looks like frustration leads people releasing too much of what they once kept private.

Frustration has the ability of destroying one’s muse and taking all hope away from us. “I don’t really know what we will do now. Skumul say something.” Michael was authoritative now. Skumul was confused now. Never had he expected a blow so strong to hit him in the face. He was fully flabbergasted now. “I now regret killing the Aviella.” He was so greedy to kill him in

order to erase any prospective beaurocracy. And now all hell has broken loose. Well, Skumul did have a very selfish temperament. Wanting to get the widget. Not to save High Skies but solely to cease the power that came with possessing the widget. But now the strong thirst for power has gotten him nowhere. Did he really have anything to loose? The whole of High Skies would surely be spinning in a vortex any moment from now. But there was another chance. An option at least. “I know where to go to. A place where we can all seek comfort.” Skumul said. These words were supposed to bring comfort to them. That place looked very comforting from afar. A kingdom full to pink. It was the land of the Rabzes.

Spherical houses with settlement layout as in the land of the biggest spherical building in the middle as one approached the central point. The Rabzes were giant rabbits just like Skumul. The land of the Rabzes was not too far away from the east mountain. Maggie, Michael and Claire half-expected this journey to be a fruitless one. When the rabbits saw them, they ran away. Whether because of shame or because of fear, it isn’t truly clear. To keep walking through the land towards the central point. A rabbit far bigger than all the others in the land came to meet them at the entrance of his big pink sphere building. He looked at Skumul. “My son, welcome back. I knew you would learn your lesson. You should not have gone after the

widget. It was against my will. I know what is good for you and therefore I expect you to trust me every time. But now I can’t send you away. I only have to take you in and modify you.” Skumul looked very ashamed of himself. He seemed to be guilty of all he was being accused of. But at this point he had to swallow his pride in order to know the truth. That is what we all have to do in the long run. We have to swallow our egos and step into the light to get the truth. Skumul had to confess. “Father, I have truly done a lot against you. Disobeying your commands. Being who ever my careless mind prompted me to be. Not even considering the fact that your words to me could be real. I come and seek your mercy, forgive me.” The humans where more and more confused by what was going on. These creatures seemed not to be aware of what was going on. High Skies was going to be a vortex in no time and all they could do was discuss family matters? High Skies creatures even had human emotions. Skumul’s father said, “I am going to help you soon. I will tell you the truth.” “Then you have to be fast, High Skies is in danger. And our people on earth are missing us. Come-on, one hour here equal two days on earth.” Maggie said. Skumul’s father looked at her with dismay. “You made a mistake, human. The two days was just preliminary. It’s always accelerating. You’ve been gone for over a year.”

CHAPTER TEN

In all its years of existence, since its foundation in 1876, Southville High School has never been closed down. But in every area there is a first. A debut of issues to be written in history. Southville High School just got closed by Kimberly and Jon’s parents. Their children have been missen for 15 moths now. Normal parents were the type that took issues like this lightly. Calling bygones bygones and moving on with their lives. Kimberly’s parents however were not the ordinary parents. They sued the school because they just wanted to get back at the case, making it an issue of security rather than family.The school was shocked that their previous mega-donors transformation into predators. They dreaded even allowing Kimberly and Jon into their school in the first place. But this situation is one of those few situations in life, in which there is no lesson to learn. Just a vague happening.

In High Skies, Skumul is so amazed of what his father had just told him. That it was the turn for either the Rabzes or Aviellas to rule High Skies. And unity cannot actually be possible because one clan has to be extinct for the other one to exist. Skumul said, “So father, how is this extinction going to go on. We the Rabzes do not have to go extinct. We are the special ones. Father you have toiled so hard for this. We need to make a decision and make it fast. To save High Skies and save the Rabzes so that all would be well.” Skumul’s father seemed to be impressed by the

way his son just spoke. Looks like Skumul isn’t as unwise as his father thought he was. “You killing Kanbra is one of the most significant things going to happen on this quest to save High Skies. Very soon the bulb in the sky of High Skies is going to develop a red light at the center. Deep red that is darkening High Skies little by little. According to legal legend that would be the time for a war. Between the Rabzes and Aviellas to win survival in order to continue to exist here in High Skies. The fairy Esmaltha can be considered as bad for the spell she placed on us. But it is our fight now to restore peace.” Skumul’s father said. Maggie , Michael and Claire were all fed up with the issue of saving High Skies coming to no avail. But what bothered them now was not Elvis but what Skumul father had just told them, about time back on earth. They have been gone for over a year now. They just hope it wasn’t years. Over a year now could mean 30 years, 40 or 7 but it has only been hours since they arrived in High Skies. The time acceleration explains that the time they left earth would continue to increase on and on and on. They were very scared at this paint. Kimberly, Jon and Sidekick were also scared. Scared of ending up in some vortex for the rest of their lives. Not being able to fulfill those things they so dreamed about. At one point in time or another on earth these kids had regrets. Regrets of not being born at another place in the world. Regrets of not being perfect. But now that they were in a matter of life and death, they had once taken for

granted. Maybe that’s what we humans are made of. Unless we loose something or are on the verge of loosing it, we do not see how important it is to us. The king of the Aviellas has told them about the war at hand. About the battle that was going to go on between the Rabzes and the Aviella to claim the one to save High Skies from impending danger. “So when is this red thing going to pop up on the bulb so that the fight can begin in order for us to go home, if we win, that is.” Kimberly said. “Soon my dear. Just take heart. It would happen far sooner than you can notice.” The King of the Aviella said. “But can’t this be changed in anyway? Can’t this whole war be stopped and some peaceful means be used to solve this problem?” “My dear, one has to win and one has to loose. One clan has to go to extinct for the other to come out triumphant. I know your human temperament is questioning the impending danger. But you just have to let your heart accept the matter at hand the way it is for all to be well.” And well, the thing happened far more sooner than latter. In the room, they sensed a red light shine on the floor from a beam from the window. The red spot had just appeared on the bulb. “My dears, seems time is due.” The format for the war was nothing like anything any human knew. At least not from History class. Not even video games had that format. It was eccentric indeed. The existence of the widget could force the humans to question their function in the saving of High Skies. To question their authenticity in this strange land. Whether they

were actually necked in this quest or whether they were just being used for some prank. But when the human were told about this, they knew that true human ethics and emotions were needed to succeed in this game. The fortuitous nature of the announcement pushed some shakes down their heels but nevertheless had to do this to save themselves. Save themselves? They were on two opposite side now. Maggie group and Kimberly’s group. Maggie’s with the Rabzes and Kimberly’s with the Aviellas. What is this truly going to benefit them. What would be their gain for the atrocities? They all arrived in High Skies as a group. Even though they are rivals, they are supposed to sick to each other in a situation like this if one team wins, the other would be destroyed. What would they rejoice over when they go back to earth and they do not have their friends around to jubilate with them. Maggie and Kimberly’s groups have been rivals for a long time but that wouldn’t permit wickedness to the extent of disrespect for a fellow human’s life. The format of the war is complex but literally explainable. There are two kinds swords used in fighting this war. The pinslixe and the finslaxe. The pinslixes are the swords for the humans. They have been revered for ages for many purpose. Only being able to be handled by very powerful High Skies creatures. But humans were the right type to use this sword. Because they possessed heart navigation. Powerful creature like the ones that used to handle the pinslixes do not exist anymore. Humans now hold

the power. The finslaxes on the other hand are the swords to be used the Rabzes and Aviellas. The pinslixe has eight times more power than the finslaxe. That explains why it should be guarded by someone with the passion of the heart. The war has started with the red spot in the center of the with mathematical accurate parallel relation to the spot the kids had arrived. Humans were holding the pinslaxes while the High Skies creatures held the finslaxes. The normal fights that should be imagined. The usual Arabian sword fights of course. None of the humans could be killed because of the kind of sword they possessed. From up above the aerial view of the fight scene was in deed splendid. Millions and millions of High Skies creatures fighting against each other for the redemption of their clans and of their land, High Skies. The pinslixes glowed blue. The auras of the swords had a strong radiation to them. One could feel the energy when one’s hand is put a little above any of the swords. The killings were done so easily it was almost pleasurable. The sword hit on the prey chest and it instantly disintegrated and forms part of the granite stones on the floor. Maggie was not really a fan of video games. But the fun she was having with killing these creatures made her aware of the joy she was missing out on not playing video games. “This is so exciting. I didn’t think it would be so exciting slaughtering High Skies creatures.” She said to Skumul. “Don’t let it get so exiting already. You have to put all your heart in it. Heart navigation is

what it is called.” Skumul answered. Maggie had no idea what Skumul was talking about until it started happening. The pinslaxes started blinking. Slowly at first and then very fast. Then it became attached to its holder’s hands. They could not let go of it. Then visible radiations started flowing from one pinsilixe to the other. The whole place was networked in blinking light. The King of the Aviella shouted to Kimberly while fighting still, “This is where the heart part comes in. Focus all your energy onto the sword. All your love, all your hate, all the emotions in your heart. Let it flow through the sword. This is where the heart navigation is. You can’t afford to lose.” Looks like every other of the kids took the advice that was shouted out. They focused their all energy onto their pinslixes and the energy overflowed. There was an explosion. All died.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

He opened his eyes. Chaos all around him. It felt like he just woke up from a sleep he had been in for a thousand years. Smoke filled the air. Where was he? It was only few times in his life that he had experience anything really subconscious. He had collapsed few times on the basketball court only to find himself in the hospital. But Michael had a question many other humans had. Is unconsciousness real? Could it be measured? Is it one of those questions that there were no answers to? Maybe there were answers to those questions. Just maybe, we haven’t gotten the answers yet. Anytime Michael returned from a trip of

unconsciousness he wondered how it would be like to be in an unconsciousness mind for eternity. But when he focused on the ones he loved the most, and the sorrow that would come in loosing them, he discarded that thought.

In all his life Michael has had only one girl friend, Tina. When Tina and Michael started going out, they were hardly seen apart from each other. Tina never missed Michael’s basketball training sessions and games. She was always on the front row. Michael tried to be at as many of Tina’s art exhibitions as possible but could not achieve that fully because of his overloaded basketball schedule. The love these two had for each other was so strong that they thought they were going to get married. And then something very unfortunate happened. Tina’s doctor diagnosed her of having a fatal brain tumor. At the point of discovery the tumor had developed to the point that it cannot be treated anymore. Breathing became very difficult for Tina.

The very painful headaches followed. She was to die in a few days. This was by far the most difficult point in Michael’s life. Michael considered Tina the only girl who had true love for him. Because all other girls were after his good-looks and jock status. Tina died and the Michael’s life was never the same. He refused to go out with any other girl. Even when he met Maggie, he refused to be charmed by her sweet appeal and good intellect. Tina’s death was a tragedy. He did not want to be in her shoes. Michael tried to get up. He could not make complete sense of his environment. Everywhere was foggy and smoky,

then he heard her coughing in the fog. “Who is out there? Can you year me?” He shouted. The cough continued with a wheezy noise this time. “Who are you?” “It’s me Michael, where are you.” “It’s Kimberly. I can hear you right in front of me.” Michael realized that talking brought air out of his mouth and the air cleared off the smoke. So he told Kimberly to blow air as much as she could. This made the air clearer and they were able to see each other. Then they all stood together where the smoke was less. Where they could see each other almost clearly. They have not been together like this in a long time. They have never actually ever been like this. Together as a unit. Everytime they came close, they viewed each scorn enemies and rivals but today things had changed. There was some solidarity up there somewhere. The kids were amazed by their surroundings. All the High Skies creatures were dead on the ground. The explosion had killed them all. “So is this what all this trouble has brought us. Struggling to save some kingdom in order to go back to earth. Is this what we could ever get?” “Maybe we are not supposed to go back to earth after all. I think life is just playing tricks on us. Or better still teaching us a lesson.”

“I think this explosion has been beneficial to us in some way though. When was the last time we stood in unison? When was the last time we stood together to help each other’s situation. Throughout this journey, we all have tried to gratify our selfish desires and forget what truly matters.”

Truly truly, these children have not been together to take decision before. Maybe where fate has placed them now is just a preamble of what they should really be. Their frustrating speech shows that they have lost that one thing that keep humans going. It is indeed true that you do not see the importance of something until you lose it. The boring High School life they dreaded an earth is what they cry for now. It seems at times in life, darkness comes and robs one of all the light he has ever seen. To the degree of not even being able to recognize light. This was the position that these children were in. Or so they thought.

The structure was giant, and strange. The kids were not too sure what it was. The structure attracted them from afar. In all the darkness around them the structure in its brilliance stood out. They were not too sure what the structure was made of. Kind of a mixture of metal, glass and crystals. A very tall structure with pointing spikes on top. Imagine a giant heap of salt with a spiky top. Or countless candles put in a basket with their pointed ends towards the sky. Yes, this structure is very difficult to describe more like describing blue to the blind. But the difficulty of description of this building had could not cut away one obvious feature. The structure had an entrance. “Are we supposed to go inside?” Jon asked. Maggie took a deep breath. She still had some guilt in her. Putting her friends in this situation was not something she thought was a small deal. Moreover, they have been missing from earth for like who-knows-how-long? But despite all, she thought

herself the right person to answer this question. “We have no option now. If we stay here, we’ll get swallowed by the vortex. It’s only wise for us to approach the light when we are surrounded by darkness. Literally and figuratively speaking. The best thing to do is to enter to see what this structure has for us.” Kimberly, ever cynical, “So what if something bad happens. What if some group of scary creatures feed on us or something?” “Well then we wouldn’t have much to lose. Going in there is a fair risk. Being swallowed by a vortex and being devoured by some creatures amount to the same thing.” Their consciences guided them all. They walked slowly towards the entrance. The way leading to the entrance was filled with fragments of the material that the structure was made of. Metal, glass or crystals. Or the average of all. On earth, this structure could pass for a very artistic building. But in High Skies, this structure was just one of the mystics. High Skies creatures would obviously not view the structure with awe. Familiarity brings contempt. The entrance was narrow so the kids had to form a queue in order to enter. When they entered, they found themselves in a large narrow corridors. The door of the corridor getting lighter as they went further. Narrower too, the corridor led them into a room filled and covered with mirrors. They could see their reflections in hundreds of folds. Each one of them. This was the end of the corridor so this was their destination. “So this is it. What we came all the way here to see?” “I think I know what it is about. A room for reflection. A room for seeing ourself from different angles to know who we really are. To know why we are actually here.” They all

viewed their reflection in the countless mirrors around them. This made them ponder on their past, their strengths, weaknesses, insecurities. Sidekick remembered hers. Her past. Always being scared of what other people thought of her. Or maybe, what she thought others thought of her. Now seeing herself in the mirrors, she could only measured the contrast from Sidekick now and Sidekick then. Every stage in our lives provides us with a chance to re-invent ourselves and Sidekick did seize that opportunity by re-inventing herself when she got to High School. In junior high, she was the freak. The girl who read story books filled with scary creatures, smelled of either peanut butter, jam or margarine and was always shaky when in the midst of clean people. Sidekick was a really beautiful girl. But she has problems with seeing that beauty. The truth about seeing our beauty is to embrace ourselves for who we.

The bulb started blinking. A bad sign. The time of the vortex is finally due. The kids first saw the bulb blinking immediately. The came out of the mirror structure. They were all filled with fear. The time of destruction is finally due. At this point, perplexion was to its peak. All the High Skies creatures were dead now. There was no one to run to. The idea of they dying in such a situation is something they wouldn’t have though would happen ever in their lives. But here they were, quietly awaiting their fate. The exact time of the vortex was actually unknown to them. But it did not matter anyway. The blinking had given High Skies a very beautiful effect. Like some polar image on a

screen that was flickering. They just wished they could wake up for everything to just turn out to be a dream. Now they missed their previous lives very much. They now saw the importance of life and of love and friendship. It is indeed true that we cannot see the real value of things unless we lose them. “What do we do now?” Kimberly shouted out of complete fear. “Nothing. Let us just wait and see what happens.” And something did happen. It is very confusing the nature of the law of attraction or the stuff it is made of. Or how prompt this law works. That like attracts like is manifested into reality. In such a situation like this, they obviously had a lot of cynicism in them. Even some doubt in such a situation. Let’s just say that their negative thoughts came together in strong force for promulgation. This inner beings’ energies has been communicated to the world and the signal has been received to bring what they were thinking about into action. In the distance, they saw something that looked like a tornado coming with full speed, that is. Towards them. In a few minutes or hours, a vortex was going to swallow them. But human beings have been endowed by creation with the instinct of escape. To flee trouble even when assured death is just around the corner. The kids begin to run away. “Is this the vortex thing?” Kimberly asked. Maggie said “Well, a tornado is some kind of a vortex. But I doubt this is the one we’ve been waiting for. This tornado is only big enough to swallow a car. It could only be a coincidence.” “But what would this cyclone be doing here when in a short time High Skies was to be destroyed. It’s useless to me.” Michael said. Maggie had to answer though they started running

faster and faster with the tornado right behind them steadily approaching. “So far, I have come to see High Skies as a place of surprises. Of deceit and corruption. None of the creatures can be trusted. Even the fairy who we humans know to be a good creature is the one behind all this. This tornado could be good news after all. Let’s just keep running. It’s for our own good.” Kimberly felt something in her heart. Maggie was a real good caring person, Kimberly would admit. She forgot of all the rivalry they had and just concentrated on what was ahead. A chance to live again. A chance to live. Hope. Life is truly a gift. And the earlier we become aware of that, the better for us all. The better we know who we truly are. The better we see the beauty in others. The better we see others as a perfect creature of nature. To excel at everything we do. And show love always. For the law of attraction is also called the law of love. And this is the only way by which true happiness can come to us. “Maggie, I’m very sorry for all that has happened between us. If we make it or not, know this one thing… I love you.” Kimberly said and started crying. Maggie sobbed, “I’ve always loved you Kimberly.” The whole team got emotional. And the cyclone got emotional too. It accelerated really fast towards them. They increased their pace instantly. “Run, run, run. Don’t let it catch you. We may have some chance of going back to earth sometime. Just run.” And yes they did. But human beings are by far no where near the top of the list of the fastest living things on land. How much more a cyclone? Where ever the cyclone was from, nobody knows. What every body knew was that it was too late. Sidekick slipped and fell. The

others were too busy running to notice her. The tornado was hungry. We could all agree that it was only natural for the tornado to satisfy its natural instinct of hunger. The tornado fed on her. It swallowed Sidekick.

Sidekick was dead and gone. Gone. She has been swallowed by the tornado. The funny thing about the tornado was that is disappeared immediately after devouring Sidekick. Elvis died and now it’s Sidekick. Maggie told Kimberly and Jon about how Elvis died. “Elvis is gone and now Sidekick”. “Oh, Sidekick!” Kimberly started crying. It wouldn’t ever have been expected of Kimberly to show such grief. Now they were all seated on the dusty floor of High Skies which once used to be polished granite. All the beautiful fire flies which once used to move slowly around High Skies were all now hovering around the blinking bulb. “In turmoil there is no hope. Recovering is virtually impossible”. “Don’t say that. Remember what Miss Corringson used to say about troubles? She said when your troubles are so big, you try to solve them from the heart. Where they began.” Michael answered to Claire.

“And how is that going to help us now?” Kimberly said. “If we are to face our troubles from where they started from, it means we should go to the base of the bulb. The centre of High Skies.” Maggie suggested. “That way we would be able to find some answers maybe.” They took the long walk to the centre of High Skies. The tornado had made a trail from a long distance to the center where it had disappeared at. They arrived at the place. The kids remembered when they first arrived in

High Skies. How hard and icy this floor had been. And now it’s just melt slippery ice. “Now what? I knew this idea was just futile”. The kids noticed something. The flickering of the bulb became faster. Happening every second. “The time is getting nearer. We have to think of something very fast to do.” They let their negative preconceived notions override their sense of sight. On the floor beside them disguised in the color of the floor was an old scroll. “Maybe not as futile as we think.” On the scroll was a shiny surface with a drawing of the pinslaxe sword on it. “What are we to do now?” Claire asked with eagerness. Seemed the hope had returned. Maggie knew exactly what. The pinslaxes were the swords they used during the war. “Remember when we used our concentration through our swords to create that explosion? I think our concentrations would be needed here too.” Pinslaxes were associated with concentration. Heart navigation. “The solution to our problems is in the heart?” Just the perfect antidote. The scroll was big enough. They held onto the scroll each with both hands. The drawing of the pinslaxe on the shiny surface of the scroll glowed. “It’s time guys. Now imagine everything that is dear to you. All your love. All your hate. All your achieved goals. All your failed ambitions. Just remember all the things that mean so dear to you. It worked like magic. Like colored electricity, each of the kids were filled and covered with a particular aura of a color. The intensity so strong that none of them cold recognize the other. Jon’s colour started blinking. “Think of Sidekick, Jon. Think of all the nice times you shared with her.” Kimberly shouted. Sidekick and Jon were very close. Especially when

Kimberly wasn’t around. They had a lot to talk about. Sidekick was always the one to bring Jon up anytime he was brought down by his sister. In this time, his memory of Sidekick was all he could hold on to in order to get the concentration he needed. He could see his fellows’ colors going deep while his kept blinking on and on and on. That emotion was not working. But emotions did not always come with a positive connotation. If that emotion wasn’t working then the other should. Jon changed his mind. He now put it to the trouble that Kimberly has caused him over the years. They were twins but Kimberly is the one with the strong heart. The one who’s every decision could not be crossed. Many a time he feared what the future would bring. What would happen when they became grown ups. He feared she would interfere in his personal family issues. He was so scared that his family would lose respect for him because of that. That fear turned into pain and persistent pain is converted into anger. Subconscious anger that he wasn’t so aware of until now.

Transmuting it into energy that they so needed in whatever ritual it was that was going on. Jon’s light came back to live. Now ever more bright than that of his friends’. His sister’s became red hot and she screamed in pain. Payback time in disguise. Then since this process was accustomed to explosions. An explosion came out of the scroll. They found themselves in another land.

They arrived. All on the floor. This experience hurt far more than the time when they first arrived in High Skies. All arrived clean except for

Kimberly. Part of her clothing had burnt off leaving ashes all over her. Some part of her skin even got darkened. “This is the most painful experience. Burning in fire, or even worse.” Kimberly paused, examining her friends. She found out that none of them had the ashes or burns that she has been marked with. All of them looked as neat as before. She was confused. “How come none of you seem to have experienced the same thing I went through? We held on to the same scroll. Could it have been that I gave him too much concentration to it? I was just trying to do what was best for us.” “Maybe you should have done that in the past.” Jon said, not being too sure whether it was from anger or from sympathy. “How do you mean. You are my twin brother.” “When my light started to flicker, I needed to put more energy into it. I tried thinking about Sidekick and the times we spent together. But that proved futile. I therefore resorted to negative energy. I remembered all the bad treatment I have received from you over in the past. I remembered all those times that you cheated me. I never knew until then that there was so much anger in my heart towards you. The love that I have for you buried that hate and made it subconscious. I think the pain you felt is just can accumulation of all the one’s I’ve felt. I would not have wished that this happened to you. But I think it will make you think twice the next time you make on action.” Jon explained. Sometimes we change from our bad sides and turn on a new leave but our past always finds a way of catching up with us. Ripping us off our good persona that we just adopted. But the best way to respond to such a situation is to humble ourselves to take

responsibility for a previous misdemeanor. For only then can these deeds be neutralized for our current good deeds to be discernible. In the midst of the current discussion, the kids had forgotten their current environment. High Skies looked beautiful but this environment was extraordinary. They could not have been sure weather it was part of High Skies or not. The land had the usual format. Small figures with a central point, a digger building. It must surely be in High Skies. The figures were spherical buildings. Pink in color. The pink getting lighter as one approached the central figure. Pink ground made of pink gravels. With a blue sky just for the contrast. This land was brightly lit but the light source seemed to be invisible. They had a strong feeling that they were still in High Skies but these were no creatures moving around. Maybe they’ve been killed by the explosion. But the fact that they could no longer see the blinking bulb gave them hope. By instinct they were directed to the central figure of the land. They entered it. On the far end of the room opposite them was the fairy, Esmaltha. A big and extremely beautiful pink fairy.

“You must be the humans. I am Esmaltha the fairy”. “We have heard a lot about you. You are the one we need now. The only chance we have to return to earth.” “This situation is no fault of yours. High Skies truly deserved the curse I placed on it. They are fond of putting innocent people in certain situations like this. The land of High Skies has betrayed me harshly and the curse is the only way I thought I could

use to revenge on them!” “What about the widget? How come it was a deception.” “You see, truth turns to fable, fable to legend and legend to myth. As time goes on, the authenticity of truth of a particular matter is questionable and those so work to let greed override them would have a hard time when they find out the truth. The widget is just one of those fixes that the spell was made into. And the same High Skies creatures were falsely led into believing in it.” “Could there be a chance for all this to be settled for us to go back home?” “Forgiveness is a virtue I posses.” “You really can get us back to earth? We will actually get the chance of meeting our friends and family again? Thank you so much.” Maggie said out of joy but she realized that the celebration would be incomplete with the absence of Elvis and Sidekick.

“We have lost two friends since we came hear. Is there anyway they can come back to us?” “When a human dies on earth does he or she come back to life latter?” The kids shoke their heads. “Same rule applies here. I am sorry you wouldn’t get the chance of meeting your friends ever again. Very sorry about that.”

The fairy Esmaltha got up from her throne. She had a wand in her hand. She waved it and a pink-framed mirror appeared from the thin air. Then the mirror turned into a screen. “Look on the screen. What do you see?” Esmaltha ask. “Well, I do see something. But I don’t want to think it’s what it seems to be.” Maggie said. “Oh no! High Skies is being swallowed by the vortex. It is very big. Never to be compared to

the tornado that killed Sidekick.” Kimberly added. “But if High Skies is being destroyed, then that means we are somewhere else.” “You humans have a good sense of judgement. The moving images on the screen show what is happening on High Skies right now. As we speak that whole land becomes extinct. And yes you aren’t in High Skies. This is the fairly section of Quimalthepy. Quimalthepy is one of High Skies’ countless parallel worlds.” The fairy answered. Michael was curious, “Well, you have succeeded in convincing us that High Skies deserved the spell you cast on it. But why didn’t you make the spell effective at once. Did you have to wait so long to have your revenge implemented?” “Interesting. You humans are quite inquisitive. I never thought I could cast a spell that great ever in my existence. So I decided to give myself time. Hoping time would dilute the anger. But it couldn’t. So I am not going to give time another chance. I am going to send you back to earth immediately. No delay.” Their hearts missed a beat. Were they hearing clearly? The fairy was going to send them back to earth immediately. “We are so glad. We just can’t wait.” Maggie said. She felt the depression leaving finally. They were so glad. Finally their sweet earth life was going to come back to them. But the fairy asked a question. “Which one of you has the sweetest heart? A heart of gold?” They hesitated and Kimberly said loud, “Maggie, she is the one who could go out of her own safety region just to help her friends. She has a golden heart.” The fairy was impressed or so it seemed. She waved her wand and Michael, Claire, Kimberly and Jon found themselves in pink bubbles that started to elevate. “You are on

your journey back to earth. It would be so fast you wouldn’t notice it.” The bubbles took them out of the room, into the open air and going higher and higher towards the sky.

Claire saw that Maggie wasn’t with them. And the bubble was accelerating fast. “Fairy, what about Maggie?” Claire shouted. “She’s going to get a special treatment.” The fairy answered. Maggie always thought good of doing good. She never thought it could fetch her a special treatment. Soon her friend could not be seen again. They must be in earth by now.

The fairy spoke to Maggie. “Sorry Maggie. You wouldn’t be able to go with your friends. You’re staying here with me. There is so much we could accomplish.”

Jon, Kimberly, Michael and Claire have been teleported back to earth. But Maggie was left behind in Quimalthepy. When Kimberly and friends arrived on earth. They found out they have been gone for 12 years now.

THE END?

ABOUT The AUTHOR

Atsu Davoh was born in Accra, Ghana.

He enjoys pop music, reading and writing.