by Nicole Sloan
He lets go of my hand and I keep rubbing my tingly fingers. I feel bad for telling him he sounds crazy, but what does he expect?
“I want to show you the rest of the items that are in this bag and explain them all to you. Maybe then you’ll begin to understand, okay?” he asks while still smiling at me.
“Sure,” I say to him.
He opens the journal and I watch him as he begins to flip through the pages. There look to be page after page of notes, drawings, and maps. He stops and opens up to what looks to be a map of the Tongass National Forest. In the middle of the map there’s a big red X marked.
“This is the map of the forest. Many miles inside there’s a hidden portal that no one knows about. I traveled to these planets myself once when I was your age and this journal has all of my journal entries that I wrote back then. This can teach you many things and tell you more about the planets,” Grandpa says, while handing me the journal.
I'm pretty curious to read it even though still I find it hard to believe what my grandpa is telling me is true.
Grandpa takes out some sort of golden compass from the camping bag. It’s on a long golden chain that dangles around his hand so you could wear it. I sit quietly and watch, waiting for him to continue his story.
“This compass is very important. It may look like a normal compass but it’s not. It works normal here on Earth but when you get to any of the planets it’ll help you find the planet’s gem. They’re important if you ever want to come back home. The only way to enter any portal is to have the gem for that planet, and there are five other planets that I know of,” he says while stopping to take a breath.
“They’re named Yazen, Volux, Crendus, Bredin and Qysan. When you go through the portal here on Earth, you’ll land in a place called Ponith. It’s a central location that holds all six portals and a small building on it. It’s something like an asteroid, central to all six planets. This is where you choose which planet that you want to go to. Are you with me so far?” he asks me.
It’s a lot of information to take in so far and I’m not sure if I believe him. It’s a lot to take in, but he sounds really excited and the compass and his journal seem pretty interesting.
“Of course, Grandpa,” I tell him. I watch him go back to the camping bag and he pulls out a golden watch.
“This isn’t a normal watch. It works like one here on Earth but when you go to one of the other planets, it will display a small map on the face of the watch whenever you push this button on the side of it. The map matches whichever planet you’re on, tracking you as soon as you transition to a different planet. With it you should be able to track your way back to the portal no matter where you are,” he says while he sets down the watch on the table next to the compass he pulled out.
“Grandpa, where did you get these things from anyways? How did you learn about all these places?” I ask him curiously.
“I inherited them from my grandfather when I was younger than you are now, when he passed away. He never told me about the planets or about any of these items, and I had to learn it all on my own. That’s another tale on its own though,” he says while his voices changes, sounding full of regret and loss. He’s looking at the gem again, having lost its light. He shifts in his seat suddenly, smiling and meeting my eyes again.
“This is Earth’s gem. This is the gem that will let you enter the portal that’s located in the Tongass National Forest,” he says while pointing at the map. “The map in this journal is one of a kind so keep it close. It’s very old and very important,” he tells me.
Something changes in his voice and tone. Whereas he was happy and excited before, he now speaks with loss in his voice. I’m fumbling for a response. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to tell him or say.
“Alright Grandpa, I understand. Why has nobody ever seen this portal before?” I speak with a little bit too much skepticism in my voice, but it comes out that way before I get a chance to stop myself. I look down at the diary map on the table, still spread open to the map of the forest.
“Well, the portal is camouflaged now, hidden within the trees. There’s a specific spot you have to put the gem, activating it by pulling down on a nearby branch. Once it appears you can’t leave it open. You have to take the gem with you. When you do, the portal starts to shut down and you have to go through it within about 10 seconds. It’s on this map and if you read it, it’ll explain it more,” he says while pointing at the journal again.
I’m at a loss for words again as Grandpa seems genuine, but a portal hidden in the middle of Tongass National Forest sounds absurd. The map looks real and well detailed. The watch and compass look like pure gold as well. Even then, it still sounds like the biggest fairy tale that I’ve ever heard.
He must have seen the look on my face. “I know you don’t believe me, Zac, but humor me okay? I was the same when my grandfather gave all these to me so many years ago. If you find and activate the portal, then you can believe me. If you go out and find nothing then you can say I have finally lost it and ship me off to the loony house, okay?” he chuckles. He moves the bag closer to me.
I laugh with him a bit and feel bad so I just agree to go, to make him feel better. “I'll go have a look, Grandpa. Maybe I can get Alex or Jenn to go hiking with me there sometime,” I say to him.
"Try to get them both to go, so you can watch out for each other. You better have them tell their parents that they are staying at a summer camp to volunteer for the summer, so their parents don’t get suspicious. You could be gone for a few days or even a while longer."
“Take a few days to read this journal and talk to your friends. The planet I want you to read up about and go to first is Yazen. It’s the first planet I visited and it’s the safest of them all,” he tells me while putting the items back in the bag. He then hands the bag over to me.
I take the bag from him and put it over my shoulder. “Thanks, Grandpa,” I tell him. I sit back a bit and let it sink in for a minute. I wonder if I should ask him more about his grandfather or maybe my parents now.
“Grandpa, can you now tell me more about my parents and our family history? Did you give the same thing to my dad?” I ask him.
“This bag, along with the journal, contains our family history, and it should answer any questions you have. After you return from Yazen, if you have any questions, I’ll answer them for you then. But for now that’s all I wanted to tell you,” he says to me although I can tell he’s hiding something more.
“Okay, fair enough. I’ll try my best to not let you down. I’m going to go and see if Alex wants to hang out for a bit.”
“Alright, go have fun. I didn’t mean to keep you here all morning. I’ll see you later tonight then,” he says while putting his hands on his knees, slowly getting up and going to the kitchen.
I head outside to get my bike and head over to Alex’s house. I hope he’s still home; maybe I can wake him up like he did to me a few days ago. The whole ride over I keep replaying what my Grandpa told me, about the portals and my family history. I don’t quite understand what he means by it all, but I guess I’ll find out soon enough. I leave my bike in his front yard and walk up to Alex’s front door, ringing his doorbell. Alex opens the door, still in his pajamas. Oh well, I grin to myself, it’s payback for yesterday.
“Rise and shine, sleepyhead. I have some exciting news for you. I have an adventure for us to go on. I really want to show you something; can I come in?” I ask while showing him the bag.
“Yeah, come on in. Isn’t that the bag we got out of the attic for your grandpa yesterday?” he questions me while shutting the front door. I follow him to his room. Alex’s room looks like a computer geek’s heaven. He has so many electronics and many gadgets. He has a desktop computer and a laptop, two side-by-side monitors, a big flat-screen television, tons of video games with posters on the wall to match, to name a few.
“Yeah, it is. My grandpa woke me up early this morning to explain this bag to me. He wants me to go o
n an adventure with it. He told me to ask a few friends to go with me, and you were my first choice. I really don’t want to do this alone. I know this story is going to sound crazy, but will you hear me out until I’m done?” I ask him with a serious tone of voice.
Alex is looking at me like I’m crazy. I can tell that he’s not sure what kind of story I’m going to tell him, and he looks like he’s trying to wake up more by rubbing his eyes. “Tell me what’s going on first and then I’ll let you know,” Alex hesitates, and then lies back down on his bed.
I’m trying to figure out the best way to explain to Alex this adventure without sounding too insane. I really don’t have a way to tell him besides coming straight out with it, so that’s what I’m going to do.
“My grandpa wants me to go to an undiscovered planet through a portal to learn about it, plus he says it has something to do with my family history,” I blurt out, nervous of what his reaction will be. I look at Alex’s face, and he’s looking at me like I’m from another planet myself. He doesn’t believe me.
“That sounds like the stupidest thing ever. I think your grandpa is just getting just a bit old and losing it, Zac. You really can’t believe what you just said,” Alex hounds me and then starts laughing.
Do I really believe what I just said? I just know that my grandpa has never let me down before. It does sound quite unbelievable, but now I don’t even know what to believe.
“Will you please just go with me to see if we see any kind of portal, and if we don’t, then you can say ‘I told you so’. If anything, it will be a fun hiking trip. It would mean a lot to me,” I’m practically begging him. I know how weird it sounds but I just don’t want to let my grandpa down.
“When do you want to leave? You know I can’t pass up a good hiking trip. I want to be prepared this time though; no more bears,” Alex laughs. I agree with him that our last hiking trip was a disaster.
“I plan on leaving early Sunday morning. I’m going to read this journal that my grandpa gave me and get some supplies ready to take with me. Thanks, Alex, I really don’t want to go alone,” I tell him.
“Anytime, man, that’s what friends are for,” he replies. He looks like he may go back to sleep. So I decide I’m going to go home to read the journal.
“I’ll talk to you later … go back to sleep. Sorry for waking you up,” I say while leaving his bedroom and heading back down to the front door.
I start to walk over to my bike and I decide to call Jenn as I ride my bike back home. I’m wondering if she’ll talk to me after I hung up on her last night. I pull out my cell phone and dial her number, and it starts to ring. It rings three times and then she finally answers, “Hello?”
“Hey, Jenn. It’s me, Zac. How are you doing?” I ask her, wondering if she’ll tell me more about her and Brad.
“I'm doing okay. Why are you calling me so early? Is everything okay?” she asks me.
“Oh dammit, I keep forgetting what time it is. My grandpa woke me up early today. I’m just calling to see if you want to go on a crazy adventure with Alex and I on Sunday?” I'm crossing my fingers, hoping she says yes.
“What kind of adventure? Where are you going to?” she questions me. I panic because I know what I’m going to tell her is going to sound crazy. I hope she doesn’t take it the same way Alex did.
“It’s kind of a weird story, but please hear me out. My grandpa gave me some old stuff that his grandfather gave to him and told me a story. He’s asking me to go on an adventure for him to some places that aren’t in our history books. We have to go on a hiking trip into Tongass National Forest and find something like a portal. He wants me to go there to learn about my family history. I know that sounds really off and like I made it up, but will you please go with us?” I ask her nicely.
“Huh? Are you still dreaming or something? Is this a prank call? I’m hanging up now,” she says.
“Wait Jenn!” I yell to her, hoping she doesn’t hang up.
“What do you want Zac? I’m going back to bed,” she says.
“I’m being serious. I’m not trying to joke with you or prank call you. Will you please go with us, just to make my grandpa happy? If we just walk around and waste the day, I will owe you an ice cream. Does that sound better?” I ask her.
“Eh, fine, I'll go. You said your grandpa told you about all this? I wonder if he is okay,” she trails off for a bit, “You know I’ll never pass down free ice cream but I’m worried about your grandpa,” she says.
“Thanks, Jenn. I’m not sure what to say. It really means a lot to me,” I tell her. My plans for today come back to me and I’m reminded of what I have planned tonight. “I’m having my party tonight at five still; I’ll see you then?” I ask her.
“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for anything, but I do need to get some more sleep or I’ll be a walking zombie all day. See you later, okay?” she says. I wish her a good rest of the morning and she hangs up on me. I find myself really happy that she said yes.
By the time I hang up the phone with her, I’m already on my street. I head back inside to my room and pull the journal out of the camping bag. It’s a very nice journal, old but still in serviceable condition. I try to be careful with it so I don’t damage it.
When I first open the journal, there’s a map of the Tongass National Forest. In the middle, there’s a red X on the map where I’m assuming the portal is located. It looks like it’s surrounded by lots of trees in a thicker part of the forest and possibly has a small river near it. It’s about a four-hour hike to the portal from my house if I’m reading it right.
I turn the page and see the word Ponith written on top. I read the page to myself out loud, “Ponith is the place that you will enter first once you go through the portal here on Earth. It’s akin to an asteroid or a large platform of sorts. It is mostly featureless, rocky, and the air is thin. It appears to be in a geostationary position between the six planets. It’s a central station of sorts that allows you to choose your next destination. There are six portals total here, corresponding to each planet. They are, in order of appearance: Our Earth, Yazen, Volux, Crendus, Bredin, and finally Qysan, Earth being several times larger than any of the other planets mentioned. Other notable features of the location itself are its small size and one solitary building located in the middle of the portals, although its details are unknown at the time of this writing. No life forms are found here, although there is nothing seemingly stopping this.”
Ponith sounds really odd, at least from what my grandpa has written about it. I turn the page and see that Yazen is addressed next. This is the planet my grandpa told me he wants me to visit first, after Ponith. He said previously that it’s the safest of the planets. Does that mean the other planets are hostile or inhospitable?
I decide to read some of the material written for Yazen out loud as well, “Yazen is the most spectacular planet I’ve ever visited and it was the first one I went to. It’s one of the larger planets of them all, with quite a bit of life. The creatures on this planet are amazing and beautiful, although there are no humans on this planet. The colors on this planet are uniquely brighter than Earth and the planet is unmistakably green and teeming with life.”
I’m intrigued by what I’ve read so far, although it sounds like it’s a story from a fantasy book. I still don’t believe this place is real. I close the journal for now and decide to head downstairs to make a sandwich for lunch. Peanut butter and grape jelly, my favorite. To top it off, I put potato chips in the center of it.
I sit outside while I eat it and just enjoy the weather. It’s a little cooler today, but the sun is still shining. I see a rabbit hopping in the yard. It goes to the neighbor’s garden and starts to nibble on the vegetables. I see Mrs. Silvia run out with her rake and chase it off.
After I’m done with my lunch, I go back inside and I see Grandpa is sitting in his chair watching a fishing program on television. I go and sit next to him. “Learning anything new?” I ask.
“It’
s the same old stuff on TV, nothing new. I don’t know why I pay for this when nothing good is ever on,” he replies while drinking iced tea with a lemon floating in it.
“Grandpa, what is the stuff that you have in the attic? Are those items from your trips to the other planets?” I ask him.
“Some items are, and others are things I’ve purchased that have reminded me of those planets. I like to have them to remind me of my past,” he looks as if he’s reminiscing.
“Grandpa, I’m really nervous about the hike and going through these portals. I don’t know what to expect and, to be honest, I don’t know what to do when I get there. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to find the portal,” I tell him.
“You’ll do fine, Zac. I have faith in you. I’ve taught you many ways to survive and thrive; you always succeed. This will be a fun journey for you. You’ll learn about things that you never knew existed,” he says to me very sincerely.
“Thanks, Grandpa; it means a lot to me. I’m going to go relax and play some games for a while before the party,” I respond, and then I head back to my room. I decide to play a video game for a while to take my mind off of things. Before I know it, it’s four o’clock, and time flew by without me realizing it.
I have to run to the store to go buy a cake and some ice cream before Alex and Jenn arrive. I check to see if my grandpa is around to let him know that I’m going out. I walk into the kitchen and there’s a birthday cake already sitting on the counter and my grandpa is just smiling.