by Nicole Sloan
A few hours later, we say our goodbyes and then we lay down for the night. We’re going to get up early in the morning to head back home.
The morning comes quickly, and we head to the King and Queen’s home to say goodbye. I will miss them all. I’m ecstatic they are letting me take Narissa with us.
“Please take care of my daughter, and don’t let anything bad happen to her. We’ll walk with you to the portal,” Nytril says.
“I will; that’s a promise to you,” I tell him. We all walk down to the portal together. I can see Korla beginning to tear up. Calina’s still half asleep, rubbing her eyes. Laderic and Drakoe seem sad that we are leaving.
Once we get to where the portal is, I pull the Yazen gem out of my pocket. I pull the branch that activates the portal, and the trees bind together.
We all say our goodbyes and give each other hugs. I can feel the tears building up in my eyes.
“Remember, Zac, take care of Narissa and please bring her back to us. You’re welcome here anytime,” Korla says while kissing me on the cheek.
“I will. I’m going to miss all of you. Thank you again for everything. We’ll see you soon.” I tell them. I hug Nytril and then put the green gem into the opening on the tree. I’ll be leaving the gem there so everyone in Yazen can use it. A clear, watery ripple appears before us, slowly coalescing into a portal.
Narissa’s eyes get big, as I don’t think she has ever seen the portal activate before. I grab her hand and smile at her, and she smiles back. Jenn and Alex go through together. They disappear within seconds.
Right before we are about to enter the portal, I hear Champion neighing behind us. I turn around and there he is. I walk over to him and give him a big hug and kiss. I rub his nose and say to him, “I will miss you, Champion. I’ll be back to visit you, I promise. Thank you for all of your help.”
Champion licks the side of my face and runs off. I’m going to miss him the most.
Narissa and I wave goodbye. Then we enter the portal. I hear Narissa give out a slight yelp in fear. I continue to hold her hand tight so she knows that I’m not letting go of her.
We walk from the grass in Ponith onto the hard rocky ground of Ponith. Alex and Jenn are already standing and waiting for us. I slowly get up and help Narissa to her feet.
“Are you okay?” I ask her. She looks like she’s going to be sick.
“Yes, I’m just a little sick feeling but I should be okay,” she says while holding her stomach. She is looking around in wonder, taking in all the different stars and planets overhead.
We head over to Earth’s portal. I let Alex and Jenn go first so Narissa’s stomach can settle a little. They go through just fine.
“Are you sure you still want to go with us? If you don’t, I can take you back home now,” I tell her. I don’t want her to feel pressured into going with us.
“I want to go with you. I’m ready,” she says. We head over to the portal and jump in together. We land back on Earth right behind Alex and Jenn.
“Welcome to Earth,” Alex says, and he waves his arms around in a slow circle, showing her our planet.
“It looks similar to Yazen, but it doesn’t seem as bright here,” Narissa says while scrunching her nose.
“I can’t wait to introduce you to my grandpa,” I tell her. We begin to head back home. It’s a long walk. We run part of the way out of excitement.
Out of nowhere, Jenn comes to a complete stop and grabs her mouth. I walk over to see what she is looking at. It’s Brad’s blue backpack. I wonder if he ever made it back home. I hope the wolves didn’t catch him.
“I’m sure he’s fine,” I say to her while grabbing a hold of her to hug her. She begins to weep, and then she falls down to her knees.
“It is my entire fault that this has happened. I was the one who let him come with us,” she whimpers.
“It is no one’s fault, Jenn, he probably just left it when he stopped to take a break and maybe something chased him home,” Alex says to her, trying to comfort her. Narissa looks scared. I don’t think she understands what is happening.
“Come on, Jenn, we have to make it back home. We’ll see if Brad is home and if he’s not, we’ll have the cops come out here and look. Let’s leave his bag here so they know the exact location,” I tell her while dragging her away from Brad’s backpack.
It’s a quiet walk back. We finally make it to the end of the woods.
“Thank you all for going with me on this trip. Alex, will you please walk Jenn home for me?” I ask him politely. I really do not want her trying to walk home alone.
“Yes, I will. Thanks for bringing us back home, Zac. It was nice to meet you, Narissa, I’m sure I’ll see you tomorrow,” Alex says while grabbing a hold of Jenn’s hand.
“Bye, Narissa. Bye, Zac,” Jenn says. She just stares at the ground and walks away.
“Is she going to be okay?” Narissa asks me. To be honest, I’m not sure.
“Once she talks to Brad, she’ll be fine,” I tell her. “Are you ready to come to my home and meet my grandpa?” I ask her.
“Yes, I really hope he likes me,” she says. We begin to head to my house. I see my grandpa’s truck in the driveway, so I know he’s home. I open the front door and head in.
“Grandpa, I’m home. Did you miss me?” I yell out. He comes running around the corner and gives me the biggest bear hug.
“Who is this lovely young lady you brought home with you?” he asks me as he lets me escape from his grasp.
“Grandpa, this is Narissa. Is it okay if she stays with us for a week or so?” I ask him.
“Sure, she can stay in the guest room. It is nice to meet you, Narissa. By any chance, is your mother Korla?” he asks her.
“Yes? You know my mother?” she says in excitement.
“I met her a long time ago when she was about your age. She was just as beautiful as you are,” he tells her. Her cheeks turn red from embarrassment.
“I can’t wait to hear about your trip. Let me make you some dinner, and I want you to tell me all about it,” he says while running to the kitchen.
I look at Narissa, and I know I made the right choice in bringing her home with me. It was just like my dream. We all sit at the kitchen table and enjoy dinner together. We laugh and joke and tell him the entire story. I can tell my grandpa is proud of me. That makes me feel accomplished.
I wonder what the other planets are like. I hope Alex and Jenn will go with me again, and I hope Narissa stays in my life forever. She’s perfect!
Epilogue
I wake up early and go grab the newspaper from the kitchen table. On the front page, it says that Brad’s missing and they’re doing an extensive search for him in the woods. This isn’t good, and I bet Jenn’s devastated. I should have pulled him through the portal with me.
It makes me sick to think about. I need to get my mind off of it for now. I knock on the guest room door and I hear Narissa stumbling out of bed and running to the door. She smiles big and gives me a hug.
“How did you sleep?” I ask her. Her hair’s a mess, and it looks as if she didn’t sleep much.
“I slept a little. Your beds here are so much different from our beds. Everything seems so different,” she says.
“It’s a big difference. I want to show you around town today. I’m going to show you where the shower is we don’t bathe in a lake around here,” I tell her. She grabs a pair of clean clothes from her bag and follows me to the bathroom.
I walk back to the bathroom and show Narissa how our shower works. I give her a clean washcloth and towel. She looks very nervous.
“Would you like me to shower with you? My grandpa has gone to work, so I can if you want me to,” I say to her.
“Yes, please,” she says. I close the door and lock it. I take my shirt off and put it in the dirty hamper.
I turn the water on so it can warm up; we both take off our undergarments and get into the shower together.
I put shampoo on my hands, and sh
ow her how I wash my hair, then she does the same. I lather the soap on the washcloth and begin to wash Narissa’s back. Her skin is so smooth. She has two small dimples on her lower back that are incredibly cute.
We both enjoy washing each other, and after we finally finish, we change into our clean clothes.
I take Narissa into town to show her our shops, and how we use money to pay for our items. After our time in town, we stop by Jenn’s house to see how she is holding up and if there’s anything that we can do to help. Narissa has picked out a necklace for Jenn while we were shopping today.
I knock on Jenn’s door and her father answers, “Hi, Zac. Right now is not a good time; maybe you can come by another day?” he says.
“Yes sir, can you please tell her that we stopped by, and that we are thinking of her. This is for her, Narissa has picked it out for her,” I tell him, while I hand him the necklace.
“I will; see you later, Zac,” he says while giving Narissa a funny glance, as he closes the door.
“Do you think she is okay?” Narissa asks me. I really don’t know at this point, but I hope she is.
“I hope so,” I tell her. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and we head back to my house.
The week practically flies by and Narissa and I just hang out, having fun together. It’s so nice having her here, I really don’t want to take her back in a week. Two weeks, just doesn’t seem like a long time to me.
We read the books her father gave us on magic and she explains it to me more. She doesn’t have her emerald anymore, so she can’t show me how she does it. After reading the books some, it makes more sense. I still don’t see why Nytril thinks I have magical abilities. I never acquired any tattoos.
Later on that evening, my grandpa has told me that tomorrow they’re holding a service for Brad’s funeral. They found his body torn apart by the wolves. I tell Narissa that we should go to it, so we go to buy her an outfit. We end up buying her a black dress so she fits in.
The next day, we get up early and head to the funeral. The whole town is here, likely because he was so well liked. It’s so crowded it’s hard to find a place to stand where I’m not in the way. My grandpa separates from Narissa and I to go stand with a few guys that he works with.
“There’s Jenn,” Narissa says, and she points over near the coffin. We make our way over to her, to give her our condolences. Jenn’s crying, and her black mascara is running down her face.
“Hey, Jenn, we missed you. We stopped by the other day to check on you, but your dad told us to come by another time,” I say to her. Narissa gives Jenn a hug.
“Thank you for coming. I’m sorry I’m not good company right now. I really miss him, Zac, why didn’t he just come with us?” she asks me.
“I don’t know, Jenn, but we can’t talk about that here. You’re great company and I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to get him to come with us,” I whisper to her. I notice she is wearing the necklace that Narissa picked out for her.
We stand back as the ceremony begins; it’s a lengthy ceremony and Jenn gives a long speech. I’m proud of her for standing up in front of all of these people, also for not saying anything about our trip to the portal. I’m scared she may give it away.
It’s so busy, we can’t even find Jenn to say goodbye. We end up going home after. The next week flies by, and before I know it, it’s time to take Narissa back to Yazen.
I call Alex to see if he will go with back to the portal with us. He’s excited to go for a hike and agrees to go. We pack our bags and some food, while Narissa says goodbye to my grandpa.
“We will be back soon,” I say to my grandpa. Narissa, Alex, and I head out to the portal. It’s an easy hike to the portal, with no threats from any animals this time and the weather is still nice. We stop once to eat some sandwiches before continuing to make our way to the portal.
It’s quite easy to find the tree this time. I pull the lever and put the Earth’s gem in, the portal turns on, and we head in. It’s still a fast rush of air. Moments later, we’re on Ponith. We go through the next portal, landing in Yazen.
Laderic and Drakoe are there waiting there on the other side, and I wonder how long they have been waiting for us.
“Narissa,” Laderic yells, he runs over to her and picks her up off the ground.
“We have missed you so much,” Drakoe says, as he gives her a hug after Laderic puts her back down.
“I’ve missed both of you as well; how long have you been waiting here?” she asks them.
“We have come here every day, waiting, just in case you decided to come home early,” Laderic says while grinning at me. I’m not sure if he’s joking or not but he’s a good brother either way.
“It’s good to see you again, and I promise that I took good care of her,” I say to Laderic, as I shake his hand.
“Hi, Alex, I have missed going out and shooting with you,” Drakoe says to him.
“It’s good to see that you brought your bow with you,” he says.
“It goes everywhere with me now,” Alex says. I haven’t seen Alex much these last two weeks, so I wonder if he’s been practicing his aim.
“Well, I’m sorry we can’t stay today, but we have to make it back home before it gets too late. We have school tomorrow,” I tell them.
“Please come back soon to visit us,” Laderic says. Narissa walks over to me, pulling me to the side.
“Are you sure you can’t stay for a few days?” she asks me. I feel bad because I know I have to leave. We’ve become so close these last two weeks. I feel like I have known her forever. It breaks my heart, having to leave her.
“I’m sorry, but I have to go back. I start my sophomore year in school. I’ll try to come back on my Christmas break, I promise,” I tell her. She gives me a sad look. I pull her close to me, and hug her, kissing the top of her head.
We say our goodbyes and go back through the portal. When we land back on Ponith, I tell Alex, “I really miss her already. Do you think we can come back here, as soon as we can?”
“I’ll come here with you anytime,” he tells me. We go through the Earth’s portal and land back in Ketchikan. We hike back home, and we stop at the diner for dinner.
“How do you think our sophomore year will go?” Alex asks me. I haven’t even thought about school. It’s probably going to be the same, just like every other year.
“I have no clue, but we’ll find out soon,” I say to him. We finish our burgers, fries, and shakes, and then head home. Once I get home, I notice that my grandpa has already gone to sleep. I sneak quietly into my room, so I don’t wake him.
Tomorrow’s the first day of my sophomore year. I really wish school didn’t start for another week. I’m exhausted. I fall asleep quickly and before I know it, my alarm’s going off.
I get up and get ready for school; my grandpa has breakfast already ready and made up in the kitchen. I eat quickly and ride my bike to school. Most kids walk or ride their bikes to school, and very few ride the bus. I lock my bike up and go to the guidance counselor to get my class schedule. I didn’t want to go to orientation because I was with Narissa.
The office is busy, and I have to wait about 15 minutes to get my schedule. Once I get it I note that it’s a pretty decent schedule, so I can’t complain.
I head to my first class and notice that Jenn’s in my class. There’s an open seat near her, so I take it.
“Hi, Jenn, it’s cool that we have a class together,” I say to her. She smiles at me; she seems to be doing better now. We compare our schedules and have three classes together. I wonder if I will have any classes with Alex.
The day flies by pretty quick. Alex is in one of my classes, which is nice. Before I know it, the bell is ringing and it’s time to go home. I go and check the announcement boards to see what clubs are being held this year.
I really don’t want to join too much, but maybe a club or a sport will make this year fly by. I go up and down the lists, but I have no clue which ones I want to do.
“So which one are you choosing?” Alex says, making me jump; I didn’t know he was behind me.
“I’m not sure yet; just looking to see what they are offering this year. I think I may join baseball or track, to stay in shape, or maybe join the yearbook committee,” I say to him. He’s looking at the choices as well.
“I think we should join track together; yearbook committee sounds dumb to me,” he says.
I’m not going to tell him, but I think I would like to do both. I see Jenn coming around the corner, and she stops to talk with us. She still has a hint of sadness in her voice, and the perky step that was once there is gone.
“So, what will you guys be doing this year? I think I want to join cheerleading and yearbook committee,” she says.
“Zac and I are going to try out for track,” Alex says proudly.
“Sounds good,” she says. We all walk over to our bicycles.
“Anyone want to go to practice shooting some arrows?” Alex asks. It sounds fun to me; luckily I have no homework the first night.
“Sure, I would love to. Jenn, do you want to go too?” I ask her. She agrees and we all go and get our bows. We’re going to meet at Alex’s house after.
Once we all get to Alex’s, we go to the woods at the end of his road. We go in a few miles and begin practicing. I brought a few apples to place to see if we can hit them. It feels good to hang out with Alex and Jenn together again. It brings back a lot of good memories.