by B. C. Harris
“Please Frank, help me.”
Frank opens her other eye and glances at the crazy scene below as though she has witnessed this so many times before that it is now boring.
Wrapping her long tail around a branch, the kabinga begins to swing to the ground like a monkey, except that she isn’t a monkey.
Before the kabinga reaches the ground, she stops in mid air. Tiny wings emerge from her sides. The kabinga hovers slowly to the ground. Its diminutive wings beat rapidly.
“Emily,” Frank begins in a lilting voice that is more like singing than speaking, “how can I help you?”
“How do you know my name?”
Frank pauses. She looks in one direction and then another as though she is searching for the answer.
Finally, she says, “I think the swibbles told me that your name is Emily.”
“Oh, I see,” although I’m not sure that I do. I can’t remember how the swibbles might have known my name.
“In any case,” I continue, “thank you for saving my life. I understand that you carried me back here from the hot plain.”
Frank blushes, her orange polka-dots turning crimson.
“Although I’m very thankful that you saved me, I want to return home,” I say with desperation.
“Home, home, home,” the limnits begin to sing out.
Frank raises one of her arms. Instantly all the limnits become silent.
“Are you their leader?” I ask, looking in amazement at how quickly the raucous noise stopped.
“Anyone can be the leader of the limnits. For the time being, it’s me. Tomorrow it might be someone else. Now, where is this home place that you are talking about?”
I scratch my head as I consider what to say next.
The limnits begin to scratch their heads as they imitate me.
“I need to get back to my home on the planet Earth.”
“Planet Earth, planet Earth, planet Earth,” the limnits mimic.
Frank gazes at the distant mountains as though she is deep in thought, then she looks at the lake and the limnits. Then she looks back at the distant mountains; then she looks at the lake and the limnits once again.
As she starts to look back at the mountains again, I shout, “Stop it! Stop looking everywhere. I’ll find my own way home.”
“There’s no way you are going to go anywhere else before it gets dark,” Frank says with concern. “It would be too dangerous for you to leave the Land of Limnits at night. Why don’t you stay here with us? You will be safe. Besides, you could have something to eat. Maybe a good night’s sleep would be good for you.”
“Eat? I am very hungry,” I think aloud.
The other creatures begin to chant, “Very hungry, very hungry, very hungry.”
Frank lifts her hand once again.
Silence descends.
“What about any ferocious animals that might attack us? What would happen if a sethaurus or a pazu came here? I don’t see anywhere to hide. There’s nowhere to run. I might be killed,” I sigh.
The limnits all begin to sigh.
“You don’t have to worry about being attacked in the Land of Limnits. Most big creatures like a sethaurus are frightened of lakes, so they never come around here.”
“Frightened of lakes? How can that be?”
Frank responds, “In some lakes there are fierce monsters that can kill creatures like a sethaurus, so most large animals that live on the land have developed a fear of big bodies of water. In fact, they don’t even like to be sprayed by water. As unusual as it might seem, Cool and the other limnits could scare any dangerous beasts by spraying them with water.”
As I consider my options, I think that staying here for the night might be my best choice. The possibility of sleeping here is definitely a better option than walking back out on the plain in the dark.
“Well I am really hungry. Maybe I should stay here for the night.”
A great cheer arises from the limnits. “Stay here for the night, stay here for the night, stay here for the night.”
I collapse to the ground in exhaustion. A small purple zakabibble jumps out of a pouch on Frank’s belly and lands on my lap.
“What’s your name?” I ask as I look at the cute furry creature.
“Squirt,” it squeaks.
“Squirt, squirt, squirt,” all the other creatures shout as they resume their water fight.
Four or five pink swibbles arrive with handfuls of nuts and small fruits.
A short time later, having eaten the food that the swibbles brought to me, I close my eyes, too tired to move anymore.
I imagine that I’m back home again.
- 9 -
ATLANTIS
Today is proving to be a puzzling day for me. Last night I think I slept in the Land of Limnits, but this morning I found myself in my bed back home. How is it possible that I spent the night on another planet, but still woke up in my bedroom? Throughout my morning at school, I kept wondering how this could possibly happen, although I’m beginning to think that when I dream about going somewhere, the emerald makes it happen.
As if that isn’t puzzling enough, I can’t decide whether I should tell my mother how her emerald might have taken me to a strange new world, a place where I have already faced great dangers and a world with so many peculiar creatures. What would she say about this? As I thought about these and other questions that have been raised by my journeys to Tamor, I came to the conclusion that my mother would never believe me and that I would likely never get to see her emerald necklace again.
During my visit to Tamor last night, Radwin identified the mysterious word in my basement book as a lost world known as Shinti, although he also said that Shinti might be a legend. I wonder whether this ancient empire really existed. If I’m unable to find anyone in Tamor who knows the location of this lost civilization, I might never find it. I’m certain that finding Shinti would help me to understand more about my mother’s emerald. After all, there was a picture of an emerald beside the word Shinti in my book.
As I enter my English class, I know in a few minutes we will have to choose our partners for our projects on legends. In the past I usually worked with Jasmin. We both got along well together and it was fun being her partner. The problem on this assignment is that Jasmin wants to research vampires, a topic that I have no interest in whatsoever, and I want to research the Monkey King or maybe something on lost worlds.
During lunch today, Jasmin began to talk about us doing a project on vampires. As Jasmin continued to talk excitedly about researching vampires, I tried several times to interject my interest about the Monkey King into the conversation, but she paid little attention to my efforts. Sometimes I wasn’t very assertive in expressing my needs to others. As a result, at times like this it was easy for them to disregard what I was saying.
Now I have to decide whether I’m going to work with someone other than my best friend on my project. I want to work with Jasmin, but I don’t want to have anything to do with vampires. From various discussions I overheard in class yesterday, Jamie and Martha are going to research legends about lost worlds. I’m pretty sure that neither of them has a partner. I would much rather research a project on lost worlds than vampires. Of course, it’s likely that Drew doesn’t have a topic or a partner. What would all the girls in my class say if Drew became my project partner?
Everyone in our class is now sitting down. I consider my choices again.
I’m sure that Martha is going to research a legend about a lost world made of gold. Although her topic sounds fascinating, I would rather work with Jasmin and research vampires than have arrogant Martha as a partner.
Then there’s Jamie. I heard him talking to Ms. Kelly yesterday about his interest in the lost world of Atlantis. I would love to learn more about Atlantis, but what would everyone in my class think if I chose Jamie as my partner?
Before Ms. Kelly starts to teach, Jasmin turns around in her seat to talk to me. “We could dress up like vampires when
we present our project. We could get long fangs and have fake blood dripping out of our mouths.”
I find myself twisting the ends of my long hair with my fingers.
“Maybe we could consider another topic,” I weakly offer one more time. I know I’m not very good at standing up for myself and stating my needs. This is a good example of how I always end up doing whatever others want me to do, even when I would prefer to do something different.
“We could have big black capes and dark makeup around our eyes,” Jasmin says, completely ignoring my request.
I shrug in defeat. Why can’t I tell others what I really think? Right now, I wish I could be sitting downstairs at my house with the hundreds of books that are scattered everywhere. There, I could do whatever I wanted and be whoever I desired to be.
“Students,” Ms. Kelly begins as everyone quickly turns their attention to her. “First, a reminder that each group will be expected to make a presentation of five to ten minutes in length. Your presentation should give an outline of the legend you have chosen, how it came to be, and whether you think there might be some actual truth to it. We will talk more about this later. Right now, before you start to work on your research, I want to make sure that everyone has a partner.”
Ms. Kelly pauses. She glances around the room as though she is ensuring that everyone is listening.
“Jamie, yesterday you were excited about researching the lost world of Atlantis.”
“Yes,” he eagerly replies.
Ms. Kelly gives her trademark smile of approval and continues, “Atlantis is an excellent example of a legend. Have you decided who will be working with you?”
Jamie shakes his head in a manner that suggests he’s embarrassed about not having a partner.
Ms. Kelly continues, “Who else does not have a partner yet?”
As she waits, she strokes her shoulder-length hair with her fingers
Three hands appear. This is one of those rare occasions in our class when hands are raised. There’s Martha who is researching El Dorado. In addition, there’s Monika Stemkowsky, a new girl. And finally, there’s Drew who everyone knows would never do any of the work.
I squirm in my seat, and raise my hand slightly.
“Emily, is your hand up?” Ms. Kelly asks.
I nod timidly and turn my head away as Jasmin abruptly turns in her chair to face me.
“I thought you were my partner,” Jasmin states with embellished surprise.
I freeze.
“Is this true?” Ms. Kelly asks me.
“Well, I would like to be Jasmin’s partner,” I say sheepishly. “Really, I would. But I would rather research a different topic.”
“Jasmin, what legend are you going to research?” Ms. Kelly asks.
“Vampires,” Jasmin responds with an exaggerated dark tone in her voice.
Someone a few rows behind me whispers a little too loudly, “Watch your neck.”
Suddenly Michael falls backwards in his seat, holding his neck and moaning. Laughter ripples throughout the room. I catch Michael looking at Jasmin to see how she is reacting to his antics. When he realizes that she’s annoyed with his actions, he stops.
Ms. Kelly pauses, her eyes telling our class to settle down.
Once the laughter has subsided, she steps towards Jasmin and me to acknowledge her concern for our problem.
“Vampires, that’s an interesting topic,” she says as she looks at Jasmin. Turning to me, Ms. Kelly says, “Emily, I understand how you would like to choose a different topic. This is a difficult choice for you. Is there some legend that has greater interest for you?”
I nod, but fail to answer as the words get trapped somewhere between my brain and my mouth, as sometimes happens when I’m nervous. There are times when I could be described as being withdrawn. Right now is one of those awkward times as a painful silence falls throughout our class. Everyone is waiting for me to reply.
“What is it?” Ms. Kelly gently encourages me to continue.
“I’m really interested in lost worlds,” I finally state in a thin voice, deciding not to say anything about the Monkey King.
“Like Atlantis?” Ms. Kelly responds.
Even though I know it might be uncomfortable working with Jamie, I’m far less excited about being Martha’s partner, or researching vampires with Jasmin.
“Yes, Atlantis would be very interesting for me,” I say, trying to sound somewhat disinterested at the same time.
I catch Drew looking at me. He smiles. Ms. Kelly notices the look between Drew and me.
I almost die when she says, “Have you and Drew talked about working together?”
There’s an embarrassing silence in the class. I think I’m going to die. Michael clears his throat as if he is signalling his intent to turn this moment into a joke, except that Drew, who rarely does anything in class, turns and looks directly at Michael as if to say, “Open your mouth and I’ll shut it forever.”
I want to crawl under my desk. Everyone keeps looking back and forth between Drew and me.
Finally I say, “No, Ms. Kelly, Drew and I have not talked about working together.” I dare not look at Drew again.
“Well then,” Ms. Kelly quickly states, “Why don’t you work with Jamie on Atlantis?”
I weakly nod my approval as Jasmin glares at me.
Several girls continue to look back and forth between Drew and me as if to say, “Is it really possible that Drew likes Emily?”
Ms. Kelly continues, “Monika and Drew; do either of you have topics yet for your presentations?”
Both students shake their heads.
“Would either of you be interested in researching vampires?”
“I would,” Monika replies right away, although I’m uncertain whether her quick response is the result of a genuine interest in vampires, or whether even as a new student she’s perceptive enough to realize that working with Martha might be worse than being attacked by a vampire.
“Terrific,” Ms. Kelly replies.
Before there’s any further reaction to the new pairing, Ms. Kelly turns to Martha. “And Martha, you are going to be researching the lost city of gold?”
“That’s not entirely true, Ms. Kelly.”
“Not entirely true?” Ms. Kelly responds.
Martha begins in her boastful voice, “El Dorado actually means the golden king. El Dorado was a South American tribal chief who lived in the 1500’s. During tribal ceremonies he would cover himself with gold dust and jump into a lake. The story eventually gave rise to the legend that El Dorado was a kingdom where the streets were paved with gold and precious jewels.”
“Fascinating,” Ms. Kelly says with sincerity.
Turning to Drew, Ms. Kelly says, “Drew, why don’t you get together with Martha during today’s class and hear what she has to say about El Dorado? At the end of the class, Martha and you can talk to me further about whether you would like to work together on this research project.”
Drew shrugs as though he doesn’t care what happens, which is a trademark of his, although Martha is glowing. She’s going to be working with Drew. We will never hear the end of this. Jasmin lets out an audible groan. I’m not sure whether this is the result of not being able to work with me, or whether she can’t stand the thought of Drew working with Martha.
Ms. Kelly pauses briefly before starting again.
“Class, sometimes as you work on projects together, it’s nice to have an opportunity to partner with a student you haven’t worked with before. As well, I think it’s important to research a project that is interesting to you. While it’s a difficult decision for a student like Emily to work with someone other than her friend Jasmin, the good news is that both Emily and Jasmin will be able to research topics that they really like. As well, we will have some students working together who haven’t done so before.”
I manage a weak smile in the direction of my teacher although I know that Jasmin is upset with me.
As Ms. Kelly continues to gi
ve further instructions about her expectations for the projects, I force myself to stop thinking about what has happened. I begin to think about the books in my basement. I remember the drawing of the emerald and the faded word Shinti. To me, this is a far greater mystery than any class assignment.
“Take a few minutes and share with your partner what you already know about the legend you will be researching,” Ms. Kelly instructs.
Before I fully comprehend what Ms. Kelly said, Jamie is pulling a chair beside me.
“What do you know about Atlantis?” Jamie begins in his mature voice that doesn’t match his boyish face. Behind his heavy glasses, his eyes seem to be telling me how thrilled he is to be working with me.
Although I have sometimes caught Jamie staring at me in the past, I never really thought too much about the implications of this. Now I wonder if I have made a mistake by agreeing to be his project partner.
Jamie? Drew? I laugh to myself at the absurd possibility of having to choose between them.
In response to Jamie’s question, I shake my head as if to say, “I don’t know anything.” Actually I know a little about Atlantis, but I’m intimidated by Jamie’s extensive knowledge on anything we ever talk about in class.
“Why don’t I tell you what I already know,” Jamie responds in a confident, but polite manner, almost like he’s eager to impress me.
I suspect that what he already knows is probably more than we need for our project and that there’s likely going to be little left for me to research about Atlantis when he finishes.
I wonder if I should tell Jamie about the emerald and Shinti. Would he believe me? After all, he’s interested in lost worlds. Perhaps he could help me to solve the mystery of how to find this puzzling place. Before I make a decision on this, Jamie begins to tell me what he knows about Atlantis.
“Atlantis was an island empire that existed more than 11,000 years ago,” he says, sounding more like a college professor than a teenager. “Plato wrote about Atlantis in 360 BC. He said that the empire had great riches, but one day a huge wave smashed into the island and killed all the people. For thousands of years, people have looked for Atlantis but no one has ever found it.”