by B. C. Harris
It’s easier than I thought it would be to become absorbed in Jamie’s knowledge of Atlantis. The idea of lost civilizations has always fascinated me. With my current interest in finding an ancient world on another planet, I’m even more intrigued by what Jamie is saying to me.
I imagine finding an empire that no one has ever seen before. I visualize discovering cities with streets paved of gold, or statues embedded with valuable jewels. As Jamie continues to tell me about Atlantis, I think of finding a great treasure or artifact that vanished thousands of years ago.
I’m hooked. I’m happy that I decided to work with Jamie.
“Does anyone know where Atlantis is?” I eagerly ask.
“No one is absolutely certain,” Jamie replies, obviously enjoying the fact that I’m interested in what he has to say. “Most people think it’s somewhere in the area of the Mediterranean Ocean. Some experts on Atlantis have mentioned that it might have some connection to ancient Greece. Maybe this is something we could research further.”
“Absolutely,” I say with growing excitement. “I’ve got tons of old books at home in my basement. When I get home I’ll look for some books on Atlantis.”
“That’s a great idea. I can do some research on the Internet and we can compare notes tomorrow.”
Although Jamie is smaller than most of the other students in my class, he’s more mature. Even though I have never really spent any time with him I find that he’s very easy to talk to.
Jamie’s enthusiasm about Atlantis is so contagious that I can’t wait to get home to begin my research. I have been given another reason to spend an evening looking through the books in my basement.
- 10 -
A BASEMENT DISCOVERY
The second I enter my house, I take the stairs down to the basement to begin my project research on Atlantis. I’m shocked to discover brand new white bookshelves stretching along one wall. For more than a year, I have wanted to take the hundreds and hundreds of books and organize them into a library. What a wonderful surprise.
Where should I begin? I’m thrilled that soon I will have my own official basement library. I wonder if I should arrange the books by author or subject. Perhaps, the best approach might be to first of all divide the books into fiction and non-fiction. I could organize the fiction books by author, and decide later what to do with the non-fiction books, although I suspect I will arrange these books by subject.
Before doing this, though, I remember I have to research Atlantis. Tomorrow, Jamie and I will be given some time in our English class to work on our project. I know he will come armed with loads of information, so I’m determined to be an equal partner. I know that he will be using the Internet to do his research so I hope I can find some material in my basement books that might be a little different than what he might find.
Jasmin and I walked part of the way home together after school. Instead of lecturing me about not being her project partner, she insisted on talking about Drew. Had I noticed that Drew protected me when Michael was about to make a joke today in class? Had I noticed that Drew saved me yesterday? Did I think that Drew liked me? Wasn’t Drew absolutely perfect? Why didn’t I do my project with him? And so on…
For now, concentrate on Atlantis, I say to myself.
I go to the book on mythology that I looked at yesterday, the one with the faint handwritten word and the drawing of the emerald inside. I turn to the page that had previously puzzled me. As I look at the faded cursive letters, the word Shinti is a perfect fit. Somehow, a lost world on a faraway planet appears to be connected to an emerald, perhaps even my mother’s emerald. After I finish researching Atlantis, I will attempt to learn more about Shinti.
I turn to the table of contents in the mythology book and begin to scroll my finger down the page. After a quick look, I can’t find anything on Atlantis. That’s unususal, I think. Isn’t the story of Atlantis one of the greatest legends of all time? Why wasn’t it included in this large book?
I remember Jamie saying something about ancient Greece when he was talking about Atlantis so I look at the table of contents once again. I find the title “THE GLORIES OF GREECE”. I begin to look at the subtitles: “ZEUS”; “HADES”; “APHRODITE”; and “ATHENA”. I see the headings “THE TROJAN HORSE” and “THE FALL OF TROY”, but there’s still nothing on Atlantis.
Feeling a little frustration, I try the index at the back of the book. As I glance at the hundreds of alphabetical listings, there are lots of words beginning with the letter “A” but there’s no Atlantis.
Why isn’t there any reference to Atlantis? I was certain this book would contain a wealth of information about this lost world. Where should I look next? Is this going to be harder than I first imagined? There’s no way I’m going to go to school tomorrow with nothing.
I decide to start with the books that are already littered on the floor to see if I can find some information about Atlantis. If necessary, later I can look at the hundreds of other books in boxes that are still unopened.
I move to the nearest pile of books. I start by separating the smaller soft-covered books that are likely novels into separate piles. Soon I have several large towering stacks of novels and a pile of large hard-covered non-fiction books.
As I look at the non-fiction books, I notice that some of them are about famous artists. Discarding these books, I find a big book about the Second World War, an old heavy book about inventions, and several travel books. At the bottom of the pile there is a book titled THE WORLD’S UNSOLVED MYSTERIES. Maybe I’ll find something here on Atlantis, I say to myself.
First, I look at the index in the back of the book. I quickly discover that there’s nothing on Atlantis. Out of curiosity, I look to see if the word Shinti is listed, but it isn’t. I move to the table of contents at the front of the book. As I scan the chapter titles, I feel relieved when I find “ATLANTIS”.
I open the heavy book to the section on Atlantis. After the title “ATLANTIS” that is listed at the top of the page, in bold print is a sentence that I read aloud, “The legend of Atlantis has inspired men to search for it for thousands of years. Did it really exist?”
Eagerly, I begin to read about a great island civilization that one day vanished into the sea. The book suggests it might have been a volcano or a tidal wave that destroyed Atlantis, or possibly it was some other great unexplained mystery that caused the fabulous empire to disappear.
I read about the philosopher Plato, mentioned to me by Jamie, who wrote about Atlantis more than 2,300 years ago. He describes Atlantis as a paradise. I let my mind wander. Paradise I think. What would that be like?
Part of our assignment is to ask the class a few questions that can be discussed. Based on what I know so far, one logical question might be, “Where is Atlantis now?” Another interesting question for discussion might be for students to describe what a paradise would look like to them. Would this be a place where everyone is happy? A place where there are no wars? A place where everyone has enough to eat?
As I continue to read, there’s information about Atlantis being built using a plan based on perfect circles. Inside the center of this city was a great palace made of gold and silver. Inside the palace were solid gold statues and roofs made of ivory. As well, within the palace there was a golden god standing on a chariot with six winged horses that was so big that his head reached to the towering roof.
The book states that the people of Atlantis lived in peace for hundreds of years, but they started to become greedy and worship false gods. Eventually, Atlantis began to fight with other nations. One day, Atlantis vanished.
As I read about various explorers who searched for Atlantis, I visualize that I’m on an expedition with them as they look for the fabled world.
Catching myself daydreaming, I force myself to focus on the words in the book I’m holding. I read that in the 15th century, Atlantis was included on maps designed by European explorers. They sometimes placed it in the Mediterranean Sea. Other times it was iden
tified as being off the coast of Africa, and sometimes it was even located where North America is today.
There’s a section on Atlantis being in the Azores on an island called Sao Miguel where there’s a body of water called the Lake of the Seven Cities. I grab a piece of paper and pen that are sitting on a mound of nearby books and make a note to myself to find an atlas to check out this information further. As I continue to read, from time to time I jot down names and dates that I think might be useful for our project.
I find a reference that states in 1912, in a magazine named the NEW YORK AMERICAN, an article was written titled “HOW I FOUND THE LOST ATLANTIS” by Doctor Paul Schliemann. The author states that instructions for finding Atlantis had been given to him anonymously. Incredible, I think. Imagine if someone gave me an envelope with secret instructions for finding the lost world of Shinti.
The mystery becomes even more puzzling. Dr. Schliemann, the author of the story, mysteriously vanished. Along with the disappearance of Schliemann, the secret instructions for finding Atlantis evaporated as well. I can’t help but wonder where those secret instructions might be now. Imagine if they were hidden in an old book like the ones that are scattered around my basement. I hold my breath with growing excitement as I look around the room.
Returning back to the book before me, I find that in 1958 a diver found some strange structures located on the ocean floor off an island in the Bahamas. These unusual structures appeared to be unexplained circles, triangles and rectangles all in straight lines stretching for several miles. How did they get there? Was this somehow part of Atlantis? In the end, no one was able to identify who built these structures.
Finally, in 1967, Spyridon Marinatos, a Greek archaeologist, found the remains of an ancient city buried on the island of Kalliste. Had Atlantis finally been found? But there was no gold, or silver or a wealth of jewels in this newly discovered lost city. I wish I could have been on one of the searches for the lost world of Atlantis. What a marvelous adventure that would have been.
I realize that my mother will soon be home from work and it will be time for dinner. I can read this book again later. Setting the book aside, I start to sort the other books once again keeping my eyes open for any other possible books on Atlantis.
Once I have a row of novels on the carpeted floor, I decide to place them on one of the book shelves. I make no attempt to organize them by authors at this time. I simply want to get them off the floor and out of the way.
As I’m carrying some books to the shelf, I notice a large hard-covered book on the floor that is titled DISCOVERING LOST WORLDS.
After placing the novels on the shelf, I return to pick up the book on lost worlds. Starting with the table of contents, I can’t find any mention of Atlantis so I turn to the index in the back of the book.
In the index, I find a listing for Atlantis. I turn to the appropriate page in the book. After glancing at the section on Atlantis, I conclude that this book is a little more difficult to understand. I think the author is suggesting that the people from Atlantis had fled their nation before it was destroyed. The article states that they traveled in boats across the Atlantic Ocean to the area we now know as Mexico and also to parts of South America. The text also says that the Mayan civilizations were descendants of the people from Atlantis.
I set this book aside making a mental note to bring it to school, although I don’t think it’s as useful as the other book.
Pausing as I gaze at the dozens of unopened boxes of books and the hundreds of other books scattered on the basement floor, I wonder what I should read next.
I notice an old set of encyclopedia lying in a pile. I had forgotten about them. I move towards them, thinking it might be useful to look in them for further information on some of the key words I have jotted down so far from the other books. Perhaps, I might even find more information about Paul Schliemann. His mysterious letter and his unusual disappearance have captured my interest.
As I reach the books, I notice that each encyclopedia has a letter on its spine signifying a letter of the alphabet. I quickly open Encyclopedia A. Inside this heavy book are thousands of listings all beginning with the letter “A”. I race to locate the word Atlantis. Once there, I find a brief paragraph about it being the legend of a lost world that was thought to have vanished somewhere in the Mediterranean. Plato’s name is mentioned but not Schliemann’s.
Not learning anything new from this entry in the encyclopedia, I decide to try the “S” volume to look for Schliemann. As I sift through the encyclopedia lying randomly on the floor, I find what I’m looking for.
I turn the pages looking at the letters at the top of each page which provide a guide to the content of the pages. I find the letters “SCH”, but as I glance down the page there’s no mention of Schliemann.
Curiosity drives me to flip through a few more pages to see if there’s an entry for Shinti. Arriving at the section in the book where the words begin with “SHI”, I gasp in astonishment. Although there is no entry for Shinti, there are two words written at the bottom of this page.
Both words are written in the old faded cursive style similar to the word “Shinti” that I found yesterday.
Nervously, I look closer at the two words.
Either I’m more accustomed to reading the unusual cursive style, or it might be that these letters are far less faded than the ones I found in the other book, but whatever the reason, I quickly find myself saying the words “Red Mountains.”
This must be another clue, I think. After all, the two words are written on the exact page where Shinti would have been if it was listed in the encyclopedia.
Who wrote these words? What do they mean? As I consider these questions and others, one thing is clear to me; I’m convinced that someone in my family knew something about Shinti. Who was that person?
The other thing that is also certain to me is that I need to return back to Tamor. Is it possible that Radwin or someone else there knows the location of the Red Mountains?
- 11 -
ATTACK
Although I spent a few more hours after dinner researching my project, for most of the evening I couldn’t wait to get into bed and return back to Tamor.
Finally, the time comes when I’m tucked into bed and my mother has left my room. A few minutes ago, I asked my mother to leave her emerald necklace on the night table. Similar to the two previous evenings, she left it without saying a word and then departed silently from my room.
Within seconds of my mother leaving, I place the necklace around my neck.
I gaze into the beautiful gem.
I wonder which part of Tamor I will find myself in when I return back there tonight. I suspect that I will likely return back to the last place that I visited because that is what happened to me last night. If my assumption is correct, this means that I will find myself once again in the Land of Limnits. I doubt that there’s anyone there who could help me find the Red Mountains so I guess I will have to locate Radwin. The thought of going anywhere near any sethauri fills me with dread.
I stare into the glowing emerald. As an afterthought, I glance at the time on my clock. It’s 10:03 p.m. Soon I’ll be leaving my bedroom to visit the planet Tamor and the Land of Limnits. I surmise that no matter how long I stay there, it will still be around 10 p.m. when I return back to my bedroom, although if it’s like the other two times, I won’t realize this until I wake up in the morning.
I’m so tired that I immediately begin to fall asleep.
Unexpectedly I hear someone telling me to wake up even though I’ve just gone to sleep.
“Emily, it’s time to wake up.”
It can’t be time to go to school yet, I think.
“Mom, please let me sleep a little longer.”
“Mom?” the melodic voice responds.
Then it hits me. It’s not my mother speaking. I remember the unusual voice from some other time.
Opening my eyes, I gasp, “Where am I?”
“In
the Land of Limnits,” a voice sings to me. “Don’t you remember? You slept here last night.
I turn my head to see a large green kangaroo-like creature with orange polka-dots, standing beside me. It’s Frank.
“I’m back,” I say, although I’m surprised to find myself lying on the ground.
As I sit up, I discover a purple squirrel-like creature sleeping on the ground. “What’s that?” I gasp. Gazing further at the strange animal, I realize that I might have been sleeping on it. As I begin to stand, I recall that I have seen this animal before.
“Frank, did I sleep on top of that thing?”
“Probably. Zakabibbles make great pillows. They’re soft and warm and…”
“And yuck,” I say. “I was sleeping on that purple squirrel thing or whatever it is. Yuck!”
Suddenly little voices everywhere begin to repeat, “Yuck, yuck, yuck.”
As I look around, I see hundreds of odd creatures lying around the pond. I remember the water fights and the constant mocking of whatever I said. “Oh no, I’ve done it again, haven’t I?”
“I’m afraid so,” Frank laughs. “Why don’t you tell me what you want to do before they all wake up and you find yourself in another water fight?”
“They’re not awake yet?”
There are limnits everywhere and anywhere, some on top of each other, some beside each other, some upside down, some right side up, and some still standing, but they all have one thing in common: they all have their eyes closed.
“Are they really sleeping?”
“Yes,” Frank says. “Limnits repeat what others say even when they’re sleeping.”
I’m about to ask whether the limnits do anything besides sleeping and having water fights, but I remember I have returned to this world for a specific purpose.