A Mystical Journey

by Jennifer Esposito

  “All the greatest beings of good mysticism combined their power to weave a spell. The spell pulled all the mysticism from the earth into a sphere just outside of our reality. Only beings that could pass as non-mystical were left on earth. These beings were left with only an echo of the mystical power they once possessed and controlled. As part of the enchantment Gistramino and his followers were also left on earth. Mysticism was now safe. The location of the sphere was known only to those who created the spell and even they could not unlock it. Many centuries passed and most on earth forgot that mystical forces ever really existed. The depictions of mystical works and beings from the past were now the stuff of myths and legend, thought of only as stories for entertaining children.” Mhotep then took a seat at the table.

  “So now you know how it all began. There is much more but, I think you will have had enough for tonight. Just know that your parents are safe in the sphere with the rest of the mystical world.” Mhotep raised his arm and the door to the room opened. “Helga and Matthew will meet you down stairs and accompany you home. Tomorrow afternoon you will return to learn more.”

  Grandma took John and Annie each by the hand again prompting them to stand up. They got up from their seats and headed for the door. Zindle, it seemed, had fallen asleep and was startled awake by the movement of Annie’s chair. Zindle got up and ran around the table to Mhotep bathing him in kisses. Mhotep bent low and whispered something in Zindle’s ear and then patted him on the head. Zindle ran back to catch up with John and Annie. As they walked out the door John took a look back at the room. It was now empty. John smiled. It was going to be really cool being able to do all this mystical stuff one day.

  Matthew and Helga were waiting at the bottom of the staircase. They wound their way back through all the rooms lined with books to the door. Soon they were out in the warm air of the summer night. John and Annie were very quiet during the walk home. Both were thinking over everything they had learned.

  Finally, they reached Grandma’s house. Grandma took them both right up to bed. Annie wanted to talk to John but, they were in separate rooms. Her tummy felt better now that she knew for sure Mommy and Daddy were all right. It was so nice to be somewhere that really and truly felt safe. It only took a few minutes for Annie to fall fast asleep.

  John was feeling very satisfied with all the new things he had learned. Knowing his mom and dad were safe also made him feel happy. So, he snuggled under the covers of the warm bed and went to sleep dreaming of all the great new things he would be learning.

  Chapter 10

  John woke up to sunlight streaming in his bedroom window. He looked around the room. It seemed slightly familiar. He was sleeping on a large old four poster bed. There was an old matching dresser with a mirror and a wardrobe. The room had a musty smell. John could tell that, before him, it hadn’t been slept in for a long time. The bedspread and sheets were both a blue color, as were the curtains. It was a very large room with very high ceilings. John found it a little intimidating. It wasn’t at all like his cozy little room at home.

  After taking stock of the room, he remembered he was finally safe and sound at Grandma’s house. He wondered if all the fantastic things of last night had really happened. With that thought he jumped out of bed and headed down to the kitchen. He could talk about everything that happened last night while having breakfast with everyone.

  As John reached the kitchen his sister and grandmother were already eating breakfast. John was disappointed not to find Matthew, Helga or any other mystics in the kitchen.

  “Good morning sleepy head!” Mary greeted him. Annie laughed.

  John took a seat at the table while his grandmother got up and went to the stove. She pulled a plate of pancakes out of the oven where she had been keeping them warm. She heaped a large pile of them onto a plate with lots of butter and handed it to John. John licked his lips. Grandma made the best pancakes.

  Annie handed him the syrup. She watched her brother pour on the syrup until it looked like his pancakes were floating in it. Annie had already finished her pancakes. She had been trying all morning to get Grandma to tell her when they were going back to see the High Coterie but, she wouldn’t discuss it until breakfast was over. Unfortunately, Annie knew breakfast wouldn’t be over until everyone had eaten, including her sleepy head brother.

  “We have some important errands to run today.” Mary told the children as she sat back down at the table passing a glass of orange juice to John. John and Annie both looked at her eagerly waiting for her to go into more detail. She did not, however, say anything more. She just sat back quietly looking over her grandchildren’s faces. After a bit, she began to badger John about finishing his breakfast.

  John suddenly realized his tummy was growling at him and he eagerly began stuffing his face. He thought that his grandmother might be waiting for him to finish his breakfast before discussing their errands. Why did adults always have to do things like that? They always made you wait to do the stuff you wanted to do. John really did hate waiting.

  It didn’t take John long to clean his plate. He shoved the last large bite of pancake in his mouth causing his face to resemble a chipmunk. John began to talk. His mouth being full all he managed was to sputter and mumble, with stray bits of pancake falling out of his mouth, something that neither his grandmother nor Annie could understand. What he did succeed in was providing a bit of entertainment that broke the mornings’ tension. John took a big gulp of orange juice and joined his sister and grandmother in a long laugh.

  They all laughed so long and so hard that John’s sides were hurting. It was nice to laugh like that. Things had been too serious lately. John stifled his laughter and cleared his throat. “Grandma, when am I going to get to learn more about the mysticism?” he asked.

  Annie stopped laughing. She had been wanting to ask the same question all morning. The sooner she found out when and where John’s lessons would be the sooner she could figure out a way to listen in on them. Annie was sure that if she could learn more about mysticism she could help John get their parents back.

  Mary smiled at her grandchildren. “At some point, today we will stop by the library and see what the Coterie has to say about that.” She answered. “Now both of you need to go and get dressed.” She made a motion with her hands towards the stairs. Both John and Annie jumped up and ran up the stair case to their rooms. “Don’t forget to brush your teeth” their grandmother called after them.

  Annie ran into her room looking around widely for her suitcase. It wasn’t there. She looked under her bed. Nope, not there either. She threw open the closet and looked at the floor to see if it was there. Nothing. Where were her clothes? How was she supposed to get dressed when she didn’t know where her clothes were? Then, as she closed the closet door, she noticed something hanging among the old-fashioned adult clothes. It was one of her dresses. She took it down.

  She didn’t really want to wear a dress, but at least it was something. Then she had a thought. If someone put her dress in the closet then maybe they put her clothes in the dresser drawers. She ran to the dresser and flung open the drawer. She almost shrieked with joy. There they were all of her things. She put on the first shirt and pair of shorts she saw. Then it was off to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Hopefully her toothbrush would be there too.

  Just before she reached the bathroom she noticed Zindle lying in the hall watching her and her brother. He looked a little sad. She stopped to give him a hug. “Sorry Zin, you can’t go with us today. They don’t let dogs in stores.” She told him. Then she bent lower and whispered in his ear that later they were going to the library. Zindle gave her a little lick and wagged his tail. Annie gave him one last pat on the head telling him he was a good boy. Then she sped off to the bathroom.

  John had found his clothes in the dresser in his room right away. If it was possible, he was even more excited than Annie. He was in the bathroom brushing his teeth when his little sister came in. He laughed out loud at seeing her
, spitting tooth paste across the room. Annie was wearing a short sleeved green shirt trimmed with lace that looked very silly with the red and blue athletic shorts she had on. Annie ignored his laughter. She picked up her toothbrush and went to work on her teeth. Moments later she was following John as they both ran down the stairs as fast as they could manage.

  Grandma was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. She opened the front door. Without missing a step, the children continued running right out the door and down the front porch steps. After a quick argument about who got to sit in the front seat, Grandma started the car and they were on their way.

  Their first stop was at the school where Grandma registered Annie and John to start school. The first day of the school year was just a little over a week away. Next it was off to the store. They had a very long list of school supplies to buy. It also seemed that both Annie and John had gone through growth spurts during the summer. This left most of their clothes a little tight fitting. Mary insisted her grandchildren have new clothes that fit properly for their first day at the new school.

  Shopping seemed to take forever. Finally, with car full of bags, they had everything they needed. The sun was still in the sky but, had taken a much lower position toward the horizon. Grandma started the car.

  “Perfect timing!” she said with a smile looking at the sky.

  “Prefect timing for dinner?” asked John hopefully. He was very tired and it had been a long time since lunch. At this point the only thing he could think about was feeding his growling tummy. He hadn’t forgotten about Grandma’s promise to stop by the library but, he needed food first.

  Annie was hungry too. It had been tough keeping up with Grandma and John all day. Her tummy was rumbling but, she was much more interested in the promise Grandma had made to take them to see the Coterie. The sooner that John learned more about mysticism the sooner they could get Mommy and Daddy back. Besides the favorites juice they had last night was very yummy. Maybe they could have some more of that.

  “Aren’t we going to see the Coterie?” Annie chimed in before Grandma could answer John.

  “You’re both in luck. We will be having dinner with Mhotep tonight.” Grandma said smiling even wider.

  They pulled up in front of a large old building. The sign out front read PUBLIC LIBRARY. Public library? thought John. He was hungry and Grandma had promised they were going to see the Coterie for dinner. Why were they stopping at the library?

  “We’re here!” Grandma Announced.

  Annie tried to sound out the first word on the sign. She wasn’t quite sure she was reading it right but, she knew the second word. It was library. Then she remembered all the books she saw last night when they met the Coterie. They must have a meeting room in the library. Then Annie noticed something that made her smile. Sitting patiently next to the front door was Zindle.

  The children followed their grandmother up the stairs into the library. Grandma shook her head in disapproval as they passed Zindle. Zindle slid in the door right behind the children. John noticed that it was almost closing time. There were only a few people left making their final selections and checking out their books. The librarian gave them a little smile and nodded at them as they passed her but, her expression changed when she saw Zindle. She came over and grabbed Zindle by the collar. “Sorry Zindle there are too many people still here to let you go upstairs.” She explained as she put him back outside.

  Annie and John looked at each other. The librarian was Celeste! They didn’t have time to discuss it. Annie wanted to complain about Zindle being put outside but, there wasn’t time for that either. Grandma was way ahead of them. They had to walk very fast to catch up to her. She had already crossed into the next room and was about to start up a very large stair case.

  John and Annie looked at each other again. They both recognized it as the same staircase from the night before. As they reached the first landing John whispered “One.” On the second landing Annie whispered “Two.” At the third landing John held up three fingers for Annie to see. Finally, they came to the fourth landing. John and Annie looked at each other again. It was the same door from last night.

  Annie took John’s hand and squeezed it. She was excited and scared all at the same time. This time however, the door did not open. Their grandmother instructed them to sit on one of the stairs. She knocked on the door. It opened just wide enough for her to slip in and then closed again.

  “When are we going to go in?” John whispered to his sister.

  “I hope soon…” Annie responded. Her response was cut short. She had noticed something. A shadow maybe? It had moved on the landing above them. She hadn’t noticed it before. Wow, this was a very tall building.

  John noticed his little sister staring at something. He looked hard but, he didn’t see anything. Just then the door opened and Grandma was there motioning for them to follow her. John jumped up. He wanted to see the Coterie again and he was very hungry.

  Annie took on last look up at the landing. There! She saw it again. Something moved up there. She was hungry but, she wanted to know what that was up there. Unfortunately, she’d have to wait until later to find out. Helga had come with Grandma. Helga took Annie by the shoulder and steered her into the large room.

  The room looked much as it had the night before, only it was much brighter now. The same table was there but, it had lots of chairs all around and it was piled high with yummy things to eat. It reminded Annie of Christmas dinner.

  They took their seats at the table. Mhotep was there, but the rest of Coterie was not. Celeste, Helga, Matthew, Sam and Ruth were all there as well. Mhotep stood, raised his glass and thanked everyone for joining them for dinner.

  John noticed that there were two empty seats at the table. He started to ask who they belonged to when Sam cleared his throat. She shook his head at John indicating that now was not the time for questions.

  Mhotep invited everyone to begin eating. Great bowls of wonderful foods were passed around the table. Annie and John piled their plates high. Other than some polite conversation about the day’s shopping, very little was said during the meal. When dinner was finished Mhotep stood. He waived his hand and the dishes flew off the table and out of the room.

  Annie watched in amazement as the dishes zoomed off the table. They flew out of the room through a door she hadn’t noticed before. She wondered if it had been there all along or if the mystical spell had created it. Either way she wanted to know what was on the other side. She was deep in thought when she heard Mhotep saying her name.

  “Annie…if you wouldn’t mind just stepping out for a moment? I think you’ll find a coloring book and crayons on the landing.” Mhotep requested.

  Annie didn’t want to sit out on the landing. She didn’t want to be left out of anything. She began to protest but, was quickly quieted by Ruth who took her by the hand and led her out of the room. Ruth handed Annie the crayons and coloring book and went back into the room closing the door behind her.

  “Great!” said Annie sarcastically to herself. “They always leave me out of the good stuff.”

  Annie sat up straight peering at the landing above. She heard a scuffling noise. She stared hard. There was something up there. She had seen it before and now she could hear it. She glanced over her shoulder. No adults to be seen. Slowly she crept up the stair case.

  The library was closed and empty except for the mystics. It was a little scary Annie thought as she continued up the stairs. There weren’t many lights on. She squeezed her hands together tight. As she reached the top of the stairs she gave a sigh of relief. There was nothing there. It was empty. Then she noticed something. There a cloud of fog or maybe dust from the old books. It was strange but, nothing to be scared of. Annie reached out to touch it.

  It felt funny. It felt more like putting her hand in a bowl of Jelly than into dust or fog. As she felt around in the strange mist she heard a noise. It sounded almost like laughter. Annie jumped back. For a moment, she lost her balance. She
would have fallen down the stairs had it not been for the hand she was now holding.

  Annie looked up to see a girl just about her size. The girl had curly blond hair. It was hard to make out her other features in the low light. Annie took a step forward to get a better footing. She stared at the girl.

  The girl smiled. “Hi.” she said very shyly. “Hi.” Annie said back. Remembering her manners Annie introduced herself. “My name is Annie.”

  “I know.” said the girl sheepishly. “My name is Chloe.”

  “How do you know my name?” Annie asked Chloe.

  “I live here.” Chloe explained.

  “You live here?” asked Annie now extremely curious about her new friend.

  Chloe told Annie that she had powers just like John. Well, almost like John, John was supposed to be much more powerful than her. The Coterie was hiding her so that Gistramino couldn’t find her. They heard a creak from the floor below. Chloe grabbed Annie’s hand and pulled her into one of rooms.

  Gistramino? Annie knew that name. That was the evil man who was after John. He was the reason they had to leave their home. It was his fault they were out driving when the tornado came. Annie’s mind was spinning trying to decide what to ask Chloe next. She wanted to know more about

  Gistramino so she decided to pretend she didn’t know about him at all and see what Chloe would say. “Who…” Annie began. Chloe pressed her finger to her lips indicating that they needed to be quiet. They both listened hard but, didn’t hear any other noise. Chloe seemed to relax. Annie tried her question again.

  “Who is Gistramino?” she asked. Chloe looked around the room as if someone else might over hear them. The room was still just as empty as it had been when Chloe first pulled Annie inside.

  “Gistramino is really, really, bad!” Chloe whispered. She told Annie everything she knew about him. How he had tried to take over all of the mystical world. How he lost most of his power when the worlds were separated. Now he searches for kids who can use echoes to find the one who can join the worlds again and restore his power. A shiver ran up Annie’s spine as Chloe finished.