ADVENTURES IN DIVINIAND
ADVENTURES IN DIVINIAND
NANCY OLAWALE
© 2021 Nancy Olawale
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
ISBN: 978-1-9196198-1-1
eBook ISBN: 978-1-9196198-8-0
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Prologue (Eight Years Ago)
Chapter 1(Eight Years Later)
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
Prologue
(EIGHT YEARS AGO)
“Read it again to me, Daddy!” Sam Roberts was putting his daughter to bed when she asked him to read a story about Diviniand.
“Are you sure, sweetie?” he replied. “We’ve already read that book so many times this week! We could read this book instead!” He pulled a book from her bookshelf, but the three-year-old girl was on the verge of crying, so he quickly grabbed the book she wanted.
“If you say so,” he muttered. “Once upon a time, there was a—”
His daughter cut him off. “—land called Diviniand with creatures of all sorts. Before people decided to visit Diviniand, it was the home of diveels.” She stopped. “Why are diveels so grumpy, Daddy?”
“Well, in the story, some of the diveels wanted it to stay as their home and no one to visit it.”
“That’s mean!” The girl frowned. “Daddy, is Diviniand real?” She looked into his eyes with a playful smile on her face.
Sam hesitated, “Ye—no. It can only be real in your hopes and dreams.”
In a few years’ time, this exact girl would forget this ever happened.
Chapter 1
(EIGHT YEARS LATER)
The sound of waves was coming nearer and nearer as she moved closer to her destination. She noticed the city fading away and turning into the countryside. Roads were swapped with dirt paths, and buildings were replaced by trees. Having lived in London most of her life, she was excited for this road trip. It was finally the summer holidays. No school for a whole six weeks!
She had to admit that it had been a while since she last went out, but after a while, the excitement struggled to stay alive in her body. She was getting bored as she’d been stuck in the car for hours. The clock seemed to be ticking slower than ever. Tick tock. Tick tock. She rested her chin on the nearest windowsill and looked outside.
The path they were driving on seemed to be sandy. To keep herself occupied, she tried to remember the events that had happened in the past few days and tried to think of their meanings. But it was no use. It was like solving a jigsaw puzzle with a missing piece. She’d been noticing strange things happening all around her ever since her parents gave her a pendant for her birthday.
Apparently, it was a family antique, but she noticed that the object looked like it had been used recently, maybe in the past ten years or so. Which was strange enough since she was eleven years old. The only reasonable explanation was that her parents used it before her, but why? It got even weirder, though. They said to never take off the pendant as it was very important.
Before she could ask any questions, her parents received a mysterious phone call, which made this road trip happen. The girl’s brown, wavy hair, which went down to her shoulders, slightly touched the carefully crafted pendant on her neck. The pendant was a marron-brown colour with a keyhole in the middle of it. She also remembered that she had been having vague dreams that didn’t make any sense. It was like she was witnessing a lost part of her life from the pendant.
But that would never happen in a million years, she thought. The girl knew that something was not right, and she needed to know what it was. Jessica Lily Roberts looked at this same pendant that her parents had given her and that she hadn’t taken off her neck ever since.
The car suddenly stopped, and Jessica knew this must be where they were staying. The Roberts family got their luggage and bags and went into the reception area of a hotel. Jess slipped off and went to explore the hotel room she was staying in. She recited the three-digit number in her head and finally saw the room. The door showed the number 378. She carefully opened the door with the key card she was given and was awed at how amazing it was. She sat down on the chair and thought about how amazing her holiday was going to be.
Chapter 2
“We need you to go to Kent to do this.”
“Can’t someone else do it? I’m not supposed to go there, and I don’t want to!”
“Mr. Roberts, if you really don’t want to do part of your job, I’m afraid I might have to sack you.”
“Please, there must be another way! I can go anywhere but there!”
“Sorry, Mr. Roberts, but I have to go. Please call me later this afternoon to make your final decision.”
This was all Jessica, better known as Jess, got to know about their mysterious road trip. Her dad finally gave in and said he would go, but he didn’t seem happy about it. Personally, she thought that it was a great opportunity for fun and an adventure. And a little break wouldn’t hurt. Her dad was worrying her, though, but she tried to ignore it and see the positive side of things. This was just one of the strange things that had happened at her house.
Jess looked outside her hotel window and immediately adored where she was staying. The beach was glistening with seashells of all colours whilst sandcastles stood out, making a tropical paradise. Out in the ocean, the fish were happily playing and shot up in the air with magnificent sea creatures. The sun was glowing brightly and mesmerised people walking by the beautiful sight. It made Jess wonder if she was in England or a tropical island. Just looking at it gave her a sunburn, so she decided to go out and explore. After all, she was on vacation.
Before she went, she wrote her parents a letter and left it on their bed to tell them where she was going since her dad had gone out to do something for business and her mom was helping him out. She finished the note and ran outside. She could feel the air rushing through her hair while she was running down the beach. The waves were crashing down and landed on her feet. Clouds surrounded her head and moved constantly. She felt like there was magic all around her, and she was loving it. Suddenly, Jess heard a loud, booming voice, and apparently, everyone else who was vacationing there did too.
“COME AND SIGN UP FOR THE BEACH CLEAN-UP! THE SIGN-UP SHEET WILL BE IN THE RECEPTION AREA!”
Jess’s face glowed with joy. Helping the environment was something she loved to do, so she decided to sign up. But the feeling didn’t last long. Jessica looked up and gasped. Two boys who were about the same age as her were picking on a girl who was also around Jess’s age. Jess decided to take a closer look so she could see what was happening.
“Ah, look at the wimp signing up to save the planet. Are you scared that climate change will take over the world or something stupid like that?” one of the boys said in a mocking baby voice.
“Please go away,” the girl said, ba
rely audible. The other one laughed and continued to carry on his act, but before he could do anything, Jessica decided she should do something about it, so she got up and came to the girl’s defence.
“Pick on someone your own size, would you!” she said, blocking the girl from the bullies.
“What did you say? I couldn’t hear you because of how tiny you are!” They smirked and fist-bumped each other.
“I SAID LEAVE HER ALONE!” Jess screamed, but then something strange happened. Her pendant started to vibrate and sent shockwaves to the boys she was angry at.
“HELP! THERE’S A WITCH! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!” one of them shouted, and the other one followed him. But this left Jess with a thought. How did her pendant do that? What were her parents hiding from her?
“Thanks for the help,” the girl muttered. But Jess hadn’t heard her. She was still thinking about what she just did.
“Hello?” the girl muttered again.
“Oh! Sorry about that…” Jessica blurted out, not knowing what to call her.
“Umm, it’s Olivia. Olivia Heart,” she said as she held her hand out for Jess to shake it.
“I’m Jessica. Jessica Roberts,” Jess replied as she took the hand and shook it.
“Hey! Do you like Jess or Jessica?” Olivia asked her curiously whilst smiling. Jess immediately liked Olivia’s personality and smiled at her. Olivia had straight brown hair that curled at the end.
“I like Jess, and I’m glad you asked, Olivia!” replied Jess, glad she didn’t say anything stupid.
“It’s the least I could do for helping me with those bullies, Harry Goodwin and his best friend, Michael Jones. Michael was the one you heard talking before you came to help me,” she muttered, clearly embarrassed.
“Hey, no problem!” Jess quickly changed the subject. “Are you going to sign up for the beach clean-up? Personally, I think it could use a lot of ‘heart’ to help us not give up.”
Olivia smiled weakly and said, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to. That is the reason why I came here in the first place. I’m just worried that Harry and Michael will go there too!”
“Come on, Olivia! We’ll show them who’s boss!” Then Jess mumbled, “And my pendant will probably do whatever it did with you to help me get rid of those boys.”
“Yeah, I was wondering about that,” Olivia said thoughtfully. “Did you not know what your pendant did?”
“Well, Olivia, it is very, very serious,” Jess half-teased.
“I think I can handle the pressure, Jess,” Olivia replied, smiling. So then Jess confessed everything that had been bothering her for the past few days and about how they mysteriously got on this trip.
“Wow, Jess. I think you’ve got a mystery,” Olivia noted. “Clearly, something happened here that your dad doesn’t want you to know about.”
“I don’t know what I should do about it!” Jess exclaimed whilst sitting down on the sandy floor. “Should I tell my parents, or should I keep it to myself?”
“I think you mean we don’t know what to do about it because, Jess, I’ve got your back from now on.”
“Thanks, Olivia! You’re a lifesaver, but I think I’m going to go back to my hotel room now. I’ve had enough drama for one day. So, I’ll see you at the beach clean-up tomorrow?”
“Yes, but wait, I have one more question,” Olivia said, laughing. “Just to be clear, I haven’t just made friends with a witch, have I?”
“Nope. Well, at least I think you haven’t!” Jess replied, smiling, still confused about what had happened.
“Well, see you later, Jessica,” she said.
“Bye, Olivia!” Then the girls walked their separate ways.
Chapter 3
The next day came as quickly as the old one went. Jess jumped off her hotel bed and went to the kitchen for breakfast. She ate as quickly as she could and opened the door. She went outside and stared in awe. It was raining. But it wasn’t normal rain—it was tropical rain.
“Mom, Dad. I need to go see Olivia,” Jess panted as she ran up to them.
“I’m really sorry, Jess, but I don’t think you can in this rain,” her mom replied.
“I agree with your mom, Jess,” her dad nodded.
“Please, it’s really important!” Jess pleaded.
“Unless you want to get soaked and cold. Sure, go ahead,” her mom said sternly.
“But… but…” Jess stammered.
“That’s enough arguing, Jess,” her dad said just as sternly as her mom.
“Okay then.” Jess sighed as she took her shoes off and sat on the sofa. She looked at her pendant and then at her parents.
No. Not yet, she thought. I’ll tell them in my own time. Jess turned the TV on and switched it to the news channel. It was just as she suspected. Everywhere in the UK, it was raining hard. Jess was no weather expert, but she knew this wasn’t right. It didn’t seem possible that everywhere was raining at the same time, and since when had it been warm enough to rain like this anywhere? Let alone the UK? Jess looked to see where her mom and dad had gone, and sure enough, they were in the hotel kitchen whispering so quietly she could barely hear them. She knew that she shouldn’t be eavesdropping on her parents, but at least she would have a good reason for it.
“We should tell Jess,” her mom said in a worried voice.
“So then she’ll get worried and panic? No way!” her dad replied.
“She’s old enough to know. If we were there…”
“We’re here, though. Not ‘there.’ If we’re going to carry on living here, we need to act normal!”
“Okay, then, so why did you give her that necklace? Clearly, it has too much power for her to handle!”
“Well, I guess it just made me feel at home giving it to her. As if I were still there.”
“Yes, but you saw what it did to those two boys yesterday! And then they called her a witch!”
“But they were close to what Jess really was, Jennifer. We can’t let anyone at all, including that Olivia girl, know who we really are.”
“Okay, Sam, but only because I trust you know what you’re doing,”
Jess couldn’t bear to hear any more. What did “know who we really are” mean or “clearly it has too much power for her to handle”? Surely she was responsible enough to know what her parents were talking about. Jess knew for sure that it was her pendant they were talking about, but what had made her really worried was when her dad had said “I guess it just made me feel at home.” This gave Jess just one thought.
Where did she really come from?
That night a lot of things were bugging Jess’s sleep. There was a question in her mind that was disturbing her. Was it this exact pendant that had made it rain that badly? The good news about that night was when her parents had told her that the beach clean-up was now tomorrow. Some other good news was that the rain had stopped, but by the time it did, her parents had insisted that it was too late to go see Olivia. Jess knew that her parents said that Olivia shouldn’t know, but she was her friend. So the first chance she got tomorrow, she was going to tell Olivia everything.
Chapter 4
Nothing can ruin today! thought Jess as she brushed her teeth, looking at herself in the mirror in the bathroom. Including crazy storms, shock-waving necklaces, and weird conversations. She moved back into her room and packed her backpack since she wouldn’t be back until sunset. Just to be safe, she packed extra food in case she or Olivia needed snacks. Jess rushed outside and went to where she and Olivia planned on meeting. Just as she got there, Olivia came running to where Jess was.
“Where were you? I was looking for you everywhere,” Olivia said as her breath steadied.
“Sorry, Olivia! But that doesn’t matter at the moment. Let’s just say a lot happened yesterday, including my neck—” Jess said, but before she could finish her sentence, Olivia shushed her.
“Jess, don’t tell me here! For all we know, someone could be listening!”
“Sorry, Olivia,” Jess mutte
red, “I’ll tell you later.” Jess looked ahead and saw a recognisable figure coming their way. The figure had blonde hair, and Jess suddenly knew who it was.
“Can you just tell me on the way quietly?” Olivia asked.
“No. I think Harry Goodwin wants to talk to you,” Jess said as she pointed to where he was steadily but quickly coming closer to them.
“Oh no! Quick! Hide behind that rock!” Olivia whisper-shouted, but it was too late.
“Um, hi,” Harry stammered.
“What do you want from us, Harry? Haven’t you caused enough trouble?” Jess said.
“Yeah, just go away!” Olivia folded her arms and glared at him.
“Look! I’m sorry! That’s all I came to say.” He looked down at his shoes and then looked back up at Jess. “Wait! Is that what I think it is?” He stared in awe at the pendant around Jess’s neck. “No. That’s—that’s impossible.”
“What are you talking about?” Olivia and Jess asked.
“That exact pendant that you’re wearing is legendary!” Harry replied in a whisper.
“Jess, I think he forgot to take his meds today. Let’s just get out of here.” Olivia started pulling Jess, but she got rid of her grip.
“Well, you’re talking so much trash, Olivia, that your breath is smelling terrible,” Harry said to Olivia, and after that she fell quiet.
“I think that we should listen to what Harry has to say,” Jess said sternly.
Olivia just had her mouth hanging open. “So we’re going to listen to him after what he said about me?”
Jess just nodded at Olivia to sign that she had everything under control. Harry gave her a grateful smile, but it went quickly as soon as Jess said that they’d meet him after the beach clean-up. Olivia slipped out of sight and walked to the beach, leaving Jess with Harry. Then he said, “Jess, thanks for giving me a second chance.”
Adventures in Diviniand Page 1