by Ariel Roma
WARNING
That’s Not a Campfire Weenie Roast!
13
BLACK AND LIGHT
“WHAT IS THAT?” Sloane wondered out loud. “Wow, it’s so bright it hurts my eyes. What do you think it is, another sun maybe?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Lucas stared into the glistening blaze. “It’s amazing!” he exclaimed. “It’s too bright,” he said turning away. “I can’t look. I’m starting to see spots,” he cried.
“That’s Morning Star Kingdom,” a gallant voice bounced back.
“Hey!” Lucas yelled. They all jumped.
“Who said that?” Sloane called.
“I did,” the voice echoed again.
All at once, a huge wind funnel surfed past. A great whooshing of flapping wings announced the remarkable bird’s arrival. He landed in mid-air, on who knows what… only a few feet away.
“Oh!” Lucas jumped. Maxx had the biggest smile he could make.
“Oh look, it’s an eagle!” Sloane shouted with delighted eyes popping. Then as if all of this was normal she said, “Hi. What’s your name?”
The eagle was a giant, five times the size of a regular boy. Lucas was relieved to see that he seemed friendly, but it was plain he could be fierce if he wanted to be.
His massive, yellow hooked beak looked like a hawkbill blade. His muscle-man podium legs ended with an artillery of incredible talons. He was amazing. Everything here was!
“My name is Nunzio.” His voice blared like a boom-box. His spyglass eyes were intense and sharp… no question, he was wise.
At first it was hard to believe that this amazing bird was talking to them, a moment later it just seemed normal.
Nunzio inhaled deep. His butter-yellow beak opened wide and his stout, pink tongue waggled. “First things first. You need to know just what you’re getting yourself into, coming here,” he said.
Knowledge is power you know. But knowledge without a lick-of-sense how to use it right can be like not knowing anything at all! It’s like having a… what do you Middlings use to get yourselves around in?” Ahumm, he cleared his throat. “Yes a car. Oh that’s it. It seems so… ah… clumsy you know… you should really try flying it’s a much better way to get around. Much better indeed.” He stopped and leaned over to make sure they were paying attention. He seemed satisfied and went on.
“Knowledge without wisdom is like having a car and no keys to drive it! What good would that be?” Then he muttered to himself, “It would be no good at all. No, not good.”
He may be wise, Lucas thought to himself, but he’s an odd bird! He wondered what the eagle meant when he said they needed to know what they were getting themselves into. They didn’t plan on getting into anything. He didn’t remember asking to come here. After all, they had only just stumbled upon this place hadn’t they?
Nunzio was back on track, “As I was saying,” he continued, “Once you have knowledge you need to know how to use it. That’s where wisdom comes in. Understanding how to use what you know can take you to the moon…” he paused as one wing fanned open towards the moon, “And bring you back again too.” He was smiling as much as eagles can smile. His wing flapped neatly into place again.
Nunzio was thinking. His voice sank to a mysterious tone. “If you have in mind to go to Darkotika,” his eyes were piercing, “You are going to want to know you’re coming back again that’s for sure. So listen up and I’ll tell you some things you’re going to need to know.”
The three of them had some big questions, but no one wanted to interrupt the great eagle. First of all, what was a Darkotika they all wondered, and as far as they knew they didn’t remember saying anything about wanting to go there. Besides, from the suspense in Nunzio’s voice and what he was saying, they were pretty sure that they would not want to go there!
There were two things easy to see about Nunzio. He was wise, and he was on their side. With eyes watery and hearts thumping, they also knew they’d better listen closely to what he had to say. Their life could depend on it. And maybe it would.
“First of all,” Nunzio began, “Morning Star Kingdom always was. It never was not. It is thee superior kingdom,” he stressed. “Always was, always will be. Nothing will ever, ever change that,” he reassured.
He ballooned up with a deep breath, then away he went. “Now,” he began, “Way back near the time when time began there was a rebel; a traitor who believed he should be worshipped and adored like the King. And that’s impossible… of course, there’s no one like the King!”
Nunzio’s wing tips touched together like hands. His eyes sweetened. Anyone could see he dearly loved the King. Suddenly he was rigid, talking about the rebel again. “He was extremely handsome and gifted… wow did he have talents! Not only that, he already held a position of great importance in the kingdom,” Nunzio paused to inspect his wide-eyed visitors. “For now,” he said, “it’s enough to know that he defected from Morning Star Kingdom and when he did he took a huge legion of the King’s army with him. They all moved over there.” On cue, the eagle’s wing opened like a shield. Their heads all bobbled to take a look.
At first, there was no sign of anything at all. You really had to look to see it. You could only catch glimpses of it. It was like a volcanic, orange flickering rim circling a low burning campfire.
“It’s called Darkotika,” Nunzio’s voice was a dry rumble. “When the enemy defected his given name was erased. He became Dragkon. He crowned himself the king of Darkotika.”
There was no sound whatsoever coming from any of them except for the sound of their wilted breathing. They were dog-earing Nunzio’s words to chew over later. No one cared how they got here, what they were doing here, or what would happen next. They wanted to know more, and Nunzio delivered.
“Before Darkotika, the earth and the realms beyond were mixed together. Morning Star Kingdom and the earth were in harmony and Morning Star Kingdom was not only here,” Nunzio waved a wing across the stars, “it also had an established presence on the earth. You need to understand that Morning Star Kingdom isn’t just a place, it’s a government,” Nunzio explained. “It operates according to the word of the King,” he stated.
“Then, the regions of Morning Star Kingdom crossed through the margin around the earth. The light of Morning Star Kingdom was lavish and rich and it gave life to the earth. The Middlings didn’t have a care in the world. Everything was good. They were citizens of Morning Star Kingdom, united in love, and they were happy! They were happy because of the Kings great love for them. He had nothing but good for them, all the time.
Nunzio was drama-bird. He was like watching a show. A moment ago he was jubilant. Now he was stern.
“But then something terrible happened,” he said, his face was like a rocky crag. “In an act of trickery, Dragkon persuaded the Middlings that Darkotika should have a place in their world. And because the King of Morning Star Kingdom had given them free-will instead of making them robots, the Middlings could decide for themselves what was best. And they did.”
“Now remember that knowledge and wisdom I was talking to you about?” Nunzio leaned way in to search their faces. “Well it seems the Middlings didn’t have enough of either,” he said, clearly upset. “Maybe it was because up until then the King had always taken care of them. So, the Middlings thought they knew-it-all. They didn’t bother to ask the King. He certainly would have warned them.” He winced, then firmly stated, “They went right on with it and believed the lies of Dragkon.”
“It was a sad, sad day. I remember it like it was only yesterday.” Nunzio’s eyes glistened with tears. The saddest thing was that it grieved the heart of the King to lose his much-loved Middlings. He adored them… and still does! He even carries a picture of each one of them carved right into the palm of his hand. Yes… it was very sad,” the eagle’s words faded. His head drooped. He was deflated.
“But that’s not all of it, there’s so much more.” Now he was ballooning big, “What I’m about to tell you w
ill make you very glad!” he chirped.
“As for the Middlings, their first clue that something was wrong was when the light beams lasering down from Morning Star Kingdom, fizzled out! Little did they know, but the moment they agreed with the thinking of Darkoticism, they handed the controls of their world to Darkotika.”
Nunzio was roller-coastering through the story. “It was a horrible transfer. Instead of light, darkness was the new rule. The authority of Morning Star Kingdom shifted out of the earthly territory that day. The life-giving light of the King no longer shone. Thank goodness the King owns the sun or Darkotika would have shut it down too.”
Nunzio’s wing feathers shivered before he explained, “So now instead of sons and daughters of the King, the Middlings were slaves to Dragkon and the laws of Darkotika. It’s been that way ever since then.”
The kids’ eyes were like flying-saucers. They could hardly believe what the eagle was saying but they knew it must be true. Nunzio was talking about their world. Now they were really wondering about the good news he was talking about. They hoped hard that he would tell them, but when Nunzio went on there was no good news yet. Instead it got worse. “The Middlings were shocked! The Kings Guards were gone! And although they couldn’t see them, the whole place was full of Darkotika’s sorcerers, scoundrels and devils!”Every word had Lucas, Sloane and Maxx hanging with chills crawling all over them. It was hard to catch a good breath with such scary news that just kept on rolling, reeling like a horrible movie in their minds.
“One minute the Middlings were as free as the air,” Nunzio was telling them, “and the next, they were caught in a trap. They didn’t know what happened! They didn’t even know what fear was but now they were terrified! They’d never been afraid before. There was never any reason to be afraid. One thing they did know was that something awful had just happened and they didn’t know what to do about it. The truth is there was nothing they could do.”
The three of them were dazed trying to figure out what all of this meant. The sparkle in their eyes was gone. Nunzio was talking about Middlings… them… their world. What kind of future could they possibly have? Knowing the truth, it seemed hopeless.
Nunzio’s words snapped their attention, “Don’t be sad.” The hope in his voice was bright. “Listen, that’s not all. After that, something wonderful happened!” he shouted.
The eagle took a deep breath and smiled as much as eagles can smile. “What do you think the Middlings wanted most that day?” He didn’t wait for their answer. “They wanted to see the King of course. And what do you think the King wanted that day?” He couldn’t wait to tell them. “He wanted to see his cherished Middlings of course! He loved them just as much as he always had. And, on that day, that terrible, awful day, the King came down from his throne in Morning Star Kingdom to tell them that. And…,” Nunzio’s eyes were dancing, “he activated his plan to get everything back again!” he exclaimed with giant smiles in his eyes. All the stars in the sky did a dancy twinkle-spin.
“Wow!” the kids cheered. They were glad! The I-think-I’m-gonna-barf feeling climbing up their ribs, dropped back down. Still, with all that Nunzio said and what it could mean to them, they couldn’t get rid of the fear snaking around inside their heads.
Nunzio looked pleased. “Enough for today,” he said. You’ve got a lot to think about; but don’t take too long,” he told them. “You’ve got some decisions to make,” he added.
“Decisions?” Lucas blurted. Sloane’s eyebrows arched. Maxx’s eyes shot wide.
“Yes.” Nunzio calmly insisted. “What will you do with everything you just learned? The choice is yours. You don’t have to do anything of course. But that’s still a choice,” he said thoughtfully. “On the inside, you still have everything the King gave you. It’s still there. They can’t take that away from you.” His beak swung towards Darkotika. “Unless you decide to give it to them,” he added.
The time with Nunzio was ticking down. Lucas shielded his eyes from the brightness that swept across the sky like a colossal torch. Morning Star Kingdom was radiant. For a kid with his kind of imagination it was fascinating. His heart sizzled with excitement. He had a sudden longing to go there. In that instant he was ready to ditch everything he knew to find a way.
The eagle somehow knew what he was thinking. The gold rings around his eyes were blazing. If he didn’t already know him, Lucas would have been terrified.
“Yes, you’ll go there some day, but not yet,” Nunzio answered his thoughts. “First you need to take hold of what’s already in your hands,” he said.
“What do you mean?” Lucas spoke up.
Nunzio’s answer was a riddle.
“It’s your imagination,
you can do just what you please,
but if you’ll use it wisely,
you will find it holds the keys.
For the answers to your questions,
about these kingdom lands,
you only need to look at,
what’s already in your hands.
The King is only good you see,
and will never let you fall,
you only need to say yes to Him,
by answering The Call.”
“By answering the call....” Lucas repeated. I’ve heard something about a call before. But where? He was edgy, thinking hard.
Sloane and Maxx were riveted spectators, watch-ing the exchange between Nunzio and Lucas. What was this about? Sloane was suddenly whispering, in a conversation with herself.
“You better go back now,” Nunzio suggested.
“Oh no! How long have we been here?” Maxx was anxious.
“No worries. No time at all,” Nunzio replied cheerfully. “We’re in an eternal time warp,” he said. “Time has no measure here. It’s eclipsed somewhere between one second and the next. That’s it!” he explained. “So you haven’t missed a thing down there.” His fanning wing pointed below and threw a breeze that ruffled everyone’s hair.
Nunzio’s reasoning about time satisfied Maxx who had mentioned earlier that he had something special to do tonight. Charles would be coming to pick him up.
Lucas looked longingly at the stars hanging like chandeliers in the glossy black sky. The skylight window looked like the door to a dungeon now compared to all this. The goings-on below in Target was still creepy-crawling. He wondered why he hadn’t seen it before. Now he had to add this to the list of things he was afraid of.
“Someday you might be able to see it.” Nunzio answered his thoughts again. “That really depends on you.”
What? What depends on me? Lucas wondered to himself.
Nunzio was quick to respond. “The more you open your mind up to the light of Morning Star Kingdom, the stronger you will grow. The light makes your spirit strong. You are wonderfully made you know! You are a spirit that lives in a body, and you have an amazing mind! Your possibilities are endless!” Nunzio’s voice was singing. “If you eat the food from the King’s table your spirit will grow and you will begin to see the supernatural.”
Eat the King’s food? That sounds great! Lucas thought. He was already wondering how he could get some.
Nunzio seemed to forget they were supposed to be leaving. “Your spirit sees things your eyes can’t,” he told them. The supernatural kingdoms operate in the spirit realm and that’s in a different speed zone than your world is in,” he said.
If the three of them weren’t so anxious to learn about the workings of the kingdoms, Nunzio might not have been so ready to share the truth with them. But here they were, waiting on every word and starving for the truth.
“Do any of you know what the speed of light is?” Nunzio asked.
Of course Sloane answered right away, “The speed of light is 186,282 miles per second,” she chimed.
“Good. You’re a smart cookie, girl!” Nunzio applauded her.
Sloane beamed. Well, if he said so, she was impressed! Maybe she should start to really believe in herself, she thought.
“So here’s something else then,” Nunzio continued. “Your Middling world operates in the speed of light. When you see something, it’s bound by the laws of science that function within the speed of light. That’s just how it works. But now listen to this… the supernatural world that the kingdoms operate in, runs at a much faster speed.”
“Here, let me show you,” Nunzio said. He wanted to make sure they understood. “Have you ever seen the spokes on a car wheel spin so fast they disappear? Did they really disappear?” he asked, jumping ahead with the answer. “No, they’re still there. They’re just moving so fast that you can’t see them anymore. The supernatural world is like that. Kingdom activity is going on all around you, all the time,” he said. “But it’s moving faster than the speed of light, so you can’t see it. But just like the spokes in the wheel, it’s still there! It’s simple.”
Nunzio smiled again as much as eagles can smile. “Don’t be afraid Lucas,” he told him. “You have nothing to be afraid of.”
Lucas wasn’t sure he got all that but decided he would think it through later. Sloane seemed good, so that helped.
It was time to go. They wondered if they would ever come back here again.
“I’ll see you again soon,” Nunzio called out. Suddenly his mammoth wings were a huge canopy above them, drafting such terrific waves that they had to brace themselves from falling over.