My song "Where Did the Rock Go"

This is my song from the show.

Chapter 5: Leaving (Marina)

       The night sky glittered above me as I climbed up from the lake shore and onto the island.  Pulling out my lumira,  I said "lumor" and it lit up my path. I looked around for Leo as I climbed up the hill towards the cave in.
        Suddenly he jumped out at me brandishing his lyteknife and growling ferociously.
        "Leo!" I shouted, "Leo, it's me!" He hesitated. I groaned.
        "Really? Every time?" I sighed.  "Color and light are more precious than gold and jewels and should not be taken for granted. There! satisfied now?"
         "Well you never can be to careful." he muttered sheathing his lyteknife.
         "I know, I know!" I rolled my eyes, "We've been through this before."
        As he led the way to the other side of the island I asked, "Honestly, do you really think anyone really would have found a bagus, found the island, and impersonated me? Do you have any idea how unlikely that sounds?"
         Leo just grumbled, "Sneaking up on me in the middle of the night..."
         "Sorry about that." I apologized. "Mom and Dad wouldn't let me out of the house."
         "What? Why?" he asked turning his head slightly as he walked.
         "Well...  um... It's a long story." Leo turned and raised his eyebrows. "Maybe we should wait till we're sitting down."
         Leo looked confused, but just gave a slight nod, turned, and resumed walking.
         "Here we are." Leo stopped at a small hole in the ground. "I've started trying to re-establish our cave, and find some of the stuff we left behind."  He began to slip into the hole, "It'll be a tight squeeze, but you should make it. It's only temporary anyways."
         Leo was right. It was a tight squeeze. But I did make it.
         "It's actually kinda cozy in here." Leo told me as I emerged into a small cave. "I managed to find our old armchairs. They're kinda dirty, but they work fine."
          "I can fix that!" I pulled out my lyarol, pointed it at the chairs, said "Rhyome" The dust disappeared.
          Leo sighed, "I wish I could do that."
          "Yeah." I answered, trying not to giggle at the funny look that came over Leo's face. "It's kinda stupid that only humans can use magic."
          Leo stared off into space, a wistful look on his face.
          "Leo?" I questioned, "Leo? Leo!" I snapped my fingers in front of his face and he jolted back to the present.
          "Sorry." he apologized. "Memories."
          "About what?" I asked.
          " Um, nothing really. Just... the good ol' days. You know." He smirked at me.
           Leo was acting weird. "Are... you OK?" I asked
          "Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?" He said, sounding more like his old self.
           "Umm... you were acting kinda weird."
           "Nonsense!" He plopped down into one of the now clean chairs and changed the subject.
           "So what was it you wanted to tell me?"
           I fell into the other chair and the story spilled out.  Every detail came out and I was surprised at how much and how well I could remember. I described in perfect detail the horrible jerk as I got pulled up by the vine into the clouds, the jerking motion of coming down suspended by my own levira, and even the small droplet of water that I had forgot about until then.
          Leo just listened politely until we got to the part with the vine. Then his eyes widened and stared at me seemingly enraptured at the sun getting covered, Suada, and the multitudes of fruit unfolded. It was as if I was reliving it all in perfect detail and narrating it beautifully.
         When I finally finished, Leo leaned back in his chair and stared at me intensely for a while. He seemed to be in shock.
        "L-Leo? Are... are you OK?"
        "She's back." he whispered barely audibly.
        "What? Leo? Are you OK?"
        Slowly, he nodded. His eyes seemed to focus more clearly on me.
        Very slowly he began to ask a question. But it wasn't even about Suada, or the dark sun, or the fruits. Instead he asked,"The... drop of water... do you know why that happened?"
        "What? Oh!" I widened my eyes. "No! I had forgotten about it until now."
        Then, remembering my underwater experience, I wondered if they were connected. I blushed remembering that I hadn't told Leo about that yet.
         "Um... Leo?"
         "What?" he answered absently, as if he wasn't really listening
         "I um, forgot... to tell you" I ventured and stopped, realizing How stupid I sounded. I sighed and continued "I... didn't tell you, I made a discovery the other day, when I made the drawing of the water dragon... I... um...  Iforgottousethewaterpotionandjumpedinwithoutitbuticouldstillbreathe!"
          "What?!?" Leo was looking at me funny.
           I took a deep breath and told the story in deep detail and made sure to talk slowly.
           When I finished Leo sat up and shook his head, eyes wide, "It's all happening!"
            "Umm... Leo?"
            "Well," he said,seeming to recover, "We'd better get going." He began gathering things littered around the small cave and scooping them into a bag.
            "Wait, What?!? what do you mean 'Get going'? Where are we going?" 
            He looked up and hesitated. Finally he said "There's someone you need to meet" and resumed packing, for, I realized, that was what he was doing.
            "Who? Where are we going?!?" I repeated.
            He didn't appear to have heard me.
            "Go pack. Leave a note for your parents.  You'll need clothes." He looked up "And food. Lots of food."
            "But-" I protested "Go!" He shooed me out of the cave.
            I scrambled awkwardly out of the tunnel and, brushing myself off, I jogged down to the lake and waded in.
            Where were we going? A note for my parents? What am I supposed to say? Clothes? Food? He's making it sound like we're going to be gone a long time!
             I climbed out of the lake and dried off with my lyarol. I slowed as our little log cabin came into view.
             I tiptoed into the house carefully avoiding the squeaky floorboards that were so well known to me. I knew every inch of our house, and now Leo wanted me to leave?!?
             I didn't even know why I was sneaking around the house so carefully. Half of me wanted to purposely wake my parents and have them force me to stay home where they would fawn over me over-protectively like they always have. But, as I tiptoed through the house I realized that, I had never really liked that. I had been sneaking away for years and seeing Leo, having little adventures now and then. So some inner impulse compelled me to keep tiptoeing.
            I got to the closet and grabbed my backpack. Then I tiptoed to the pantry.
            I felt a little guilty about taking food when so recently a famine had been predicted, but Suada did promise to overcome it.
            I filled the entire backpack with food, and had to go get another one for my clothes.
            I couldn't believe what I was doing. I was actually leaving home! I was leaving all that I had ever known! But Leo seemed so serious! Where were we going?
            These thoughts whirled through my head many times over again as I packed my clothes and sneaked out through the back door.
            I met Leo on the shore of the lake. He was dripping wet. He hurriedly asked me to use my lyarol to dry off his soaked backpack.
            "Did you leave a note for your parents?" He asked as he refastened on his huge heavy looking backpack.
             "No." I answered, "I don't know what I was supposed to say."
             "I figured you wouldn't." he said handing me a piece of paper. "Use your levira to put this on your bed." I concentrated on the house through the trees and the piece of paper floated out of sight.
              "Now," He instructed me, turning towards the island, "Concentrate on the aspectus."
              "Oh!" I said, "You managed to dig it up?" I asked surprised that he hadn't shown the looking table to me earlier.
               "Yup." He replied. " I managed to drag it down to the shore but I obviously couldn't swim with it."
                "Wait, you want me to use my levira on it?" I asked.
                Leo hesitated for a moment and then said "Yes."
                I wasn't sure that the levira was meant to hold up something so far away and heavy as the aspectus but I tried. I closed my eyes and concentrated very hard on the image of the aspectus in my mind.
               Leo 's vision is better than mine and I heard him pull in a sharp breath as the levira strained. I must have lifted it up a little but then the levira gave a sharp jerk and the weight evaporated.
               "I can't do it." I told Leo. "The levira isn't meant to hold up things that far away or that heavy." I looked at Leo and noticed that he was still staring wide eye out towards the island. I followed his gaze and gasped. There was the aspectus, floating towards us on the water rapidly! Floating! The aspectus was way too heavy to float on water! What was holding it up?
                 I turned to ask Leo and noticed that he was staring weirdly at me.
                 "Um... Leo?" I asked.
                 The thud as the aspectus hit the shore seemed to snap him back to reality.
                 "Marina, do you still have your old parvisa?" he asked as he began to drag the aspectus further up on shore. It was heavy! Even Leo was having  trouble dragging it up the shore.
                 "Leo how was it-" "Do you?" he interrupted.
                 "I think so, but-" "Where is it?"
                  "Probably in my stash behind that tree. But how was it floating?" Leo ignored me and went to get my parvisa.
                  "Leo-" once again I was interrupted as Leo shoved my parvisa into my hand and said, "Shrink the aspectus"
                  "Ugh!" I complained, but I obliged.
                   "Leo," I persisted as he shoved the now tiny aspectus into his already full backpack. "Why was it floating?"
                    Leo set off along the edge of the lake and finally replied, "You'll find out when we get there."
                   "When we get where?" I asked.
                    He ignored me. "She'll explain everything."
                    "Who?!" I said, getting really annoyed.
                    There was a long silence as I waited.
                    Just as I was about to ask again he replied
                    "Fortuna."

BAAY ended recently. I am SOOO depressed. Actually, I was starting to recover until we went to my brother Jonathan's 5th grade track meet, and I saw about fifteen people from BAAY! So now I'm depressed all over again. I wrote a song. It's a reprise of Where Did The Rock Go. It's a little depressing, but, well, I was super depressed when I wrote it. You have to really know the tune to be able to put the words to the melody.Anyway, here it is.

I'm assuming most people in School of Rock feel this way too. So this is for you School of Rock!

Where'd School of Rock Go?

Back at the auditions,

nervous, excited,

I was so extatic,

when I got the part I did.

Dances loud and craazy,

songs beyond control,

every note and lyric,

branded right across my soul.

Where'd School of Rock go?

Where's the keyboard, bass, the drums, and guitar?

Where are all those voices raised to heaven,

blazing down like shooting stars?

Tell me where're the rehearsals?

All the fun and all the friends that I made?

How can I forget all those dances?

How can I just let it fade?

Somehow we got closer,

all of them and me,

guess that time kept passing,

but I didn't stop to see.

Somehow all those strangers, 

turned into good friends,

never realizing,

that someday it had to end.

Where'd School of Rock go?

Charlie, Jack, Ava S, Ava Len?

Where are all those awesome fun rehearsals? 

When they're gone then what remains?

Where're the directors?

Where are Maddie, Lisa and Erica?

Where's the power and the beauty and the frenzy and the rapture?

Where's the magic of the moments only BAAY could ever capture?

Now the only thing I'm hearing are the echos disappearing.

Now that it's all over,

I guess I'll be ok.

Eventually I'll get over it,

There'll be more shows anyway.

I guess that life will go on,

as I know it should,

but this show won't ever fade,

as if it ever could.

Where'd School of Rock go?

Where's the passion and the joy and the fun?

Even though I'll do so many more shows,

this will still be the one.

Where'd School of Rock go?

Chapter 4: Supplanted! (Zoa)

     Seriously, hanging in midair against my will again!  I mean, I like adventure and all, but seriously...
     It had been three days since the bombing in the coconut grove.  My parents had been catatonic with shock and worry.  They were unable to even make the trip to Centresia along with the rest of Magosia, to see answers and help.  And I was grumpy about it.  Sometimes my parents were just so weak!  These thoughts on my mind might explain my reaction to that silly, magic-obsessed girl who seemed to keep showing up to take over my good deeds.  People like that drive me crazy.  They think they're doing you a real solid by whipping out their magic trinkets and making someone's life suddenly better.  But, I gotta tell you, I just don't think the value of a good deed lies in having the right magic tools.  I think the value of a good deed lies in the struggle of doing it.  And struggling together side by side draws people closer together. That guy with the, the... thingys... the magical light-up things (whatever they're called)... he and I could have had a nice friendly get-to-know-ya chat as we scooped up all his magical trinkets together.  But no, that silly girl had to go and ruin the moment by sweeping them all up with her other little magical doo-dad.  And it was over.  No more human interaction.  The moment was gone.  Poof.  Like... magic.
     And that girl had also messed with my second good deed of the day, trying to rescue the man hanging from the vine by his suspenders.  Of course, magicy girl brought him down on a blue cloud of magic, and then did the same to me.  Moment of connection number 2, gone.  Poof.  So too was my chance to get a good look that Suada woman while I was up on her vine.  Back on the ground, I gave magic-girl a piece of my mind, then ran off to see if I could find Suada again... get a good look at this mysterious lady who suddenly shows up in Magosia's moment of crisis.
    It made sense to me that someone who had accepted our invitation to stay and help us would go straight away to the Great Castle on the hill, where the royal family had always resided, and where Old Man Ghur now sat in near silence on the throne.  So, that was where I started running.  Deranger, who had watched in horror as I started climbing something for the 2nd time that day and tried his best to convince me to come down, now ran happily at my side.  He didn't need to know where we were going.  He was just happy to go.
    The Great Castle rose on a hill over the town square of Centresia.  The rest of the kingdom of Magosia sprawled out across the lowlands all around the hill; towns and villages forming knots of buildings, separated by vast stretches of farmland.  The kingdom ended on the Great Sea to the North, the Swaying Grasses to the East, the Cliffs of Doom to the west, and the Desolate Desert to the South.  I was well acquainted with the Shores in the North, for that's where I had lived my whole life, harvesting coconuts, mangos, tritris fruits and beachnuts.  But I had always longed to explore the other parts of the kingdom.  I yearned to search for dragons in the Swaying Grasses as the legends tell; or to throw things off the Cliffs of Doom and watch them fall out of sight.
     Now, as I steadily climbed the hill to the Great Castle, I scanned the kingdom, imagining a day when I would run freely across it all, Deranger in tow.
     I reached the bustling courtyard outside the gates to the Great Castle at dusk. Lots of people were here as well, waiting to see old man Ghur... or maybe waiting to see Suada.  I strolled through the crowd and observed the castle gate.  Rather than even try to be let in by the two gatekeepers, I just strolled on by like I was just another girl on an errand.  Then, I squatted on the ground, pressed up against the wall, out of the gatekeepers' sight.  I told Deranger what to do, and sent him off.  In a frenzy of barking and yelping and foaming at the mouth, my dog hightailed it to the gate and barrelled into one gatekeeper, and then into the other.  The poor keepers were shocked by the mad dog who kept ramming its head into them every time they tried to get up.
     "Okay Deranger," I said to my dog in my head, "Go now!"
      Deranger snarled at the two gatekeepers one last time and bolted toward the doors to the castle itself.  The two keepers gathered themselves and their courage and chased after him.  I took the opportunity to slip through the gate unnoticed.  And just in time too.  One of the gatekeepers, remembering his primary duty, scurried back out to plant himself in the opening to the courtyard.  He was adjusting his skewed uniform.  I could tell he got a good deal of Deranger slobber on his hands in the process.
     I snuck around the castle, until I came to a wooden door that was propped open.  Inside was the food storage room.  It was full of rotten fruits and vegetables which were being boxed up and taken away.  The only foods on the shelves that still looked edible were the piles of piles of cheese rounds of all colors and shapes.  I grabbed a giant purple round of cheese and walked into the kitchen like I was supposed to be there.  Workers were bustling around in a frenzy in the kitchen.  Excited voice cut across each other.
     "Well, I for one think it will be nice to have someone new, and younger, on the throne.  Old Man Ghur hasn't spoken in years.  I heard he hasn't even opened his eyes since last winter."
     "Who says she is going to supplant Old Man Ghur?  Maybe they'll rule the kingdom together."
     "She doesn't seem like the type to share authority," an elderly woman stirring something voer the stovetop said in a tone decidedly less enthusiastic then her younger coworkers.  "I was there when she rose in the sky on her vine.  That's a woman we should not be so eager to hand our kingdom over to."
     "Oh Bertha," one of the young workers said, "You're such a killjoy.  You always assume the worst about anyone younger than yourself."
     I held the cheese round up on my shoulder, partially covering my face, and started to make my way toward the double doors across the vast kitchen, when a loud bang stopped all noise and movement.
     A gust of cool, lilac-scented air, swept across the kitchen, and Suada waltzed into the room trialing a swirl of black fabric.  Taking in the room's occupants in one glance, she pointed at the young worker who had just defended her.  "You can stay.  The rest of you leave at once.  You are no longer needed here."
     Throwing her black robes around her body, and turning abruptly, she left.
     The kitchen was silent and still.  The one Suada had singled out looked afraid.  Everyone else looked in shock.  Bertha was the only one who moved.  She pursed her lips, shook her head, and stirred the pot some more.
     I set down the cheese round and bolted after Suada.  There was no one to stop me because she seemed to be parading through the whole castle and sacking everyone she came across, leaving a wake of stunned, immobile former-workers behind her.
     I quietly followed in her steps, staying just out of sight of those billowing black robes, but following the smell of lilac up a flight of stairs and directly into the throne room of Magosia.  Crouched in the doorway I watched Suada float to the throne, where a small figure sat hunched over, barely a live person.
     "You may go!" Suada said softly but firmly to the soldiers stationed on either side of the throne.  They hesitated a moment, and Suada spoke again.  This time, her voice had taken on a notable more firm tone, though it was still quiet.  "I said, 'You may go!'"  The two soldiers dropped their spears and hustled from the room.
     "I know that voice."  These words came from the figure huddled on the throne, and sounded like dusty stones tumbling down a rocky slope.
     I had never seen Old Man Ghur before, but it could be no one else who sat looking up at Suada.  He seemed to be struggling to open his eyes as he squinted up at the lady in black who hovered over him like a bird of prey.
     "Suada!" Old Man Ghur said, with some force in his voice.
     Suada laughed.  "And here I thought there was no one left in the kingdom who knew me."
     "There are still a few of us," Ghur said.  He was sitting up a little straighter.  "And we know never to let you have this throne."  Sill squinting, he stared fiercely at Suada, placed his hands on the armrests of the throne and squeezed tightly.
     Suada stood still a moment.  Then, with a chilly laugh, she beckoned with her right hand.  "Fine with me old man.  You can keep the throne.  I'll just have Magosia."
     I saw a movement in a doorway at the side of the room.  A shadowy figure appeared, cloaked in green from head to toe.  A hood framed the face in shadow.  The figure's hands were raised in a strange way, pointing at the throne.
    "In fact," Suada said, "you may stay there forever for all I care."  Then, she swept her hands over Ghur and the throne.  Instantly, a red vine started to grow out from underneath the throne.  Within seconds, it had wrapped itself around Ghur's legs, arms, torso, neck.  The man groaned as he was pulled tightly against the throne.
     "There," Suada said, lowering her hands.  "Now I know where to find you if ever I need your assistance."  She laughed.
     The figure in the corner was still the silent and unmoving figure.  I found myself staring at it.
     At the moment, Suada spun around.  She seemed to know I was there, because her eyes landed on me in a challenge.
     I backed away, nearly tumbling down a stairway behind me.  I turned and bolted down the steps, followed by a chilly laugh.  I ran all the way out the castle, calling to Deranger in my head.  He found me in the castle grounds and we ran together out thge gate.
     We ran all the way down the hill.  It was dark...too dark to traipse home, so Deranger and I asked a merchant if we could sleep in his shed, among all the stools he was building.
     Spread across the hay, Deranger's head next to mine, I thought about what I had seen.  I didn't understand it, but I knew something had landed on our kingdom... something bad.  Tomorrow, I wouldn't head back home straight away.  I would go first to Oh Man Geezer!  He would have some answers.
     After a long while, I fell asleep to the echoes of a cold laugh, and the smell of lilacs.

Homeschooling Argumentitive Essay

               Do you ever feel bored in class, because you're way ahead of everyone else? Or do you ever feel stressed, because you're way behind, but don't have enough time to catch up? Well maybe you should consider homeschooling! Homeschooling is a thing that more and more people have been doing over the years. Some people think that the disadvantages to homeschooling are sufficient reason not to homeschool, but I, based off experience and research, take the position that homeschooling is at least as good as, or possibly better than, public school. The number of homeschoolers has been increasing noticeably over the years. According to the website statisticbrain.com in 1999 there were only about 875,000 homeschoolers, but by 2015 there were about 1,770,000! This shows that many other people share the same view as I do. But when thinking of homeschooling, there are many things to consider. There are good points and bad points to homeschooling. But I personally believe that, though the bad points should be considered, they can usually be overcome, and the outcome is very beneficial.
              The first reason I believe that homeschooling is beneficial, is that kids get taught at their own level. At public school, all the kids, though they have different levels of learning, are taught at the same level. If a student is ahead of the class, they have nothing to do, but sit and wait, play silly games or other completely un-educational things (kids may think that's fun, but if you aren't learning, what's the point of school?), while they wait for the rest of the class to catch up. When homeschooling, learning is more consistent. And what if a kid is behind? In public school they don't really get all the time they need to finish their work. While the rest of the class is already working on the next project, they could still be struggling on the previous project. Without any proper one-on-one work, they may never get it done!
             Which brings me to another point. The second reason I think homeschooling is beneficial is that the kid gets one-on-one teaching that leans towards their own specific way of learning, and their own interests! When kids are in public school, they usually only learn what the school is teaching. And perhaps, the method of teaching is making it so that they don’t learn anything at all! When homeschooling, the kids can learn whatever they want, however they need to! Kids like freedom: My siblings, and any other kid I know, Likes having at least a little bit of freedom, and is always excited when their parents leave them home alone for the first time, let them walk to a close friends house, or let them start taking on more serious responsibilities. And homeschooling gives them the chance to exercise their freedom and responsibilities. But you
need to be careful not to only focus on kids' strengths. Kids need all of the skills and knowledge taught at public school too. So make sure that kids also learn the basic necessities. It's also a lot easier to take vacations! You can just continue schooling wherever you are, and get some real life hands on experiences! While people in public school are learning about the revolution, you could be standing on bunker hill, taking a tour of The Old North Church, where Paul Revere got his signal that the British were coming by sea, or touring the Alamo! Field trips are rare in public school. Not so much in homeschool!
               And then, this reason is probably what kids will like the most: way more time! When you go to public school, you have to wake up early, eat breakfast, pack a lunch, pack everything you need, and then go to school, all in about two hours! If you are homeschooling, you can sleep in! And, once you’ve finished everything you need to do, you can do whatever you want! You could do some math, some writing, some history, and then you can do whatever you want! You could make a movie, you could build a Lego tower, you could experiment with a chemistry set! I got to go watch a man use a 3D printer! That's what is so awesome about homeschool!
             And kids also get to spend more time with their parents, and don't have to endure as much peer pressure. This allows parents to train kids in the way they want their kids to grow up. As Mahatma Gandhi said “There is no school equal to a decent home and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent.” Instead of being out in public life with all kinds of beliefs, theories, and influences, they grow up, sheltered from any bad influences, in their own home! The parents can teach children their own beliefs. It can be argued, and it is true that the kids are going to grow up in an environment where their beliefs probably won't be contradicted. So when they get out into the real world they won't be prepared for contradiction and questions. But, there are places where homeschoolers can go to take specific classes and meet with the same group of people once or twice a week, where they will meet people with other ideas, beliefs, and ways of thinking.
            This brings me to another thing you should consider: Some people may argue that if parents are the only ones teaching the kid, than they may have schedule problems, and the kid probably won't have a very big social life. In public school, though they may not be learning very well, they get a very good social experience. They see the same group of people almost every day! A very good way to make friends. But when kids homeschool, they have a limited social life. This is true. So, as I mentioned before, there are homeschool groups! For example, I go to a program called BFPP at the school Larrabee, which has been turned into a place where homeschoolers come and pick some classes to do. Parents, though they may love teaching their kids alone, may not be qualified to teach their kids in all subjects. So sending their kids to a place with qualified teachers would probably be a good idea.
             If you need to study and work at your own pace, want to spend more time with your family, take more vacations, get more hands-on experience, and sleep in, then homeschooling
may be what you are looking for! If you consider all of this information, (although this is obviously supporting homeschool,) I think that you will agree with me: Homeschool is at least as good as, or better than, public school. If you're considering homeschooling, I hope you consider this essay. And one last thing to consider: the child of the author of familyeducation Homeschooling Pros and Cons, Isabel Shaw's child (Bev) said one more thing that cannot be ignored: "When you need a hug, there's always one to be found!"


                                                                    The End

picture

From now on, we will be putting this picture at the top of each chapter in our story.

(PS Sorry about the black font. I don't know how to change it.)

Chapter 3: Suada (Marina) See previous chapters below

              We’re headed to Centresia, the main town of Magosia.  And, it looks like everyone else is too!   Apparently, as one women was telling everyone, all of the crops had gone bad!  And now everyone was headed into town to see if Old Man Ghur could answer any of these questions.  But he is so old…  Well, no one had any clue what else to do!  Old Man Ghur is the only person holding the kingdom together.  So no matter how old and feeble he is, there is no one else to look up to.  So that’s how the entire kingdom of Magosia ended up in the town square of Centresia.  It was complete chaos.  People were chattering nervously, and the rumors became more far-fetched: “I heard that someone turned back the clocks a season!“  

“Oh no! It must have been the  King and Queen! Come back for revenge on us for not finding their daughters!”  

“ Are you sure that they are still alive?”  

“Oh Absolutely!”  

“Well then that must be it!”  

“ Oh no! The King and Queen are mad at us!”  

“What are we to do?!?”   

I sighed.  I didn’t know much about how the royal family died, but if any of the rumors are even remotely true, there is no way that the three daughters survived.  

My mother squeezed my hand and said, “Stay close. In this mob you could easily get lost.” Then she added to dad, “Oh, we should have left Marina at home!”  

I rolled my eyes. I could take care of myself! I’m cautious enough on my own. I mean, I don’t run around like some maniac- “OOF!”  A tall athletic looking girl with short spiky dirty blonde hair barreled into me at top speed.  

“Oh!” my mom cried, “Marina! Are you OK!?”  She stooped to help untangle us.  The girl looked to be about my age, perhaps an inch or two taller than me, but I’m tall for my age.  

“Watch where you’re going would you?!?” The girl said angrily.  

My first response was indignation. “Hey! I was walking at a perfectly reasonable pace! You were the one running like a maniac!” 

“Humph.” She said. Then she sighed, “I’m sorry. It's just that you're not the first person I’ve had a collision with in the past two minutes.” 

“I’m not surprised.” I muttered. I didn't mean for her to hear me, but she did.

“Hey!” The girl said, “Well if it’s any of your business, I’m trying to go help that fellow over there who's about to spill that towering load of... things. Whatever those are." She pointed.  I followed her finger to an old man pushing a cart full of lumiras, stacked up to over six feet high! 

"Woah! You're right!" I shouted, already rushing forward. "I'll be right back!" 

"Wait!..." My mom shouted after me, but I didn't hear the rest of what she said. 

The other girl and I ran neck to neck towards the man.  But as much breath as I needed to run, I still couldn’t help saying, "Those 'things' are called lumiras. Duh!"  

"What!?" The other girl replied. 

"Oh come on! You must know! The things that light up your path! They're super helpful!" As I said this, the man's towering stack fell, just as I knew it would.  We sped up, and reached him in 3 seconds flat.   

While I reached down to help the man up, the other girl started picking up the lumiras.  

"Are you OK?" I asked the man. 

"Yes, Thank you. I'm selling lumiras, but I must have brought too many," the old man said. 

"Here," I said, "I'll pick up your lumiras." I turned around and saw the girl still picking them up by hand and putting them in the cart. It would take forever that way! 

"It'll go a lot faster this way!" I told the girl as I pulled out my Levira.  I shone the blue beam of light shining out of it onto one of the lumiras.  Immediately, all of the lumiras shot into the air and gently lowered neatly into the cart. 

I put my Levira away and said to the other girl, "Now that's, how to do it." 

To my surprise, she just looked annoyed! "Cheater!" She mumbled and stormed off.   

I was super confused.  What did she mean, 'cheater'?  I was just helping the man with his lumiras! What was so 'cheating' about that? 

I sighed, and looked around for my parents. Then I realized that I had no clue where I was! And what if it got dark before I found my parents?! It was still the middle of the day, but in this crowd, who knows how long it could take! 

I turned around and ran towards the man with the Lumiras.  

"Hey! Can I buy a lumira?" I asked.  

I pulled out three odirum, the price on his sign, but he wouldn't take them. 

"You were so helpful to me, you don't have to pay." Finally I managed to make him take one odirum for a Lumiras. Then, putting the lumira in my pocket, I headed off to find my parents. 

But it turned out, the crowd was bigger than I thought. And I wasn't having any luck. I guess I should have thought about the size of the crowd before running off like I did.   

I didn't like being alone. And, even though I was surrounded by hundreds of milling people, I felt quite alone and lost. 

Even though I didn't like talking to strangers, it seemed like the only way. But even when I plucked up the courage to ask people if they had seen my parents, the answer was always, "Sorry, I haven't seen them." 

I began to get scared. OK. I told myself, stay calm.  

I asked an old lady, "Have you seen my parents anywhere? My mother has red hair and my father has brown hair."   

"Oh dear!" She replied "Are you lost?" 

I nodded. 

"Oh dear." She said again. "I'm sorry. I haven't seen them. But if I do I'll tell them you're looking for them." 

I sighed. "OK."  

The old lady hobbled away into the crowd. I was getting discouraged.  

I turned to look for someone else to ask when suddenly the ground started to shake and rumble under my feet! 

People started backing away. I looked down at the ground and shouted out in alarm! A vine was wriggling out of the ground right under my feet!  

Suddenly the vine shot out of the ground, growing bigger and bigger! I tried to jump out of the way but my shirt caught on a stub growing out of the vine! 

I shot up, up, up, into the sky! 

"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!" I shouted, terrified! A man below snatched his daughter out of the way, but got caught in a similar way that I had. 
I hung there panicking! What was I going  to do?! Suddenly, a glimmer of light caught my eye. A droplet of water was about to splash onto my face. Great. Now on top of everything else, I'm about to get wet.  I squeezed my eyes shut as the droplet fell, expecting to feel a little splash on my face.  But it didn't come! I opened my eyes and gasped: the droplet of water was hovering in the air right above my face! As I gasped the drop of water swerved to one side, and disappeared from my sight. Did it just swerve to avoid me?

Then shouts from down below pushed the drop of water right to the back of my mind. The shouts signaled something was wrong. I quickly realized what it was. Even though it was the middle of the day, it was getting dark very quickly! 

I looked up and gasped! A dark circle was covering the sun and plunging Magosia into darkness! 

Shouts and screams of panic from below let me know that everyone else was as terrified as I was. The darkness enveloping Centresia made it seem like it was night! I could barely see my hand in front of my face! As my eyes started to adjust to the sudden darkness, I saw the scurrying, panicking shapes of the people below.

Suddenly, a huge leaf sprouted out of the vine about five feet above my head, and over to my right about six feet. The leaf got bigger, and bigger, until I could have used it as a blanket. Then, on top of the leaf, a huge cloud of purple smoke exploded! The smoke wafted down onto me. It was awful and made me feel sick and sleepy. But as the smoke blew away on the wind that was now kicking up, my senses cleared. I craned my neck to see what had created the explosion of smoke. To my surprise, and apparently to everyone else's too, because the shouts of shock from down below increased, I saw a women standing on the leaf! She had a long glittering black dress with long swirling grey ribbons flowing from the edges of her sleeves and from her long black hair which, though the wind had stopped soon after the women appeared, was still blowing and swaying in an entrancing, and I thought slightly menacing, way. Though it was dark, there seemed to be a eerie glow surrounding her so everyone could see her.

Then she spoke, in a sweet, soft voice, yet it was heard by everyone,  "Greetings, people of Magosia." She said. "I am Suada." 

I heard murmurs of confusion, that matched my own. Nobody had heard of her.  

Then she continued, "For many years I have stayed hidden away. But then I received word that the beautiful kingdom of Magosia, whom I have always admired and watched, is in deep trouble." 

I heard questioning voices from below, wondering how she knew that, along with murmurs of agreement: we were in trouble. 

"Then, after pondering this I realized that a terrible famine was to befall this beautiful kingdom!" She said, dramatically raising her voice. 

I heard gasps from everyone below me. A famine! We hadn't had a famine for centuries! But it wasn't hard to believe, seeing as all the crops were rotten! 

"And then," a hush fell over the panicking citizens below me because, though she had lowered her voice again, everyone heard her, "And then, I realized that only  one could save the kingdom. Only one had the strength, the stamina, and the power, to save Magosia and all of it's people!"  An eerie silence had fallen over the people. No one, in all of those numerous crowds, no one, said a word. 

"Only one can save Magosia!" She repeated, louder.  

"Only I can save Magosia!" She shouted, raising her arms,  

"Only I, Master of Plants!"  She finished dramatically with a shout!

She brought her arms down in a sweeping motion.  

"I give you light!" She shouted, and the circle that had covered the sun moved on.  Light spilled into the town square! The silence was broken by the joyful, and amazed, even fearful shouts of the people as they lifted their arms to the sun as it reappeared!  

Then, again Suada shouted "And now, the answer to all your problems, I give you life!"   

Out of the ground, all around, scattered throughout the people, bushes erupted out of the ground! As Suada lifted her arms higher and higher, the bushes grew leaves and began to bud. Before my eyes, the buds bloomed into flower showering petals onto the people and when the swirling petals cleared, the bushes were sagging with fruits of every kind! Blueberries! Grapes! Raspberries! Fleekberries! Strawberries! Maraks! And many more! Then all the bushes, plants, and vines bent in unison, then flung upward showering the fruit down on the people! 

It was chaos! People were scrambling all over picking up and eating fruits. Joyful shouts and praises resounded from below! 

Finally, Suada interrupted the celebrations below to say, "Well, people of Magosia, I see that I was right." Smiling she continued, "I am willing to stay and offer my services to the beautiful kingdom of Magosia. And Magosia will rise again!" Then she added "That is, if you want me to." 

The shouts from below were deafening, even from my perch, about 75 feet above the ground. 

"Very well, very well." Said Suada raising a hand for quiet. "I will stay, and make Magosia mighty again" 

The cheers again resounded from the ground, almost blocking out my thoughts. But I couldn't help thinking, what does she mean by 'again' does she mean like it was a week ago? Or, perhaps something long, long ago, that none of us would remember? I don't know why that thought came to me, but something about Suada bugged me.

Then a ripping sound and a slight drop snapped me back to the reality that I was hanging 75 feet above the ground by my shirt, which was obviously not meant for that purpose, and wasn't going to hold out much longer. 

Slowly, and being careful not to make any sudden movements, lest the rip that had already begun tearing my shirt, should finish the job, I began to search my pockets for anything useful. All I had was a pretty rock I'd found on the way here, the lumira I'd bought from the man, and my levira. The rock and the lumira wouldn't be much help, but my levira? I'd never tried using it to pick up a person, but there's a first time for everything, and I wasn't exactly looking forward to shimmying down the entire huge vine. So I decided to try.  

I flipped the levira around and shone the blue beam onto myself.  

I had the strangest feeling of being upside down. And then I felt the pressure on my armpits and neck lift as I lifted off of the stub of vine my shirt had snagged on. Then I started lowering down. It wasn't fun. It wasn't jerky or shaky, but it swerved me all over the place! Twice I almost hit the vine again, but swerved out of the way just in time. I had no means of controlling my decent. So I just had to wait it out. I passed the other man who had  gotten snagged like me. 

"Hey!" I called to him, "I'll- Woah!" I was going to say 'I'll get you down from there.', but the levira swerved away from him and down at that exact moment. 

Finally, I managed to make it to the ground. I couldn't see very well. There were flower petals swirling all over the place and people were rushing all over gathering fruits.  

I squinted upward and saw a person on the vine. The man! I thought. But then, higher up I noticed the man, still hanging there. I aimed carefully, and then shot my blue beam of light at him. I adjusted it so he was right in the light. Then, controlling where he went with my levira, I lowered him down. His descent was a lot smoother than mine, because I had complete control over where he went.  Then, once he was safely down and went off to find his family, I aimed at the other figure. It appeared to be a girl. As I lowered her down I tried to recall seeing a girl on my descent. Then as she got closer, it was the girl who didn't know what a lumira was!  Her face looked pink as one of the fleekberries lying on the ground at my feet. She was struggling and glaring at me.  

When I set her down in front of me she immediately said, "Who do you think you are?!?" She kept her voice down, she probably didn't want to call more attention to herself, but she was clearly angry. I couldn't understand why! "I didn't need saving!! I was trying to help that dude up there but again, you CHEAT!"  

I glared back at her. "It's not 'cheating'! There's nothing wrong with using a little magic now and then!!" 

"Ugh!!!" She sputtered for a moment and then stomped off, fists clenched. a mangy looking yellow dog followed her. The dog's uneven lope looked familiar somehow. Then I remebered three days ago, when I was looking in the aspectus, I had seen a dog! This must be the same dog! I thought he was kinda ugly looking.  It suits the girl just fine. I thought angrily.

I glared after her, wondering why she had to be so rude. Then, remembering Suada, I looked up at the leaf where she had perched, but she wasn't there!
As I wondered where she had gone, I heard my name screeched,

"MARINA! Oh Marina!!" I turned just as my Mom and Dad came running up.  Mom flung her arms around me and squeezed me until I thought I would burst. I must have looked like I would, because Dad put his hand on Mom's shoulder and said, "Now Serah, let the girl breathe." 

Mom pulled away and put her hands on my shoulder looking me over. 

"Oh, Marina! We were so worried! We didn't know where you'd gone! We looked everywhere and then we saw you get pulled up by the vine! Oh Marina! I told you not to leave! What if..." She broke off sobbing. 

"OK." Said Dad. "Let's go home." 

Mom sniffled and then stood up, gripped my hand very tightly, and followed Dad through the crowds back towards home. 

Boy was I going to have a story to tell Leo! And lots of questions too!  

Who was that lady?