CHAPTER I: THE GATEWAY

Freskaa, the living tree we had deceived with the mystic Theora plant, stood patiently by, watching us bickering amongst ourselves. “Calm down, ladies, there’s really no need for all this quarreling. You will be fine if you follow my instructions and continue walking in the direction of the orange sun. You ladies are unlike any trees I have ever met before. I am just sorry I can’t do more to help you.” “Actually, Freskaa, there is one more thing you can do for us: answer a question.” “If I can Helga, please proceed.” “When you were speaking about the doorway, you didn’t get a chance to finish telling us about the small planet.”

“A warning is the best advice I can give you, Helga. Be careful inside that place. I’m not sure what the full extent of the moon’s power or abilities are; however, I fear your lack of them will place you at a grave disadvantage. Just so you know, its temperament is the worst. Take heed ladies, any little thing will set that obnoxious moon off. Watch what you say to one another.” The more Freskaa spoke about the planet, the more upset she became. After a while, she had both her arms lifted high in the air and was waving them around as if conducting an orchestra. “That floating monstrosity insisted on knowing every tiny little thing said and would get frightfully upset if we ignored or refused to clarify what he overheard us talking about. How dare that …” Nat immediately interjected. “I believe we get your point,” he told her.

Freskaa lowered her voice then arms. “None of us even noticed it hovering up there in the sky. It looked like an ordinary asteroid or tiny moon. Around evening, it began its sneaky descent, inching its way slowly down toward the planet. I was the first to notice it. Ladies, that planet is moving I told the rest. ‘Don’t be silly,’ Pechka told me. ‘You’re mistaken.’ Suddenly, the planet turned completely around and started glowing. When its rock eyes sprang open, I couldn’t believe what I was looking at.” Freskaa’s voice began to raise a few octaves. “That thing was alive. I could see rage in those huge, green, glowing, bloodshot eyes that had no place on a stone. ‘Get out!’ it shouted gliding straight down toward us. ‘This planet along with its inhabitants have been equally divided.’

“Oh, ladies, I can still see every fine detail of that terrifying lump of floating rock and hear its earsplitting voice inside my head. We were lucky our dealings with him were short. In situations such as that, flormongath is always the best solution. We vanished amongst the unseen until we were able to leave that wretched place. Many trees amongst my own, are gifted with excellent eyesight. It’s difficult to phantom why at least one of you ladies doesn’t possess this crucial ability. Maybe you should consider sleeping by the river until morning and entering the doorway tomorrow. That ball of horror shouldn’t be around then.”

Nat shook his head no. “Freskaa, we need to go through the doorway before the men that kidnapped Emily find out she is missing from their holding cell.” “Alright, ladies, as you wish, let’s hurry then.” We pressed on through the forest with haste as if the vine creatures were directly behind us. When worse came to worse, we started downing magic seeds to keep up with Freskaa–all of us that is, except Zac who was used to this kind of abuse. Freskaa led us through areas where the grass grew far up past our heads, and out into an entirely different forest of bizarre yet beautiful trees with braided trunks. Zac tilted his head back and began sniffing the air. “We must be close to water.” “Excellent sense of smell, Beatrice, yes, we are very close to the river, in fact it’s just beyond those trees.”

“We will follow the water source to the dirt field. I need each of you to get in single file behind me the moment I tell you to.” Addis swallowed another seed. “Why?” he asked in between breaths. “Agnes, we are nearing a doorway. In order to reach your destination, we must travel through it. There is a small area within the barrier that is corroded and ripped. The opening is guarded by hundreds of protectors that can see within it. Flormongath is the only way I can shield your prisoner from them. If she remains behind me, their eyes will see only the afterimage of us.” Freskaa’s eyes and body suddenly turned white as snow. “Get behind me now!” she cried out in a loud voice. The five of us immediately lined up one behind the other with Emily between us and ran for dear life.

I glanced around, expecting the worst, believing within seconds we would be transported into a vortex of some kind surrounded by a whole slew of vine creatures waiting to rip us apart; however, nothing like that even remotely happened. As if déjà vu, I found myself repeatedly running through the same forest and canyon, stopping where it ended, then beginning again. After a while I knew every tree, rock and ravine we passed like the back of my hand. “The water is very close,” Freskaa informed us, racing through the canyon filled with huge protruding blue crystals I had seen at least twenty times before. When the landscape suddenly changed and my brain fog ended, I found myself standing alongside Freskaa facing a river. I recognized the body of water the second I laid eyes on it. Near drowning isn’t something one forgets so easily. I stood staring in awe, wondering if any of us would have made it across without the help of the fish queen’s shell. The river was vast and extremely wide; I wouldn’t doubt it didn’t snake its way across the entire planet. Zac suddenly started shaking my arm. “Hey, bro, snap out of it, we gotta go. Freskaa is leaving.”

We continued walking at a brisk pace along the riverbank for quite some time, slowing only when Emily tired. There was something magical in the air that seemed to be emanating from the water. Walking east along the riverbank felt like some powerful force was whisking us through a path of everchanging lands. The river to the left of us remained the same; it was the landscape to the right that would switch on a dime, including the speed at which it changed. The mountains and hills in the distance would rise, fall, then flatten in an instant. The trees would occasionally wobble or appear as if shaking superfast. My mind kept zoning in and out as if I was having trouble processing what was happening around me. We arrived a short time later at what appeared to be our destination. I glanced about the field ahead of us unsure of exactly how or when we had veered off course and ended up here. We were completely turned around and was heading west. The river we had been following for the longest was nowhere to be seen.

Freskaa extended her arm and pointed a branched appearing finger. “There it is, ladies. You will be able to see the entry into the adjoining planet when root touches the mystic ground. I suggest you go now.” None of us budged. Finding yourself in an entirely different place in the blink of an eye was hard enough to process, I couldn’t just blow it off and continue walking as if nothing happened. “How did we get here?” I asked in a whisper. “I never once lost sight of the river. Where did it go? What happened to it?” Everyone stood like statues staring wide-eyed at the barren landscape ahead of us. “What happened here?” Zac asked Freskaa. “This place looks like a blast zone. There isn’t a single tree for miles out there, everything green has been annihilated.” “All is as it should be,” Freskaa replied. Zac walked toward the field, stuck out his foot and kicked aside a large brown clump of dried dirt with the tip of his sneaker.

A sudden uneasiness came over him and Zac immediately took a few steps back then turned around. “Are you sure it’s okay to cross over this?” “Yes, it’s perfectly safe,” Freskaa assured him. “Don’t let the appearance of the field frighten you. No plant life can grow here, that’s the extent of the danger.” Freskaa’s voice suddenly began to quiver. She quickly covered her mouth, then lowered her head. “Oh, I will miss you, ladies, all of you. Good luck, may your journey home be trouble- free.” When Freskaa turned and walked away, I could have sworn I heard her sniffling. “Go quickly, ladies,” she said without turning around. Nat dashed off after her. The group of us followed behind him except Emily. “Freskaa, wait!” Nat cried out. “You can’t just walk away like that; we need to at least properly say goodbye first.”

Nat’s eyes began to well up with tears when he saw Freskaa cover her face. He gently lowered her hands. “I want you to know of all the trees, and yes, including the humans that I have met in the past, you are by far my favorite. I want to thank you again for everything you have done for us, but most importantly for your kindness and hospitality.” Freskaa reached out, grabbed hold of Nat and began hugging him tight. “It was my pleasure,” she proudly replied. When Freskaa let go of Nat, we each took turns thanking her; surprisingly even Addis said goodbye before heading out across the field to join up with Emily. When I stepped down onto the dried cracked dirt, my jaw dropped. As Freskaa had said, I could now visibly see a waterfall out in the distance. It was so enchanting. There was no mountain or cliff it was flowing down from. The sparkling crystal-clear water was streaming steadily downward from the open sky like a giant curtain stretched out across it.

Freskaa remained where she was, I suppose, hoping we would change our minds, abandon Emily and go back with her. When Freskaa realized that wasn’t about...