by Tracey West
Jin opened his arms wide. “Bring it!” He finally trusted the yeti’s powers.
The clouds enveloped them, and then broke up again into koi fish shapes. Jin rode one cloud, and so did Peng. Everest and Yi rode together. They whooped and cheered and the clouds leaped in and out of the churning mountain mist, like koi swimming upstream.
Soon the clouds parted, revealing the peak of Mount Everest.
“Everest, it’s your mountain,” Yi said, and the yeti cooed with gratitude.
It got colder and colder as they neared the top of Mount Everest, and the three humans were happy for the winter gear that Mr. Burnish had provided them. High winds whipped snow around the peak as the clouds deposited them on a flat spot.
“What do we do now?” Peng wondered.
“I don’t know,” Yi answered honestly.
Everest knew what to do. He hummed. His body pulsed with a faint blue light.
Then he paused. A soft hum responded. Suddenly, there was humming all around them!
Blue lights became visible through the swirling snow. They pulsed brighter and brighter as they grew closer. Yi, Jen, and Peng watched in awe as a group of yetis emerged through the snow. Each one of them was five times as big as Everest.
“Wow. They would be SO good at basketball!” Peng exclaimed.
Two of the yetis came closer to the group. Yi smiled.
“His parents,” she said.
Everest beamed at them, but then he turned back to Yi. She shyly stepped forward.
“You’re finally home, Everest,” Yi said, forming a triangle with her hands. “Home.”
Everest pulled her hands to his heart and cooed.
Yi suddenly felt sad. “I can’t believe the journey’s over.”
Everest shook his head. He let go of Yi’s hands, and she realized he had placed something in them. It was the photo of her father that she kept in her violin case. But it wasn’t just a photo of her dad. The photo had been slid into a pocket in the violin case and only showed Yi and her dad. But now the other half of the photo was revealed. It was the whole family—Yi, her dad, her mom, and NaiNai. . . . Her eyes welled up. She missed them all so much! Yi’s heart pounded as she focused on Mom and NaiNai. She longed to see them. She longed to go home.
“You’re right. It’s not over,” she said. She pressed her forehead against his. “Thank you, Everest.”
They hugged, and Peng ran up to join them.
“I’ll never forget you, Everest!” he promised.
Jin approached with his hand held out. Everest pulled Jin in for a hug. The group hug lasted a long time, until they finally pulled away from one another.
With a happy cry, Everest ran toward his family. Two giant yeti paws reached down and scooped him up. His parents engulfed him in a warm embrace.The two huge yetis looked down at Yi and gave her a grateful nod, and Yi nodded back.
Then all of the yetis began to hum. The wind and snow whipped up around them. Yi focused on Everest’s face for as long as she could, until the yetis disappeared in a flurry of snow, leaving no trace behind.
“Now it’s our turn to go home,” Yi said.
I came all this way to help Everest find his family, she thought. But Everest, and Jin, and Peng . . . they’ve helped me find my way back to mine.
Chapter Sixteen
Home
Two days later, Yi, Jin, and Peng arrived back at their apartment building, traveling in style in a Burnish Industries SUV.
Yi raced inside first—then stopped to look at Jin and Peng. They had all been through so much together. She remembered Peng’s questions. Will everything be the same when we get back? Will we still hang out?
Jin smiled at her, and she knew the answer. Their Everest adventure had brought them all closer together. It was a bond they’d never forget.
With a nod to Jin, she bolted up the stairs and into her apartment. Her mother looked up from her computer and stood to greet Yi.
“Oh, Yi, you’re back. How was the trip?”
Yi wrapped her arms around her mother, whose eyes widened in surprise. It had been a long time since her daughter had hugged her. Then NaiNai entered the room.
“Yi?” she asked, just as surprised.
“I missed you both so much,” Yi said.
“It’s good to have you back, Granddaughter,” NaiNai said.
Yi knew what her grandmother meant. She was back, heart and soul, and it was a good feeling.
“This calls for a celebration,” NaiNai said. “I will make some pork buns.”
“Yes!” Yi agreed. “And we need to invite Jin and Peng, too.”
Her mom raised her eyebrows again. “Of course!”
A few hours later, NaiNai was arranging steamed pork buns on a platter, and Yi’s mom was preparing the dipping sauce. The doorbell rang, and Yi ran to let in Jin and Peng, who was carrying a large box.
“Look what I found on your doorstep,” Peng said. “It’s addressed to all of us! What do you think it is?”
“Shhhh!” Yi warned. She looked over her shoulder to make sure her mom and NaiNai hadn’t heard. Then she ushered the boys into the living room. They huddled around the box, and Yi carefully lifted the lid.
Inside was a bunch of climbing gear—jackets, ropes, harnesses, and three ice axes. On top was a note: For your next adventure. Burnish.
Their mouths dropped open.
Yi’s mom called to them from the kitchen. “Hey kids, how was Beijing?”
Yi quickly put the lid on the box and shoved it under the sofa.
“It was, uh . . . life-changing,” Jin answered. Yi smiled at him, and Peng burst into giggles.
“Wow, that’s great. Are you all ready for dinner?” Yi’s mom asked.
“Yes please!” Peng said.
They all helped bring plates and platters to a small table in the living room.
“Everybody dig in!” NaiNai said.
Jin and Peng chowed down on the pork buns.
“Wow, I totally see what you mean about these pork buns, Peng,” Jin said. “They are incredible.”
“There’s no one in the whole world who likes these pork buns more than me,” Peng said.
“Well, maybe one,” Yi said.
She turned to look at the violin propped up on a shelf in the corner. The white yeti hairs glistened.
“Who? Who else likes my buns?” NaiNai wanted to know, and everyone laughed.
“No laughing. I’m serious!” NaiNai insisted.
But that only made them laugh even more, and their laughter floated out of the window, up above the rooftops of the city, and into the night sky, where one star shone the brightest of all.
THE END
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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This Simon Spotlight edition August 2019
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