Mysterious Destiny Bright Lights and Thunder Part II

by D. J. Holmes

  “There never has been anything like it before her death…or since.”

  “Daniel, where do I find this book?”

  “…The statue that is on the top of your highest hill…”

  “Yes? I love to go there, just to sit and daydream.”

  “If you stand in front of the statue and turn the rose that she is holding to the right, a drawer will open just below her feet. Inside the drawer you will find the book.”

  “It’s been there all this time?”

  A strong wind begins to blow. Extremely bright lightning reaches to all ends of the sky. The thunder claps so loud that one would think that the whole universe would be able to hear it. The rain comes down in torrents.

  Daniel is answering Diana’s last question. “Yes…she…to…it…”

  “Daniel, what are you trying to say…Daniel, there are so many questions that I want to ask you.”

  Silence… “Daniel, are you there?” Silence…

  Diana strains to hear Daniel. Her breathing becomes so shallow that all she can hear is the quiet beating of her own heart. A type of sad frustration overcomes her. “There was so much more that I wanted to ask him….”

  Jaimie has left the sisters with the newly found weapons and has entered Diana’s home just in time to barely hear her last words.

  “My goodness that rain sure did come quickly. There wasn’t a sign of it when I was at the cove. And by the time I reached your house it was pouring.”

  “You’re drenched Jaimie, come and stand by the fire, I’ll get you a blanket.” Diana’s mother, states. “I think that Diana is still sleeping.”

  “I thought that I just heard her speaking?”

  “You heard her?”

  “Yes, would you mind if I went into her room?”

  Diana opens her door. “I am awake, Jaimie was right. What time is it anyway?”

  “The rooster has stopped crowing, and the sun is high in the sky.”

  “Thank you mother, I had another strange dream.”

  “Another?” her mother asks.

  “Yes. The last time that we had a storm like this, I had a dream. And then when I was in the middle of my dream this morning, the thunder, lightning and drenching rain ended it.”

  “Well, forget about your dream Diana. I have something exciting to show you. Come Diana. Come now,” Jaimie said with excitement.

  Jaimie, began running toward the cove. Smiling she turns back around and yells “Hurry… Diana. You’ll never believe what we just found.”

  ***

  On the other side of the island, this same storm is bringing two more visitors to the island.

  “I’m glad that we are together Blue Cloud, I don’t think that I could do this by myself.”

  “I was actually thinking about the same thing Snow Flower, not that I am afraid, but I can’t stand all of this waiting and not knowing what will happen next!”

  As the storm becomes louder the portal begins to expel its contents. Before long Snow Flower and Blue Cloud are cast out from the portal into the air, falling to Earth.

  “Hold my hand Snow Flower, we don’t want to become separated.”

  “Hold it tight, I don’t remember how to swim.”

  “Swim?” Blue Clouds eyes widen.

  “Yes, look at all the water.”

  Frantically looking around, Blue Cloud sees the beach. “Lean over this way. I never learned how to swim very well, so I think that it would be better for us to land on that ground over there,” Pointing to the Island.

  Leaning toward the island, a sudden burst of wind pushes them toward it. Finally over the beach the wind stops, and Snow Flower and Blue Cloud find themselves quickly falling to Earth.

  Landing on the sandy beach, Blue Cloud comments, “Wow, what did you think of that Snow Flower?”

  “Ouch, this isn’t as soft as it looks.”

  Rubbing his side, Blue Cloud responds, “I’ll agree with that. At least we aren’t out in the middle of all that water.”

  “That would have been a softer landing, but since we’re not the best swimmers, this is the best scenario for both of us… what do we do next?”

  “This is a small beach area, and I don’t see Gray Wolf, do you?”

  “No, that’s why I’m asking….”

  “Let me look around, Snow Flower.”

  Pointing her index finger toward a dark circle in the sand, Snow Flower states “Look over there it looks like someone made a fire, I wonder if the rain put it out?”

  Walking over to the fire pit, Blue Cloud feels the pieces of wood. “It’s hard to tell how old this fire is because of the rain, but I would imagine that it has only been a few days.”

  “Do you think that it was Gray Wolf that made the fire?”

  “I don’t know. I taught both of our sons how to make a fire. We can only hope that it was him…” Looking at the surrounding area a lot closer, Blue Cloud adds, “If he did, he wasn’t alone.”

  “What?”

  “Look at this piece of wood it isn’t something that a person would use in a fire. They are made to hold something up, like a tent, or an overhang for shelter. Gray Wolf didn’t have anything like that with him…. I’m going to look around this area to see if there is any sign of him, Snow Flower.”

  “Don’t you want me to go with you?” she says nervously.

  “I do want you to go with me, but then what if Gray Wolf comes back to this spot…would you please stay here, just in case he does come back?”

  “I didn’t think about that. I was actually hoping that he would be here when we arrived.”

  “If only it were that easy.”

  While Blue Cloud is searching the area, Snow Flower decides to search inside the pouch that Daniel had given them.

  Suddenly a cool breeze begins to blow.

  “Thank goodness there is a piece of material in here.” As she pulls it from the pouch it expands to the size of a blanket. “Now that’s interesting…. It’s magically the size that I need.” Putting the cloth around her body, she walks over to the surf and looks toward the horizon and the incoming waves.

  Blue Cloud walks back to the beach after his search. Looking in Snow Flower’s direction he sees only her head. “What happened to your body?” he questions with a lot of concern.

  “What?” She looks around surprised by his remark.

  “Your body; it’s gone. All I see is your head.”

  Looking down to her legs, Snow Flower is frantic when she can’t see her feet. Dropping her blanket, her body becomes visible.

  “What is that piece of cloth, Snow Flower?”

  “I took it out of the pouch that Daniel gave to us.”

  “Let me see it.” Swinging it up and around his shoulders, Blue Cloud wraps the cloth around him.

  “Blue Cloud, the same thing happened to you. With that cloth draping down around your shoulders I can only see your head.”

  “This is very interesting Snow Flower. Opening his own pouch, Blue Cloud finds the same type of material. “Is this it?”

  “Yes, that looks exactly like mine did when I took it out.”

  “Well then, let’s experiment with them, they might come in handy.”

  Laughter can be heard quietly coming from the beach.

  “Look Blue Cloud, now you see me…now you don’t,” as Snow Flower raises and lowers her cloth.

  “After I cover myself, count to three Snow Flower, and guess where I am. Are you ready?” he asks. “Start counting.”

  “One, Two … Three… Looking around “You’re right there Blue Cloud,” Snow Flower says as she points directly where he is standing.

  Letting his blanket fall to the ground he asks, “How did you know?”

  “Foot prints in the sand. I knew where you were going, because I could see your foot prints in the sand,” she said with a smile.

  “What a smart wife I have. This could come in handy, Snow Flower, since we don’t know what kind of people live here.”

>   “This is really a great tool. I wonder if Jon and Julia know about them yet.”

  “I don’t know…I think that I will call Jon and let him know. They might need them in their search for Running Deer.”

  ***

  Joshua finds Daniel and Treysen out on the beach.

  “Sir, Blue Cloud and Snow Flower have arrived at their destination. I’m sure that they will be anxious to find Gray Wolf.”

  “Thank you for telling me. Now that we have both of our couples in the dimension that each son arrived in, hopefully everything will go well for everyone.”

  Seeing the extreme sadness on Daniel’s face and hearing sadness in his voice he asks, “Are you all right Daniel?”

  SILENCE

  Looking at Treysen with his hands out to the side, Joshua is confused. He has never seen Daniel sad at any time before. He has always been uplifting, concerned and serving others.

  Realizing that Daniel has retreated to memories of his past, Treysen requests, “Joshua, would you please go back to the Security Station and keep an eye on our couples?”

  “Sure. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Thank you Joshua.”

  ***

  Quickly, Jaimie and Diana arrive at Treasure Cove. Walking toward the ship Diana notices all of her sisters waiting on the path.

  “What are you all waiting here for?”

  The sisters move to the side, so that she can now see the trunks and barrels, “Surprise!” they yell as loud as they can.

  “Where did you find them?” Diana smiles with a great deal of excitement.

  Danielle points to the cave, “Over there.”

  “The cave…I didn’t know that there was a cave over there.”

  “Jaimie and I didn’t either until we saw the rock path.”

  “What’s in them?”

  By this time each sister has chosen her own sword, dagger and pistol. Playing around they pretend that they are going to come after Diana with their new found weapons.

  “Wait my sisters…” she stretches her hands forward, “you are really scaring me.”

  “We are just teasing…we wanted you to know what great Pirates we would make, Diana.”

  “Well, you’ve made your point. I don’t think that Black Beard himself would dare come against you!”

  “That’s why we are so excited…we want to get him… Hurry, get your own sword, dagger and pistol, and then we have something else to show you,” looking in the barrels she picks her weapons.

  “Are you ready?”

  “I am. What great adventure are you going to take me on now?”

  Running toward the ship they shout with excitement, “Look!”

  “…It’s finished…just like Daniel said it was…it’s really finished!” Diana states with excitement.

  Looking at Diana, all of the sisters are shocked.

  Noticing their disappointment she simply says, “You think that you have something exciting to show me…wait until I show you something,” she says.

  Stepping into the water, Diana begins to swim toward the ship. Arriving to its side, she grabs the rope ladder and climbs up the side of the ship. When she gets to the railing she climbs over it. After she helps her other sisters to board she looks to the bow and begins walking toward the stairs.

  “Where are you going Diana?”

  “I’m going to the Captain’s Cabin.”

  “Isn’t the Captain’s Cabin usually in the stern?”

  “Yes, but this is a special room, and it’s in the bow.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Daniel told me in my dreams.”

  Hearing Diana’s response, her island sisters look at her strangely. Looking back at them she says, “Don’t look at me like that. Come with me and I’ll prove it to you.”

  As Diana approaches the door to the cabin, she turns around. “Now, our very next move will answer the question that you all have…if I am crazy or not. In this room the windows are facing the bow of the ship. By the windows, there is a table. If I remove the oil lamp from the table, the top will open up. There are lights, switches and knobs inside the table that make it possible for this ship to fly.”

  “Did she say fly?” Kristen asked.

  “I think so.” Jaci answers as her eyes widen.

  Jessica and Stacey look at each other, wondering if Diana is ok.

  Walking into the cabin, Diana slowly walks toward the table in front of the windows. Feeling the base of the oil lamp, she finds the button in the back and presses it down. Hearing a click, she slowly lifts the oil lamp off of the table…the top of the table opens, just as Daniel said that it would. A lever pops up. She touches the other switches and knobs, but doesn’t move them in any way.

  Looking back at her sisters, she asks, “What do you think?”

  Shock is reflected in the expressions on their faces. “Tomorrow, we will try this out.” Diana states.

  Excited with their discovery, they each dive into the water from the railing of the ship.

  ***

  Hearing the splash of water, several times, Blue Cloud and Snow Flower run toward the sound. Finding a small passage way they hide a short distance away as they watch the island girls finish their swim to the shore of the cove and walk up the bank.

  “Let’s follow them Snow Flower.”

  ***

  Walking back along the pathway Jaimie says, “Let’s take a sword, a dagger and a pistol for each of our mothers, and then put the rest of them back. Maybe we’ll need the rest of them sometime.”

  Working together each girl looks for just the right weapons for their own mother, and walk across the rock path to put the barrels and trunks back in the cave for safe keeping.

  Finally Diana and her island sisters begin walking back to their homes, on the same path that brought them to their adventurous cove. Looking over to her right Diana sees the statue of their grandmother. As she walks over to it, her island sisters follow her. Standing in front of the statue, wonderment over comes all of them, and all of the sisters begin asking questions.

  “I wonder what she was like…”

  “If she looked like this statue, she was very beautiful.”

  “Why did she come to this island?”

  Diana puts out her hand and rests it on the rose. “Step back everyone, I think that I can answer those questions.”

  Moving the rose to the right, a drawer opens up from the base, under the statue’s feet. “Look, here is her book where she wrote about everything that happened in her life. I think that it will answer all of the questions that we have.”

  Curious, Marie asks, “How did you know that there was a drawer there Diana?”

  “Daniel told me.”

  “Who is Daniel?”

  “He is the person in my dreams. He told me about the ship and about the book.”

  “Well, with that said, why don’t we all go home?” Jaimie suggests. “Your mother was wondering what we were doing when I came to get you.”

  Kristen begins running. “I’m going to be the first one home,” she yells. “I’m going to be the first one to give my mother her sword.”

  All of the other sisters begin running, trying to keep up with Kristen. Finally they all run to the middle of their village.

  “Mother,” everyone shouts, calling for their own mother.

  All of the mothers come running thinking something drastic has happened.

  Holding up the swords, they say, “Look at what we have found. We have one, and we have brought you one.”

  “Where did you find this?” The mothers ask. And each daughter tells her own mother the story of where the weapons were found and they all begin to report on every detail of the miracle ship.

  ***

  “What are they talking about Blue Cloud?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t hear them…I was going to ask you the same thing.”

  “Wasn’t that book beautiful?”

  “Yes, my wife, I wonder
what is written in it?”

  “I don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out.”

  ***

  “What wonderful adventures you are all having. Are any of you hungry? Lunch is ready.”

  “I’ll be back in just a minute I have to put something up.” And Diana takes the book of her grandmother Diana, to her room, and hides it. In her room, as she is putting the book in a safe place she says to herself, “After I find my island sisters and take care of Black Beard I will read this wonderful book to everyone.”

  Walking back to the meal that the island mothers have cooked, she hears her sisters continuing their stores about the ship.

  “Yes, the ship’s name is ‘Destiny’.”

  “It’s beautiful, and you should see the Captain’s Cabin…it has a table that opens and has lights that indicate what switch to push.”

  “And it is suppose to fly,” Jaci blurts out.

  “Fly?” the mother’s chorus.

  Diana steps in, “My mothers and sisters, we will all go for a ride in this wonderful ship tomorrow…” Raising her glass she asks, “Would all of you like to go?” she asks.

  Everyone raises their own glass, shouting, “Yes.”

  The meal is finished and everyone is cleaning up.

  “Marie, wasn’t there a huge piece of meat left here?”

  “I thought so. Maybe someone else took care of it?”

  “…Maybe.”

  At the opposite end of the table can be heard. “Kristen, did you eat that whole piece of cake that was here?”

  “Not me. Maybe you did, and didn’t know it,” she says laughing.

  Chores are completed. Excitement can be felt. And laughter is heard throughout the evening, as hope is finally filling their hearts.

  ***

  “I think that I’m going to like this magic blanket Snow Flower. This meat and cake are delicious.”

  “Yes, husband. Your choice of meat went well with the cake that I chose. I’m going to have to get them to teach me how to cook like this.”

  “Now that would be a good idea, Snow Flower.”

  “Are you saying that you don’t like my cooking?”

  “Ahhhh…no. I didn’t mean anything like that. I like your cooking, it’s just that ahhhh, this is different. It’s the smell of the sea breeze,” Blue Cloud says as he tries to get himself out of the hole he just put himself in.

  “So are you saying that my food would taste as good if we had lived by the sea?”

  Quickly taking a huge bite of the meat, he makes a signal letting her know that he can’t answer because his mouth is full. As soon as he finishes chewing, he feels that Snow Flower is still looking at him and waiting for an answer. He quickly grabs the cake and takes a huge bite. Once again signaling that his mouth is too full, to answer her question.