Journey to Rainbow Island

by Christie Hsiao

  “Oh, sir,” Caspar piped up in a small, timid voice. “She was just picking up that wooden piece on the stair; no need to be upset.”

  “You, shut your mouth! I’m not talking to you. Get back to work!” the man screamed spitefully at Caspar.

  He turned to Yu-ning. “Why aren’t you working? Go sit down and start working now!”

  “I’m Yu-ning, and I’m not here to work. No one is here to work.”

  “What?” the man bellowed. “You are here to work; everyone is here to work. What quadrant are you in? Where are you supposed to be?” the man demanded.

  “Quadrant? I’m from Rainbow Island. No one forces us to work on my Island, especially the children,” Yu-ning said.

  “What quadrant are you in?” the man repeated, his shrill voice reverberating throughout the large hall. The children observed this exchange in silence as they cowered in their chairs.

  “I am from a place called Rainbow Island, and . . .”

  The man didn’t wait for Yu-ning to finish but grabbed her by the collar. “I have no time for your jokes. You’re going to the dungeon!”

  “I’m not making jokes,” she countered. “I’m from Rainbow Island. We all love and help each other and the work we do is fun,” Yu-ning said fearlessly.

  “You are going to the dungeon!” the man shouted, but with what Yu-ning detected as just a hint of uncertainty in his voice. You see, he often threatened to take those who disobeyed to the bowels of the fortress, where he said there was a dungeon. But he never did, because no one ever disobeyed, and he didn’t want to lose a worker.

  Caspar tried to grab her arm and whispered fearfully, “Yu-ning, sit down.”

  The man was furious; he picked up his stick and pointed it one inch from Yu-ning’s face. “Go sit down and work now!”

  Yu-ning slapped the stick away from her face with such force that it slipped out of the man’s hand. He looked aghast as the entire room of children gasped in shock. “I said I am not here to work. Why are you keeping the children inside? What kind of person would do this? These children have been here for most of their lives,” Yu-ning said with anguish.

  The man had never encountered such disobedience from any child, and was both baffled and enraged that Yu-ning wasn’t succumbing to his threats. He pressed his lips together tightly and seethed through his teeth, “No one is going anywhere. You will finish a day’s work, go downstairs to sleep, come up again in the morning, and do it all over again!”

  Yu-ning continued to shake her head, defying his every word. “Everyone is hungry, exhausted, and sad here. This is a dark, miserable place, and you have created these conditions. What could be worth this degree of despair you are creating?” Yu-ning asked with sincerity.

  Yu-ning’s resistance overcame the man. “Sit down and start working. I have no time to discuss all this. This shipment will make me a lot of gold. Go sit down and work!”

  Yu-ning nodded and said, “Ah, gold. It’s all for gold?”

  The man looked almost amused. “Of course it’s all for gold, you stupid child.”

  “But how can you enjoy gold when you are surrounded by such misery?” countered Yu-ning. “There is no abundance here, just despair and scarcity. There is no color and no heart. Everyone has a heart. Where is yours?”

  The man was flummoxed. “What are you saying? We are all here to gain power and control. Everyone is here to make gold. That’s what everyone is here to do! That’s why—”

  “We are NOT here to get control,” Yu-ning interrupted. “We are here to give love. The only role gold has to play is to bring greater joy and generosity. Where I come from, we don’t need gold, and we certainly don’t use money to hurt each other. We would never try to find happiness through the misery of others, which is what is happening here.”

  “You’re just a child. What do you know? Money and power are what everyone is here for; that is what’s most important!” said the man. “I can’t help them. I don’t even make enough money for myself! There are over 500 children here. That is too many hungry kids. I can’t feed them. I have other important things to do!”

  “Whose problem are they, then? You are the one who is responsible for them. You’ve taken them away from their parents and relatives!”

  The man shook his head, denying Yu-ning’s accusations. “No, that is not true. I am not responsible for how they got here. Many came from the master school on Malinga Island—the ones who did not live up to the school’s standards. They do the work, and at the end of the day get one cup of broth. Everything is in order. I fill my quotas.” The man nodded emphatically, as if to absolve himself of any wrongdoing.

  “You see all this misery and suffering every day and pretend as if you don’t,” she said. “And that’s because you don’t see that suffering in yourself. You stay in this dark factory all day, monitoring and threatening these poor children. You lock them up at night, go home to a life that is void of any light, and you come back and do it all again the next day. Why?” said Yu-ning, with passion in her voice.

  “I don’t have time for your nonsense!” the man continued. “You have already delayed this workday by an hour, and that will reduce my profits. I am expecting a ship to arrive in the cove within five days, and I must have the shipment completed by then. Otherwise, it is another three weeks before the next ship arrives. Sit down and start working now, or I will beat you,” he seethed.

  Yu-ning continued to shake her head. “No. I’m not here to work. It is blood money you make, and no one here should have to do your bidding!”

  “Yeah, he only cares about gold,” a little boy in the center of the room called out anonymously. “He doesn’t care about anyone else. Yu-ning is right; there are more of us!”

  Yu-ning could see that the man was terrified to lose his power. He turned to Yu-ning and hissed, “Stop trying to rally them. They are all here to work. You are here to work too!”

  He grabbed his stick and aimed it two inches from a little boy’s face. “You! Tell her that!” The little boy immediately began to tremble and stutter.

  Yu-ning lunged for the stick, pushed it away from the little boy, and grabbed it out of the man’s hands. She broke the thinnest point in half, throwing it to the ground. “No. Your work is play; your play is work!” she said to the little boy. “Come on, everyone; come with me outside. You don’t need to be here!” Yu-ning said, gesticulating widely with her arms to gather everyone up and toward the stairs.

  The man pulled up a wooden crate, set it on its side, and grabbed Yu-ning, forcing her to sit down. “Now, work. Make this toy!”

  Yu-ning’s fire was stoked and she held her ground like a warrior. “I am not sitting down and I am not making your toys!”

  All the factory children watched in disbelief. Caspar produced a handkerchief and furtively tucked it into Yu-ning’s palm. She looked down at him and smiled, wiping her cheeks.

  “I said sit down and work!” the man roared, his arm cocked above Yu-ning as if to strike her. Yu-ning instinctively crouched and winced, bracing for the blow. The effect on the children was immediate; many began to cry.

  “One,” Yu-ning called out, whimpering. “One.” She continued to call for One until she heard him say, “Yu-ning, remember you have power in you.” Yu-ning felt the power in her and stood up firmly, squaring her shoulders to face the man. Yu-ning kicked the wooden crate and reached into her shirt for her crystal heart necklace. Bright pink light began to flow around the room like a floodlight. It was so bright that the man let go of her arm to cover his eyes.

  “What is that? My eyes!” he said, bending over and covering his eyes. The light was mesmerizing to the children. Some reached up to touch the rays dancing around the room, while others left their seats to follow the light currents. “If you do not get back to work this instant, I will lock you all in the dungeon!” bellowed the man, afraid that his control over the children was beginning to slip.

  Yu-ning looked eagerly to the children. “You will have to
bring all of us to the dungeon, and you won’t be able to do that, will you?”

  Caspar stopped working and looked up at Yu-ning. The man pointed at Caspar and screamed angrily, “You! Keep working!”

  Caspar was scared and quickly looked down and continued working. Yu-ning said, “Look at me, everyone. There are more of us, and you don’t need to be scared. You don’t know it now, but this is your last day here—I’ll take you to my Island. There is so much love and you can do anything you want there,” Yu-ning implored.

  “The door is locked. We can’t get out,” Caspar whispered to her, looking afraid.

  “Don’t worry, I will ask him to give us the key,” Yu-ning said with conviction, loud enough so the man could hear. At this, the man started laughing cynically.

  Caspar pulled Yu-ning by the wrist, filled with concern. “No, Yu-ning. You need to stop. He is going to lock you in the dungeon.”

  “Don’t worry,” Yu-ning said firmly. Yu-ning removed her pink crystal and set it down on the table in front of Caspar. The lights continued to pulsate around the room, sending light waves in every direction. The man couldn’t bear to look at the crystal. Yu-ning stood by it, holding out her hand. “Please give me the key. I’m taking everyone outside,” she said plainly.

  The man chortled with antagonism. “What? You think I’m just going to listen to you and give you the key? I’m going to my chamber, and when I come back you all better be sitting down working, otherwise you will all be locked downstairs overnight.” With that he walked to the stairs and back to his office, fleeing the lights shining from the pink crystal. He looked back out of the corner of his eye and the lights seared his sight. As he climbed the stairs, he shouted, “Back to work, or else you will all suffer a punishment you will never forget.” As he said this, though, he wondered if this final threat would take hold. The experience with Yu-ning and her crystal left him shaken and unsure of himself, but he refused to show any signs of weakness.

  Yu-ning turned away from him and eagerly toward the children. When the man was far enough away, she continued urgently, “Come on, everyone, let’s go outside!”

  Caspar looked up and saw the man enter his office and shut the door. He looked back at Yu-ning and said, “But the door is locked. There’s no way out.”

  Yu-ning walked over and held his hand. “Don’t worry, Caspar. We can do it together.” She glanced up from Caspar and looked out at the rows of children. “We can all do it together,” she said, her voice rising as she gazed out over 500 faces, many looking up at her with expectation and dismay. Many other children were still looking down at the pile of work in front of them. They knew they would not make their quota for the day, and that would bring its own punishment. There would be no broth for any of them, and they were already famished. And it was only noon.

  “There is no way we can push the tall, heavy door,” Caspar said with concern. “It’s locked, Yu-ning.”

  “You have to trust me, Caspar,” Yu-ning replied emphatically. She walked to the front of the hall and stood on a chair so everyone could see her. She had the pink crystal heart in her hand again and held it aloft as it softly glowed with warm pink lights. All the children gasped in amazement and stared with open mouths. Caspar looked at her with wonderment as Yu-ning offered the gem to him.

  “Caspar, here—this crystal heart is for you. It is from my heart to yours,” Yu-ning said sweetly, holding the pink crystal heart in her open palms, its silk red cord dangling below. Caspar was deeply moved as he looked at the shining pink crystal heart, and held his palms open for Yu-ning to place it there.

  “My heart feels so warm. It has been so long since I felt this. The last time was when I was in my mother’s arms.” Caspar wept softly, looking at the crystal heart, holding it reverently.

  “Yes,” Yu-ning said, “I see your heart. It is so beautiful, just like this pink crystal heart.” With that she turned to the others and called out, “I see everyone’s heart. All of you have beautiful hearts waiting to be lit up once again like Caspar’s. We are all powerful. We are even more powerful together. Stand up with me and believe. This is not your life; this is not your destiny.”

  Caspar was smiling, holding the crystal heart with gratitude. “Thank you, Yu-ning. Thank you. It is vibrating with light. It is magic.”

  “Let’s share it with everyone here,” Yu-ning said.

  “But there are 500 of us, and we only have one crystal heart,” Caspar said.

  Yu-ning walked over to Caspar and placed her hands over the crystal heart in his palms. “For all of those who believe, we will be able to generate more hearts from that magic.” She glanced a few chairs down and said, “Anne, do you believe?” Anne rose as Yu-ning nodded for her to come over and place her open palms on theirs. The three of them cupped the crystal heart in their palms.

  Anne whispered, “I believe.” She removed her hands to reveal a second crystal heart. She lifted it into her hand and held it up for the others to see.

  Everyone gasped in astonishment.

  Seventeen

  Hearts

  “IF TWO PEOPLE BELIEVE in our crystal heart, it will become two hearts,” Yu-ning announced softly. “If three people believe, there will be three hearts. If four people believe, there will be four hearts. Now, if we have twenty people who believe, there will be forty hearts. This is the magic of the crystals. If forty people believe, there will be eighty hearts. And on it will go! All you have to do is believe, just like Caspar and Anne.”

  Slowly children began walking over to Anne and Caspar, until all the children formed a circle around more and more crystal hearts overflowing like a fountain. The rhythm of the room flowed in a beautiful, undulating circular pattern, pink light emanating from the center and filling the entire space, until all the children had produced thousands of crystal hearts together. Yu-ning was at the center, handing out a crystal heart to each child until everyone was fastening a luminous crystal heart around his or her neck with a beautiful red silk cord.

  “The man will see our beautiful shining crystal hearts, and he will unlock the door,” a little boy said.

  “I see him. He’s walking over to the window,” another girl cried out. Yu-ning saw the man scanning the room; as he took in what was happening, he became instantly horrified by the sight before him. All the children were hand in hand in a spiral around the factory floor; pink lights flowed from the center of the circle, where a mountain of crystal hearts was rising toward the ceiling. The man’s rage grew until he banged on the glass in a state of fury.

  Yu-ning saw some of the children grow nervous, trying to conceal their crystal hearts. “Let it shine,” Yu-ning instructed ardently. “You don’t need to put it away. You don’t need to hide it.”

  “Oh no . . . he is coming this way, he looks so angry. I’m scared,” exclaimed a small boy.

  The man stormed out of his office and down the passageway toward the stairs. He paused at the top and shielded his eyes from the light pouring out from the hearts of each child. He bounded down the stairs toward the children, who braced themselves, tightening their grip on the hands of the children next to them.

  “What is that around your necks? They’re too bright. Put those things away!”

  Yu-ning walked right up to the man. “No,” she said. “We are not putting them away! This is our power. This is love. More love is more power! There is nothing you can do now; our chain is more powerful than you. There is no more fear and no more darkness.”

  “Put them away now!” the man screamed again.

  “We are not putting them away!” Caspar said, no longer afraid. The man looked shocked to see Caspar stand up to him. Soon all the other children were shaking their heads disapprovingly at the man.

  “Put those things away! They are too bright!” The man was furious, trying to grab onto the children. The children collectively backed up and moved forward in unison, throwing the man off balance so that he fell backward. He landed on his back and quickly sat up, aghast. The
entire factory was shining brilliantly.

  The children were no longer afraid. The lights were expanding outward, brighter and more luminous. Every darkened corner of the factory was cleansed and purified by the light. Yu-ning and the children were laughing as they witnessed the magic flow all around. Yu-ning clapped and started singing a melody. “We all have a heart in our hands. We all have a heart to share. Shining so bright, I see a heart for all to wear, shining so bright in my heart!” Soon all the children were singing and swaying.

  Yu-ning was standing next to the man with light streaming all around her. “There is nothing you can do. Please don’t cover your eyes; please see our hearts so you can know yours.”

  The man writhed on the floor in agony, yelling, “It’s too bright! I can’t open my eyes! Put it out!”

  “Just look at us. Your heart will grow bigger and brighter if only you open your eyes to see,” Yu-ning persisted. The kids stepped back sadly, watching the man become even more deranged. He was swinging his arms, trying blindly to grab them and hit them. He started to turn away and crawl to the stairs, still shielding his eyes.

  Yu-ning walked up to the man and produced a shining pink crystal heart from her pocket. “Please,” Yu-ning called out, extending the crystal toward him. “This one is for you. It is made from a single pure heart of love and faith. Can you please try?”

  “Get that thing out of my face!” he shouted viciously.

  “Fine. If you want us to leave, we will leave, but you must give us the keys to exit this place. You don’t see the magic. You don’t want the magic. We have to leave you now,” Yu-ning said with authority.

  “Yes, get out of my sight if you don’t want to work! Get those things out of my sight!” the man yelled bitterly, covering his eyes with both hands.

  “We need the keys,” Yu-ning repeated.