Monachi: Masters of Water and Fire

by Jade Sánchez

  As soon as she finished, we began to rise. We flew for what seemed like half an hour when we saw a distant city. We flew a bit faster, until we were about a quarter of a mile away. Tess released the spell as we touched softly down. We continued to walk towards the city.

  When we got to the city, the first thing we did was go the nearest store to see where we were. I went inside, and right up to the clerk and asked, “Excuse me, what city are we in?”

  She was slow to answer, but she replied; “Billings Montana.”

  I went to Tess, who was waiting outside. She already had the map out. I told her; “Billings Montana.”

  She looked at the map for a minute. “We are so close to Boise!” she finally yelled out.

  We hugged.

  “How are we going to fly unnoticed, if we’re above a city?” I asked.

  Tess thought about it.

  It was silent for about two minutes. Then Tess cried out, “I’ve got it! We can turn invisible, but in a way in which we can still see each other!”

  I thought about it.

  It wasn’t a bad idea. I nodded.

  Tess jumped up and down in excitement.

  “Ok, all you need to say is; ‘Make me unseen except to…’ and then say my name.”

  As Tess waved her hand, I cleared my throat and said;

  “Make me unseen except to Tess.”

  And then Tess said;

  “Make me unseen except to Maddy.” I didn’t notice anything, but I was hoping it worked. I wanted to make sure, so I went inside the shop and walked right up to the lady at the counter and yelled; “Hello!”

  The lady looked around. “Who said that?” she asked, looking frantic.

  I left the shop and joined Tess outside.

  “Ready to go!” I said to Tess after I came out of the shop.

  “We want to fly way up high. Fly us high, fly us low. Fly us asfast as a crow!”

  She chanted yet again. We began to rise, which now seemed oddly familiar.

  Even though it seemed as if we had just left about an hour ago, I noticed that it began to get dark

  “Time flies with you when you’re flying,” Tess remarked.

  I guessthat’s true. I looked out into the sunset. I could tell that we were almost home.

  Now that we were getting closer, I started to miss everything that I was going back to. I missed how my friends would come and hang out with me. How we would mess with some boys. I even missed all of my teachers.

  It soon became pitch black. It was hard to fly but we managed. After all, you get used to the dark after a few days.

  Next thing I knew, Tess was slapping my arm, saying; “Look down! It’s Boise!”

  I snapped back into reality and looked down. Were my eyes playing tricks on me? I flew down and found our houses.

  Tess shouted…

  “Release!” Once my feet touched the ground, I dashed into my house and shouted, “Mom! Dad! It’s Maddy! I’m home!” I heard a door open upstairs and the thumping sound of feet coming down.

  Once the thumping stopped, I ran to the edge of the stairs. My mom and dad were there holding a candlestick. They dropped the candle, and its flame went out before hitting the ground. I threw my arms around my mom and started balling. “I missed you guys so much!” I said in between weeps.

  After about a minute, I let go of her and hugged my dad. He picked me up and spun me around. It made me feel like a little girl. When he put me down we didn’t stop hugging.

  I went up the stairs, and once I got to the top I turned around and looked once more at my mom and dad, making sure it was real.

  It was.

  I grabbed some things from my room and headed for the bathroom. I took a long, hot shower. It felt so good. I loved water.

  Afterwards, I went back to my room and got into my nightie. While doing my hair, I received a mind message from Tess; “Meet me in your backyard.”

  I replied, “Sure. Just give me a minute.” I finished blow drying my hair and went outside.

  I saw Tess standing over by my cherry tree. She was wearing the same clothes. “You didn’t get changed?” I asked her.

  “I’m going to take a quick shower, then take a bath. But for some reason I feel as if we aren’t done with handling the government,” she declared.

  “What makes you think that?” I… didn’t need an answer.

  I heard a door get kicked off its hinges.

  Chapter Forty-Two Impending Disaster

  I began to panic. I thought this was all over. The people, or actually just one man, came from inside my house and into my back yard. “Don’t worry, I’m unarmed,” he said while holding his hands up.

  Tess raised her hand.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  “I’m Officer Liam DeLong.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I came here on behalf of the planet.” Tess put her hand down and asked, “What

  do you mean on behalf of the planet?”

  “You see…” he began. “Look up at the

  sky.”

  I looked up. I saw nothing but stars. I was

  still confused.

  Liam slapped his palm to his forehead.

  “Look behind you, at the sky!” hehalf shouted.

  We both turned around and looked up. There

  was a gigantic fireball coming our way.

  I looked back at Liam.

  Now frantic, and looking straight at me he

  said, “I need your help.”

  “What can Ido?” Tess asked. She felt as if

  she were no help.

  “You see, we need you to stop that thing

  from hitting the earth. All we need you to do is

  go to the nearby lake and send a blast of water at

  it.”

  “How am I supposed to do that?”

  “Use your telekinesis with water and send

  a gigantic blow to it, knocking it off course.” I looked back at the fire ball. It was getting

  closer. I stared back at Liam. “I’ll do it,” I said. He looked over at Tess and said; “We also

  need you.”

  Tess responded by saying, “For what? I

  create fire. Not the best weapon against a gigantic

  fireball.”

  “We are aware of your ability to cast spells.

  You can fly us over there and back faster than

  anything.”

  Tess shrugged. “I guess I’ll do it,” she

  finally replied.

  “We need to get going, or the world

  implodes in ten minutes!” he exclaimed.

  Chapter Forty-Three Ten Minutes

  Ten minutes to save the Earth from certain death.

  We got straight down to business. Tess began to chant her age-old spell;

  “We want to fly way up high. Fly us high, fly us low.

  Fly us as fast as a crow!”

  All three of us began to rise. Liam was a little shaky at first, but he regained his balance. Tess began to fly towards our destination, Lake Lowell. possible (or We flew as quickly as humanly I guess Monachi possible; but

  whatever) to get there. I kept an eye on the fireball. Once we got there, Tess didn’t even have to say it; we landed. Jumping the gates, we ran over to the lake. I jumped into the water until I was knee deep in it. Tess came in next, and stood to my right side, and Liam followed behind.

  We all looked at the fire ball. Liam checked his watch. “Five minutes until the Earth is destroyed,” he said.

  I took a deep breath. What if the plan doesn’t work and the world explodes?

  I raised my hand. “Do you know if it’s going to work?” I asked.

  “No. We’re kind of just guessing here,” he replied.

  “Good enough for me.”

  I sent a pump of water shooting at the fireball and held the water steady.

  The water stopped it, but I didn’t see it go out. I sent another pump; surely two will take
care of it.

  It still didn’t go out.

  “Your plan is going swimmingly,” Tess scowled sarcastically as she turned to Liam.

  “What did I do?” he asked with a hint of panic in his voice.

  “You thought of this defective plan!”

  I kept focus. I couldn’t be distracted by their debate. I had an idea.

  Maybe an ice ball would put it out.

  Without even including them in this plan, I used my mind and somehow, in some mystical way, told the water to freeze; and suddenly froze the water that surrounded the fire ball.

  Tess gazed back at the fireball and noticed that it got darker. Then she glanced back at me staring intently at the fire ball, shot another glimpse at the fireball and then at me again, and shouted in a panicked voice, “Maddy, what did you do?”

  “I had to use my head to think of a better way!” I reacted.

  “Good job! Now a gigantic ball of ice will kill the earth! It wasn’t the fire that was going to destroy the earth, it was the impact! Now it has even moredensity!”

  I looked at the ball of ice. Nice job Maddy, you’re ending the world.

  Chapter Forty-Four Fate of Mankind

  While other families got to spend their last moments on earth together, I got to spend the end of the world at a lakeside, panicking, with a stranger and my best friend.

  Isn’t my life exciting?

  Liam was the first one to pitch out a plan. “Tess, melt the fire. I mean ice ball!” Tess held up her hand, but then hesitated. “Won’t it just become a fireball again?” she asked.

  “We can only hope that this will be the last time we see a ball of whatever coming towards us.”

  Tess nodded. It was time for her to give it a try. She shot flames out of her hands as if they were a flamethrower. It hit the ice ball, and I let go of the water that was holding it up. This was Tess’s job now.

  It felt like we were out there for hours watching the flames wrap around the ice ball. “C’mon melt…” I said, hoping we just didn’t create another fireball. When life gives you a gigantic ice ball, fight it with fire.

  Finally, chunks of ice began falling off the ball, and dropping into the lake. Chunk by chunk, ice kept on falling into the water.

  I hugged Tess, even though flames were still coming out of her hands and told her, “You’re brilliant! You know that right?”

  “I know,” she replied.

  We both just stood there like flame shooting, water freezing, hugging fools.

  After I finally stopped hugging Tess, I noticed that Liam had left us. Whatever! I bet he was going to claim all the credit; saying that he destroyed the ice/fireball. But I didn’t care, I was alive.

  We were all alive!

  And I was with my best friend.

  I watched the last remains of the ice ball fall into the lake. I was so happy! We saved mankind!

  Tess looked at me as the last chunk of ice fell into the lake. “We did it!” she yelled.

  “You did it really, I almost destroyed the world,” I countered.

  “You meant well. And you were a part of it.”

  We hugged each other again.

  I’ve heard some people say that if you hang out with your friends for an extended period of time, you’ll get sick of each other, and start fighting. Tess and I never fought; after all, we needed each other’s company, especially during times like these.

  Tess didn’t even have to say the spell. She snapped her fingers, and we began to rise. I highfived her and said, “You’ve got this flying thing down!”

  We flew back home and landed in my back yard. Tess looked down at the hole. Couldn’t she just go back home the normal way? Like a normal human being? You’re talking about Tess though, right?

  “Do you think we should take a break from each other for a few days, and just hang out with our families?” she asked.

  I nodded with a smiley agreement. “I’ll see you soon,” I told her.

  After Tess crawled into the hole and disappeared, I headed inside. The house was dark, and my parents were asleep. I felt my way through the house, bumping into an occasional piece of furniture of course, found my way through the dining room and into the kitchen. I fondled around for a bit, and grabbed a candle that was lying on the kitchen counter.

  I remember this candle, though it’s always been in my room. It was a pink candle with rose patterns wrapped around the wick on top. Tess had given this candle to me for my birthday last year. I found my way to the gas stove, turned the flame on, and lit the candle.

  With the candle guiding my way, I walked upstairs and went into my room. I sat down on my bed, let out a big sigh, and placed the candle on its stand. It felt so good to be home, to be in my own room again. I crawled into my bed wrapping the covers around me safe and snug. My bed was so comfortable, especially my favorite pink pillow.

  Sleep didn’t come easy though.

  My thoughts kept racing for the next few hours, thinking about everything that had happened lately. Thoughts like, ‘Where did Liam disappear too? Will I ever see ghost Penny again? Will those pesky government agents finally leave us alone? And more.

  I suppose only time will tell.

  As the candle flame burned the wax down to the nub, making a fizzle sound before going out, I fell asleep.

  Epilogue

  6 months later… “If it’s supposed to be global warming, then why is it so cold that I have to wear a snowsuit to keep warm?”

  This is what Tess told the man who was trying to sell her a magazine about global warming and the coming apocalypse.

  I pulled her away from the guy. “I’m so sorry,” I told him as we left.

  We continued walking down Shopper’s Square. “Focus,” I told her. “Remember what we came here for.”

  She nodded.

  We came here to get an outdoor pool that we’ve been saving up for. I know it seems out of place to buy one in the winter, but we wanted to get it before we wasted our money on something else.

  We walked into Wal-Mart and started looking around. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack, and the haystack was a mile high and just as wide. Tess finally shouted, “Maddy get over here!”

  I ran over there expecting to find a pool. But no, I found something even better.

  We found a book on Monachis.

  Tess snatched it, and read its cover aloud. “Everything you ever wanted to know about Monachis.”

  I grabbed one too, and told her, “A pool can wait until the spring. We need this now!”

  We went up to the cashier. “Excuse me…” I began, but stopped. You would not believe who it was.

  “Liam!” Tess shouted.

  Liam started staring. “You two. I haven’t seen you girls in a while!”

  I said, “It’s been six months. Where have you been?”

  “Six months since you two saved the world. That’s crazy!”

  “We wouldn’t have saved the world if we didn’t know it needed saving. You’re the one who showed us the fireball.”

  “The media is still wondering what happened that night. The water pump, the freezing, and the flame throwing; It’s all still a mystery to everyone.”

  The people behind us were beginning to grow impatient. We put our books on the counter. Liam glanced at the books and then at us as if we were crazy. He finally rang the books up and said, “$16.50 is your total.” Tess and I split the cost equally, giving him $8.25 each. Liam put the books in a bag. “Enjoy your books!” he remarked.

  We walked out and started heading home. It was about two miles away, but any walking distance for us isn’t much at all. Ever since we walked (and flew) across country a couple of times, we found any walk easy enough.

  When we got Tess’s house we went straight up to her room. Using a lighter, she lit a candle. We took our books out of the bag. “Why don’t you just light the candle using your powers?” I asked.

  “Until I can fully control them, I don’t use them in the house.
Too much of a risk.” She answered. She tossed my book to me.

  I caught it and flipped to “Chapter One.”

  Five years later… “Smile for the camera!” my mom said as she held up her iPod.

  “I think that’s enough photos,” I told her as I snatched it away.

  Tess and I had just graduated high school. Tess was still taking pictures with her dad. She held up her diploma. She graduated with straight A’s.

  After Tess told her dad “enough,” she joined me over by my VW car that I called ‘the Blue Bug.’ Tess had a red car of the same model, which she called her‘Red Bug.’“Hey Maddy, did your parents take a ton of pictures too?” she asked.

  “Only my mom and I had to take away her iPod,” I told her while holding up my mom’s iPod.

  She snatched it away. “Hey, Mrs. Webber, catch!” she yelled as she threw it.

  My mom caught it. “Thanks Tess!” she yelled.

  Tess looked back at me and asked, “Wanna go swimming?”

  I thought about it.

  “Sure, why not?” I replied.

  “Meet you at home!” Tess remarked.

  I got in my car. I was happy that I even had this thing. My parents got it for me for my birthday. I decorated the inside of it. It had a blue steering wheel cover, and blue seat covers.

  I drove around town, still trying to get used to such a far move. We had moved to San Diego about two months ago. My dad got a new job here, so we moved. Tess was pretty upset that I was moving, so her parents suggested that she move to San Diego too. After convincing my parents, Tess got to come live with us. Tess’s parents weren’t going to let her go at first, but Tess was eighteen anyway so she got to decide if she wanted to go or not.

  When I got home, I saw Tess’s car parked in the driveway. I went inside and dashed upstairs. I burst into my room and quickly got changed into my bikini. When I looked into the mirror, I noticed how much had changed since I was twelve. My once shoulder-length blonde hair was now down to the middle of my back, just how Addie’s used to be. I had grown about another five inches as well.

  I wasn’t the only one who had changed a bunch. Tess’s hair had grown like weeds. Her hair was now five inches below her waist. She had grown about six inches; we were both about the same height.