Even Nancy shut her eyes. Titch barked, and we climbed back into our hovercraft. This time, I sat next to Lex to get to know him better. He laughed and asked what I wanted to know, as the hovercraft rose, slowly negotiating the trees on the ground.
“I was born in Peru in a place where Indians have been especially persecuted by the white man,” he told me. “My father was a chieftain of the old order, proud and strong. I learned to ride early, so that I could accompany him on long journeys. The horse became part of me; I loved riding. It’s something I miss here. My father died mysteriously, probably killed by the white governors, as he was stubborn and wouldn’t do as they wished. My mother and I missed him intensely. Our tribe wanted me as chieftain, and I agreed.
“I married a wonderful woman, beautiful and wise, and we had three children — two sons and a daughter. My oldest son became chieftain after me. The younger one is studying medicine. My daughter married a boy in our tribe who is skillful and sensible. She already has four children. My wife died before our daughter got married, and I still grieve for her. It was grief that brought me here. My children are independent, and I felt lonely. I met a man from here and came back with him. It made complete sense.”
“Once people are here, I can’t see why they would leave this paradise,” I objected.
“Some go on missions to the Earth’s crust,” replied Lex. “They don’t stay long, and I think they select settlers viable for Telos. They are like very humane spies.”
I told him about my mission to the surface and how difficult it had been to get people to accept the existence of Telos. He’d had a similar experience.
We were landing again, this time on an island. Safely and smoothly the hovercraft took us over clear, turquoise water and came in to land on soft sand. Around us were palm trees and tropical plants everywhere. Some deer came out from the trees, approaching us cautiously.
“They’re used to people,” remarked Lex. “This is a zoo of sorts. I thought it would be fun for the girls. All the animals here are more or less tame and completely safe, even the lions and bears, those kings of the forest. They don’t hunt each other or man. And, we actually have dragons here.”
“Dragons!” exclaimed the girls in chorus. “Aren’t dragons only in stories?”
“Of course not!” I objected. “They just don’t want to live near bloodthirsty people any more. They want to live in peace. Dragons are wonderful animals.”
I’d only seen one dragon in Telos, fairly soon after I first came. I told the girls, who were ready for stories, that dragons were neither myth nor legend. They were real animals which had roamed the Earth thousands of years ago. There had also been real dragon-riders. Often young boys chose the job, as the training was long and they had to be supple and fit to succeed. Dragons had taken refuge in Agartha when humans began to hunt and kill more and more of them. They had stayed and made their home up here in the wild mountains of Agartha. Some of them were tame and used as transport.
Dragons are beautiful, and glint in a multitude of colors, but basically they are as dark green as the forest. People here have invented secure saddles, and hold riding classes. Dragons are acknowledged to be at least as intelligent as horses, and have learned respect for the inhabitants of Telos. The dragon I met was testing out an inexperienced rider.
The girls were overjoyed, and Nancy was listening, although I could tell from her expression that she didn’t believe me. Lex backed me up, telling us of the dragons he had seen and one that he had ridden briefly. He also told us of other wild animals which had died out on the surface of the Earth, but which existed inside the Earth.
“Have you noticed how lovely it smells here?” exclaimed my grandmother in delight. I hadn’t thought of it, as I’m used to the smell of all the beautiful flowers. Now I noticed something aromatic, and Lex explained.
“On this island they grow exotic spices, which grow wild among the other plants here. They don’t usually plant seeds in beds, but strew them in the wild and allow them to spread, to be picked when needed. We’re going to visit one of the growers.”
The growers lived in round, roofless houses, which are standard here. There was a fence around each house. Lex explained that this was because the animals were inquisitive sometimes, and it was deemed unnecessary to have lions or bears trampling around the children.
We stopped outside a house where the owners were taking a break. We were invited in and given the tea-like drink which is consumed instead of coffee, and bread instead of cakes. Afterwards, we saw the plantation, which was a jumble of plant-life, where everything which grew was allowed space. There was no question of weeding, as the weeds were cared for in the same way as the other plants. The farmer strode around his property with a musical instrument. He sang and played the whole time. He played a guitar, and his children played flutes beautifully. Nancy put her hands to her ears and asked them to stop, which made Grandmother cross.
“If you can’t behave nicely, you might as well go home,” she said severely. “The music is lovely, and the rest of us are enjoying it. Look at your daughter!” Ellie and Wendy were dancing merrily on the grass, singing and laughing until the tears rolled down their rosy cheeks.
We saw wild animals, too. First a bear trotted up. When he saw us he reared up on his hind legs. Lex went and patted his chest. The bear sniffed at him, enjoying the attention. When it was back down on all fours and Lex was still stroking it, Grandmother and I joined him. The bear was just as sweet as it should be, I thought. But we hadn’t reckoned on Titch.
Titch was sitting nicely with the children, who hung back, obviously scared. He had decided to protect the little girls. He didn’t like the smell of bear, and he growled when the bear was back on all fours. Lex whispered something into the bear’s ear just as it was beginning to snarl. It turned around and loped off towards the forest.
“I think we should move on,” Lex decided. “Otherwise there could be more of the same, which might scare the girls. I can come back another day with Tim and Emilie.”
12. A Real Live Dragon!
The more you see of Agartha, the more you wonder that the outer and inner Earths exist in such close proximity to one another. There are similarities and differences: differences in the buildings and infrastructure; similarities in the scenery. Next time the hovercraft stopped, it was in front of quite a large, round building with a hatch on the front. I pressed a button near the door. A friendly face appeared in the opening.
“What do you want to eat?” I asked. “We’re at a food bar and we can order vegetarian food here.”
There were tables and chairs among the pots of plants outside. The children crowded forward. The friendly-face person showed them pictures of what they could order. Laughing cheerfully, the girls pointed to what they wanted, and I helped the others order. Nancy wasn’t hungry, and just wanted a glass of water. The rest of us enjoyed attractive meals served in the flower garden.
This was the most common kind of bar or restaurant in Telos. The food was prepared in the large, round house and distributed from there.
“Let’s get on!” called Lex when we’d all finished eating. The hovercraft was nearby. No parking problems here, as it didn’t touch the ground. I was lifting up Ellie under her arms when Nancy stopped me.
“I want to go home,” she demanded. “I’ve got a terrible headache. Ellie’s coming with me.” Ellie begged and begged, but Nancy was firm. I arranged another vehicle for them and programmed in Nancy’s address, but Wendy wouldn’t go with them. Ellie, devastated, waved until she could see us no longer.
“What a hard-hearted mother,” remarked Grandmother crossly. “Little Ellie is a nice child, and we could easily have looked after her.”
“Nancy is probably one of the most normal people ever,” Lex observed. “People who are thoroughly normal can’t cope with the atmosphere here. Unfortunately, it’s probably best for her to go home.�
�� I nodded in agreement.
I felt a small hand in mine, and a lock of gleaming, dark hair brushed my hand as I was getting into our transport. “Can I sit with you?” the child asked, and I smiled and nodded.
Suddenly, the hovercraft dipped earthwards with unusual rapidity. The woodland here was less dense, with moss and flowers on the ground. We drew up beside a mountain with a cave. With a finger on his lips, Lex waved us out of the vehicle. He led us to a camouflaged shelter where there were clumps of grass to sit on. Sitting quietly, we wondered what was going on. We soon found out!
The first thing we saw was smoke coming from the cave, followed by huge smoky nostrils, and a shiny green head with large eyes and tiny ears. Soon a whole dragon had appeared, its tail swishing the ground. Beside it was a small dragon with less intense coloring, presumably a baby.
I put my hand to Wendy’s mouth to keep her from screaming. She stared, and then buried her head in my shoulder. Grandmother and Lex were holding hands, watching the unusual creatures in delight. I was glad Nancy wasn’t with us. She would have been terrified. Titch didn’t even growl. He sat at my side as though turned to stone, staring.
I’m not really used to children, and I didn’t notice until it was too late that Wendy had crept up to the dragon. Frozen in horror, I watched her put out her hand to stroke its nose. Wendy’s entire being seemed to emanate Love. Grandmother and Lex got ready to rescue her.
To our surprise, the dragon stuck out a long, pink tongue and gave Wendy a wet, steamy lick on the face. Then the dragon shook its huge body, checked that the baby dragon was close (it was definitely a dragon mother), and spread its enormous wings, while the baby dragon did the same. They rose slowly and majestically, flapping their wings in farewell. The adult dragon turned her head and gave us a long, keen look. My grandmother nearly fainted as she dried her tears, laughing in relief. Wendy stood watching the amazing animals until Lex took her hand.
“Come on, little one, let’s go,” he said.
Wendy ran up and hugged me. “It was grrreat” she exclaimed. “I’m going to tell my mum and dad all about it.”
Puzzled, I looked at her. Mum? I wondered. I knew she was dead.
“I quite often talk to Mum,” she declared happily, pointing to her heart. “She’s inside me, and she always answers.”
I’d thought that Ellie was an amazing child, but here was another one. Maybe there are plenty of amazing children, but I’m not used to meeting them.
With Wendy chattering happily at my side, I alighted from the hovercraft at the next stop. Grandmother and Lex were heading straight for something that looked like an aircraft hangar, which is exactly what it turned out to be. I knew Agartha was extensive, but I hadn’t really understood quite how extensive.
This was a transport station for hovercraft of various sorts. It wasn’t bleak and noisy and full of brash travelers weighed down with luggage, like our mainline stations. There were tunnels here reaching across the inner Earth and right up to the outside. These crossed Agartha, as well as the planet’s crust. The tunnels had existed for many thousands of years. You could go nearly anywhere in the small, covered vehicles which were parked in rows. As usual, Grandmother clapped her hands in surprise and wonder as Lex reeled off facts about the amazing Central Station.
Wendy asked, “Uncle Tim, do you think I could go and visit Mum from here?”
“She doesn’t really live in these parts,” I objected, upset. “To get to her, you need a special sort of plane which they don’t have here. You can’t visit the dead, Wendy. You can only be sure that they are alive and well in another dimension. But you have her image within you, like you said, and that is lovely.”
“I’ll have to wait until I’m big,” sighed Wendy. “Anyway, I can see elementals, as Dad calls them. I usually tell him that I have tiny friends who are sometimes quite see-through. Some of them have pointed hats and some have hair like sunshine and small, transparent wings pretty much like bumble-bees.”
“Can you see them here?” Grandmother asked.
“Of course, and we talk about everything!” Wendy’s eyes widened. “Is there something wrong with that?”
“Not in the least. You are very lucky!” Grandmother stroked the dark hair of this wonderful child.
“I think we’ve seen enough for today!” exclaimed Lex, and we clambered back into the hovercraft with Titch beside me as lookout.
Now I understood the dragon’s behavior. Wendy was more elemental than human, although she looked human enough as she curled up close and rested her head on my shoulder. She was sleeping soundly, sucking her thumb, by the time we got home.
I carried the sleeping child into Grandmother’s house. Lex disappeared momentarily, returning with the news that he’d contacted Wendy’s father, who would soon collect his daughter. I knew that the contact had been telepathic, but Grandmother was confused.
“I thought that phones were on the surface of the planet,” she said.
“We’ve got a good one in our heads,” I teased, because she already knew that.
Grandmother smiled and asked me to open the door, just as a loud knocking was heard. A dark, slightly stocky man entered. He grinned amiably and said, “I’m Wendy’s dad, Edmund. Have you got my charming monkey here?”
Behind him appeared a countenance which could only belong to a small, mischievous boy. “This is my nephew, Wendy’s cousin,” continued Edmund. “He arrived today, and was disappointed to find his cousin was out. He’s called Pierre. He’s nine, and has come because his parents died in a car crash. I’m going to take care of him.”
“Wendy is welcome to come as often as she wants, such a sweet child,” my grandmother interrupted, “and the lad too, by the way. I like children and can always find something interesting to do. Please sit down, and my grandson will fetch the lass.”
I returned with the child, who was still fast asleep. She opened her eyes briefly and mumbled, “Dad!” and then slumbered again. Pierre stayed calmly behind his uncle, watching his sleeping cousin in amazement.
Children can sleep safely even thousands of feet inside the Earth, in a brilliant kingdom called Agartha.
13. Nancy and Ellie Return Home
Mannul was waiting in the arbor at my house. The slight dampness in the pale night air intensified the scent of flowers.
I got us hot drinks and biscuits and we sat down comfortably. Titch laid his great head in Mannul’s lap. I realized this was a great honor.
“Now you’ve met other surface-dwellers who have come here and want to stay,” began the man with the long, nearly-white hair. “Just like you, they have had certain experiences which have brought them here. People from Earth don’t end up here by accident. It wasn’t by accident that your ship went down and you were saved. Neither was it an accident that Lex came to us; he had known about us for a long time.
“However, Nancy isn’t particularly welcome. We knew she wouldn’t fit in here, but we gave her a chance because she is your friend. It hasn’t gone well. I have talked to her, and she’s returning to the surface via Mount Shasta tomorrow. We’ll provide financial help, as she couldn’t get home otherwise.”
“It’s not what Ellie wants,” I sighed. “But she can always return when she’s older, if she doesn’t forget us.”
“We’ve decided it’s your duty to go with them, Tim.” I guess I looked far from delighted, for he began laughing.
“You only need put them on the first flight to Seattle. Then you can return immediately, if you’re not tempted to stay a while on Earth, that is.” I shook my head firmly, and he laughed again.
“We’ll wake you in plenty of time tomorrow. Go to Nancy’s and there will be a hovercraft there. Nancy will be taking precious stones with her, so she’ll manage financially. Arniel wants to see you as soon as you get back, so contact me at once. Have a good trip!” With a smile, he hugged me and di
sappeared out the door. When I looked around, he was gone.
In the morning I was awakened by a small bird chirruping like a canary on my shoulder. I got dressed and hurried to Nancy’s house.
Nancy was sitting outside on her suitcase, and Ellie was on the grass, tears streaming down her face. Titch sat down beside the girl and looked as if he was trying to comfort her. She buried her head in his huge doggy neck. I lifted her gently into the hovercraft. Nancy inclined her head slightly in my direction and asked, “Are you coming with us?”
“Only as far as the plane.”
She got into the vehicle, and I sat in front. She avoided looking at me, and I hoped the whole journey would be over quickly.
“I had expected you to be more honorable,” remarked Nancy. “I never believed my husband’s best friend would be so unreliable.”
Honestly, I was astonished. “How am I unreliable?” I asked.
“First you came on to me and then, as soon as we came here, you cast me aside for that blond tart. You know, that woman you danced with. I was brought here under false pretenses. I feel betrayed. This isn’t paradise. It’s just the opposite!”
“You’ll probably find you brought that with you,” I retorted, suppressing my anger. “Haven’t you learned the seven virtues which I’ve repeated to you every day? We live by them in this country.”
“Appreciation, Compassion, Forgiveness, Humility, Understanding, Valor, and Unconditional Love, of course!” Ellie came out with this line. I thought she’d drifted off next to Titch. My dog made a “talking” noise, one of those dog-mumbles which most dog-owners would recognize.
“And that doesn’t include jealousy,” I added, “especially as I’ve never encouraged you. That was your interpretation.”
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