Louis in the Land of Tetra

by Frank J. Ling

  “How are you doing, Shining Star? Have you found anything interesting yet?”

  “I have inspected many rings, but nothing matches the description of what we are looking for,” he replied. “But I do see something odd over here on the edge.”

  Shining Star bent his head down to inspect the item closer and was amused. “Here is a ring that has the shape of a horse’s head. I wonder if there is a ring in this hill that looks like me,” he mused. But abruptly, his laughter turned suddenly into a shout for help as he lost his footing and tumbled down the enormous mound.

  Louis ran down the hill and asked with concern, “Shining Star, are you alright?”

  “I believe I am.” Shining Star stood up and stretched his wings to see if any feathers were broken. Everything seemed to be fine. He folded his wings back and said, “Ouch!”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Something seems to be irritating me under my wing. Perhaps you could look under and see what it is?” asked Shining Star.

  Before Louis could look, he heard Crystal scream, “I need some help over here!”

  “I’ll be right back. Sounds like Crystal is in trouble.”

  “I’ll come too. Maybe I can be of assistance.”

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  Crystal didn’t have much success on the huge sweater hill. It was not an easy task, to be sure. Of all the sweaters she looked at, there was not even one that came close to the likeness of Louis’s sweater. However, she did see blue sweaters, red sweaters, yellow sweaters, sweaters with sleeves, sweaters without sleeves, long ones, short ones, big ones, and little ones. But after an hour of looking, she felt tired, frustrated, and downcast.

  Louis and Shining Star made the long climb up the enormous sweater hill. They were quite out of breath when they reached the plateau.

  “Crystal, what’s wrong?” Louis asked with concern.

  “I need some help! How can I possibly find your sweater? This hill isn’t a hill. It’s a mountain! Look at how huge it is. You could probably play a game of soccer up here at the top. I give up!”

  “Is that all? I thought you were in trouble when you shouted for help,” said Louis more than a little irritated.

  Shining Star tried to encourage her, “You have to believe, Crystal. Believing means everything. If you give up, you might as well not even look because you will never find it.”

  “I can understand how Crystal feels. It really does look hopeless. What are the odds that we will ever find my sweater or my mother’s ring? How can you stay so positive when things look so hopeless?”

  “Things are never hopeless. It is only hopeless if you give up and stop believing. You need to believe!” Shining Star insisted.

  “My mom always says things like that to me. I think she makes that stuff up to help me feel better when I’m sad or disappointed,” Louis said.

  “No. Your mother is correct. Without believing, there is no hope. Without hope, we can never expect anything to happen,” Shining Star replied.

  “Are you trying to tell me that I will find my things if I believe I will find them?” Louis asked.

  “That depends if your heart is true. If you say you believe but you really don’t, your heart is not true. You must believe deep in your heart, not just in your mind. Do you understand?”

  “I want to believe so badly, but I’m not sure that I can,” he said.

  “What is it that you want?” asked Shining Star.

  “That is so obvious. I want to find my mother’s ruby ring and my sweater!”

  “No. That is not what you really want. What do you really want?”

  “I already told you! Don’t you understand? I want to find the ring and the sweater!”

  “Why?” said the wise Zeeboo.

  “So, I can go home and see my mom and dad and friends. I miss them all. I miss my school and everything in my town. I want to go home!” Louis said with emotion.

  “Me too, I want to go home right now!” Crystal agreed.

  “Do you believe that you will ever go home?” Shining Star asked the both of them.

  For a long time, Crystal and Louis were silent. They were feeling very lonely and despondent.

  Finally, Louis said, “I really want to believe, but I don’t think that I can. How is it possible to believe I will find my things when there are so many rings and sweaters here? How can I believe when it seems so impossible?”

  Shining Star stared at both of them and shook his head in dismay. “You don’t understand. Your circumstances should have nothing to do with your ability to believe. If you can believe only when things are going well, your faith is not genuine and your belief is not true.”

  Louis listened intently and almost grasped the deep truth hidden in Shining Star’s words, but his understanding started to evaporate with nagging doubts.

  Shining Star tried to make things clearer, “When we are young, we have a very easy time of believing in things that cannot be proven by direct evidence. Sometimes, when we grow older, we lose this ability to believe. We find it very hard to have faith in the unseen or unexplainable.”

  Crystal and Louis had an expression on their faces as though they had seen a ghost.

  “What is the matter? Is what I said so hard to understand and comprehend?” Shining Star said impatiently.

  They pointed behind him without saying a word.

  “Hi guys,” the stranger said.

  “Who are you?” Shining Star asked.

  “Wow, I’ve never seen a zebra talk before! But you’re different. Your stripes are orange and purple. . .”

  “Who are you?” Shining Star asked again.

  “Louis and Crystal know who I am.”

  “Please, for the last time, who are you?”

  “Well, my real name is Robert, but everyone knows me by my nickname — Gus.”

  CHAPTER 8

  THE PRECARIOUS PREDICAMENT

  It has been said that life is full of surprises. For Louis and Crystal, this was becoming frighteningly true. What started as another typical day was turning into a most unexpected and fantastic experience. Some of the changes were good, but this was getting entirely out of hand!

  They were so shocked to see Gus, they didn’t even say hello. Oddly enough, Louis was actually glad to see Gus, in spite of the fight in the schoolyard. Louis was just happy to see someone, anyone from back home.

  Gus walked toward them, smiled, and said, “Well, aren’t you glad to see good old Gus? I came especially for you.”

  “I don’t understand. How did you find us and how did you get here?” asked Crystal suspiciously. She didn’t trust Gus. Why couldn’t someone I like show up instead of Gus? she thought to herself.

  Gus explained, “Well, first I went down into the garbage can in the schoolyard by climbing down a rope. I tied it to one of the handles of the can. When I got here, I saw a trail of little glowing rocks leading away from the rope. I guessed that the rocks were left by you to find your way back. So, I just followed the trail and here I am. I guess I guessed right!” he said triumphantly.

  “Wait a minute! How did you know about the trash can?” she asked.

  Gus started to look embarrassed and guilty. “Well, I guess I was sort of spying on you guys after school.”

  “What a sneaky thing to do! I always knew you were a sneak and a bully!” Crystal shouted.

  Gus started to turn red and shouted back, “But I was just curious! You two were acting strange and I wanted to find out what you were up to. But I didn’t come here to make trouble. I came here to help! I’m trying to do something good and all I hear is you complaining about what a sneak and a bully I am. I should have never come!” Gus looked like he was about to cry. He turned and strode off.

  Suddenly, Crystal was sorry for what she said. It was obvious Gus was very hurt by her words. She never thought Gus had any feelings. He was consistently mean to everyone and especially to Louis and herself. How could she have guessed he came to help? Life was gettin
g so complicated and confusing. First, talking Zeeboos and houses made of marbles. And now, Gus miraculously showing up to help. It was all becoming so crazy!

  Louis ran after Gus and pulled on his sleeve. “Hey, wait a minute. We didn’t know you were only trying to help. Most of time, you pick on us. I’m sorry. I’m sure Crystal is sorry too.”

  “Gee, Gus. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. Let’s shake hands and forget all about it. Okay?” she said.

  The three of them stared at each other in strained silence.

  Gus said, “Okay. I guess if I were you, I’d be pretty suspicious of me too!” he laughed.

  “Well, I am glad all of you are getting along now,” said Shining Star. “We can use the extra help in finding your mother’s ring and the sweater, Louis.”

  Shining Star explained to Gus everything that had happened until now. It took Gus a little while to get used to a talking “zebra,” but he adapted and realized he wasn’t in a “normal” place any longer.

  “But why go through all that trouble of looking for those lost things? I came down the rope. If the rope is still there, all we have to do is to climb back up!” Gus said.

  “He’s right!” Crystal said.

  “No,” said a voice from behind a colossal knoll of eyeglasses.

  “Your portal cannot be used to go back to your point of origin. You must go back another way because the path has probably changed already,” Mr. Bixbee warned. His guilt of non-involvement had prompted him to go out and check on his guests, in spite of his fears.

  “But maybe the opening we came through won’t do that. It’s worth a try,” Louis said excitedly. “Let’s hurry back!”

  Crystal, Louis, Gus, and Shining Star ran off.

  “Wait! You don’t understand. You don’t know what you are getting into!” shouted Mr. Bixbee.

  They were surprised to see how emotional Mr. Bixbee was becoming.

  “Why, Mr. Bixbee? Why can’t we try?” asked Louis.

  Mr. Bixbee revealed an unexpected fact about him.

  “When I was twelve years old, I wandered away from home to explore in the woods. I found this activity very enjoyable as the woods were so peaceful and quiet. There were so many assorted animals and fauna to observe.

  “On that fateful day, I chased a lizard beneath a large rock. I wanted to capture him and bring him home as a pet. I lifted the rock but there was nothing underneath it. There was no ground, dirt or leaves. There was only a gaping black hole. Well, being the curious boy I was, I jumped in after a squirrel and found myself transported to this wonderful world of Tetra. The hole that I jumped into was a portal which led to here. You see, I, too, am from Earth. That was a long time ago. . .”

  They were astonished at this revelation.

  “Didn’t you ever try to go back home?” Louis asked.

  “Before I appeared in Tetra, my life was quite distressing. At the time, I was living with my aunt and uncle. My real parents abandoned me when I was very young. To this day, I do not know why. My formative years with my aunt and uncle were not happy, to say the least. There was no affection or love from them, only the obligation or, should I say, the guilt of looking after me. I felt like an intruder. They were critical about practically everything I did or say. They regretted ever letting me into their home, but they were bound by duty. I felt miserable with them.

  “When I arrived in Tetra, all the citizens were very compassionate toward me. For the first time in my life, I felt accepted and loved. Although the citizens and creatures were so warm and kind, even in a wonderful place like this, this world was still very unfamiliar and frightening to me. I made an attempt to go back through the entry hole from which I entered Tetra.

  “The opening was floating high off the ground and I could not reach the portal. I was able to pile many large rocks together and just managed to make it to the top . I stuck my head through the hole and was terrified of what I saw.”

  “What did you see?” they all said in unison.

  “I saw terrible creatures. I saw monsters. I saw things that were worse than any nightmare I have ever had. It was a horrible place. I felt myself being drawn up by an unseen force into this world and I screamed in terror. I violently shook myself free from the invisible influence, slid my head out of the hole, and fell off the pile of rocks. I ran for my life. I returned, out of curiosity, a few days later but the opening had disappeared.

  “I started searching for an alternative way to return home and wandered into the Dark Forest. It is a cavernous place and, unfortunately for me, I became lost almost immediately. But, fortunately for me, a Wise One found me.

  “Citizens of Tetra consider them the most intelligent and most wise among all the inhabitants of Tetra. The Wise Ones are thousands of years old, although their appearance seems to contradict this fact. They look quite young. The one I met was named Chalandoor. He was an interesting looking little creature and resembled a small collie, but with much larger ears and eyes. He smiled and looked quite approachable.

  “I explained my predicament to him. He explained that only a lost thing could open another entryway to go back home — a lost thing that originally belonged to me or someone in my family. If I could find such an item, it might open up an alternative passageway back to Earth.”

  “But if all you needed was something that you lost, why are you still here?” asked Crystal.

  Mr. Bixbee looked disheartened and replied, “You do not comprehend, do you? I arrived in Tetra at the age of seven. But, as you can see, I am an old man now. I have made it my job to gather all the lost things which have appeared on Tetra from Earth. I have separated, categorized, filed, indexed, and labeled millions of items into thousands of mounds. Why do I do this? It is not the result of my being overly compulsive. I am hoping that one day, I will come across one of my lost items so that I can return to Earth!”

  There was a stunned moment of silence. It suddenly occurred to Louis, Crystal, and Gus what the implications were. Gus uttered what everyone was afraid to speak.

  “Wait, if after all these years you still haven’t found what you need, that means that. . .” Gus never finished his sentence because Crystal finished it for him.

  “We may never see home again either!” she said in horror.

  The words vocalized by Crystal staggered them but it was a sobering realization that she was right on the mark. If Mr. Bixbee searched all these years in vain, what were their chances of finding what they needed? The task seemed even more insurmountable than before.

  No one said anything for a long time.

  The depressing stillness was shattered abruptly by Shining Star. “Nothing is impossible if you believe. If you believe for the impossible, the impossible will become possible.”

  Gus understood this instinctively and agreed with Shining Star.

  “He’s right. How can you give up when you just started your search? You have to believe. If we give up now, we’ll never be able to go home again. Hope is the only thing we have left to go on. We have to believe!”

  Those words of inspiration had a transforming effect upon Crystal and Louis.

  “Gus, you are absolutely correct. Just because Mr. Bixbee couldn’t find his things doesn’t mean we can’t. Let’s not give up. Let’s not get discouraged. Let’s get started again! What are we waiting for?” Louis said with renewed optimism.

  Gus’s positive attitude was quite helpful in restoring their confidence and outlook. However, they were all very tired. They decided to go back to Mr. Bixbee’s house to get some sleep. It was well past midnight and they were totally exhausted.

  The group shuffled back to the house unaware of the hateful eyes watching them from the dark shadows behind the trees. The eyes were filled with evil and glowed in a sickening amber color.

  “I don’t know if I am more hungry than tired or the other way around. Maybe I’ll eat something before I go to bed,” Louis said.

  Mr. Bixbee suddenly stopped in his tracks.

  �
��Wait, be very quiet,” whispered Mr. Bixbee.

  “What’s the matter?” asked Gus.

  “Listen!” said Mr. Bixby in a desperate, hushed tone.

  From the direction of the piles of sweaters and rings, they heard a strange sound. The noise was so eerie that it brought shivers to Louis, Crystal, Gus, and Shining Star. It was a scream and howl all at the same time.

  “What in the world was that?” asked Louis.

  Mr. Bixbee turned to them and said gravely, “That is the cry of the Xombos. This particular sound can mean only one thing.’

  “What?” asked Crystal.

  “It means the Xombos are starving and hunting for food,” he said.

  “What do they eat?” asked Gus nervously.

  “Let me put it this way, it would be in our best interest to scurry back to my house as speedily as possible.”

  But they weren’t fast enough. Still quite far away, behind Mr. Bixbee’s house, hundreds of Xombos jumped out to attack.

  The Xombos were quite horrible to look at. They had gigantic pointed teeth and heads that were much too large for their extremely tall, bony bodies. The most unusual feature were their eyes — big as billiard balls. They glowed with luminous fury, which frightened even the bravest in Tetra. Their feet and hands were covered with oddly colored bumps and warts.

  The Xombos ran quickly and formed an enormous circle around Louis and his friends to prevent them from escaping.

  “Look at all of them. We’re totally surrounded,” Crystal moaned.

  Louis was deep in thought for a solution to their predicament.

  “What are we going to do now? We can’t go forward or backwards or sideways. This is the end of us!” lamented Crystal.

  Louis was extremely talented at solving puzzles and the circumstance he found himself in certainly qualified as one.

  “What? What did you say?” Louis said out of his reverie.

  “I said this might be the end of us. . .”

  “No, what you said before.”

  “I said we are surrounded. We can’t go forward, backward, or sideways! What’s so important about that?” she asked.