“Come on, B-Buds—run!” Amirah yelled.
The B-Buds forgot to be quiet as they raced down the path, reaching the next set of candle-torches right before the previous set extinguished. Amirah wished they could’ve gone more slowly; the mysterious cave seemed full of wonders that she longed to explore. But when she reminded herself of the girl, and how sad she looked, and how nervous the cave was making her friends, Amirah knew they had to hurry on. Don’t get distracted, she reminded herself. We’ve got to keep going!
At last, there was a glimmer of light in the distance that was stronger and brighter than the flames of the candle-torches. The B-Buds recognized it at once.
“Sunlight!” Amirah exclaimed.
“We’re almost at the end of the tunnel!” Mei added.
They paused to do a quick victory dance, then kept running.
“I can’t believe we made it!” Elvis announced as they finally reached the other side.
“Hey—hang on a minute,” Amirah said. “What’s that?”
The B-Buds had been so focused on getting through the tunnel before they lost the light that they hadn’t realized the trickling stream had widened along the way. At the other end of the tunnel, it had pooled into a small underground lake with an island in the middle.
On the island sat three beautifully wrapped presents.
“Do you think those are . . . for us?” Elvis asked.
“Three presents, three of us,” Amirah said. “And it is our birthday . . .”
“What if it’s a trap?” Mei asked.
Amirah shook her head. “Not in the Magical Land of Birthdays.”
“We already have the map, though. Shouldn’t we just keep going?” Mei asked. “Besides, who wants to wade through all that yucky mud?”
For Amirah, though, the lure of the presents was too strong.
“I don’t mind mud,” Amirah said. “Besides, I have a feeling it’s probably more like chocolate pudding.”
She took off her shoes and placed them by the side of the pond. It wasn’t deep at all, just barely past her ankles. “Here goes,” she said.
Squish. Squelch. Squish.
Amirah might have thought that Mei was right about the mud being yucky—except every step she took released the heady scent of chocolate. “This mud smells just like the filling for chocolate mud cake!” Amirah said.
“My friend Holden had chocolate mud cake at his birthday party last year!” Elvis exclaimed. “It was so good!”
Suddenly Amirah shrieked. “Eww! Something’s tickling my toes!”
“Is it a snake?” Mei exclaimed.
Amirah pulled her foot out of the pond and peeled something colorful off it. “No,” she replied. “Just a gummy worm.”
When Amirah reached the island, she knew it had been worth it. The three presents were topped with glittery gift tags—and the tags had their names. There was one for her, wrapped in pink sparkly paper; one for Mei, wrapped in purple polka-dot paper; and one for Elvis, wrapped in green-striped paper.
“Happy birthday, B-Buds!” Amirah exclaimed as she gave her friends their gifts.
Elvis opened his first. It was a shiny metal tube that could be extended several feet or collapsed on itself until it was pocket size. “Pretty cool,” he said. “I’m not sure what to do with it, though.”
“I have no idea what to do with my present either,” Mei said as she held up a pair of glasses. Instead of smooth glass, though, the lenses were faceted like a gemstone. She put them on and made a funny face. “How do I look? I feel like a fly.”
“They look great! But too bad those glasses give you a fly’s eyes instead of a fly’s wings,” Amirah replied.
“I could always wear them like a headband,” Mei said, laughing as she pushed the glasses on top of her head.
“Pretty! Like a tiara!” Amirah said.
“Open your present, Amirah,” Elvis encouraged.
When Amirah opened her gift, she understood why the B-Buds seemed a little disappointed. “Huh. A tin whistle,” she said. Then she held it out to Elvis. “There must be a mistake. This one’s probably for you. After all, you’re the musician.”
Elvis shook his head. “I don’t think the Magical Land of Birthdays makes mistakes,” he said. “That gift definitely said ‘Amirah’ on it. I’ll play you a song, though.”
When Elvis tried to play the whistle, though, it didn’t make a sound. “Too bad,” he said as he handed it back to Amirah. “It’s broken.”
“Well, just because we can’t hear it doesn’t mean it’s broken,” Amirah pointed out.
Mei looked alarmed. “Are you talking about the bats?” she asked. “Bats can hear at different frequencies than humans! It was one thing when they were flying away from us, but do we really want them flying toward us?”
“Uh . . . that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,” Amirah replied. “But now that you mention it—let’s get out of here!”
The B-Buds raced out the tunnel, laughing and shrieking. In the bright sunshine, they paused so Amirah could wipe off her feet and put her shoes back on. Then they set off down the other side of the mountain. The B-Buds soon discovered that it was even easier to climb down the mountain than up. As they made their way down the trail, the rock candy smoothed back into candy buttons. Eventually even the candy buttons receded until the friends found themselves walking on a smooth surface.
“The ground has changed,” Mei commented.
Amirah leaned over and used her finger to draw a heart on the path. Then, to everyone’s astonishment, she popped her finger in her mouth!
Amirah laughed at the B-Buds’ shocked expressions. “Don’t worry,” she told them. “It’s just cake frosting! The glossy kind that you can pipe designs on.”
“Of course it is,” Elvis said as he started to laugh too. Then he tilted his head to the side. “Do you hear that, B-Buds?” he asked.
“More music?” Mei guessed.
“No . . . not this time,” Elvis replied, still listening intently. “It sounds like a . . . rushing noise.”
“Rushing?” Amirah asked. “Would a unicorn rush? I guess if she did, it would be more like a gallop. They have hooves, after all.”
“Like horses,” Mei chimed in.
“I’m pretty sure it’s not a unicorn,” Elvis said. “Or anything alive. I just can’t . . .”
Amirah shivered as a cool breeze blew past them. Were they so close to the Rainbow Forest that they could feel cooler air circulating around the shade-giving trees?
When the friends rounded a curve in the path, they solved both mysteries. They found themselves standing on the bank of a rushing river, with whipped-cream whitecaps swirling over the deep waters.
“There’s the rushing sound,” Elvis said.
“And that’s where the cool breeze came from,” Amirah added.
Mei scrunched up her face. “Oh no,” she said. “I don’t remember seeing the river on the other side of the mountains. I remember seeing something about a stream, but not a giant river. I’m sorry, B-Buds. How are we going to cross it?”
“It’s not your fault!” Amirah assured her. “This land is new to all of us! Besides, there has to be a bridge somewhere, right?” Amirah asked.
“Or maybe a boat?” Elvis suggested.
“Look at those rapids,” Mei said. “I don’t know how to pilot a boat through such rough water. Do you?”
“No . . . I guess not,” Elvis admitted. “But we’re in the Magical Land of Birthdays! So the boat has got to be magical too!”
“But there is no boat,” Mei reminded him.
“Oh. Right,” Elvis said. “Well, let’s check the map. There has to be a way to cross the river. I mean, surely somebody before us has figured out a way to get across.”
Amirah took a few steps away from the riverbank and turned around so that the spray wouldn’t get on the map. “This explains it, Mei!” she cried a moment later. “The river is called the Silly Stream River! That’s why you thought
it was a stream! That’s a really easy mistake to make!”
Mei smiled gratefully at Amirah.
Amirah studied the map. The Silly Stream River wound its way across the entire land, swirling and swooping as it cut a path through the fields and the forest. If there were any bridges—or even any docks with boats—the map didn’t indicate them.
What if there really isn’t a way across? Amirah wondered. She didn’t want to say those words aloud. She didn’t even want to think them. The Magical Land of Birthdays was no place to lose hope . . . or admit defeat.
The river on the map sparkled like sapphires and diamonds, as if actual sunlight was glinting on real water. Amirah kept studying it, trying to find a way across. But the map didn’t offer any solutions to their problem.
Finally, Amirah stood up and looked around for her B-Buds. Elvis and Mei had wandered off a little way and seemed to be checking out an incredible tree. Instead of leaves, the tree was covered in helium balloons of all colors. The balloons swayed back and forth in the breeze, making rainbow shadows on the ground.
Amirah guessed that it was the incredible tree that had first captured her B-Buds’ attention. Now, though, Elvis was drumming a cool rhythm on the tree trunk while Mei gracefully twirled on one of the lower branches.
“Hey, B-Buds,” Amirah called. “I’ve searched and searched the map, but I can’t find a clear way across the river. But I do have some ideas.”
“Hit it,” Elvis said, still drumming.
“We can change course a little,” Amirah began. “Instead of sticking to the path, we’ll walk along the riverbank. I figure there’s a pretty good chance of one of two things happening. First, we’ll either stumble on a way to cross the river—a bridge or maybe even a boat. Something that’s not marked on the map.”
“What’s your other idea?” Mei asked. She leaped up to grab the branch above her and climbed up.
“Well . . . maybe the river isn’t so deep and fast everywhere,” Amirah said. “Just because it’s rushing rapids here doesn’t mean it isn’t a calm little stream elsewhere. Know what I mean?”
“Yeah,” Mei said. “But, we still don’t know if either one of those will happen.”
“That’s true,” Amirah said. “I could be wrong on both counts. If only there was a way to see . . .”
When Amirah’s voice trailed off unexpectedly, Elvis stopped drumming midbeat.
“What is it?” he asked. “Is something wrong?”
“No, I just had another idea,” Amirah said. “Mei, how high can you climb?”
“Not as high as I want to,” Mei replied. “There’s too many balloons! I can’t see which branch to grab next.”
“Hmm,” Amirah said, frowning. “I was thinking that maybe if you could climb all the way to the top of the tree, you could see how the river flows. And you could tell us if there’s an area that doesn’t look so rough, or even better, if there’s a bridge—”
Mei gasped.
“You okay?” Amirah asked.
“My birthday glasses!” Mei exclaimed. “I forgot I was wearing them on my head—then I looked down to see you and they slipped off my head, over my eyes—and now I can see the branches perfectly!”
“What? How?” Elvis asked.
“I think it’s birthday magic,” Mei said. “Instead of the whole balloon, I only see the outlines. It’s amazing!”
Mei started to climb the tree, higher and higher, until she disappeared behind the thick canopy of colorful balloons. Amirah and Elvis stood at the base of the tree, trying to catch a glimpse of Mei.
“There must be thousands of balloons up here.” Mei’s voice floated down to them.
“What else can you see?” Amirah called back.
“Still balloon outlines,” Mei replied. “Bunches and bunches of balloons.”
Amirah and Elvis exchanged a worried glance. Amirah hadn’t expected the balloon tree to be so big that it got in their way.
“Don’t worry—I have a plan,” Mei said. “Once I get a little higher, I’ll push some of these balloons out of the way and then, hopefully, I’ll have a pretty clear view of—oh! Oh! Oh no!”
“Mei!” Amirah shrieked. “What happened? Are you okay?”
There was no response.
“Mei!” Amirah and Elvis yelled at the same time.
“Something happened,” Amirah said. “Something’s wrong.”
“Maybe not,” Elvis said. He pointed at the ground under the tree. “She didn’t fall.”
“Mei! Can you hear us?” Amirah yelled at the top of her voice.
“I’m okay,” Mei said. She sounded even farther away. “I’m—”
“What happened? Can you see anything?” Elvis yelled.
Amirah and Elvis stared up at the sky, completely speechless. A purple balloon had broken free from the balloon tree and was floating into the sky . . .
And it was carrying Mei with it!
“B-Buds!” Mei cried. Her voice was faint and far away, but if Amirah strained, she could still hear her. “I found a way across the river!”
“Of course!” Elvis exclaimed, smacking his forehead. “We thought of traveling by land, by sea—”
“But we never thought of traveling by air!” Amirah finished for him.
“Quick! Grab a balloon and come with me!” Mei said.
She was floating farther and farther away. Amirah knew there wasn’t a moment to lose. She and Elvis jumped up as high as they could. Amirah grabbed a golden string and yanked—hard!
The string snapped off the branch. With her heart pounding, Amirah squeezed her hand even tighter around the balloon’s string. She felt a gentle tug at her wrist as the string pulled taut. She looked up and saw that the balloon was pink.
Then, suddenly, the balloon lifted her into the air!
Amirah’s nerves soon gave way to a dizzying exhilaration. Traveling by floating balloon was more fun than she ever could’ve imagined. High in the clear blue sky, she could see Mei bobbing along in front of her. Elvis, dangling from a green balloon, wasn’t far behind.
“Look! Look at the river!” Mei called as they floated over it.
Amirah glanced down at the roaring river and saw that the water was even clearer than she had expected. She could see the bottom of the riverbed, which glittered with more rock candy. There was even a school of gummy fish darting back and forth, their fins glinting in the sunlight that sliced through the water.
“Incredible,” Amirah breathed.
“Hey, B-Buds?” Elvis called. “I have a question. How are we going to get down—whoaaaaaaaaa!”
Without warning, Elvis’s balloon suddenly plunged several feet. Amirah and Mei screamed.
“I’m okay! I’m okay!” Elvis said, breathing hard. “Wow. That was, uh, that was a surprise. I don’t know what’s up with—ahhhhhhhhhhh!”
Just as unexpectedly, Elvis’s balloon suddenly rocketed several feet into the air. Amirah and Mei screamed again.
Elvis, looking a little pale, opened his mouth—but this time, no words came out.
With her free hand, Amirah rummaged in her pocket for her sprinkles and shook a few into her mouth to help herself calm down. Calm down, she thought suddenly. Calm down! Of course! That’s it!
“Elvis!” Amirah yelled. “You’re a genius!”
“I’m a what?” he asked, confused.
“You figured out how to control the balloons!” Amirah continued. “Just say up and—wheeeee!”
Since Amirah was expecting it, she didn’t panic when her balloon suddenly soared upward. “And then you can always go dowwwwwwwnnnnnnnn!” she said, giggling as her balloon swooped toward the ground. It felt like riding on a flying roller coaster!
Soon all the B-Buds were laughing as they made their balloons go up and down through the sky. At last, though, Amirah knew it was time to continue their journey on land instead of by air.
“Down,” she told her balloon. “Down, down, down.”
The balloon lowered her to
the ground until her toes grazed the sandy graham cracker–crumb riverbank. “Thank you,” Amirah told her balloon as she let go of the string. Then she watched as the balloon floated back to the balloon tree. Soon it disappeared among the hundreds of other colorful balloons that were swaying in the breeze.
On the other side of the river, the air was even cooler. It almost felt heavier. Amirah moved closer to Mei and Elvis, and all three of them looked toward the shadowy forest.
“What do you think?” Mei finally asked. “Should we . . . check it out?”
“Let’s do it,” Amirah replied, nodding her head. “After all, we’ve come all this way . . .”
The B-Buds were quiet as they slipped into the forest. The trees here were the most magnificent trees Amirah had ever seen. Where regular trees might have moss hanging from their branches, the trees in the Rainbow Forest had loops of shimmery rainbow-colored ribbons. The ribbons were curled just like the ones used to decorate birthday presents.
“I think this is definitely the Rainbow Forest,” Amirah whispered as she and her friends looked up at the amazing rainbow canopy above their heads. The ribbons brushed against Amirah’s skin, making her shiver a little as the friends moved deeper into the woods. Up ahead, she thought she could see a faint light glimmering in a clearing. Could that be Cara the Unicorn? Amirah wondered. She imagined that a unicorn’s horn would cast a beautiful light.
As Amirah moved faster, Mei and Elvis did too. When they reached the clearing, though, there was no sign of a unicorn.
Instead, the friends realized that they had stumbled upon a party. Well, not a party, exactly. There were no guests anywhere to be seen. Just a long table, decorated with a sea-green tablecloth and blue-and-pink plates. There were shells scattered along the table and tiny sand-castles beside each plate; tall glasses of pink lemonade with cherries bobbing on top; and a beautiful, three-tiered cake decorated with shimmery scales, sugar pearls, and candy stars.
“This is someone’s party,” Amirah observed. “It’s a—it’s a mermaid party.”
“Look at the ground,” Mei said, pointing down. “How did all this sand get into the middle of the woods?”
The Magical Land of Birthdays Page 5
