The Stolen Star

by Halyna Franko

Wise Old Man pressed the pause button.

  “You have only seen a part of what you had to live through and experience, but this is enough to help you understand just how much divine energy has been drained from you. Unfortunately, evil powers have hidden this energy away in order to use it for its own purposes and it is vital that we return this Divine Gift back where it belongs. Your children especially need it now in order to carry out a very important task. My dears you will now have to complete a journey to the island of the Venerable Elders. They will help you to get your Divine Gift back. But the road will not be easy; do not let yourselves be overcome by fear or temptation. You have been prepared for this task. Let me remind you of the words of Saint Paul: If we live in the spirit then we must act in the spirit.”

  The Wise Old Man blessed the sisters and they set off to meet the latest trials that life had to offer them. The Angel brought them in his starship to a quay where a ship was waiting for them. The ship was very modern and very handsome – completely white and utterly majestic. The evening was coming in and the sunset danced on the bare canvas of the ship’s sides. People were promenading on the deck, music was playing everywhere and through the port holes you could make out the finest cabins. The Angel appeared with two suitcases in his hands.

  “You will find everything you need for your journey here.”

  The sisters looked gratefully back at the Angel.

  ”Do not take off your rings under any circumstances. When the stones darken that means that you are in potential danger. When they shine brightly that means that a small part of the priceless vital energy has returned.”

  And with that the Angel waved his hand in farewell and disappeared.

  The Sisters Adventures on Board the Ship

  Natalie and Sophia, with their tickets in one hand and suitcases in the other, made their way up the gangway to the ship.

  ”Looking at all these twinkling lights and the happy smiles around me, it’s hard to imagine this as some kind of trial. What do you think?" Natalie asked her sister.

  “Tell me, do you know if there are going to be any icebergs on our journey?” Sophia asked one of the crew members jokingly.

  “Good Lord no, we are in the tropics,” he said calmingly, “and we are not expecting any storms either.”

  “And when are we going to get to our island?” asked Natalie.

  “We won’t be going there directly but will drop you off on a special launch," a respectable looking man in uniform explained, "come through, make yourselves comfortable in your cabin and then you can come and join us in the dining hall."

  The sisters set off for their cabin and having only taken a few steps heard a voice say:

  “Welcome!” And the deck shuddered slightly.

  They looked all around but couldn’t see anyone. Entering their cabin the voice boomed out once again and on an electric panel right above the port hole a message lit up.

  “This is the ship itself speaking. Welcome on board. However, you need to know that biological terrorists have managed to penetrate their way on to the ship. I will help you but be very careful. They need to be stopped."

  At that moment the door opened and a girl in a black evening gown came in.

  “Oh! I’m sorry; I thought there were a couple of men in here. I heard a man’s voice and came in because my key has got jammed in the door. But where did the voice…?”

  She didn’t have time to finish her sentence, because the cabin’s television screen was now showing a detective series. And in the same instance the electronic display screen above the porthole was inviting them to dinner in the mess hall. The girl ran off to find a man who might be able to help her and the sisters were left standing in complete bewilderment. What were they to make of all this? The message is on their screen and then the television turning itself on when the woman from the neighbouring cabin came in.

  “Oh well,” said Sophia with a decisive wave of the hand, “someone has evidently got us mixed up with someone else. Let’s unpack our cases. It will be supper soon and we need to get changed.”

  To their great pleasure the young women found everything they needed in the suitcases: a dressing gown, pyjamas, a couple of elegant dresses and equally fine shoes to go with them. And each suitcase also had a mysterious package containing a beautiful pair of lightly tinted sunglasses on a chain and instruction on how they should be used. It turned out that when wearing these glasses you could see the true face of any person, if you put them on your head just above the hairline you could change your appearance but if you let them hang loose on their chain then you would become invisible.

  The sisters immediately decided to try out the glasses and were both amazed. The effect was astonishing, especially when they moved the glasses up above their hairline. Each time they did so their appearance and even their clothing changed completely. Admittedly, if you looked carefully, the only things that remained unchanged were the eyes. What a miracle! Then they tried lowering the glasses on their chains… Natalie and Sophia burst out laughing loud enough to be heard all over the whole ship. And at that very instant their neighbour looked in and noted in surprise that there was no-one in the cabin. Natalie quickly turned the television on again. The neighbour swept her gaze round the cabin one more time and then went out.

  Sophia whispered to Natalie:

  “I can understand being on your guard, but why do you think she’s taking so much interest in us?”

  “Oh, pay no attention to it; it’s just her natural feminine curiosity. Let’s go up for dinner, it’s time we met the passengers on board this ship.” And Sophia quickly changed into her elegant evening dress.

  “We won’t take the glasses with us for the time being.”

  And then she noticed in the bottom of the glasses case another small note. They were some extra instructions regarding their use:

  “Use only when you really need to. At first you must observe and analyse everything around you very closely and carefully.”

  “Well, we will do our best,” said Sophia in reply to the note.

  And suddenly the voice sounded out again:

  “Try your best and I will help you.”

  The sisters looked at each other in amazement.

  “Do you not think Sophia that maybe the time has come for us to use our glasses?”

  And without the slightest hesitation Natalie put the glasses over her head and her sister followed her example.

  But there was no-one else in the cabin except the walls which barely perceptively seemed to tremble and on the electronic screen an image of their beautiful boat once again appeared and bobbed slightly and the same voice said: “Welcome! “Welcome! It is me! Welcome!”

  The sisters’ mouths dropped open in amazement.

  “Yes, yes, the voice continued I will show you where you should and shouldn’t go and who you should and shouldn’t approach use arrows. Black arrows mean that you should turn back and avoid following their direction. You will also see light arrows that might be of various colours and shades. When you see these you can act with confidence as you see fit.”

  And with that the ship’s voice went silent.

  “Thank you for your help.”

  Sophia turned on one leg like a ballerina and made a deep bow to the screen as a sign of gratitude and then turned to Natalie.

  “Fasten your seatbelts, my dear, there are some serious trials awaiting us.”

  “Yes, that is clear already, but let’s not assume that they’re all going to be bad in advance because everything has been hunky dory so far. And let’s use every minute that we find ourselves in this wonderful place.”

  "That is very true.” The ship’s voice agreed.

  And with that the sisters gave a friendly wave, flashed a smile and in high spirits set off to meet the mysterious guests on board the ship.

  The huge dining hall was extremely elegant. Th
ere were places for four people at each table. Two men were already sitting at their table. On seeing Natalie and Sophia they immediately stood up and, having introduced themselves, politely sat them down in their places. The one who was sitting next to Sophia was a businessman, and the sisters noted no “small” businessman at that, the second was a member of his firm's security team. The “boss” was more independent and distant with his employee offering this, pouring that and passing other things. After supper they all headed off to the ship’s lounge. Here everyone could do whatever they pleased. Some danced while others sat at the bar drinking cocktails. A significant proportion sat at table’s playing cards, draughts, chess and other games. These were the especially important and particularly pompous passengers burdened with huge quantities of medals, titles and other high badges of rank – and most likely thought the sisters – huge piles of money.

  The sisters’ dinner table companions invited them on to the dance floor. The boss danced with Sophia, but continued to be a little formal as if he were only doing it as a favour, as his position as a captain of industry with numerous employees dictated. Sophia, who loved dancing and could do it well, soon tired of her stiff partner and announced that she would like to order a cocktail at the bar in order to change the scene. They were soon joined by Natalie and the bodyguard. Having finished their drinks the sisters decided to take a tour of the ship.

  They looked round