Vanderwaltz-Extended!

The small girl rested her shoulder against the stairway wall peering in on her parents as they watched the television. The news was on, a reporter with blonde hair named off current events and names and such that the small girl did not really understand. Her parents must have though, their eyes were glued to the screen.
The girl tried hard to figure out even just a few of the words. She could pick out the word ‘war’ being said a lot. Something about someone and someone fighting again. It was typical news, at least as of lately.


And that was the first day Anna had ever seen one. High above her, soaring through the air without a care in the world. It’s back arched funny and its wings were bare, like the rest of its body, silver and shining. She, she wanted to join it, to fly and glide through the soft frigid clouds. Even just once.

Soon enough the creature disappeared into the coming sunlight and it hurt now to see him. She looked back down to the busy, loud street and the mess the creature had left in its wake. She saw her very first dead body then. Lying so awkwardly with his arms and legs bent every which way. It was a boy, a small, young, dead boy, only a few steps away. Anna walked over and knelt down beside him and looked deep into the pale blue orbs that where his eyes. His hair, which was blond and wavy, blew gently across his cheeks and lips. The girl’s breathing had slowed, whispering out of her like a secret oath that kept her alive; and yet this boy did not breathe.
She knelt even lower, closer and closer to the boy until she was hovering only an inch away from his cheek. Her small fingers moved the hair off his face and behind his ear and she whispered something, something special…but, I can’t remember what it was.

Everyone but her seemed to be screaming. Many where hurt and many more were gone now. “Nothing’s moving but us…” she said quietly to herself.
The cars she meant, and the lights, they where all silent. The announcing voice on the radio was gone but its message sang on in her head.
‘Brace for impact! The city of New York is now on high alert. Brace for impact.’
Some of the TVs flickered. Anna vaguely saw the screens and the images of different places in the world in flames and the people screaming as they ran around in the background. Suddenly a window TV flickered on right beside her, she jumped. Her heart pounded as she slowly made her way to the window and placed her hand on it. There was a woman on the screen, a reporter.
She was a beautiful woman in a red dress. The women’s hair was flashy blond and it rested on her shoulders. She held the mike and stood firm as a statue calling out over the noise behind her. Anna’s eyes locked on her and she traced the women’s figure with her finger on the glass. The women was saying “…here in Sudan things have really escalated. In the past hour the people are being shot at random. Tanks have replaced the cars on the roads and air raids have been in progress by the UN and Sudanese all afternoon. But still President Forman is promising a peaceful outcome…” blood hit the broadcast camera and the reporter in the red dress shifted from side to side. Her arms dropped and her head tilted forward. She fell.

Anna’s eyes went wide. The TV went black and a grey static followed. The small girl turned back to the streets. All the TVs were off now. Even though she was scared she felt strangely happy for them. Just glad that they could be alone and not have to worry about the machines and their cold voices or the fake lights of the bulbs. It was just them, their dead and the raising sun.
She then tried to walk to the other side of the street. The bright colors of the dead’s clothing looked like a rainbow on the road. And she tried to follow it best she could, but only made it to the center of the street. Anna was feeling so light headed…

She thought, for a moment, of her pink flowered bed at home. Warm, so warm. She was on the ground now, although she couldn’t remember laying down. She felt her covers and her pillow too. And then, there was a warmth as can only be felt in a dream. And then there was nothing for a long while.

The small girl lay face down in the center of the street, her eyes closed and her breathing was soft and quiet. The panicking people didn’t even realize her, until the light appeared. A bright light that soon challenged the sun in radiance. All under the girl blinding and dazzling. The light tinted and dulled and everyone turned to watch as two silver wings rose from underneath the sleeping kid. Silver and bare and big. The wing flipped and lifted and carried the girl. Although she never awoke.

The light became a body and she slipped slowly into it as if in fusion and then she was gone and the bird was there in her place. All was quiet and still. Then the wings struck a loud splitting sound and the people ran, but those who stayed were drained of their flare and fell into the most awkward arrangements on the ground. The bird flapped twice more and rose to the sky.
It looked down at the city, or so it seemed, and then it faded with the sunlight and the dawn and then it was gone…

Chapter One
Where?

Anna awoke to the certain cold aching felling of falling out of a dream. She shivered, looking around at nothing but blue. An occasional white cloud would passed by slowly, but she saw nothing else. Her baby pink sweater was thin and offered little warmth. What had happened to the blankets she wondered?
She let go of her knees and sat up to realize she wasn’t in the roadway anymore and not the city either. Her blood became to pump fiercely as an unfamiliar fear began to surge from within her and it made her cheeks ever so red and blush. Around her the clouds picked up and the wind around her became thin and cold. Where am I?
The ground beneath her moved up and down as if breathing…she jumped up.
The wind caught her then and she was lifted off and into the air. The ground bellow her was leaving her and for a moment she felt as if she was flying.
She screamed the high pitched yelp of a small girl.

Something grabbed at her leg, a hand. Yes! One, now two hands held her leg and pulled at her to lower. With a thud she was on the “ground” again, but the hands did not let go.
“Are you ok!” a new voice yelled out.
A boy with waving blond hair and pale blue eyes knelt beside her his hands on her cheeks. “are you ok?” he said again.
Anna closed her eyes and grabbed onto the boy. She said nothing, but she cried. And the boy said nothing more and he cried as well.

For a long time the two of them sat on the silver back of the bird in silence. Not until the clouds slowed around them and the blue became deeper did they let go, keeping on hand on the others waist, just incase.
Anna felt the questions boiling inside her. The questions finally spilled out suddenly.
“What’s your name…?”
The boy shuddered and shifted off his knees and onto his bum. “…Liol…” he paused…”Leeee-ooo-llll…”

The girl sat back as well “leeoolll, leoll, liol!” She giggled “that’s a funny name”
The boy looked embarrassed.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…its, it’s a very nice name. I really like it. My names Anna Elizabeth Verincia the second. See, it was my mom’s name too…”
Anna looked away. ‘mom…’

“Anna. Your names nice too.” He paused “Anna, where are we, do you know?”

“No idea, but this thing we’re on, I think it’s one of those birds. You know, I never thought they where real. At least that’s what my dad always told me. ‘Like believin’ in fairies or dragons, that’s just stupid’, that’s what he used to say. But I wonder what he’d say now.” The two laughed.

“I think this is one of those things, it certainly isn’t impossible, I can’t even remember where I was before being on this thing.”
“Really?”
“Nope, not a dang thing…”
Anna went to tell him, but something about telling him he was dead, was a bit too much; at least for now.
“I remember the city! Yeah the city, I was in the city!” He cried out… “But then…errr who cares, right now let’s try to figure out where we’re going.”
“Do you think we’re alone out here?”
Liol didn’t answer, he looked away instead and tried no to think about it.
They looked around and around. Still blue and white, white and blue and then some more white.
“Hey, what do you think’s bellow us, are we above the city?”
And without a second thought they crawled across the silver back and peered down. Bellow them were all the colors bright and strong and chasing them. The colors blurred at times and became a golden shine, and then again separated.
“Look over there, do you see that!” Liol screamed.
Anna looked to where his finger pointed and there quite some distance away was another bird, and on its back where two blurs.
“There’s another one to the right of us, did you see it…awh, now it’s behind the clouds but its there.”
“I believe you, there’s two more to our left. Liol! We’re not alone after all!”




Chapter 2
The totem pole

The boy and the girl sat wide eyed in each others arms watching the wale like birds float carelessly through the air around them. Their mouths had dropped a little too, and were beginning to dry.
“Liol…” she looked up, “what do you think is going on? I mean, what is this place, where and what are we doing? Where are our…”
The boy put his finger across her lips, “shhhh, don’t worry about that now. We’ll be fine. As you said we’re not alone out here, I guarantee someone knows what’s up.”
She looked back out to the endless sky.
Liol searched his mind for anything he could say to himself, something that could comfort him, but there was nothing. He had no answers, not even for himself, but yet, the girl felt warm in his arms, ‘we’ll be ok.’

For a long time they sat like that without moving or saying anything more. It was quiet up there, and bright. The clouds were gone, leaving just the hues of blue as a destination.
Suddenly a flash came from bellow them. A bright yellow color that surrounded the bird on all sides.
“Liol!” The girl screamed.
“Liol what was that? Look, it’s like there’s a fire underneath us.” And it was, the yellow color was changing into orange and reds now; a fire without a flame.
Liol let go of the girl, but not her hand. “Come on” he said “lets go check it out.
The two of them crawled slowly over to the side of the bird. Liol put his hand in the light first, just to make sure it was safe. Nothing happened to him, no burns or pains. Deeming it safe he looked over the edge.

Anna and the boy looked down to where the rainbow had been. Now the world bellow seemed to be burning. They could hear screaming and then loud bangs, probably gunshots. Their hearts felt heavy, for whatever reason and both of them felt a deep feeling of sorrow. I think I saw a tear go down Anna’s face then.

A little to the left of them the fire was really picking up. The tails of the flames burned blue and white and a smoke began to sprawl out from the underworld. Oddly enough the smoke appeared to put out the fire. As it died the world below became darker and darker.
Minutes passed like this and still their hands held tight. Anna leaned in to say something, but at that very moment the smoke returned, pluming up to the sky. The land below seemed much more distant, as if further down and further away.
The smoke shifted from side to side until resting in a hazy shape of a man. A man on his knees with his arms and hands held up to the sky, as if holding it up.



The man’s palms were open and facing up and from them came more smoke that was in the shape of various animals. Anna softly whispered the names to herself as they came.
“elephant…mouse…rabbit…shark…lion… bear… whale…”
She faded or paused when the ones came that she didn’t know, but if she could guess it all the animals were there or on their way. Hundreds of animals rose by the minute. Out of the man’s back and head and hands. They climbed up his arms and legs and into the air piling onto one another.
“It’s under the sun…” Liol whispered, “What’s it doing…”
The smoke stopped climbing. And as Liol said it rested under the sun, under it but not close enough to touch it, which is what the smoke tried for next. Different arms and hooves and tentacles reached for it, but missed.
For a while this game went on. The sun teased the hands with its long orange lashes. Finally the hands retreated back. Almost immediately though they sprung forward with something shining in their collective hand.

What was in the hands was something obviously special. Something worthy and true. Now, how I saw it I’m not sure, because it was in fact in its actual size. It was a babe. A plain, small, ordinary babe; naked and gently glowing pink and blue.

The babe reached up and caught a lash of the sun. It giggled and pulled. For a very brief moment the sun (staying in its spherical form) became a woman. The woman reached down to the babe and as the two hands touched and held a loud crashing sound came forth.
Anna and Liol both held each other. The thunderous call went on and on until it paused as if to catch its breath. The two of them let go for a moment and looked back at the totem pole of animals. They watched as the sun fell onto the pile and plowed ever downward destroying the smoke. As the animals burned and vanished the sounds of their different languages called out loudly.
Lastly the sun rested on the back of the man. He held it up for sometime like though he was fighting off his death. Finally the sun broke the man’s back and he fell to the dark ground.

In that flash the man was burned up as well and both children heard the voices of their parents. I didn’t understand what they said. It was a bunch of things all at once, not sad, just happy drifting words.

The sun melted into a long line of fire that consumed the horizon. It spread towards the birds and the children. Liol grabbed Anna and pulled her the best he could back towards the center. Her eyes were shut and through all the confusion he thought he heard her screaming. Liol lay down on the silver ground and laid the girl down beside him, putting his arm over her back and the other over her hand. He gave on last look to the underworld as it was swept up and consumed in the blaze.
The boy went to lay back down, but the ground shook underneath them. It was the bird. It had finally begun to move again. He looked from side to side to see the wings rising and falling. His hair blew wild and wavy. “We’re heading straight for it!” he yelled “no, no turn back you crazy bird, turn back.” He screamed a long single note as the birds became white and the blaze became closer. And when at last the two met his voice went silent.



Chapter Three
The Birds
A verse by Liol


I shook, although I’m not sure why, it wasn’t cold or warm. All around was darkness, blank and black and featureless. I looked up and down. Nothing.

I stood staring straight and silent. ‘Fine then’ I said to myself, ‘let’s take a walk’. It was funny then because I picked up my foot, as if to step forward, but I couldn’t move and I stood there on one foot in perfect balance for quite some time.
Finally my foot fell, softly and slowly, but it fell. When it touched the black ground something amazing happened. A resonance appeared on my footstep. So I took another step, more glowing. I ran forward and turned back, the ground was glowing gently.
Something in me quaked, excitement, adrenaline, joy.

“Anna!” I screamed suddenly as if out of my own control.

I had almost forgotten her! I trailed the light with my eyes, she wasn’t there. Dropping to my knees I swept my arms across the ground, as I did the light came. I kicked my legs and arms and crawled as if in spasm. It was like uncovering grass under a light snow, it was just a matter of finding what I had lost. My hand hit something then. I grabbed at it without thinking. To much of my dismay it lifted, meaning it wasn’t Anna’s arm or leg. My hands franticly pawed at the object. I held it out above the glow, there it was, an apple.
At this point I remember feeling an anger and confusion that I had never experienced before. Just the same, I had to keep looking and so, I put the apple into my pocket and continued to crawl.
Next there was a rock, like the apple, hidden in the dark. A brown and grey rock, ordinary in everyway, except for its location. The following find was a flower.
It’s one of those weird things I remember. Weird because I can still feel it in my hands even now, a fragile rose without any thorns. I held it like a baby, cradling almost. It was warm to the touch and unlike the rock and the apple it was soft. I wondered then, if that rose was something Anna would like to have. If she was one of those girls.
I tucked it away in my coat, above my heart on the left side.

I felt inspired. Don’t get me wrong now, I was still scared and worried but now I had something with me. A gift of sorts. Then I found it, cold and stiff, Anna’s hand.
I dusted the shadow off of her. She was glowing too, but she was bluer than anything. It reminded me of Casper for a minute and that scared me. Could she be…
I had her in my arms at once.
I tried not to cry, but the feeling was swelling up in my throat.
I felt something tapping on my back. Knocking on me like my back was a door. I looked over my shoulder at into the dark.
“She’s not dead…she’s just sleeping.” A voice said.
The voice waddled around me and into the light. Yes waddled.
It was a small thing, black with a white tummy. A very small penguin…
It stopped at the side of my leg and slumped down on its bottom. It was one of those dreaming times, when nothing makes sense, but everything’s real. It’s so confusing and so complex that you just except everything. Because I felt like this the penguin wasn’t out of place at all. Although now I’ll admit it makes me laugh.
It began cleaning off its arm feathers.
“What do you mean she’s sleeping!?”
The bird looked up with its black pearl eyes and cocked its head. “I mean what I said. She’s just sleeping for now.”
“Then why aren’t I sleeping, huh?”
“Your eyes were open.”
He said this without skipping a beat, like though I was supposed to know it already.
But, he was right, I thought, I had never closed my eyes.
Anna had, I made sure she did, I had covered them with my arms.
“so, how long will she sleep then?”
“how long? Oh, oh is this that time thing?”
“time thing?” I asked back.
“yah, the human game. If that’s what you mean, I really haven’t the faintest, I don’t play. I had a friend once that tried to figure it out once, he said tha…”
“What! What do you mean game! Look, just tell me, when’s she waking up, soon or in a long…”
“Time?”
I almost hit the bird then. He was so sarcastic, or rude or both. All my worries bubbled for a minute and I started to cry again.
“Don’t cry…it’s alright. She’ll wake up when we get there. In the mean time, I have a favor to ask.”
I tried to cough out my sadness and sniffles. “What do you want?” I said.
“I need to find my spot. I lost it when we broke those clouds. It’s around here somewhere.” The bird stood up and began pacing. His fin rested under his chin, he was obviously in deep thought. “its just hard to find it right now, my spot that is, because of this black snow.” He paused wait it must be over here!”
The penguin ran for a bit and then jumped on to its stomach. He quickly passed through where I could see.
I was still holding Anna. Was I to believe the penguin, or accept my fear? I picked her up and brought her over to a more lighted area. I laid her down in that soft orange light and after placing the rose on her chest I left to find the bird.

“Hey bird!” I yelled. “stupid bird, where did you go?” Every step was another glowing footprint and every so often I dragged my foot to make a line, so I could find my way back. Where was I now? First the city, then a giant whale-bird, now a black abyss? What was going on, more so though what was going to happen next.

Pooomp!

Something hit my chest. The recoil spilled me onto the ground. Then I felt the beak on my nose. “Be careful, you don’t want to fall off!”
I penguin’s fins where on my cheeks now, “the darkness is no place to be bumplin’ about.”
My eyes quivered. Then the penguin rolled off my chest and tapped my side. “get up, my spot, we need to find it soon.”
I did what he said and, while holding his fin, we walked on.
“So, what did you mean fall off? Where are we now?”
“We’re where we were.” He replied.
“On the whale-bird!”
“The Dawn you mean, right?” he asked.
“Dawn? I guess so.”
“Yes we are on the Dawn. You ask such crazy questions boy.”
“Well this is all crazy for me. Where are we? Were are we going?”

The penguin stopped and scuffed his foot on the black ground. “You know, its my first time too. What makes you think I know?”
“oh, I’m sorry then. I didn’t mean to be so annoying. I just figured you might know something…”
“I do.”
“huh”
“Know something, I know a lot of some things. I know how to catch a fish or escape a polar bear, and how to swim.”
I didn’t reply. I couldn’t, my head was becoming too full. But as he went on, I came to regret asking even more.
The penguin kept on shifting his head as he walked. He also kept talking.
“We’re going somewhere new. We’re flying, that’s new for me. All these other birds do this every year, but, I never have before.”
“why are we going…somewhere new…”
“because there is no longer the place from before. My home and your home are gone now.”
“what?”
“The Humans did something. Now the homes are all gone. All our homes. And now its time to find new homes. What was wrong with the world before, I don’t know, but the Humans always destroyed it. Killing the whales and eating my family. Destroying the old tress and digging up all the shiny rocks. Answer my question now, why did Man do that. Why is my home gone?” The bird stopped and thumped his foot down as he looked up to my for a reply. His foot began tapping.
I couldn’t think of what to say. I opened my mouth and nothing came out.
“Typical” he said, “typical for a Human to ask but never reply. Anywho, it doesn’t matter anymore. The Dawn will take us to a better place. All us birds pulled through. And, well, you too I guess.”

I don’t know if he meant me to feel special just then. Because I had survived and all my friends and family and everything I knew was gone. I actually felt that much more alone.
“What’s your spot look like?”
“Well, it looks like where I belong. Where something like me fits.” He said.
“Like a puzzle piece?” I asked.
His eyes shifted. “A what?”
“You know, a puzzle.” He looked confused. “Ok, well…it’s a picture, a perfect picture, cut up into a bunch of pieces. Those pieces are all mixed up and it’s your job to find where they belong and then place the pieces together until they form the picture again. Does that make sense?”
“So,” he started. “Its perfect, and then you mess it up and put it back together? Why would you do that, isn’t it fine the way it was?”
“Well…its fun…” I said. As the bird looked away from me I felt strangely defeated. How was it that a penguin could break apart the idea of a game and leave me feeling ashamed. What was this penguin’s right to do that, but more so, what gave him the ability to. He’s a small bird!
My mind had reached a conclusion at that point. A rather ruthless conclusion. I stopped and picked up the penguin. “listen here bird. Enough is enough. We’ve been wandering around for quite some time now and we’ve found nothing. Heck, I don’t even know what I’m looking for!” I was irrational, irritated, insane. “now stop playing with me and tell me what’s going on!”
His eyes never looked scared. He looked more disappointed with me than anything.
“How heavy handed you are.” He said. “To touch a total stranger in such a way. And without a cause at all. So human. What makes me responsible for the mistakes you’re family has made. I haven’t raised a hand to you. I haven’t judged or insulted. But you demand and expect and those demands and expectations can never be met.”
I was scared now. What was I doing? I slowly placed the bird back down on the ground and sat down with my hands over my face.
“I’m just scared. That’s all.” I mumbled.
He patted my back with his fin and sat down beside me.
“Do you think I’m really that bad. It wasn’t me that took away your home. Am I really responsible?”
“Only if you do nothing to fix your puzzle. Put the…pieces back were they belong. Let the other pieces fall where we would. Let your answers find their place too, don’t waste you time searching for something that’s searching for you.” He stood “now let us part. My spot, its found me it would seem.”
He looked down, I did too. The ground had changed. Now it was bright, really bright. It was then that I realized what a Dawn was.
Below us was all birds. Cardinals, parrots, canaries. Storks, even and peacock. It was…amazing, just amazing. Then I watched the penguin glow too.
“well, I found it. You see I can’t fly, I need to hold on to this stork. Sometimes, our places are with the places of others. Go forward friend, find your spot fast. the clouds are about to break, and land rests beyond.” He descended into the blanket of birds. I shouted goodbye and turned to find Anna.


Chapter Four
Landing

Liol ran towards the coming light. Beyond the clouds something awaited. Something bright. The path he had laid before was no more. His heart pounded hard in his chest. Where was the girl, he wondered.
Then he saw her, she was sitting up, looking from side to side.
“Anna!” He yelled.

She saw him, stood up and began running. They both ran with open arms and when at last the birds broke into the light the two of them caught each other.

Chapter Five
The upward fall
A verse by Anna

We held. The boy and I.
Then the light surrounded us all. Before us was something strange. It was a waterfall. More of a water wall actually. An upward wave of water that stretched high into the sky. We were headed straight for it. At that point I had no idea what was going on. I remembered the cloud monster. That was the last thing.

It was very reflective. I think that was the first time I ever saw me and Liol together. Like, seeing as an image I mean. A mirrored image. When I saw that I knew I had one thing. It was him. To that one thing I held tight. We might not make it through, I thought. It may end right here, I thought.
Then we splashed into it. It didn’t hurt. It was actually rather refreshing. The wall was thick. I believe that because of how long we were in there. There was enough time to look around. Enough time to see.
I remember seeing many fish. Schools of them, bright and pretty. And there were even sharks, although they passed by without any threat. I looked up and down. Everywhere, everything was beautiful.
Liol was looking too. He looked so funny trying to hold his breath. With those big chipmunk cheeks filled with air. Did I have big cheeks too? I let go of a lot bubbles, I remember that. That was funny. Watching them disappear into the above. I breathed in when I laughed. It was a gargling laugh. I hit Liol in the belly and his bubbles swam away too. He grabbed his mouth and gave me very angry eyes. But then I tried, I tried to tell him to let it go. I think my talking scared him. People don’t normally talk under water.
I looked back ahead of us. We were about to break through. I waved to the fish. I think one waved back…





Chapter Six

Then they all broke through. All the Dawn birds, all the kids, around the same time. Well, actually the Dawns never really made it through. Not the same. As the giant silver birds passed through they became individual pieces again. Like transforming or braking apart. All the birds, hundreds of thousands of them by the second, went in all directions flying free. And the kids fell from the high sky. Falling through the clouds of birds. They fell fast and by all means they had a long way to drop. What was below them was still too hard to make out. Blurry grays and blacks and browns.

Liol realized what was there then. Bellow them were rocks that were sharp and jagged. He and Anna had departed hands when they lost their footing and he was looking everywhere to find her. Then he heard her screaming.

He was scared to say the least. Paralyzed almost. His eyes shut and his body froze in its descent. Then he hit.
Softly his body bounced on a flat surface and the he rolled. When he stopped he lay there still as he could.
“Am I…dead…” he asked aloud. His eyes fluttered open and he took in a deep breath. When he sat up he realized the rocks where gone and he was in fact sitting on a long wide blanket. A comfy thing.
“wha?”

The other children too sat up. Some of them didn’t say anything, many of them gasped and whimpered. A few cried, but true and sure they were all without a scratch or bruise.
They stood up slowly, cautiously. The water wall was behind them, the birds were in the sky. The sun had even returned up above them. Then the first of them spoke to the rest, his voice was loud, direct and booming over the serene quiet.


















Chapter Eight
Roewyn

“Who knows?” He paused “Who knows what it is that’s going!”
He looked around at the different children who were scattered all about. Twelve of them. Including himself. They varied in age, only but a little. This boy though, he was older. Slightly older. Maybe thirteen at most, Liol thought.
He started pacing then. Scuffing his feet angrily on the blanket. “Someone’s gotta know…” he was getting angry.
“ok, so no one wants to say anything huh…” he sure was quick to a temper.

“What would you have us say?” another older boy stood. This boy had strange white hair, blinding white. His eyes rolled from the ground to the angry boy. “No one knows what’s going on here. We just have to look around, maybe there’s something close by that holds a clue.” His voice was soft and passive.

The angry boy leered at him. He was now sweating in frustration. His face was stern, for being so young. “Are you so sure? You think snooping around somewhere we know nothing about is going to help. For all we know there could be something waiting for us.”

“Not from what I could see. The sharks didn’t even bite.” The white haired boy spoke, “alright lets give our names at least, we have to start somewhere. My names Roewyn.” He faced his hand out to the child across from him.
“My names Lee.” The boy pointed again,
“Dan, no Daniel” another boy. The children gave a stare every time to the next one in line, as if passing a ball.
“Calze.” This boy nodded slowly, almost bowing.
“Aleksandre.”
“I’m Katelyn”
They paused, looking at a boy who was looking down. Everyone was stuck on him, hung there waiting. “and you?” Roewyn said.
“I know its my turn. I was just thinkin’ of a good name. The one my parents gave me sucked.” The boy rubbed his head, his shoulder length black hair shifted. “Yah! I got one, its uh, Ameris! Yah that’s it. It was actually a name I got in a Video game back home.”

‘Home’ all the kids looked down. Except Roewyn, who looked for a moment at the angry boy. Then back at Ameris. “Alright Ameris, if that’s what you want.” Then he looked over at the next child.
“Name’s Mike”
“Hi, I’m Alison”
Then the line came to Anna and Liol. They sat close together, unlike the other children who seemed to be very relieved to be apart from there former pair. “This is Anna.” Liol said. Anna looked peeved for a moment, but let it go.
“And this is Liol.
Lastly they came to the angry boy. No one looked him in the eyes. Of course, except Roewyn.
“I’m not given you my name. How about where I’m from, Salem. Call me Salem.” He sad with a quaint frown. He huffed. Then he began to pace again.

“Alright,” Roewyn started “time to decide on our next move. Who wants to leave with me and explore a bit?”

“Well shouldn’t someone stay?” Liol asked. Roewyn looked at Liol softly,
“Of course. I’m suggesting we split up.”
Liol was intent on not leaving Anna, but on the other hand, he was curious as to where they were and what was going on.
“Ok, so what are we waiting for?” Anna stood. “Let’s go.”
Salem looked mad again as he glared at Roewyn. “So kid, what makes you the leader. You think you have the right? And why would you want to leave, heck, we should be dead. Those rocks, we were going to hit them weren’t we?” He kicked a fold into the blanket. “And what’s this thing?!”
Roewyn didn’t move, but his eye lids fell slightly. “Ok, Salem, what do you recommend we do?”
“Listen. I just don’t think we should split and spread all over this place. Who knows what’s out there.”
“Still scared Salem.” Roewyn said sarcastically. This rubbed Salem the wrong way of course. Now the two were locked on one another and Salem moved across the blanket towards him. The suddenly Aleksandre stood up between them.
“Stop fighting now.” He now had a harsher tone then before. He looked at them both, but his hand was on Salem’s chest. “Both of you. We’ll get nowhere with you two acting like this. Here’s what we’re doing. We’re staying here, if there is anything close by, I’d rather it find all of us then some of us finding it. Right now just sit and wait.” His accent was a new one for Liol. Hard vowel pronounce. Thick slurs.
Then a shadow passed over them. It was in the shape of a dawn, but was smaller.

Chapter 9
Marmaru and the manatee

The shadow glided around the children as if a vulture was above them. Then the shadow moved ahead of them and the eyes of all the kids looked for the thing to land. But it didn’t at first, instead it hovered some ten feet high. “it’s a Dawn” liol whispered.
“No, it’s a man.”
“Men fly now”
“Those wings…”
“What is it…?”
An unfamiliar voice came forth from the hovering creature. “The rocks changed because you wanted them too. I am here for that reason as well.” One of the fins grabbed at the face and then pulled. It was as if he was removing a sheet from his body. A silver blanket of assumed identity. Then he was a man, holding a blanket. He let go the sheet and it fell too. The sheet took the shape of an animal as it fell to the ground.

Now, in the place of the shadow was a man and a mammoth beast. The man was oddly tall and on his face was a white mask that had a pointy beak in the place of the nose. As he stood the children felt a brief cold chill. The man was a statue of white. On his side was the animal. It was white as well, dull like a stone, round and fat.

The man looked at each of the children with a slight almost nonexistent pause.
“You’re wrong,” the man said. He looked over at Katelyn. “I’m not here to kill you.”

The children looked at Katelyn. She hadn’t spoken, non of them had. “What are you here for then?” Roewyn stood up. “why are you here?”

“I told you why, I’m here because you wanted me to be here. You wanted someone here to answer your questions. Here I am.” His head shook.

Roewyn continued, “What do you mean, no one mentioned anything. Who are you?!” The boys white hair fluttered as he yelled out.

“Did you here anyone yell out for this blanket. Or for the rocks to go away? Someone just wanted it. Together all of you want me here to answer your questions that is my purpose. I exist for that reason.” He paused and lifted his face to the sky. Something in his throat jumped and he made a coughing sound; then he looked back down to them. “That is the magic of this place. The ability of this place. Your ability here is that; to wish and to have and to get all that you desire.”

Salem spoke next. “Why do you talk in riddles then? I’m not wishing you to!”

“I speak in riddles because that’s what more then one of you want. You expect it of a stranger to speak a way you do not.”

Beside Liol, Anna closed her eyes. She tightened them. Then she was holding it. A worn teddy bear. Not suddenly, it didn’t appear with a whoosh of light or sound, it was just there, as if it always had been. Still Liol was shocked, he turned to the man, but Salem stood up and blocked his vision.

“Why are we here then? I don’t think all of us wanted to be plucked form our homes and sent here.”

“That was someone’s wish. None of you, someone higher. Someone lower. Someone you do not know.”

Roewyn and Salem argued with the man, taking turns back and forth. Soon enough all the children where in on it, yelling and questioning. Anna and Liol though sat there, their eyes on the bear. “Anna, what is thing?” Liol asked, shaking the stuffed paw.
“It’s my bear cub. Hums, his names Hums. Dad named him,” she paused to giggle “he said he named him after a truck he wanted.” She laughed again.