SHOOTING STARS
Leslie Hodgson
Published by Leslie Hodgson at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 Leslie Hodgson
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CHAPTER 1
“The vibrations of mental forces are the finest and consequently the most powerful in existence.”
Stella
One thing was certain—Stella had no idea what was going on. It seemed to be awfully loud, like her brain was a radio that could only pick up static. It was dark and she was laying her head back on the seat of the car with her eyes closed trying to figure out why she felt like she was trying to wake from a drugged sleep. A blip of clear vision came into her mind . . . her dad was driving the car. It was late at night and the car swerved. She remembered seeing a tree before she blacked out and now, opening her eyes, she saw that tree directly in front of their smashed car. Outside the windows, Stella saw lights flashing around and thought maybe an ambulance was there… but the lights were green, and though she was struggling to think clearly, she knew green wasn’t a color on an ambulance. And these lights were zooming across the sky like a shooting star—only much closer.
She jerked with panic when she remembered she had been sitting next to her brother.
“Isaac! Where are you?”
Stella flung her arm to the other side of the car to grab her brother and only felt the seat. He was gone. The still unidentified lights stopped zooming around and left everything in darkness and at that moment, someone seized the front of her shirt. Adrenaline surged forward like a tsunami racing through a city. She was ripped out of the car to the ground and kicked and fought like a wild animal in a battle for its life.
“Stella, Stella! Stop! It’s me sweetheart, its mom!”
“Mom! What’s going on? Are you hurt? Where’s dad? Where’s Isaac?”
“Listen to me Stella, listen!” Her mom sounded panicked, which made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
“Mom, what’s wrong? Where’s Isaac?”
Isaac spoke somewhere near her, “I’m here Stella.” Stella felt Isaac touch her and she was flooded with relief.
The green light returned and all three of them looked up and watched as it arched across the sky. Shooting stars usually make you feel hopeful—why did this one make Stella feel as if she should start running quickly the other direction? The light disappeared behind a nearby hill and all was darkness again.
“Mom, what was that? Where’s dad?” asked Stella.
“I can’t explain everything to you now. I have to go help your father. I must send you both away. Someone is trying to find you. You must go. Stay hidden. Don’t come back here.”
Another light appeared—not green, but a bright bluish white that was outlining a tree. To Stella’s shock, the tree was lifted out of the ground and was now hovering horizontally in the air. In the glow of the floating tree, Stella saw her father with his arms stretched up.
“Dad!” What the heck was going on? Did her dad do that to the tree? Stella watched her dad make a throwing motion and the tree soared swiftly through the air and went back behind the same hill the green light went behind. As it too disappeared behind the hill, no crash was heard, and the green light was back, and it was going fast. It catapulted straight for Stella’s father. She saw her dad transform into what looked like the same bluish white glow that was on the tree and then he shot upwards like a rocket. But the green. . . whatever it was, hit the white lights and created a huge explosion.
There were more sources of light now, this time constant, orange, and flickering . . . fire. There were several trees now lit up with it, making the ambiance of a war zone. The white light was gone and from the ground, Stella saw the green light zoom overhead then land gently. What? What was going on? The green light faded and she thought she saw a large man appear.
An unexpected wave of fear and panic swept through Stella. Before she could react, her mother grabbed her chin and forced her to look at her. Isaac was down on his stomach on the other side of their mother. He too was trying to lift his head and see the man, but her mother held the front of his shirt tightly in her hand.
In the light of the fire, Stella’s mother said hurriedly, “He’s seen us Stella. You must go now. I will not see you again. Not for a very long time. I love you both. Listen to me… your Father and I were just trying to protect you—that’s why you didn’t know.”
“Mom, what are you—“
“Shh, Stella! No time. Remember the beach I always showed you the pictures of? With the lighthouse? Picture it now, both of you. Do you have it?”
Isaac nodded his head. Stella said “Yes, but mom—”
“Stella, do as I say. Think of the sand, the ocean, the lighthouse. Good-bye, my darlings.”
Stella watched her mother on their chests and Stella felt a warmness sweep through her body and saw they were being consumed by that same white glow they saw on the tree. Stella started to think it was a dream. She watched as her mom let go, then repeated to her, “think of the beach!” She couldn’t see anything but white light, and judging by the warmness she felt, she must look like that tree and her dad.
“WHERE DID YOU SEND HER?! WHO WAS THE OTHER STAR?!” was the last thing Stella heard before she felt herself being jerked upwards and the air was speeding by her like she was a bullet no one could catch. She had no choice but to surrender to unconsciousness.
***
“Maximus… what we feared most has just happened.”
“All of them? Please say no.”
“Isolde managed to transport Isaac and Stella before the G.M. could reach them.”
“But Isolde… Eli?”
“Killed.”
“Where are the children? Did the G.M. find out about Isaac?”
“He did see Isolde send two Stars away, but he did not know who it was.”
Maximus spun around and started down the spiral stairs.
“Maximus!”
He stopped and looked back.
“The time has come. They will want to know everything, and it will be up to you to begin their training.”
“Yes—I understand. I must go find them before they wake up.”
CHAPTER 2
“You believe easily that which you hope for earnestly.”
Stella
Stella’s head was floating—but her body felt stuck to the ground as if she had been turned into lead and welded to the spot and her eyes felt glued shut.
A gamut of questions and thoughts were floating through her mind but it was difficult to grasp any of them. It was just night wasn’t it? Why was the sun now searing her eyelids? What was this gritty dirt she was laying in?
Stella thought of Isaac and her eyes flew open. She tried to sit up but she almost blacked out again, so she laid back down and closed her eyes.
Stella saw a shadow come over her, blocking the sun from assaulting her eyes from behind her eyelids and then she heard, “It’s ok, don’t try and sit up. You’ll feel better in a minute.”
She jerked again and opened her eyes to see a man who looked very much like he spent a lot of time in the sun. He was dressed in cotton beige pants that were rolled up to his mid-calf, and a white button-up shirt that was made of a very light material. His skin was exceptionally tan, and his hair looked like it had been bleached blonde in the sun. And the eyes… they reminded her of someone… or were they just the kind of eyes that you envied whenever you saw a pair of them? He spoke to her now in a voice placed perfectly on the pitch scale, “When you are ready I need to take you both inside.”
She looked over and saw Isaac a few feet from her. He was still unconscious but breathing deep and slow like he was sleeping.
She looked back at the man. Even though he was a stranger he did not scare her for some reason. “Who are you?” she asked. She managed to lift her head an inch and then bent her knees to get her feet in the sand, but her neck decided her head was too heavy to hold up by itself and it let go, causing her head to fall back down.
‘That’s ok,” said the man “I’ll help you.” He slid a hand behind her neck and lifted her forward until she was sitting up on her own.
“So, who are you again? Where are we?”
“My name is Maximus—more to be explained once you and your brother are inside and rested.”
Maximus walked over to Isaac and lifted him into his arms like he was a small child, not a teenage boy.
“Is he alright?” she asked.
“Just unconscious,” Maximus answered. “Can you stand?” he asked her, “Unfortunately I can’t carry two teenagers.”
Looking up at him Stella replied, “Yes, but where are we? What happened? Where are my parents?” She somehow knew Maximus had all the answers she needed.
Stella stood, still feeling sore and dizzy, but now fueled by a desire to get her questions answered.
“I will answer all your questions—but let’s get inside to my home and you can rest first.” Maximus started walking away. Stella saw he followed a set of footprints that were faced in the opposite direction from which they were now headed. She concluded they must have been from Maximus coming to get them. Following the footprints with her eyes up the beach she saw they lead straight to… a lighthouse? Her mind reeled because the lighthouse in front of her was the lighthouse her mom had told them to visualize last night.
Calling out to Maximus she said, “Wait! Wait, you live here? You live here in this lighthouse?”
CHAPTER 3
“Every thought of yours is a real thing—a force.”
Isolde
“If you don’t tell me where you sent your daughter, I will take you to Gershon himself. That, my lady, is worse than death.”
The man who was the green light now held Isolde’s neck tightly in his hands. Isolde recognized him when she saw the green glowing flames. His name was Dreold and he was the most powerful of Gershon’s minion. The minion were twelve men that had once been loyal to Orel as stewards. But now they were the ‘minion’ and did Gershon’s evil bidding. They gathered followers and enforced the rules in exchange for the promise of worlds of their own to rule once Orel was dethroned. Anyone who appreciated a safe, quiet environment with freedom to do as they pleased had all the reasons in the universe to hate and fear Gershon’s minion.
Isolde glared back at Dreold like his hands on her neck weren’t hurting her at all. “Take me to him then. I’ll never tell you.”
Dreold let out an angry yell. In his rage, he tightened his hands on Isolde’s neck. With his face only and inch from hers he shouted, “Don’t you understand? I was supposed to kill you ALL! I will shorten your misery if you just TELL ME! WHERE IS YOUR CHILD?”
“Stella has the ability to undo Gershon’s damage and rule the Zodiacs if she so chooses. Maybe you should change your allegiance if you want to be left alive.”
“The offspring of Eli and Isolde will never rule! Gershon’s law is already spreading through the Zodiacs faster than a raging wildfire. Orel never had this amount of control over his people, which lead to his downfall. My allegiance is with the right man. I will be rewarded.”
“We won’t waste time talking politics,” Isolde said. “Obviously your views are distorted. You can do whatever you want to me and I will never tell you nor Gershon what you want to know.”
Dreold tightened his grip even more and Isolde struggled to breathe. “Who else did you send with her?” he asked, voice shaking with anger.
“I only sent away my daughter, why do you think you saw two?”
Isolde knew how to get Dreold to kill her instead of torturing her for answers she would never give about her second child. She knew it was death either way—now or later—might as well be now.
Her goal was always to keep her children out of danger. It was difficult for her and her husband to conceal the powers they held and the energy force they created, but they had done it for several years while raising their kids on Earth—a place away from the Zodiacs and all the turmoil and danger there. They chose Earth because Gershon would think it insignificant because of the low intelligence. Where did she and Eli err? How did he find them? Would Maximus keep them hidden with him, or would he take them back to the Zodiacs?
She was racked with guilt, thinking how she should have prepared her children. They had no idea. They only knew life on Earth—in a Solar System.
“I will give you one more chance!” yelled Dreold in her face. “Give me answers and I will spare your life!”
“No,” Isolde said calmly.
“Fine,” he said in a low growl, “then you are coming with me.” He took one hand off her neck and pressed and squeezed a round charm he had on a necklace. He was starting to light up in a green glow again, and Isolde knew he was taking her back to Gershon. She couldn’t let that happen.
She couldn’t do what Dreold could, or what her husband could, but she did have her own powers. She could counter darkness and evil with light and goodness. That was the gift of the people of the Summer Triangle—three of the brightest Stars in the sky: Vega, Deneb and Altair—to counter dark and evil forces.
Though Isolde faced an unfair predicament in which evil would seem to win, she knew that her killer would ultimately suffer a lot longer for his crime than her momentary physical pain. Her belief was that in the end, it would be she who ‘won’, because justice would deal harshly with iniquitous men.
She focused all her thoughts and strength on anything positive she could conjure, and then pushed them out of her which sent a visible shockwave through Dreold and beyond. The evil that was touching her and the good she electrified out from her body couldn’t abide each other so they burnt apart in a searing flash.
CHAPTER 4
“. . . you can’t have a Universe without mind entering into it . . . the mind is actually shaping the very thing that is being perceived.”
Stella
Stella stood in the doorway of the lighthouse in utter amazement. From the outside, the lighthouse looked hundreds of years old. She thought that she would find nothing inside but cement walls, stairs and a few rats.
She watched Maximus lay Isaac down on a plush leather couch. The walls were made of horizontal tongue-in-groove wood stained a beautiful maple color. The circular room looked like an elongated octagon with the way the wood walls were placed on the circular structure.
The light from the windows made the wood gleam so everything was bathed in a warm, orange glow.
The stairs spiraled and jutted out of the walls. There was no handrail, so they almost looked like they were hovering there. Underneath the stairs in four different places were big squares that emerged from the walls. Stella thought they must be rooms because there were windows on them.
All the furniture, rugs, lamps and interesting science trinkets made Stella feel comfortable and at peace for the first time since… the car accident! The panic was back, and all her questions were swelling up inside her to the bursting level. She rushed to Maximus who was putting Isaac on a couch.
“I need to take Isaac and go find my parents. We need to go now. They’re in danger.”
“Your mom sent you both here to me, Stella. Please, just rest for a minute; stay next to Isaac. I must go to talk t—”
“How did she SEND us here? Where is she? I don’t even know you. How does she know you?”
“Stella, I promise you will learn all the answers you want. Please, just for a minute sit here with Isaac so he is not alone when he wakes.”
Stella opened her mouth to protest but Maximus put his hands on her shoulders, and without hurting her squeezed them firmly and said “Stay here. I am just going upstairs. I must send a message.” He walked her backwards, made her sit on the couch, then let her go and said “stay” while motioning to her like she was a puppy. As she looked over at Isaac, she heard Maximus run up the stairs.
***
“She wants answers,” said Maximus.
“Of course she does.”
Maximus was in the uppermost room of the lighthouse, where the spotlight for the ships was usually operated from. There stood a magnificent golden telescope. If he were to stand it on end it would be about as tall as a grown man and the magnifying glass end was about the size of a basketball.
He didn’t have it turned towards the sky, but toward a wall, where a sheet of silvery white liquid cascaded down from the top of the wall to the floor.
Like a projector, the telescope cast an image of a man, life size, onto the sheet of liquid. This is who was talking to him. Maximus talked to him as if he’d seen him every day of his life, and needed him in his life very much. “How do I even begin to explain things to them?”
“There is no easy way.”
“Must I be the one to tell them of their parents?”
“There is no other person on Earth who can, Maximus. I think it best they stay here until they learn their basic defenses. The protection I have put on the lighthouse should hide the energy force of them using their powers. It would be unwise to risk alerting Gershon of their whereabouts by moving them to the Zodiacs.”
“There is another option. May I bring them up here and have you tell them?”
“They aren’t ready to know me yet. We don’t want to put too much on them all at once.”
“If I were experiencing what the children are, I would think it comforting to know you.”
“Yes, but let it be their choice. There is already so much that will be forced onto them because of what happened tonight. It was Eli and Isolde’s choice for them to remain without knowledge of their heritage and home. It was also Isolde’s choice to send them to you. Obviously she realized she could not hide them anymore.
“Alright,” said Maximus with a deep sigh, “I will tell them about their parents so they can begin healing . . .” he paused as his voice choked up, “from their loss,” he finished.
“You will do well, Maximus. Give them time and they will heal.”
Maximus nodded and bent his body in a gentle bow, then descended the stairs slowly, sadness making each step more difficult than the last.
CHAPTER 5
“Creation is always happening. Every time an individual has a thought, or a prolonged chronic way of thinking, they’re in the creation process. Something is going to manifest out of these thoughts.”
Stella
Isaac was waking up. Stella was gently trying to straighten his dark and thick hair with her fingers, but her attempts were futile.
He looked like their dad with skin an olive complexion that tanned really well in the sun. His eyes were the same as Stella’s though—all different shades of green—from hazel-green to emerald-green and bluish-green depending on what they were wearing and the mood they were in. That’s about the only thing they had in common.
Stella had potential to look like their mother . . . which was her deepest hope. Stella had very light strawberry-blonde hair with matching eyelashes and eyebrows, and fair skin that was “sun-kissed” with a smattering of freckles over her nose and cheeks.
Stella often heard her parents tell her how she got her name. It meant ‘star’. They would say, “Because you are bright and beautiful like the brightest star in the sky.” They taught her to love the way she looked because she usually envied Isaac with his sun-tanned skin and dark lashes. Stella had her mother to look to and she knew what it meant to appear bright as a star. Her mother glowed like a bright summer day.
Finally, Isaac opened his eyes. He looked confused and started looking around the room. Suddenly he jumped off the couch as if it burnt him. He was on his feet, knees bent and poised to run. He started talking very fast, “What happened? Where’s mom and dad?”
“Isaac, calm down. Sit,” Stella said pointing to the couch next to her.
Isaac sat down, but was on the edge of the couch and breathing very fast. Stella told him the only answer she knew, “This man named Maximus found us on a beach and brought us here. He lives here I think.”
“Maximus? But who is he? A BEACH? What’s going on Stella? What happened?” There was a little pleading in Isaac’s voice. He was obviously scared, but as always tried not to show it.
Behind them, Stella heard, “Hello Isaac. I am Maximus.”
Isaac jumped of the couch, spun around to face him and instantly started putting questions to him.
Turning to Stella, Maximus smiled and chuckled, then said, “between the two of you asking so many questions I might not be able to get an opening to actually answer any of them!”
Stella, trying to be like her diplomatic mother calmly said, “We’re scared and confused. I can tell somehow you know the answers. Please tell us.”
“Alright, I will try,” he said. “I am going to make a few guesses and you can tell me if I’m right or wrong. Then we can move to some answers, agreed?”
With skepticism, Stella answered, “Alright . . .”
He continued, “I am going to guess that your parents taught you much about the night sky… names of stars, planets, and galaxies. Am I correct?”
“Yes,” replied Isaac, “we each had our own telescopes and every clear night we’d go and look for a little while before bed.”
Stella asked, “How did you know that?”
“Let me make a few more guesses and then I will explain to you how I might know these things.”
“Go on,” she replied.
“I have another guess that you have both been reading since you were two years old.”
“Yes . . .” said Stella.
“Well, most children don’t start reading until they are five to seven years of age.”
“Sure they do!”
“No, Stella, they don’t… which leads me to my next guess: you were home-schooled and lived very far up on a mountain or tucked deep in the woods.”
“We lived on a mountain, and in the woods,” said Isaac.
“And,” Maximus continued, “you know two different languages. The one we’re speaking now, and then a different one you could only speak with your parents . . . one they might have told you was a code language.”
He switched to the language and said, “You know how to speak the language Zeego.”
Stella’s mouth dropped open, and she looked over to an equally shocked Isaac. “Could you please explain to me how you know all of this?” asked Stella.
“I know all of this because I knew your parents. They didn’t home-school you because you lived too far away on a mountain. They lived on a mountain, far away from everyone else so they could home-school you. They had to, because you were very different from the Earth children.”
Ever perceptive of each word someone says she asked, “Don’t you mean from OTHER Earth children? And what do you mean knew my parents?”
She watched Maximus take a deep breath, then he answered, “I am about to tell you both some things that will be hard for you to believe. You will want to tell me that I am lying, but I promise to you I am not. Your mother chose me for you, she sent you here to me.”
Stella had her eyes locked on him. Her body was tense and she could feel Isaac’s tension as well.
Maximus said, “Last night, your parents were in a battle to protect you… last night, they gave their lives for you.”
Stella heard but she could not process it. After a few moments she stuttered, “But… what? Why? What do you mean?”
In monotone, Maximus said, “They died.”
Stella instantly flared with anger and shouted, “How do you know? You don’t know anything! How could you know? You weren’t even there!”
Maximus, with a calm voice, said, “I know because there is no other reason you would be here at this lighthouse without them.”
Stella’s anger crumbled into anguish. She slid off the couch, covered her face in her hands and wept. Sobbing over her words, she asked “What… happened? How… do you know… all this? Oh… Isaac!”
Isaac remained rigid as a board, staring straight ahead. Stiffly, he said, “Mom said she wouldn’t see us again. Not for a long time. She knew she was going to . . .”
There was silence but for Stella’s sniffling. Then Isaac asked, “So, when that green light crashed into the white light… was my dad that white light? Is that when he died?”
Maximus swallowed then answered, “I wasn’t there, however I’ve been informed of what transpired, and I believe that is what happened.”
“And mother?”
“Your attacker took her life after she sent you two away.”
There was a palpable feeling of grief felt in the silence.
Maximus said, “I will leave you two alone for a while. I will be back with a hot drink and some food.”
After he left, Isaac finally turned to look at her and she saw tears spilling down his cheeks. He came to sit next to her and they cried together and talked quietly.
The weight of what had happened pressed down on Stella. She only knew life with at least one of her parents always in yelling-distance. Where were they to live? Who would take care of them? She wiped a tear to dry her cheek, but another came quickly to keep it rightfully wet.
Maximus came back after a while holding a tray with steaming mugs and toast. The smell of the food didn’t entice her, but rather made her stomach queasy.
Maximus said, “I know you don’t want this, but your body is lacking strength of any kind, so try to at least take a sip.”
Because arguing took too much effort, she took the mug from him, and so did Isaac. The warmth on her hands was soothing. Under his gaze, she took a sip. She felt the warmth go down through her body, and it made her aware of just how cold she really was. The soothing effect it had on her was bringing more tears. “Toast?” asked Maximus.
Stella cleared her throat, “No, thank you. I’m fine.”
Isaac took one then slumped back on the couch without eating it.
Maximus sighed heavily. He was sitting in a chair on the other side of the coffee table. He said, “I have learned what you saw last night, and you have seen enough to probably believe what I am about to tell you. I am assuming you both want more answers?”
They both nodded.
He sighed again then said, “Last night, you saw your father performing some of his abilities. He possessed the ability to move objects without physically touching them, and he could transform himself into matter that looks most like a star, and travel as such a ‘Star’.
“Your mother’s abilities are more difficult to explain. It is simply that she could send out waves of bliss—or happiness, pleasure, optimism, joy—whichever word you want to use, and she could send them through the universe as a physical force. The warmth that you felt when she touched you… that was her gift. But then, when you felt yourself flying through the air and found yourself here… your mom did not do that. You did; and you could do that because of your dad, and the gifts that you were born with because of him.”
Stella and Isaac stared at him in silence. Stella felt like she was watching this scene from the outside and it almost felt like she was being tricked—but she did see what she saw.
Maximus said, “Should I continue?”
They nodded again.
He went on by looking at Stella and saying, “Stella, you were not born here on this Earth.”
Stella swallowed so her voice wouldn’t sound like she was nervous or choked-up then spoke, “Where was I born?”
“You were born on Vega.”
“Vega…. oh, do you mean, in Vegas, like Las Vegas, Nevada?”
“No, Stella. Vega, the world . . . or the Star. Your mother’s home.”
Stella’s heart started thumping in her chest. Of course Stella knew of Vega. Her parents had taught them much about the night sky. It was the fifth brightest star in the sky—now she was to believe that it was a world, possibly like this one? She asked, “The world? People can’t live on a star. They are just rock and gas.”
Maximus spoke in a quiet, soft voice, “You only think that because that is what the scientists on Earth see with their probes and telescopes. But what they see is a veil of sort, or in other words, a shield that covers up the truth from them.”
Stella’s thumping heart went even more wild. “What’s the truth?”
“The truth is, you live in a universe where almost every star you see is a world, with life in abundance.”
This news was met with yet another span of silence, and then it was Isaac who asked a question. Stella was a little startled to hear some anger in his voice. “Why didn’t our parents tell us this?”
CHAPTER 6
“To have ideas is to gather flowers; to think is to weave them into gardens.”
Isaac
Isaac’s anger didn’t “come out of nowhere” as Stella and Maximus might think. Isaac had been harboring a secret for quite a while. All this time he thought his parents and Stella would think he was some sort of ‘freak’ if they knew the things he could do. When he was out playing on his own, he made things move and zoom through the trees. The first discovery of it was when he was lying flat on his back in the woods and looking up at the bottom of the trees. He imagined them moving aside so he could see the sky and the branches shifted and parted for him!
Isaac had read stories of others being able to move things with their minds, but they were always fiction. He could also do something else as well, and he had never read of anybody else being able to do such a thing.
There was a day when Isaac was wandering around outside and stopped to kneel next to a flower bud in the ground. It was only two inches tall, and was still tightly closed keeping its final shape, color and size a secret.
With nothing else to do, Isaac laid down next to it for a while and see if he could see it grow. He imagined it being a flower no one had ever seen before. It was to have eight petals of bright blue and the middle of the flower would be a vibrant purple square.
Isaac closed his eyes and smiled with the vision of being able to take the flower home to show it to his family. When Isaac opened his eyes to look at the little bud, he jumped up onto his feet, startled! Where the green bud had just been stood the very same flower he had imagined! He was completely baffled as to how this flower grew that fast in the first place, and then to grow into the flower he had in his mind? To him it seemed unreal and impossible. Yet, there it was—seeming to stretch its petals and smile at him as if saying, “Here I am!”
After much deliberation on whether he should tell anyone about this, he finally decided to keep it a secret. Isaac ran back to his house and returned to the flower with a spade and a box.
He dug all around the flower, careful not to sever roots and then lifted it gently out of the ground and into the box. Isaac snuck back to a special clearing of thick green grass he had previously found for himself and planted his flower there. Then he returned home and told his parents all about his completely normal day exploring the woods.
The next day, Isaac thought he might try it again, and to his surprise created another flower from his imagination. It was three, five pointed stars stacked and rotated on top of each other so you could see each of their points.
Both of his flowers smelled like any other flower. Isaac thought maybe because he had never smelt a flower that didn’t smell like anything other than a flower. He tried it again. This time he imagined the same flower he had just made, but he imagined it smelling like the rotten garbage he had to take out this morning. He laughed at the image of Stella smelling it and flinging it like a dirty rag.
Isaac brought the third flower that had just materialized to his nose. He was a genius. The rotten-garbage flower. Oh, how many little brothers would praise his invention? Isaac had laughed with the thought of all the grossed-out big sisters.
Now, Isaac thought of his meadow, and the many flowers and strange plants he had created there. He thought about all the struggles he faced having to hide his gifts from his parents and sister. He felt like an alien, so he distanced himself from them. Despite Stella’s efforts to try and discover what he did all day, he still managed to keep his secret from her. Isaac knew she would tell their parents. He didn’t want all the worried attention. He just wanted to be their son and brother, completely ‘normal’.
He realized that what his parents did last night and all that Maximus was telling him meant maybe he wasn’t so different after all. His parents had gifts too, and apparently Stella as well. Isaac guessed that normally, a kid might feel comforted to know others were like him. He admitted that it probably did make him feel better, but at that moment, he felt a strong irritation at his parents for not telling him. He lied to them for a long time and struggled to keep his secret—now to find out that he wasn’t so strange after all. Unless they were ashamed of who they were? Should Isaac be ashamed too?
Maximus answered Isaac, “Why they didn’t tell you was a choice your parents made for themselves. I cannot tell you why, I can only guess. When I teach you more, you might come to understand their reasoning.”
“Were they ashamed?” Isaac asked.
“No, Isaac. They were proud of who they were, and of who you are. Your future is larger than you know.”
Isaac had an unexplained urge to tell Maximus about his secret, but suppressed it quickly.
Maximus said, “You haven’t seen outside Isaac—why don’t you have your sister show you around?”
“But I still have a lot of questions, and I want t—”
“Yes, I understand Isaac, we will continue talking. I want us to all move around a little first, and I think it important that you have a look outside.”
Shrugging, still irritated, Isaac stood up off of the couch and pulled his sister up with him. They walked to the door, and went outside as the sun was setting. What Stella had told him was true, they were at a beach! Isaac ripped his shoes off and walked a straight line to stand in the wet sand. Calming down now, he looked at Stella who had followed him and asked, “How did we get to this beach again?”
She answered, “I’m not sure, but look back at the house.”
Isaac did and . . . it wasn’t a “house” at all, but a lighthouse—the lighthouse his parents had so many pictures of.
CHAPTER 7
“Is your inclination to run away from this truth or to face it, learn from it and be better?”
Maximus
Maximus stayed on the chair. His mind was whirling with all that had to happen within the next couple weeks. He knew Isaac and Stella might ask to return to the Zodiacs soon to see their homes.
To do this however, they would need to understand the danger. They had much to learn and the timing had to be right.
Isaac and Stella re-entered and walked directly to him. He stayed in the chair as they stood before him.
“Ok,” said Stella, “we think our mom always planned to send us here because she has shown us pictures of this beach and this lighthouse all our lives.”
Isaac said, “We believe you Maximus, because we know our mom sent us here to you because you have the knowledge we need.”
“We also want to know if there is a way we can have a funeral for our parents?” asked Stella.
Maximus knew this question would arise. He had contemplated already how to answer. He stood up and kindly said, “There is no body to bury for your dad, and your mother has already been transported to Vega to be buried in her homeland.” He also knew which question was coming next. Just as he had played this out in this mind before, Stella asked, “Well, then may we go to Vega to be there when they bury her?”
How could Maximus tell her ‘no’? It is their mother after all, and they have the right to be there. But exposing them this early would be too dangerous. There was much they had to learn before they could leave this beach. With that inescapable circumstance, he had to do what he must, “No Stella, I cannot take you there yet. The dangers are too many.”
Maximus expected nothing less than anger, confusion and hurt from the children, and that is what he received. Stella’s well-blocked tears found their way down her pale and beautifully freckled cheeks again, and Isaac was asking why they couldn’t go and explaining all the reasons why they should, and had every right too.
Maximus, not knowing how the children could physically handle all he was telling them, tried to stop Isaac gently by saying, “Remember your mother sent you here. Remember she told you to stay hidden.”
The kids were both looking at him with pleading in their eyes. Maximus couldn’t recall ever seeing anyone so lost and confused.
“Stella, your parents moved here to Earth when you were just a toddler. They did it because there were many who threatened to kill you.”
“Why?”
“Because, your parents’ marriage formed a powerful alliance between otherwise separate worlds. It was anticipated by the people of the Zodiacs that the child (or children) of this alliance would have the power and influence to overthrow Gershon.”
“Who is Gershon?” Stella asked.
“Gershon is an evil man who is has overthrown the true ruler of the Zodiacs.”
“What are the Zodiacs?”
“I am sure you know them. They are twelve constellations in which the Solar System travels through every year. Your parents taught you their names and shapes didn’t they? Aries, Taurus, Sagittarius, Cancer . . .”
Isaac finished, “Libra, Aquarius, Scorpio, Virgo, Gemini, Leo, Capricornus, Pisces.”
“Yes, I knew you’d know them,” said Maximus.
“Yes, but they are worlds?” asked Stella.
“Yes. Worlds we call Stars—capitalized in the Zodiac language.”
Isaac asked, “Was I born on a different World . . . or Star?”
“No, you were born on Earth—but your heritage is also in the Stars. If Gershon, the enemy, were to know of your existence, he would do all in his power to destroy you. A male heir of Eli and Isolde would be the biggest threat to his quest for complete control. Your parents hid you both to save your lives. Why they didn’t tell you of these things, I am still uncertain. I do know they wanted you both to be old enough to choose if you wanted the throne and to be able to withstand the physical dangers of what taking the throne would bring.”
Maximus saw Stella sink to the floor like the shock of all this information was squishing her. “More tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll show you to your rooms.”
Isaac said, “I’ll wait here so we can keep talking.”
“Tomorrow, Isaac. You both need rest. We can spend all of tomorrow with questions and answers.”
Stella stood with Maximus’ help and walked with guidance to her room.
CHAPTER 8
“Our thoughts, or in other words our state of mind,
is ever at work ‘fixing up’ things good or bad in advance.”
Stella
Once again, Stella found herself waking up and having to reorient herself to where she was. Though she felt mostly exhausted, she also felt something that motivated her to sit up and swing her feet to the floor. It was like she had this small circle inside of her that felt peaceful and confident, and it was that small circle that kept her entire body from being taken over by stress, grief and tiredness—it kept her moving and breathing; even though the rest of her body and mind would like to shut down and become a blank void.
Last night, Maximus had stopped above the first step which had the solid room underneath the stairs and pushed a gold button on the wall. Stella watched as the staircase moved downwards all the way into the room.
Inside was a large bed, with a silk-thread comforter of navy blue and copper-penny pin stripes. One wall had windows overlooking the inside of the lighthouse and a beautiful mural of winged horses of all colors galloping together in a lush green pasture during a bright, starry night. The painted stars were large and reminded Stella of many little moons.
Now that it was morning she could see more details of the room, like a desk with a few materials and books placed on it. On a tall, skinny table stood a globe that looked like it was made of painted glass. There was the largest bean-bag she had ever seen, covered with a baby-blue suede material. Stella felt as if she had been in this room before . . . and felt as if someone had made it specifically for her. She loved all shades of blue, loved horses and had always imagined herself flying away on one. The night-time ‘dreamy’ comfort of the room made her feel strangely inspired and happy.
Stella looked at the mural again, and though there was sunshine beaming in through the windows, the horses looked protected from the sun in their night-time dream world. They lived constantly under glistening starlight. Stella wished to join the horses and be with stars so close she could feel as if she were one of them.
She decided to find out if Isaac was awake. She walked over to the little gold button that would bring the stairs back down for her to climb out. Next to it was something that wasn’t there last night when Maximus had shown her how to work the stairs. There was a square shape on the wall that looked like it had transformed into plasma, and it glowed white. Then words in black appeared on it: There are clothes in the dresser for you. Isaac is awake; we will meet you out on the beach with breakfast when you want to join us. ~Maximus
Marveling, Stella walked to the dresser and opened the drawers. There were clothes just like ones she would find in her dresser at home! Had this been another teenage girl’s room?
CHAPTER 9
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive it can achieve.”
Isaac
Isaac was enjoying the beach. Soft, cool sand; sounds of crashing waves on the rocks and seagulls calling out to each other; and best of all: the smell of salty ocean air. He felt as if he might wake-up from all of this at any time. What happened to his parents seemed unreal. It was inconceivable that he was here on this beach within seconds of being in the woods. When he thought about his parents being dead, his insides hurt like someone was gripping and squeezing them, and it made him feel nauseous. Really, he had no physical proof they were dead. But he felt it. He knew what Maximus told them was true.
The beach did a great job of calming him despite the strength of the storm that raged inside of him. He thought to himself that the only thing he could do for his parents, was to find out more about them, and about himself, so he could do all he could to avenge their deaths.
Maximus was sitting next to Isaac on the beach, eating fruit and cheese with him. Isaac felt comforted by his presence as he was maybe the only man who might be able to tell him why he could do special things. Isaac had kept his secrets pent up for so long—he had to talk to somebody, or he might detonate so he said, “Maximus, can I tell you something?”
“Of course, Isaac.”
“Could my parents do many things that nobody else on Earth could do?”
Maximus didn’t answer right away. He was still looking out over the ocean, the breeze making his sun-bleached hair ripple like the water.
Isaac’s question had required a yes or no answer, but instead Maximus said, “It is expected that the children of Eli and Isolde would be born exceptionally gifted and talented . . . do you have unique gifts and talents Isaac?”
With excitement building quickly, Isaac responded to Maximus’ question by scrambling to his feet and saying, “Follow me!” He started running quickly in the opposite direction of the ocean, toward the green vegetation toward the middle of the island.
Isaac knelt down next to a tree which had a few feet of smooth, damp dirt all around it. He was panting slightly, and heard Maximus catch up to him and stop in front of where he had knelt. “Ok, Isaac. What am I here to see?”
Isaac touched the ground with the pointer finger of his right hand. He closed his eyes and imagined the rotten-garbage flower he had made before. Smirking, Isaac pictured Maximus pulling a grotesque face after smelling the flower. Isaac took his finger off of the spot of ground, and opened his eyes to watch. Within a second, a poke of green pushed out of the ground, and at an unnatural speed grew the rotten-garbage flower.
Isaac plucked it and gave it to Maximus. Maximus looked surprised but he took the flower.
Isaac said, “Smell it!”
The second Maximus took the flower to his nose he ripped it away and scrunched his face. Isaac was not disappointed by Maximus’ repulsion and laughed heartily.
Smiling now, Maximus looked at Isaac and said, “You think you’re pretty funny, eh?”
Isaac laughed more.
Then they both heard Stella’s voice calling Isaac and they turned and jogged out of the trees toward the beach. Stella was standing where they had been sitting with the basket and the food. Maximus walked when they reached the sand, and Isaac continued to run all the way to his sister.
“Sorry, Stella! We were . . . trying to find some more fruit for you to eat when you woke up.” Isaac hated to admit it, but he had become skilled at thinking of excuses to cover up his secrets.
Maximus had joined them then. Isaac saw him still carrying the flower, and before he could distract Stella, she saw it too. “Oh wow! That flower is gorgeous! I have never seen one like it! Can I see it?”
Isaac started, “No, it has nasty little thorns on it that will hurt your—”
“Sure,” interrupted Maximus and handed her the flower.
Stella took the flower straight to her nose and had a predictable response.
“What on Earth—?!” she said.
Maximus said, “That’s exactly right, there has never been another flower on Earth like this one.”
Stella just stared at him for an explanation.
Isaac was getting nervous. He wasn’t sure if he wanted Stella to know yet or not.
Maximus was looking back and forth from Isaac to Stella, then continued to look at Isaac and Isaac knew it was time to tell Stella but he didn’t know how she would take the news.
“Stell, I’m going to show you something, and you have to promise to tell me what you are thinking right when I am done showing you, deal?”
“Isaac, I’m really confused. Why are you so nervous right now?” asked Stella.
“Because, I have been keeping a secret. I am about to show you something that I can do, and I am nervous about what you will think.”
“I am your sister—we’re best friends, remember?”
Sighing, Isaac said, “Follow me.”
“Isaac,” said Maximus, “you can show her here.”
“No, I need to find the right kind of ground.”
“You only think that, because you’ve only ever seen flowers grown out of soil, but you can do it here too. Just believe in yourself, do exactly what you did back in the trees.”
Contemplating for a moment, Isaac decided to trust Maximus and dropped to his knees in the sand. He touched the ground again with his pointer finger, and tried to imagine a new flower. Stella loved blue, so he imagined a flower that had a big center like a sunflower, and instead of brown, was flecked with all different shades of blue. The petals would be heart shaped, and white. As for a smell, the only thing that came to his mind was the smell of his mother. Isaac took his finger off the ground and opened his eyes. He waited but nothing was happening. He looked up at Maximus.
Maximus asked him, “Did you imagine what you would do with it? Did you imagine yourself or someone using it?”
Isaac shook his head.
Maximus motioned for him to try it again.
Isaac put his finger back in the sand and closed his eyes. He imagined Stella’s flower—the different flecks of blue all through the middle and the heart-shaped white petals. This time, he imagined Stella touching it and smelling it.
Holding that image in his mind, he took his finger out of the sand and opened his eyes. Out bloomed the flower, just as he imagined it. He stood up and looked at Stella.
She stammered, “I . . . wow, Isaac. How did you . . . how long have you . . . it is gorgeous!” and she knelt down and touched a heart-shaped petal.
Isaac took an inward sigh because she obviously didn’t think he was a freak.
CHAPTER 10
“Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armory of thoughts he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself, he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace.”
Stella
The sun had set on the beautiful beach, and Stella was in her room, looking out the window at the moon and stars. She had not ‘stumbled’ onto any secret about herself the way Isaac had. She wasn’t upset with him for not telling her. In fact, she understood completely why he didn’t. She probably would have felt the same way. What upset her was that Maximus kept telling her she had great powers as well. Stella knew of none, and did not believe him.
She thought of Isaac and the motherly affection she felt toward him—especially now that she was the only family he had—and visa-versa. At least . . . I think he is the only family I have, she thought. Stella remembered what Maximus told her about being born on Vega, and felt a thrill of excitement in thinking she might still have family! Thinking of the possibilities of relatives on another world, she tried to imagine how different they were, and if she had anything in common with them.
Stella heard a thumping sound. Since her door was on the ceiling and also underneath her visitor’s feet, they had to stomp their foot to knock on her “door”.
Stella got out of the bean bag which sat next to a window overlooking the beach and went over to the gold button, and twisted it slightly to the left. The stairs descended and Maximus walked in wearing a pair of his cotton-beige pants (not rolled up this time), and a white, zip-up sweatshirt and shoes. He’d only been barefoot since they’d been there.
“Are you going somewhere?” she asked.
Maximus looked down at his feet, and laughing said, “Oh . . . you don’t miss out on a thing, do you? No, I was just going to gather some more firewood.”
“Oh.”
Stella didn’t like awkward pauses, so she asked, “Is there something I can do for you?”
“Yes . . .” Maximus looked over at her window, “I just wanted to check on you, you’ve been in here most of the day by yourself.”
“I know. I’m only tired and trying to rest.”
“Why don’t I believe you?” he asked, looking back at her.
Jokingly Stella said, “Probably because you know everything.”
Maximus laughed and Stella smiled.
“Can I tell you something you don’t know?” he asked.
“Go for it.”
“Making people feel good is one of your talents inherited from your gifted mother.”
“Many people can make others feel good. You can too—you make Isaac and me feel better.”
“I’m glad. My number one wish is that you and Isaac will be happy, and that you will like me.”
“Well, we do.”
Smiling, Maximus said, “You know, this room is quite something.”
“Yes, it is. I love it in here. Any shade of blue is my favorite color.”
“That must be why the room is all blue!”
“What do you mean?”
“Sometime in your life, you had probably visualized a room all made in blue, with a bean bag looking out a window, and a desk full of books, and all the comfortable, beautiful things you have in here. I am guessing you like Horses as well . . . and have imagined Winged Horses a time or two.”
“Yes . . . so?”
“So . . . this room wasn’t like this before you arrived. Your mind is very powerful, and by imagining a room like this often, it materialized for you. The room doesn’t have special powers—you do.”
“I knew it . . . you’re a mad man.”
“I speak the truth, young-lady. I came up here to bring to your attention that Isaac is not the only one with powers. I know it probably bothered you a little bit to think he was.”
“No, I am proud of Isaac and happy for him.”
“I never said you weren’t. I only said you might feel a little depressed that you didn’t have any gifts—or thought you didn’t at least.”
“Does Isaac have this power too?”
“Actually, every human mind has the ability to create their world ahead of them.”
“Did Isaac’s room do this as well?”
“We can go take a look! First, tell me, what do you think your brother’s room looks like? What are all the things he likes the most and imagines himself having often?”
Stella thought a moment than said, “Dragons for sure. His favorite constellation is Draco, and he reads a lot about of dragons. When he was little, he sat on top of the couch and pretended he was flying on top of a dragon.”
Maximus and Stella walked up her stairs, brought them back up, then continued up the spiral staircase to Isaac’s room.
Maximus stopped at Isaac’s entrance and stomped his foot. After a moment, the stairs began to drop.
“Hey guys, come in!”
“Hi Isaac,” she said smiling as she came down the stairs. Isaac and her were very close because usually, they were all each other had for friends and his presence made her happy.
Just as she had guessed, there were dragon decorations everywhere. Stella walked around his room. There was a telescope like the one he had at home, a brown leather couch, a desk with lots of drawings of dragons scattered around it, and his bed was a four-poster, with dark cherry wood and a tan, suede duvet cover. His whole room seemed like they were camping in the outdoors of a fantasy-land. All around was dark wood, leather furniture, plants and dragon motifs. Stella loved it, and loved her brother’s adventurous personality.