Chapter 14: What Billy, Petra and Nemo found out.

Chapter 14: What Billy, Petra and Nemo found out.

Billy found out, it took more courage, that he had imagined, to keep the drawing in the book for the new mirror, and than get enough confidence, so he could step through.
Petra did show him twice, how she did do it, and came back in one piece, with the drawing of his bedroom above, to come back.

Then finally he dared.
This was the most scary thing, he ever did, knowing, he went to an entire new world. But he did it.
He even kept his eyes open, to miss nothing.
The first he did see, was the bright light of the sun, so he blinked his eyes to adjust.

Than there was the green.
He never did realize, there were so much shades of green.
And when he finally dared to look up, there was the most brilliant blue, he only knew from the pictures on the murals, he had seen yesterday.
Even the blue of his moms dress was not that clear.

And when he had a good look around, it strangely did look, as if he always had lived in a place like this.

“It does not feel strange, Petra. It does feel a bit like home!” he said.

Petra had to laugh.
“Most friends do feel a bit like this.
But also, for most friends, who do come here for the first time, it is less strange, while it looks like home for them.
Dry land, as the people in the bubble do say. It looks, like the illustrations in their fairy tale books.”

“What are illustrations, and what is a fairy tale book?” Billy wondered.

“In the world most people do have books, while paper is not so valuable as in the bubble. So each kid becomes books like Nemo has.
They are smaller of course and there are stories for kids in them.
They also have nice colored pictures in them, like you did see yesterday on the wall, in the house of knowledge.
Those pictures are called illustrations, while they do show, what is in the story.”

“Are all kids books fairy tale books?” Billy wanted to know.

“No, of course not. There are all kinds of books, from just stories until books like Nemo possesses.
And a fairy tale book is a special kind of kids book.” Petra answered.

“Why it is so special, are the stories different than?”

“Yes, they are, although most people do not know why, the only do know the fairy tales are mostly old.
But they are written by someone, who does have a friend in Homeland, and they always do teach something, that is kept safe for all times.”

“What are you driving at, when you do say it this way?”
Billy got more and more curious.

“Well, I did tell how Lea and Cindy did meet, did I not?
For Lea was the message, there are different kinds of friendship.
There even is a kind that looks like it, but is not, remember?”

Billy nodded yes, and said: “that is why you always underline, I have to learn patience and trust, to become a good friend.
So that is a Homeland or fairy tale message.”

“You did understand!
A story can teach you something, but does not need to come from Homeland, where all secrets of life are saved.

In the most fairy tale books are illustrations, somebody with a Homelander friend has made.
Therefore this surroundings do look familiar to most friends.
And while you parents did tell, how their life was, before they were saved, to live in the bubble, ánd you did see the illustrations of Nemo, it is the same for you too.

Come, lets have a walk, and see, if we find somebody, I did tell you about.
And when you do want to know, how a tree feels, just touch it.
How is the smell of that flower? Just smell it” she said laughing.

So before Billy went far, he touched, and smelled, and said: “all is so nice and fresh here, like new!”

“That is, while all that is good, is saved here.
So the air smells, like it belongs: fresh. The trees always have the color leaves, belonging to the season.
About season I tell you later, for there are Amany and the Lady.
I do think, we should go to them, and hand over Nemo’s letter.”

Billy became a bit shy, so he stood there in ah, not knowing how to behave.
Than he saw Petra going to the Lady, and just was pulled by the hand by Amany, who said: “well, Billy, Petra will have told you I am Amany.
Let’s go, the Lady does not bite… she loves us all!”

Than Billy gave the Lady a hand, like he had learned from his mom and dad and said: “Lady, Nemo has given us a message for you. Would you like to have it now?”

The Lady slowly did read it, while for her it was a long time ago, she had seen those Atlantian lettering.
Than she laughed, and said: “Tell Nemo, we will do as he asks. But Nemo does have to have a bit patience, for I do not know, if all the crystals, he is asking for, will be there, when the big Pow wow will be.

Amany had not have a dream about it, so we will have to wait patiently.
Now go and play a bit with the other kids.
I do see, they are playing football, and you always think it a bit sad, there are not enough kids around, to play this proper.”

Billy looked at Petra, who nodded and said: "What are you waiting for? That’s mostly a boys game, so I will talk a bit with Amany and the Lady."

That’s how Billy got used to Homeland: after feeling and smelling he did play his favorite game, so he never ever hesitated anymore, to go there, when it was necessary later in his life.

The Lady did write on a new paper the answer, Nemo was searching.
Than she did send one of the Homelanders with an adult friend, to find an atlas, in which was, how the world now did look, with all the maps, Nemo was looking for.

Further to bring a big notepad, and some pencils, among which a box with all colors of them.
That was easier to come by, when asked for from an adult friend, she explained Petra.

Than the football match was over, Billy came back, hungry, tired and all he wanted now was something to eat and than going to sleep.

He just said so, and the Lady told: “You will have all the time to rest, you will need in the bubble.
For in Homeland, there is always time to do, what is necessary, without interfering in your daily life. Petra will later explain.
Now go home, and in 2 of your nights, the big Pow wow will be here.
You are invited, together with Petra, to deliver Nemo’s answer.
So take this all to him safely, and let Petra carry it to him, so nobody else will see this.”

Amany said: “Have a safe mirror hop. And do not go by yourself, for you still do not know all the rules of Homeland. We do not want you being lost.”

So back they went, and Billy did see on his clock, there only had been gone a few minutes. But he was too tired to wonder, having played a nice game of football and seeing all those new things.

The next day Nemo did read the Lady’s answer.
Billy and Petra were curious, but knew, Nemo only would tell something, when he had finished reading.

Than he unwrapped the parcel, and with a big sigh of satisfaction did see, all he needed was in there.
The kids could not explain, why he did look so satisfied, so they looked at him with big eyes of anticipation.

“Where do you need that for?” Billy could not wait his turn again.

“In the time, we did live deep in the sea in our bubble, the world became a bit different. How that works I will explain later.
There also are a lot more cities, full of people, where no one did live, when we were there, except the animals and plants.

So in order to see, if our ancient wisdom of crystals can help, I do need to know, how the world looks today.
That I do find in this atlas.
Look, that blue lines does say: here is water, a river.
That colors on this maps do say: here is a mountain, and there is flat land.
And the big, big blue pieces are seas or oceans.
And here, just in the middle of this ocean, where the map says the water is the most deep of the world, on this spot, we have build our bubble.”

“So therefore you were so satisfied to see, the humans cannot dive deep enough to find us,” Petra said.

But why do you need those lovely colored pencils?” Billy said, a bit envious while he had to write with coral sticks, that scratched sometimes on the sleet.

“Well,” Nemo said, “when you are very careful, you can use them when we are drawing special things for your lessons. But for now, I do need them to draw something the Lady does need, so you only can look.”

There was a bit of disappointment in Billy’s eyes, but also an ah, when he did see Nemo draw with sure hands a map of the world.

Of course not all was on it, like in the book, the Lady called atlas, but they clearly did recognize the outlines, and the mountains, and the biggest of the cities.

Than Nemo took the colored pencils, and did try each color carefully, sometimes a bit mixing them until he got the right shade, fitting to one of the crystals in his old book.

At that moment Billy’s patience was ended, so he did ask: “Why are you doing that?”

“While each crystal has its own place, and function.
I did tell you, the purple one was the crystal of healing for us Atlantians. Specially the one with this form,” he pointed to a crystal, with 5 sides, ending in a point.

“This one is normally hidden inside a bowl, that from the outside looks, like a very big pebble.
But when it is broken, the inside is covered with these.
They mostly are found in the medium sized mountains. We were able to take them out, long ago and let them grow, until we had the size we needed.

Now only the earth itself can grow them, and luckily the very big ones, we do need to heal the earth, grow that deep, they are not discovered, and taken out yet for rich people to make jewels.

Luckily there are enough left in their rough state, so they can be used for the sacred act of healing, like we did once.

We are going to look in our olden books, if the places, where they were, before our Atlantis sunk under the sea, still are in the same place.
Both of you will also wear gloves and will be very, very careful!”

“Of course,” Billy said, “You told, these books were irrepla…”
“Irreplaceable,“ Nemo repeated.

With that, they filled the rest of the lessons, so without even noticing, while it did look like a game of hide and seek, Billy and Petra learned, where the most important things of this earth were.

“Can I tell mom and dad tonight, what we were doing today?” Billy asked, when the lesson was over.

“You can tell them, we did do geography, that is the adult word for knowing, where something is on earth.
But not about the pencils.
And only about the crystals, that you are learning, there are different ones growing in the earth. When they do need to know, I myself will tell them.

Now you have seen Homeland, you can imagine, they can get homesick to live above again. And you did see in Cindy and Lea’s book that paper, that explained, how difficult that will be in this world.

Can I trust, you are big enough to keep this all a secret as long as necessary?” Nemo accentuated again.

Billy looked indignant, and said: “I did not tell about Petra, did not I?”

“But this is even a bigger secret, and the Lady and Amany said, it had to stay that way, until they told you, you can talk about it,” Petra said.

And Nemo added: “than they even have to make that trip up without you and your sisters, when it have to be soon, for it does take a very long time to get used to less water pressure, and live normally on land level, like you can do in Homeland without any trouble. So promise!”

Billy promised.
And found out the same evening, how hard that promise was, while to his luck, Petra was besides him, invisible for the rest of the family.
She gave him a punch, when he started about the trees, he had seen, so he could go on with: “in the house of knowledge” the moment he realized his mistake.

That night, his dreams of Homeland were about how it really did look like, at least the part of it, he had visited yet.

And he dreamed of all colors of crystals, even in his dream guessing, what Nemo would tell about that tomorrow.

© Nan van Daalen, all rights reserved.