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.

Chapter 13: Homeland and dry land.

Chapter 13: Homeland and dry land.

The next morning, after a night of the strangest dreams about how dry land should look, Billy did wake up a bit confused. Just before mom did call for washing and breakfast, he could tell Petra about it.

All she could say was: “You still have to have a bit of patience, the first of the Ladies rules has happened, while yesterday your mom and dad did tell, how they did grow up on dry land. May be it comes true sooner than you imagine!”

So after their walk, during which Billy kept asking how trees did look like, and was it not scary to live without a hard rim above you to protect you from the open sky, Nemo also had a surprise in classes.

He took both of them with him to another house, Billy never was in, while unlike all others without inhabitants, this one was locked up.
Therefore he never had explored it, like he did so many others, finding his treasure-mirror as result.

“Why is this house locked, Nemo? Are here such special things?” Billy asked.

“Wait a bit, you impatient rascal,” Nemo laughed.
“We did not build all houses in the bubble in one day! So you also cannot learn the whole history in one day too.
That is for humans like you, a more slow process as for Atlantians, while you have to see all for yourself first to get any idea.

We can, as you by accident learned when Petra showed the crystal was not lost, talk with out thoughts, even send a kind of picture, and the other does understand what I am talking about.
That is, why you did miss so much of that lesson, the first time I did show the book of the great city, and we had those Atlantian youngsters as guest.”

“I did not notice you did know,” Billy said, a bit ashamed.

“Of course I did, but you are special, for humans do learn differently from Atlantians, that is the reason you and Lilo get classes apart mostly.
And the Atlantian youngsters will probably stay their whole life under water, may be go in the submarine to the gardening bubble or somewhere else, to investigate.
But they never will live on dry land in the near future.

It is however possible, that your parents, you or one of your children, when it is necessary, have to live on dry land. I shall now, by going in this museum, show you both, why I do think so.”

In he went, and all the lights went on, when they entered.
Billy did look a bit estranged, while in most houses, where nobody lived anymore, this possibility was shut down, and the adventure of going in there was made extra exciting, while he had to explore in the half light, that came in from outside.

“Do you come here more often, that the light is still working?” therefore he asked.

“Yes, I do, and so do the Atlantian Kids.” Nemo answered.“Now follow me.”

With those words he did lead them along a path, marked on the floor with a green line.
Billy and Petra wondered, while there was a myriad of colored lines on the floor, sometimes crossing, sometimes going along side, other times bending in a room, they went not in, while the green line did not go there.

The moment Petra did point to those lines, Nemo just started to say: “this lines are for the ones, who want to study by themselves.
This house is a kind of house of knowledge, where everybody, who has studied, can find the answer on his questions, by going to the index, asks what color he has to follow, than do so, and pays attention to all he sees while walking his line.

This morning, I did ask the index to mark a green line, to explain how trees and scrubs became trees and scrubs, and what their function is.”

Billy could not keep his mouth shut: “what is an index?”

“You have seen in some books, there is in front a page, on which is marked, what is on the other pages.
In this house the index is very old, and it does work on memory crystals.
That is an art we alas did loose too, but now the healing crystal is found again, there may be some others return as well!”

Along all kinds of painted walls the green line did send them.
Nemo explained things, that did not were clear for the kids, while they had not the Atlantian ability, to understand just by seeing.

So slowly Billy did get an idea, how dry land could really look like, although the smell and the sun, like Petra, mom and dad had told about, where not there.

Billy did feel really at home with those paintings.
It was like he came home in a home he never did see before. “So this is, how dry land really does look like?” he asked with a big smile on his face.

“A small piece of it, at least.
The piece, where your mom and dad were living.
Other parts of the world do look different, but your dad told me, where he came from, and that’s a good starting point.”

“But why did you not show this me before? Wondered Billy. “Is it while you were not sure I ever would need or see that?”

Nemo nodded yes, and said: “how things do develop nowadays, and the questions Purple, the Lady and you are asking, my books about what is to come tells, we are going to prepare for a help action. So you too, Billy!”

First billy looked flabbergasted, than he jumped out of his skin with a big yell: “wow, maybe I can see Homeland or dry land sooner as I did think!”

Petra said: “You do forget 2 things: for the first the lady has to give permission, and for the second you have to grow a few more years, Nemo told, remember?”

“Yes, I remember, but you often do say, Homeland does look like dry land, so that will make the time look shorter, I will have to wait until I am grown up enough!” he said enthusiastic, not letting his happy mood disturb by such things.

“All you now have to ask the Lady, if Nemo does not know the answer by his books, if that water and air pressure thing also works so difficult in Homeland.
Or not perhaps?”
He did not let his enthusiasm dampen by any hindrance, so eager he was.

“Lets wait and see, what Petra says tomorrow,” Nemo said, “we did tell you, the Lady has the last word of ok for that.”

So Petra again went to Homeland for the night.
There the lady, Cindy, Lea and Amany were already waiting for her.

The Lady had a big smile on her face, while she said: “So your little impatient friend found out, the time is there, he can come over here!”

“How do you know?”Petra wondered.

Amany said: “I did dream, he was present with the big pow wow, that will be in 2 days. Remember, the Lady asked all, who had a friend to come with what they found about the environment and about crystals?
Billy is needed there too, I did dream.”

Than Cindy took over: “Lady, would it not be wise, he has been here before he has to meet so many people? He only is 8 years of age, and Petra tells, there do live only a handful of humans in the bubble.
So only meeting so many people like himself will be strange enough for the first time.”

“You will be a very good Lady, when it will be your turn to be in the future,” the Lady said.
“I did not think about that.
besides, he has to get used to have air above him and a landscape around him, he does not see the end of.
It seems the best, he comes for a short first visit tonight.”

Petra jumped of joy. Lea and Cindy only could laugh, but also had a surprise.
“One mirror in the bubble is not much, we do not know, if there are more.
So while they are easy to buy in the country, I do live in, I did buy 2 sturdy, small ones.
And Cindy and me have discussed, which places would be good for him to see, so we made 2 travel books for you and Billy, just like we have,” Lea said.

“Take good care of them, and do not show them to anybody but Nemo, unless the lady tells you otherwise.” Amany said.

“That also was very important in my dream.
Billy’s mom and dad could get homesick to dry land, when they do know their son can come to Homeland, that looks so much like the normal world.
And while you did forget again, Petra: In Homeland, where all paper things….“

“Of course,” Petra answered.
“On paper there is no air or water pressure, so here all is possible.
How could I forget again?” she wondered.

“May be, while in Homeland everybody only learns and knows, what is necessary to know here and now.

So all mothers and grandmothers do tell now about water pressure and pollution, as if they never have done otherwise,” the Lady told with a wink to Petra.

“Now go, and take our little rascal for a short trip over here tonight” the Lady ordered, so Petra did.

First they did show Nemo their new treasures, while that was allowed.
Full of interest he pointed out things, he remembered, with that showing how old he was in reality.
He even could explain a picture, Lea had done in between the drawings, she did make. It came out of her biology book, and showed a page about deep sea diving, and the dangers.
It even had chards, which said something about how long you had to wait, before you could come up another 10 meters, when you had a very deep dive.
It also showed him, until which depth humans were able to dive, and that was not as deep as the bubble was.

About that he was very relieved, so they could not be discovered before the time, it really was necessary, like his books told.

That evening Petra and Billy for the first time went together to Homeland, with a message of Nemo, written on one of their empty papers.

They only could not read well enough Atlantian, to understand all.
What they discovered, they were going to tell Nemo, so lets wait, and hear later, what they did tell him, shall we?

© Nan van Daalen, all rights reserved.

Chapter 12: Questions and more questions.

Chapter 12: Questions and more questions.

Billy and Petra now slowly used to be together on certain hours, but also were able to let the other find something to do for themselves.
For Billy that was difficult in the beginning.
Now he finally had a friend of his own, of which only Nemo knew, but also he had to learn better lesson number 2, this better could not interfere with his normal life.

That had another advantage: they often found out different things: Petra by strolling around the bubble, and seeing with a fresh look all that was new for her, where Billy so was used to see things inside, he hardly did notice them anymore.

Billy therefore had to look better, with more curious eyes even, to explain what he knew about all, or what he had to ask Nemo.

The stories Petra told about Homeland, still were a well of information, and he longed more to go there each and every day.
To make clear, it was difficult, and why, Petra did ask Nemo about a submarine, the moment she did see one of them pass the outer rim.

Out of breath she came at a lesson, Billy went alone to, because she could read and write the normal letters and numbers, while Billy had to learn both systems: the old Atlantian system, ánd the one, the humans on earth, or dry-landers did use.

This became more important each day in their search, while it had to be done before the kids could ask Nemo for the olden information about crystals and colors, and what they had to do with the environment.

But also Petra had to wait, until this lesson was over, before she could ask.
Finally the time was there.
Nemo looked at her and said: “What is on your mind? You did run in like there was something very special you wanted to know.
Thank you for waiting for the end of Billy’s lesson. What was on your mind?”

“I was at the rim, and I did see a submarine pass by.
That did remember me a question, I did ask the Lady about what a space shuttle was, and she told: ask Nemo about a submarine, and imagine that in the sky.”

Billy looked as if he did not understand a word, but also remembered asking himself, why the rim was that hard, and why the Atlantians, and sometimes daddy went out into a submarine.
How could Petra or the Lady know, he was curious about that too?

So he shook his head, almost in disbelieve, and said: “How did you know, I wanted to know about that, just before you arrived for the first time?”

“There are no coincidences,” Nemo said.
“We Atlantians do believe, that all happens on the right time. We also do believe, that all has a reason.

We do build submarines, to go through the deep water.
They have to be made from the strongest materials, we ever found.”

“Why,” Billy asked. “for me it still is something… uh… unclear, that thing about water pressure. Why is that so very important?
And what is the difference, or the resemblance with the space shuttle, Petra asked about?”

“Well, it seems another biology lesson is due.
You do remember, that we need oxygen to breath, and for that need plants?
For fish and water creatures, the oxygen also exist in water, but we cannot breath that. So we have to live inside a protected place, where the air cannot escape, like our bubble.”

“Why is that bubble round and hard, Nemo?” Billy asked.
“I do wonder a long time about that, but there were so much other things going on, I did forget to ask about.”

Nemo went to a filing cabinet, where he did store some food, for when he was busy doing experiments, that did not allow him to go away if he wanted to record all that happened.
He came back with 2 boxes, 2 eggs, a huge bucket of water and some strange goggles.

When all had those goggles on, he did put the box, made of hardened seaweed, in the water. The deeper in the bucket it went, they did see through the goggles, the more the sides of the box were pressed inside, until they broke, long before the bottom was reached.

Than he did the same with his egg.
That did reach the bottom, the egg was still whole to Petra and Billy’s surprise.

He did not explain what was going on, but did bring them to another room, where he had a glass contraption standing, with a hose on top.

“With this apparatus, I can take out all the air in the glass.
That is the same, as when you are outside the air-zone of the world, for you: of dry land. There we use space-shuttles. Now look!”

He did the same experiment again.Strange enough the opposite happened with the box. The sides did not go inside, but got outside, as if there was a balloon blowing itself inside out.
Until it burst, and flew away in a myriad of small peaces, that where stopped by the strong glass bowl.

Than he repeated the same with the egg, and that did not bulb out… only when all air was out, and it did not float anymore, it did fall and became broken.

”You do see, that the round form is stronger, than the squared form.
That is, why submarines are mostly round or cigar-shaped. That is close enough to round, and that makes it better go the way we want it to go.

Now you have seen with your own eyes, why you cannot go out of the bubble without protection, Billy.
You have no round shape.
And you cannot, like Purple, breath water.
So try now please, how long you can keep your head under water, without taking air.”

Billy did, but could not stay under for longer as a few counts, just as with the swimming lessons he now had in the moat.

“Well, we cannot only drown in water, our body’s also cannot without the air-pressure.”

“Does our skin not keep us together?” Billy asked.

“Of course it does, but lately you began to understand, that things are more complex.
Just like what Petra said, she had learned of her grandmother: You cannot take out one thing of something whole, like your body also is, without damaging it.
Your body would react as the box in the glass, when I slowly took the air out.”

“How scary,” Billy said. “But is there not a solution for that?”

“That is rather complicated, you have to learn a lot more, before you understand. For now, this must be enough as an answer.”

“Is that also the reason, the rim is so hard and round?” Billy did ask again, very hard thinking, what made the round form so special.
“I always wondered, but I do think, I am going to understand about it.”

“There is more to this double question of Petra’s.
Until now, you cannot understand all, while you never have been on dry land.
But a bit I can show you. Will you please take your football into here?”

Billy wondered, but when he could play his ball, he always did run as fast as he could.

“Look, the whole world has this shape, even you cannot easy see that, while it is that big.”

“How big would I be, when I was compared with this ball?” Billy wondered.

“You could only see yourself with a very strong magnifying glass, such as we do use sometimes to study very small things.” Nemo said.

Even Petra had no idea.
For her the world always had look totally flat, and so she said.

“This time, you just have to believe what I do say, later, I do promise, I will show you. But you have to be big and strong, as you did see by this experiments.”

“May be you can have a better idea earlier, when you do know the differences between the real world, and Homeland, where I do come from.
There is more possible.
But remember, your parents have to tell you more about dry land, so you cannot make a mistake, ánd the lady has to agree,” Petra said.

Nemo looked with a kind of home sickness in his eyes, as if he remembered, how it was on dry land, and asked: “Do you think, I also ever can come to Homeland?
I sometimes like to see the sun, and the trees and so on again.”

Petra answered: “Only, if there is found somebody, to be your special friend alas. And my name is not Amany, the girl that dreams the future, so I do not know.”

“Than lets go on with this, before lesson times is over.”
With this words he did put Billy’s ball in the glass container, and first nearly all air was sucked out.
It seemed the ball was growing a bit, but luckily it did not burst, Billy thought.

Than Nemo let in some smoke and blew softly trough the hose, so the ball started turning.Than something strange did happen: all smoke went round and round the ball, as if it was stuck there.

“That is called gravity, Billy.
That prevents all and everything from falling of the planet, even air, so light it weight is almost nothing.
Gravity comes from the planet, later you will learn more about that, when we start learning about materials, and about the rotation.”

Petra said: “do I understand well, that going round and round without ever stopping is rotation? About that my mother or grandmother did not tell yet, nor my teacher.”

“You are right, all knowledge is saved in Homeland, but only that, what is needed, is in the stories.
You will see, that from now on, all mothers and grandmothers do know about this.”

“Who did tell you so? I never heard about that,” Petra said, wondering how Nemo could know a thing like that.

“I did read it in the chronicles, that are even more ancient books, only very learned Atlantians do study.
Now put out the light, and I will show Billy the last lesson of today, before he got his ball back,” he laughed.
They did, and suddenly in the dark Nemo let a very small light shine on the ball.

“That does look like the sun!” Petra said. “That is the only thing I do miss, when I am here under the bubble. Sunlight is so different from this light.”

“And do you see the shadow?
Now you can study that better, while our lights are so evenly divided over the bubble, that except under the table in the houses, almost nowhere is shade.
Think about it, or ask you mom and dad how that was on dry land.
I do have the idea, this will be of need in the near future.
Tomorrow we will go with this, and may be I then found some more in my books about the crystal.”

That evening mom and dad had a lot to tell about how they did live, before they came to the Atlantian bubble.
Just like all moms and dads do, when they made a walk and explained their kids about nature, and all they do see around.

Only Billy had to use his imagination, while he never did see those things.

But that night he did dream of dry land, and how it would be, so much green and blue, and how would a real sun look like?
May be he soon was able to go?

© Nan van Daalen, all rights reserved.

Chapter 11: Slowly things become clear.

Chapter 11: Slowly things become clear.

Petra told the Lady, all she had learned the last time, with as most important fact, how glad Nemo had been, this special crystal did not go lost, as the Atlantians had believed.

The Lady told Cindy, who was there with Lea and Amany, another secret of her ‘secret box’.

“It does not have any use for somebody else, to look into that box.
You know, in very ancient times this box was created, and given to a great, great, many times great grandmother, that had the same lovely curly red hair as Cindy,” and she did make that stand all sides by rubbing with her hands through it.

Than, while Cindy still giggled about it, she went on: “the one, who did make it for us for safe keeping, told we were not allowed to have somebody else peek into it, without our permission, for only ‘we’ could hold in all, that belongs in there.

The things, that have to appear, do so, when the time is right for it when wé do look.
When somebody else should have a peek, things could come out, when it is not the right time for it.”

Lea said: “A bit like our teacher told about the olden history of the Greece, about the box of Pandorra.”

The Lady did smile: “Yes. Like that.
That is one of the stories in that time, a Homelander friend told his friend in the world. Why?
While than also people sometimes where to nosey, even when it was not their right to be nosy about something.”

“Is nosey different from curious?” Lea did ask.

“Curious is about wanting to know how things work, and it mostly has a purpose, a goal why somebody wants to know.
Nosey is just wanting to know for knowing only, not for a purpose.
Would you like everybody knows all about you?
Just while they want to, even if you do not like that?” the Lady asked.

“Of course not,” Lea said indignant.
“Nobody does know about Cindy, and nobody should!”

“That makes it clear.
So while things do appear in our secret box, when it is time for them, also here in Homeland, where all secrets of life are kept safe, we also are very careful with it.

Cindy did put it back in its secret place, only we redheads know.
When Nemo does think, he has need for it, and he can explain us why, only than we will take it out its hiding place.
Will you tell him so, Petra?” the Lady did ask.
She only had to nod yes.

Than another question came in Petra’s mind: “Cindy and Lea, you did promise me, to make a copy of the sleets, with the drawing Billy made of his room.
How can that be, and please, could you do it now?
There is already a small corner broken of, while I did fall,” she said, blushing, while she did feel not to be careful enough.

“Give them to us, and in a few minutes we are back,” Lea said. “I do make copy’s on my scanner. How many do you want?”

Petra’s mouth opened in wonderment: “How many? But is paper not very valuable in the world?”

“Well, we are using less and less, while for new paper mostly trees are cut down, or we do use recycled paper as we can, but a few small pieces do not matter that much,” Lea said.

“Can I please have one for me, one for Billy, and may be one for the Lady, in case of any emergency?”

“That is a very good idea, Petra,” said the Lady. “For besides you, nobody does know how to get there.
And Billy does still have to wait, before he can come here for some time. And Nemo does not have his own friend here, so he cannot. We not always can use Purple to be our messenger, can we?” the Lady said.

Lea and Cindy went through their mirror, and hopped direct back already.
Almost a miracle in Petra’s eyes.
Petra did see the copies, admired them and carefully put away two of them, after giving the Lady hers.
“I do think, I’ll have to go to dry land also, when I am allowed, to see those miracle machines,” she laughed a bit envious.
“May be, when we have a hop over there with a lot of other Homelanders, like we did to the land of Wise Feather,” the Lady did remember Petra.

“But now we have to go to Lea’s home again, her night is almost over, and we want it to stay a secret, she sometimes does travel with me to Homeland to help.”
With those words they both waved goodbye and mirror-hopped back to Lea’s bedroom.

“Now you go back too, and this time use the copy. All you can tell Billy, is that Lea and Cindy did make it on dry land.
When it is time for him to go there, we tell him more.
But alas for him, that will take some time.

In the mean time, I will ask for some older Homelanders, if their friends in the world are interested in crystals.
And if they have heard of crystal healing, in a way, we can use to heal the world.
Will you do the same with Nemo, if he is allowed by his people and predictions?”

Petra asked: “Did Purple tell you about this predictions?
Or is there another way you do know about it?”

Suddenly shy, while she did ask such investigative questions to the Lady herself, she held her hand before her mouth: “Oh, am I allowed to ask this? Sorry, my Lady, if I was impolite.”

The Lady laughed: “We are not living under the spell of the Otherlanders anymore! The ones, who did not want to come back to become good Homelanders again, all went with a space-shuttle to a new world, to find out, if there are adventures for them, they do find to their satisfaction.

And a space-shuttle is a machine, that travels to other worlds, that are in the skies,” she explained, seeing the riddle in Petra’s eyes.
“Do ask Nemo about a submarine, and imagine that going through the sky instead of through water.
He will have the answer, I do not have without asking the men.”

Petra said: “If you do not mind, I will go back, and will not wait so long for the answer this time.
There is so much new for me to discover…”
“That you sometimes a little bit do forget, that you still are a girl, a Homelander girl, that cannot solve all by herself.
The same Billy will have to learn.“

She waved, and turned to somebody else, coming her way.
This way Petra knew, that she had gotten all the answers, she could get for now, so to Billy she went.

That evening they did talk softly a long time, after they together had admired the copies of Billies drawing.
Both did put this on a very safe place, for except to Nemo, they could not tell anybody, how they became a piece of such valuable paper.

Most answers had to wait, until Nemo had given his answers too, tomorrow, or the day after…

© Nan van Daalen, all rights reserved.

Chapter 10: The crystal.

Chapter 10: The crystal.

Next morning all went, like what was going to be a habit.
Billy became more aware of the difference between the time, he had to spent with his family, or alone with his teachers or Petra.

That made Petra was able to explore by herself also, like she had learned in Homeland to do.
She went in houses, made of totally different material, she was used to.
She wanted to ask together with Billy, why that was this way in one of Nemo’s lessons.

She went swimming in the moat, like she would have done in Homeland in the pool or a river.
And found, Billy could not, so she had to ask Nemo, is he allowed to learn too?

Billy found more and more fun in playing with Violet and Lilo again, seeing, it was not in the way of his friendship with Petra, nor the things they did do together. And with Violet growing a bit each day, she became of more interest for him, like mom and dad had known.

So finally Billy did find a balance, that we in the world also have: some things you do with your family, some with one friend, and others with more friends.

Now for Petra it became time, to do as the Lady did ask when she was in Homeland.
On one day, when Nemo had talked about biology again, and they had tasted the first self grown cress, she asked: “Nemo, do crystals also grow? And if so, do they grow like plants?”

Both Nemo and Billy did look a bit surprised, Billy while he did forget about the Lady’s question, and Nemo, while they never had talked about crystals before.

But like always, Nemo had an answer.
For that, he had to take out another of his treasured books out of the cupboard, and he carefully laid it on the table.

He opened it on a page, with wonderful colors and forms.
Each form had a different color, and the variation seemed endless.
To point the different ones, Nemo took his gloves again.
So he could pinpoint one special form.

“Why do you always wear gloves, when you use a book?” Billy wondered.

“While these are old. And more valuable than you ever can imagine.
They also are irreplaceable.”

“What is irreplaceable, and why are they so valuable?”

“That’s two questions in one, young man,” laughed Nemo.
“Valuable they are, while there is knowledge in them, nowhere else in the world you can find.
At least not as far as I do know of.

And irreplaceable means, I, nor somebody else can make them again, while we all together do not know all, that is in it.
Some people do have a small portion of this knowledge, but we are only a few anymore.
Even when we all do write down what we know, that would be a very small portion of what is in it.”

“Do we have enough paper than?” Petra did ask.

“Of course not, we should make a hazardous trip to the dry land, and buy a lot of that. That is even more dangerous than in earlier days, for we have to pay with gold or precious stones, while we do not have money in the bubble.”Nemo answered.

“So you go on dry land sometimes? Can you later tell about that? And what is money?” Billy could not control his curiosity.

“All in due time”, was the answer, “first Petra’s answer.
In olden times, Petra, when the earth was a bit different from now, we could make crystals grow.
That is a bit hard to explain, while a lot of things were different, and only a few tribes in the world do live like in those days, and tell stories about these times. The Aboriginals call those times: the dreamtimes.”

“And that is a later lesson, I do think, while there are first the other questions, am I right Nemo?” Billy said with a sigh.

Oh, how he would like to know all at once!
What was it difficult to follow Petra’s first lesson: patience!
He sometimes did wish he could eat patience to make it grow, but it had to be build in his head.

“Yes, it is. I do wear gloves when I use the book, so there is nothing, that can damage the pages.
Not dirt or sweat on my fingers, even a nail, that did grow a bit to long.

Now question number two: Yes, we sometimes go to dry land.
It does take very long, to get above, while it is dangerous for our health.
That is, why you cannot come now, before you are fully grown.
And the dry-landers also do have submarines nowadays, and are not allowed to find us yet. That time has not come.

So for paper alone, we do not go above.
We used to pay with precious stones, but now they use money.
Money is a kind of change-for-something-else-thing. Here we do share all we have, while we do all work together.

That does not work, when there are so many people around in the world.
So the humans found a method to exchange things with money.
That are coins of copper, or silver, and papers, with letters on it, what it is worth. That way, they can buy things with that, instead of share.”

“So buying is a kind of sharing, like we do?” Billy did think loudly.

“One can say so, it is a bit more complicated, but while you live here now, we leave that subject for now.
Petra had another question, and the answer is in this book.

In olden times, the earth was different from now.
In those days, there were Atlantians, who were able to let certain crystals grow. They were called Magicians, while they did this with the power of their mind.
That ability, or art how to do that,” Nemo explained, while he did see in both their eyes huge questions, “some of the very old ones had.

Now crystals do grow by the force of the earth, but it does take ages to do so.
It does take a lot of pressure and minerals from the inside of the earth, besides the right circumstances.
That is, why these mostly are thought of as very valuable.
But why did you ask about that, Petra?”

Petra got a color on her cheeks, while she should have asked days earlier.
“The Lady asked me, if you could tell me something about crystals.
In her secret box is a purple crystal, of which the origin is lost.
That is very strange in our land.
She did find it in the secret box, in which only the wisest Lady of all, that also needs to have red curly hear, can look.

She did find it just before I did find the mermaid Purple. That seemed to much accidental things at the same time, she said.”

“To much of an coincident, I also do think,” Nemo said. “Did you see that crystal?”

“Yes, she showed me, before it went back in the box.
Can I have a glove too?
Than I can show you, there is one just like it on the right hand side of the paper.”

Billy became more curious, but did understand, he would learn the fastest, when he this time just listened.
But he was not prepared on Nemo’s reaction when Petra pointed it out.

Nemo sat down, did put both his hands for his mouth, closed his eyes and murmured: “Thanks to all the Gods of our Universe, this is not lost, like we always have thought.”

Petra and Billy wondered, but while Nemo sat there, and seemed lost in his thoughts, they deliberated, what to do now.

“Get him a bowl of water,” Billy said, ”but not on the same table as the book!”
Petra went for it, and Billy did shake his arm: “Come and sit in that easy chair. Petra is getting you a drink.”

That made Nemo aware again of all around him again, so after a sip of water, he went back to the book.

“You see, kids, one of the great arts of working in Atlantis, was using crystals as working stones.
Each color had its own specialty, one for each art or craft, and this one was thought lost forever.
It is the crystal of healing power.
All colors and forms had their own power, when in the hands of an learned Atlantian.

I do understand from new people from above, like your mom and dad,” he pointed to Billy, “that some people are rediscovering this art again.
They never will have the high power, the Atlantians had, but they can do a great deal of good by that.
This is a lucky day for us, the last Atlantians.
I did send my thoughts to all of them, wherever they are in the world now.”

“Can you do that? Can all living Atlantian do so?” Billy asked.

“Yes, but while most humans cannot learn to do so, we almost never tell about this.
This art is lost, while we changed it to an other ability.”

“What is an ability, and why should one do so, when you can have both?”

“In your mind there is a lot place to store things to think about, or how to do things with your hands.
But like in this book: there is a huge place, but full is full, so sometimes people did choose to learn other things and go to the ones who could heal, instead of learning that themselves.
And what you have learned to be a master of, is called an ability.

Now please do find something else to do after you have watered the plants and kept the record,” Nemo said.

“I will put this book away and have to think about this all.
My grandfather was right, when he told me: Homeland is the land were all paper things live, and were the values of life are preserved.

You are a very lucky young man to have such a friend.
And I am just as happy, I am allowed to share her, when you two are here together. Now go!”

That they did, but there was a lot to talk about, so they did wander around doing so. After that Billy took the time before diner to play with his sisters.

In the mean time Petra went to Homeland, to tell the Lady about all this.
Luckily Billy had understood enough about living under water, and on dry land, he did not ask to come too.

That had to wait, until his mom and dad had told how they once did live on dry land.
He had enough to think about for now.
And all went more curious each day! Life with a friend like Petra was certainly not boring.

© Nan van Daalen, all rights reserved.

Chapter 9: The whole is more than the parts.

Chapter 9: The whole is more than the parts.

That evening Billy did ask again before they went to sleep: “What was that very difficult word again?
Environmentalist?
Why have people always such difficult words, and are you or Nemo words much easier, but tell the same?”

Petra answered: “On dry land there live many different kind of people.
That I told you before. But I did not tell, that each part of the world, as they themselves do call it, has its own language.”

“Is that not very difficult, when you go to another land?” Billy asked.

“It is, but luckily there are a few languages, almost everyone does learn, while they do have something you do not know.
It is called television, and on it are images, send from other countries, or stories like your mom did tell.
And the most things on that boxes talk such a language.
I could not believe so too at first, while in Homeland, we also do not have them.” She went on, seeing his disbelieve.

“On those televisions are very often showed stories about the animals, about plants. And nowadays also about the environment.
This people did call all, what has to do with the world and all that lives in and, of it so.Why do you ask?”

“Well, “ Billy said, a bit hesitation, “You did not know the word, you said, but you do know how it works. Why is this so?”

“While our mothers, and grandmothers every night tell a story about our Homeland, and so also about the secrets we are protecting.
At our schools, we do not much counting, or on what place in the world is which city, while we do not know, where our friends are going to live, if we got one.”

“Can you share those secrets with us too?” Billy asked, suddenly very awake.

“I am doing so, but you never get a message: this is a secret.
An exception is, what Nemo had to promise, while I am your friend, and not his.
But we do need his knowledge.
It has no use to tell others about me, or other friends, while they cannot see us so that stays by itself.
But most things we do learn, are the simple truths of life.”

“Can you give me an example, so I do understand?”

Petra thought for a moment and than said: “Do you remember I did ask you to have patience, so we could become friends?”

Billy nodded.
“And that I told, that this friendship has nothing to do with what you further have to learn or do in your daily life? That interference thing?”

“That I also remember, but still do not totally understand,” Billy said.

“Simple, having me as a friend is a good thing.
You can learn a lot of good things about life, you otherwise never would have thought about.
But knowing them, does not earn you your bread, it only can make things a bit easier. It cannot make those things go bad, interfere as we do say.
Therefore you have to go on with your life most of the time, as if I am not there. That will make you the best Billy possible.”

“What has that to do with patience, friendship?”

“That is, that friends do not always understand just as something happens, why it does happen.
Than you have to trust each other, and have the patience, and wait until there is a chance, to ask why that is.
Good friends can that.” Petra said.

“That will be true, but why do you know so much more about the nature, or this hard things?” he said, avoiding the very difficult word environment.
“You do look, as if you are just as old as me.”

“Did not I tell you, that time goes different in Homeland?
And that we get all the time to learn, what we need, to be the best friends in the world?
Some people have to stay in your world for a very long time, like Cindy’s grandmother. I will tell that story later.
Cindy’s grandmother was friends with some one, who was a write of fairy tales, a man called mister Anderson.
Some of his stories, your mom had heard when she was a little girl, while she did tell about Peter Pan, did she not? And the Mermaid, or Goldilocks?”

Billy again could not do anything else as nodding.
“In each of this stories is a lesson about how life should be.
Some tell about friendship, others about how to stuck together in hard times, and so solve your problems.
Others go about how to use, and respect your neighbours and nature.”

“That’s why, your bedtime stories also went about nature.
Than you must know a heap more than I do, for here in the bubble is not much nature!” Billy said a bit disappointed.

“There is, when you do know, how to look for it.
No, there are no trees, and bushes, they do grow in the gardening bubble.
But there is a lot of green stuff in the water, and each house I did see has some plants or flowers.”

“Oh, I always thought, that was while people do like them?”

“Not only that, but plants like what we breath out, and we do like, what they do breath out. That makes us dependent on each other.
The biologist have difficult words for this, but we say it simple in Homeland: human and plant-life cannot be separated, for when they are apart, they both cannot survive.”

“Is that all, there is about this?”
Billy now wanted to know everything, while Petra did tell this in a way, he did understand easier, than when Nemo or mom and dad told him.

“No, there is more, but that will Nemo tell, or some other adult.
But one lesson my grandmother often told was: when in nature all things are counted as one, the whole thing is more, than all parts on their own counted together.
For they together form the tapestry of life, and that pattern we cannot create on our own.”

“Create?” “That is making something totally new, and we cannot.”

“So we only can create something by taking out a part, and mostly that is bad, I understood” Billy said with a deep wrinkle above his eyes.
“That is not creating, but, but…”

“Destroying,” said Petra, “making it broken, or like the humans on dry land do: experimenting by putting all kinds of things together.
That sometimes also destroys things.”

“But do you think, the Atlantians can help us find a solution, when they do hear from Purple and you”, and here came something hopeful in his voice, “later from me to solve all?”

“At least Nemo comes from an ancient civilization.
This people lived very different and did things in a different way, had other rules”, Petra answered before he could ask.

“So let’s sleep for now, and ask him tomorrow.
And do remember me, I have to ask him something about a crystal.
That the Lady did ask me.”

“The oldest and wisest from Homeland? No, than we must not forget.
Sleep well!”

He turned on his side and soon was dreaming about what they talked about.
So he also in his dreams was busy with what they were trying to do: becoming good friends, who did understand what they should help others with.

© Nan van Daalen, all rights reserved.

Chapter 8: Purple's story.

Chapter 8: Purple’s story.

The next morning the first Billy did was looking for Petra.
His friend was there, as promised, how nice.

Until now he only had Atlantian friends, and they all did live somewhere in the bubble, so unless they were in the Garden bubble, or old enough to go with their parents or teachers, he always did know, where they were.

Petra was something ánd somebody totally new: as if he had to re-invent friendship again. Or at least think very good what that did mean in his life.

So softly he did shake her shoulder: “Petra, wake up, we do not have much time for breakfast!”

Petra opened her eyes and said: “Please, slowly, I have done a lot tonight!
But before you mom drops in to wake you, I do have a message from Purple.
She will come by very soon, to talk about things.”

More she was not able to tell, for mom came in as usual, and Billy had to wash and brush, eat breakfast, talk with his family, and do if Petra was not around.
But in the back of his thoughts stayed a lot of questions, he still had, and wanted to be answered.
On the way to Nemo they could talk again.

“I was in Homeland, and with the help of your drawing, I easily could come back. Only Cindy want to make a kind of copy on paper for me, so it is easier to carry with me, and will not break.”

“Than paper must be less scarce in Homeland or on dry land,” Billy answered.
“And how will they do that?”

“I did not had time to ask. Remember, I was only away for one night.

And although time does react different for us there and here, how, I will explain later, we all had to hurry, so there was not time to ask how.
When I go back, I will ask.”

“Cannot I go with you, next time?” Billy answered a bit disappointed.

“No, alas, that does need more time and preparations, about which Purple is going to tell” Petra said, waiting for Billy to ask, what preparations were, as he did and she explained.

Than they arrived at Nemo’s.
There waited a surprise: they went out at once to the moat close by, where Purple was swimming.
Nemo greeted Purple, like he had expected her to be there.

Purple greeted too, also saying: “hello Billy and Petra. Nice to see you”, as if that was as normal as the sunrise.
Nemo winked to Purple: “so the ancient stories in my books are true.

There is a Homeland, where all secrets of life are saved.
And there still are people, who can have a Homelander friend. Is it possible I can see you too?” he said, while looking around.

Purple answered: “there are 2 conditions, the Lady told.
All you and Billy are doing, must not be interfered by Petra being here, so you have mostly to act, if she is not there when other people are around.
And for the others it has to stay a secret, for they cannot see her, nor in due time come to Homeland.
If you do keep that rules, you are allowed to see her.”

Nemo did nod with understanding in his eyes.
But Billy hád to ask: “what was interfering again?”

Nemo answered: “there may not be something, that is in the way of our lessons, or something in the way of your friendship, when we 3 are together.
I am a guest in your friendship, probably while some Atlantians on dry land also sometimes had a Homelander friend.
I do remember my great grandfather telling about that, and while it sounded so strange, showed me the records of others, who also had one.
They always were of great help, and very loyal!”
Purple nodded confirmation.

“That is, why I went to Homeland, before I did take action, and did not know what to decide.” Purple said.

Petra, in the mean time, let herself see to Nemo too, while she did remember the Lady told she could, if Nemo would see her while wished really to do so, and because he was Atlantian. That all was certainly true.

“Hello, young lady, as you know I am Nemo, and who is Billy’s friend?”

“I am Petra. We have to learn a lot about each other, for nobody before me had a friend in an Atlantian bubble.
I do have to learn a lot about this.
Can I listen in, when you are teaching Billy, please?” Petra answered.

Both Nemo and Purple had a laugh at their face.
This was going to make it so much easier for Billy.
It was much harder not to tell about an friend from Homeland, when the place where you lived was that small, and with such a little amount of people living in it, an some of them traveling elsewhere.

You are welcome. But first we have to listen to what Purple came to tell. I am curious too.” Nemo said.

“Well, Petra did hear a lot of it already, Billy a bit, and I am afraid you, Nemo, will have heard some of it from the Atlantian expeditions too.

I went to Homeland for advise, what to do, while the humans, you down here call dry-landers, make a mess of the world.
They are damaging the environment.
They do burn trees in landscapes, that need them, while there the land has heavy rains and trees did keep the earth together.
They do grow to much of the same on one place, so there is a huge imbalance in the ecosystem.
They do pollute the seas by throwing in, what does not belong there, even use them for dumping poisonous waste.” Purple told.

“Can you explain this concept to Billy, so I can go on with my story?” she did ask Nemo.

As he nodded, she went on: “In the middle of the ocean, on the place where long ago was the land of Atlantis, nowadays is a nice, circle of currants, I like to float, and play there with my friends.

But while it turns always the same circle by wind and far away land, there also heaps a mountain of waste, growing bigger and bigger.
In that mountain is a lot, my animal friends do think, they can eat, while it looks like sea weed, but is plastic.
This is a new material the humans found out about ½ a century ago, and that nature cannot break down.
So the animals do have a full belly, and get no nutrition, so do starve of hunger.

There are the nets of fisherman, who not only fish more, than their share out of the sea, but leave often a net, that went overboard, sink in the sea, so some air breathing mammals drown, while they cannot go up any more.

Now I do have the choice between asking help of the humans, by involving all people who have Homelander friends, so they can do something, or let myself catch and tell about this.

Only" … and there she waited a while: “than the humans will hunt for other mermaids too, like they did the big beasts of the big lakes and Loch ness.”

Petra said: “hmmm” and all did look her way. “There are some environmentalists doing their best, but I am afraid, that is not enough, as I did find tonight.”
Then Purle took over, and went on: “Will you please tell Billy and Petra about this difficult theme?
And can you explain, why Billy not just can swim up, and go living on dry land?”

Again Nemo confirmed: “I feel honored, I am allowed to see a Homelander friend, and be of some help to you, Purple.
But the predictions of the old Atlantians in my library say, there are still a few years to pass, before we can show ourselves again.

But maybe we can slowly slip in some of the people, the mermaids like you did save, with some knowledge, that is not so dangerous as the great knowledge of the Golden Atlantis time. Can you be satisfied with that?”

Nemo did look at all, that surrounded him, and all confirmed, although Billy had really not a clue. But Petra and Nemo would explain, if he should ask, he was certain.

“Than I will go to Homeland the mermaid way, and say goodbye, until we meet again!”

With that words Purple disappeared under water, and how well Billy did look, he could not find her anymore.

Nemo said: “let’s go inside and talk about all.
Besides watering your seeds and beans, it seems, we have a lot of biology lessons to do today.
And even more difficult terms to explain.”

And so they did. Sometimes, in an easy way like taking a big tub of water, make a mountain of earth in it, with some stones to keep it in place, and played wind by blowing waves with all kinds of things.

Or making turning currants by using their hands, seeing that the stones were needed to keep the isles in place.

Petra had to tell Nemo what environmentalists were, while he did not know that word, for Atlantians it never had been necessary, while they took great care of their lands.
But he could tell, what all went wrong, when the land was used in a bad manner.

It became a busy day, and before Billy knew, his lesson time went over. And while Nemo and Purple were in the secret, he also could tell mom and dad, even Lilo, when she did listen while it was so difficult, what he learned about.

Only not about Petra, but that was less difficult now.
Now he could trust, there would come lots and lots more to learn, ánd there would come a time, he should be able to go with Petra to Homeland.
Only not just now.


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