For my favorite children: Cosette and Noah

A Possession of Stars By John Ezra Copyright 2010

Chapter 1

The waves twisted in on themselves, like mouths, hungry in the ocean. Cosette watched over the side of the boat. Shining little lights glimmered on the surface of the water. She looked up at the heavens and could not decide whether the stars were reflected in the water, or the water reflected in the heavens. Though she feared the water, she liked to be near it, and was always amazed by it's royal beauty. The moon graced her father's oddly white cheeks as the boat floated calmly up and down the rolling waves. "Papa," she said with one finger dangling in the cool water, "Papa it's cold. The water is cold and we are cold. Where will we sleep?" She was too young to see in her Father's hollow features and the dusty eyes the sickness that leads to death. He had told her if he turned white like the summer sand and she did not feel his warm breath on her cheek, then she should feed him to the little silver fishes that followed the boat. She cried and asked why she should do such an awful thing? "Because they are hungry little princess. That is why they follow us," he said, "And your Papa is a hardy meal that will last them for days and you know, I always enjoyed a feast." Though her Father tried, like all Fathers do, to make light of those things too heavy for a child, she could feel the stone in her chest and the warm sadness in her heart. She began to cry, and though the rain was splashing on her face streaming in all directions down her cheeks, dripping in sheets from her chin, her father somehow found the stream that was made of tears and ran his thumb across her cold skin wiping it from her face. "It will be alright Cosette," he said, then closed his eyes with a sense of relief. To check for his warm breath, she put her cheek up to his mouth and felt his rough stubbled cheek. She felt no breath, but the wind was blowing across the boat causing her long hair to drape over his mouth. She pushed the strands of black hair behind her ear and pressed her cheek against his cracked lips. This time she felt his warm breath, and smiled. "You will not feed the fishes tonight Papa, I will row the boatyou look so tired." She pushed the hair out of his eyes and positioned his head on the sail that was folded neatly beneath him. He formed his lips, eyes still lightly closed, as though he would say something. She knelt again turning her ear towards his mouth but only a puff of air escaped. His name was Isaac, but she called him Papa. "You rest Papa, you can tell me stories after the rain." Cosette, set out the oars like she had seen her Father do many times and lightly disturbed the water. She looked far in the distance where there was a tiny spec of land, lit by the moon, and seeming to glow in the darkness. The Island stood steady
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as the boat climbed and fell on the tall round waves. She knew her Papa would be alright, if they could make it to the land, but the work of rowing the small boat was so hard, and without purpose. With each stride forward, the ocean returned two strides backwards. It made her tired and before she knew it, she was asleep on her father's lap leaving the oars dancing and loose, slapping against the rolling waters. Cosette was awakened to her father's voice, a trembling week voice, that was not his, at least not a voice she had ever known to be his. "Cosette the oars! Where are the oars?" His hands were pushed hard on his hollow cheeks, like he was afraid that at any time his head would escape his body. She sat up, her vision blurred by the sun, and felt a coldness, with pressure, surrounding every inch of her body. She realized that she lay in three feet of water. She looked at her father pacing, causing small waves to splash against his knees. The ocean was a mere foot from the edge of the small wooden craft, waiting to swallow the boat whole. "Papa, the water, we're drowning." He looked down astonished as if he hadn't even noticed the water that had filled the boat while they slept. "Oh dear!" He said, and knelt feeling through the muddied water. He pulled up a iron pot, handed her a tin cup, and they began shoveling the water back into the ocean. "How funny it would be if we drowned in a boat," he said and laughed, coughed furiously. "You should not make jokes Papa, or speak, it makes you cough so awful." "Me?" he said still fighting off the deep chested coughs. "Not speak?" He laughed even harder and had to stop panning the water from the boat to catch his breath. After a half an hour he stopped and fell back into the water with a splash. "It is no use," he said, "see, the pitch is not holding, the water comes in through the boat as well as over the side. "The oars, Papa, it was my fault. I only wanted to help." "Don't think about it little princess. Done is done as done can be." He stood, coughed again and rubbed his hand furiously on her head messing up her hair and making her laugh. "Right now we have to get rid of the weight or we will sink before noon. Throw the bag of clothes over the side and the salted pork and anything else of weight. But not the sail!" He smiled, his blistered skin seemed to resist, and Cosette could tell he was tiring of the gesture. "We will have to make due with only our water." Cosette noticed him pick up the large book that was wrapped in seal skins and swipe his hand over the covering with a splash of water. "Not your book Papa, you've worked so hard, and so long. We can't throw the book." "Don't worry dear, the book will not be lost as long as you remember it." He lifted the large book to throw it over the side Cosette took his arm. "But the endwe don't know the end."

"It's very simple. The book or us." He tried to smile but Cosette knew his smiles and it was not a smile at all. He threw the book, it spun through the rain, the seal skin unraveled revealing the silver lock and the leather cover with an etching of the world on one side, then flipping again, an Island on the other, then it splashed into the ocean. Cosette felt sick inside. He pat her on the head gently and stooped to look her in the eyes. "You know it all, you can finish it one day for me. You will do a better job I'm sure." After removing most of the water a glow could be seen on the horizon; a shining shadow behind the curtain of clouds. Isaac had taken a bucket of black pitch and was spreading it thick on the old wood stern with a horse hair brush where the water was slowly seeping threw. He looked worse than ever and she could hear his labored breath and coughing over the sounds of the roaring ocean. "Papa, what should I do, should I row with my hands?" He smiled at her, "No dear, just get some rest. We will have a long day tomorrow when we reach the islands." "You never told me, what Islands are we going to." He looked around and pointed, "That one up ahead, that is the Island we go to." "I watched all night, it seems no closer," Cosette said pulling the sail over her head protecting her face from the rain, "And how will we get there without our ores or our sail open." His shoulders sank a little and he took a breath. "Get some rest dear."

Chapter 2

He had not been well lately, not just in health, but in his mind. She could tell he was not well when he bought the boat with money that could have been put down on a new home or at least covered the market bill. She knew how much money they had at all times. She kept track of it, counting each coin he spent and each note of pay from the Market. She was not accustomed to keeping up with their bills, but lately Mr. Weaver had been at the door asking for her Father and leaving notes on the door. She felt the need to become more aware of their condition. Mr. Weaver was the landlord, owning many of the red brick buildings on Gasberry. He gave Cosette a knot in her stomach every time he stood at the door, looming tall, thin with boney shoulders and a large hook nose. Her father said he looked like a bird, the kind that feeds on small animals and that made sense to Cosette. His sunken eyes under his furrowed brow and balding head would stare at her as she walked past his office each day. He'd always scratch his long fingers
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together, the universal sign for money, though he was behind glass, she thought she could hear his fingers, like sandpaper scratching in her ears. The rumor was that he had a large offer on their little red brick apartments, but couldn't take it until the tenants contracts were out, which in their case, would be two years. With each month that passed, there seemed to be less and less money in the jar that her father kept under their bed. He had been working just the same, even putting in late nights on weekends. She couldn't understand where the money was going, she spent most of the time with her Father, and didn't seem to be spending lavishly. She suspected Mr. Weaver was up to something, but she couldn't put her finger on it until one day she came home early from school to find the door unlocked. She was the one that locked it each day when they left, and was shure she had not left it unlocked that day. The only other people with keys were Mr. Weaver and Grothel. Grothel was Mr. Weaver's workman, everyone called him Groth, and he was much disliked by the tenants. Mostly because he was the one that would come in the middle of morning and clean out a tenants house of all their belongs if they missed more than two payments. He'd then change the lock and take the belongings, no matter how personal they were, and put them for sell in the market to pay for their missed rent payments. He looked like a bug with eyes beady and gray, dusty clothes and wild short spiked hair. When she came home to the open door, she knew it was Groth, it would be bellow Mr. Weaver to do his own dirty work. She checked the jar, which she had counted the night before, and found five dollars missing. The exact amount they had set aside for rent. She told her father, and he told Mr. Weaver, but the matter was quietly swept under the rug when Mr. Weaver showed him how much he owed. It was obvious to Cosette that Mr. Weaver was trying to wiggle out of his contract by making it impossible for them to pay their bill. Her Father, Isaac, began hiding the money at his brother Saffron's house but it was too late, they were behind, and they barely had enough in the first place. Isaac seemed oblivious to the notes of debt pilling up in the corner, and when confronted by Mr. Weaver, he used his rare charm, telling grand stories of his adventures and insisting that he stay for dinner, leaving Mr. Weaver wondering why they came in the first place. But charm only went so far with men of means, and soon their door was locked by Groth with a chain, and as was the usual process, all of there possessions went up for sale at the market. Isaac bought back his ivory pipe he had made from hand for a large sum. He was very proud at the price, bragging to everyone of how much he paid, how much his own creation was worth. They went to stay with Uncle Saffron, a kind hearted brother, who spared no expense in cooking lavish meals for Cosette and Isaac of large crab, prawns, and lobster, which were very rare in the winter season. Though they had no home, the routine of their life remained the same. At night he would write in his book, and before she slept, in their bed he would read his

work from the night aloud, until Cosette was asleep. Then early in the morning, before the sun was up, they would pack a small breakfast of sweet potatoes and bread to take with them to the beach, less than a mile from where he worked at the fish market. He carried with him a small bag of tools he had invented for mapping every foot of the sand and water of the shore in hopes of finding a treasure that he had lost before she was born. Cosette couldn't remember a time that they didn't go to the beach. It was as normal as sleeping or waking. She was very comfortable there. It was almost more like home then the apartment they had lost. She would never go near the ocean's water though, for it had frightened her from a young age, being so vast and her so small. But, she very much enjoyed the sand, where she played with the translucent baby crabs, giving them names and building large two story apartments with buckets and paper cups. To Cosette, The lost treasure was like the beach, it would always be there, and would always be lost. So, she was shocked the day her father told her to say goodbye to her crab friends because he had found the treasure but she could see no treasure in his hands. No large chest of Gold, or ruby necklaces, only his small bag of tools and maps like always. So she thought the treasure was too big for just one man and a little girl and they would get it later with Uncle Saffrons's Mule and cart. After the beach he was strange and didn't go to work as usual. Instead he took Cosette all through the city spending money as if he were a rich man, buying two scoops of ice cream, and a pound of crispy sardines. His eyes were tired and watery. Cosette worried that he was too tired, and it's easy to spend all their money while sleep walking. His face seemed pale, odd for a man who worked in the sun all day. Though it was cool, the sweat beaded on his forehead like a morning mist. He told Cosette that he was not a gambling man, but he had a special feeling that day, so he placed ten dollars on the dog named Bermala. They lived off the Bermala Islands, and he thought it was pure luck to bet on a dog named for such a beautiful place. The dog came in first and he took away a hundred dollars. So he bought Cosette a silver-fish necklace and a stuffed eagle with a star on its chest. She loved the necklace, it reminded her of the sardines she would eat at her Uncle Saffron's house on the weekends. He said they must buy a boat. They went to the harbor, and there they met a young man named Emilio. He sat in the sand mending a tattered sail. "My good boy," Isaac said, "I come with an offer that you surely cannot refuse." Emilio talked with Papa for quiet awhile. They sometimes fought with angry words, and sometimes embraced each other, but finally Papa walked away with a little sailboat. It was not perfect, the sail was patched and the lettering on the side of the boat faded. It read, the Possession of Stars, and Papa liked the name very much, "Because, it is our possession," he said, "And we go to the stars." He threw both hands flat in the air and jumped like wings would sprout from his back and sail him to the moon.
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"What will we do with a boat Papa? You know I'm afraid of the water," Cosette said. "That's what boats are for! People that are afraid of the water." He said that they would take a adventure, like the ones in he was writing in his book. When Cosette asked where they would go he told her it was not the destination, but the getting there that was the true adventure. She was worried because his cheeks were hollow, and his skin so white. He had lost so much weight in the last few months that she worried she would wake one day to a skeleton beside her. But she had never questioned her father's adventures and he had never taken her anywhere, that in the end, she didn't want to go. Though he was ill, a child like excitement she had never seen, was bright on his face, and she wanted nothing more than to see such a freedom in his eyes. So she shared his excitement that day and gather the provisions for the trip while he made small repairs to the boat and re-painted the faded words, possession of stars, a bright golden orange with black outlining. There first morning out, the clouds turned light green, like the stomach of a frog, they drooped towards the earth as if they might fall. It began to rain and he dropped the tattered sail and began to row. Heavy drops of rain landed on their heads, and the horizon was dark in a cloud. "Cosette My dear, don't you worry, your father has seen much worse in his day." He fought against the waves, his back arched. Cosette knew he was in trouble, because he did not smile. He always smiled and when he did not, she knew they were out of money, or something bad had happened. She watched him row the oars deep into the cresting ocean, his face red and shoulder length hair blown wild in the swirling wind. She could see a small speck in the vast ocean, but after a day of rowing it seemed no closer. "Papa, why do we not use the sail?" Papa smiled at her as the rain began to pour. "We will use it dear to cover you while I fight this beast of waves." She curled up in the sail, and looked to where she had seen the spec of land, there was nothing but black misty clouds as big as the ocean itself. ****************** When she awoke, the boat was carrying water again and her father sat on the bow bent over crying in his calloused hands. "Why do you cry Papa? She said patting his burnt back. "I cry because we left our home and I don't know where we are." "That's ok Papa, I like new places." "Me to Cosette, me too." Cosette stood and walked threw the foot of water towards her Father. She was surprised at how weak she felt, dizzy like waking in a sleep. Her vision was blurry and her Father's face seemed to glow and smear in the bright light of the morning sun. She steadied her self and sat beside him placing her hand on his hand. It was

cold, as if no warm blood flowed threw it. She looked at his face, his eyes were shut and he swayed gently with the rocking of the boat. She wanted badly to lay back down and drift into sleep, but she wanted her Father to speak. She was afraid if he was quiet for too long he might be quiet forever. "Papa," she said. He opened one eye, squinting. "Yes dear." "You must tell me a story. Tell me of how you met my mother, and of my birth and the treasure waiting for us at home. You must finnish the storyyour book of adventures." His eyes opened wide, like he was startled awake. "Of course, how foolish of me. You must know the story." He cleared his throat and put his arm around her shoulder and pointed out to the black storm on the horizon. "This," he said, "This is nothing to fear, I have see storms that would swallow this one like a crispy sardine." Cosette laughed and a deep warmth filled her chest, watching him come to life again, animated and limber. He loved his stories, and never missed a chance to tell them. Cosette loved it when he told his stories, and couldn't imagine a world without them. The familiar spark returned to his eyes as he told of a long voyage across the ocean, through many black storms and sea monsters three times the size of their boat. "Much like this time," he said "I did not know why I traveled, but I traveled far." In the great sea of Conosh, he crossed a water beast that demanded his back molars to let him pass. "The teeth of men are considered a great prize among the Ocean's kingdom, and you can loose them either dead or alive, so I gouged them out with a fishing hook." He pulled the corner of his mouth back, showing the missing molars. "It was the most pain a man can feel, and a man can feel much pain," he said. He told her of the frog that jumped from the ocean. He was surprised to see the frog because frogs did not live in the ocean. The frog told him he escaped from a hungry birds mouth and fell into the salty sea. "He was the fattest frog you have ever seen because he had so many fish to pick from. I poked his belly and told him no wonder the bird dropped you!" The frog agreed that he was overweight, but he said it was no problem for a frog. "We stretch like balloons, and it's only for a season." "We both laughed from the gut, and that day became great friends." He described, in perfect detail, the sunrise he awoke to the morning he found his wife, Dorcas, the fish Princess. It was purple, with a hard yellow rim, the sun was a glowing orange and the colors seemed to drip into the sea. She was swimming in front of the boat with a huge fin like a large dolphin, bobbing up and down, playing with the current and cutting through the waves. Both Isaac and the frog were dying of thirst. So the frog jumped in the water and called for help.
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"Please ma'am, could you help a frog and his fishing buddy?" She was very kind and said she knew of a spring, but she could not bring the water up; she must bring them down. "Think of that Cosette. Can you imagine going to the bottom of the ocean for a drink?" His smile returning, "I thought she would stink like the fish I butcher all day at the marketbut no. She smelt like a lily in the spring, right after a rain fall, fresh and clean. Isaac had put the frog in his pocket and they both traveled, with the fish women, to the bottom of the ocean, but halfway through the journey, he ran out of breath; his face bright red as he exhaled the last of his bubbles. The Fish lady quickly clasped her lips over his mouth and breathed warm air into his lungs. "That is when I fell in love Cosette, when she shared her breath with me. I was dying and she gave me lifetwo times I mind youfirst with breath, and then the spring water, she spat the cold water into my mouth until I was full. How could you not fall in love." His eyebrows clenched together into a serious look. "But she, did not love me." Isaac chased Dorcas for days, with the frog at the bough watching. The frog would sound off with a croak when he saw something that looked like her, then point with his little leg. Isaac would set the sail to steer the small boat after her. "We were always far behind though." He paused. "I was so fool heartedly in love with her, and the frog so caught up in the adventure, that we again found our selfs parched in the burning sun, and dying of thirst. So the frog swam out again, this time past sun down. Even though he was as weak as me he didn't stop until he found her once again. She was kind and pure and came to our rescue once again leading me to the underground spring. This time though..." he smiled a big toothy grin, "...she felt the same foolish love as she breathed the life giving breath into my lungs. I guess it takes twice to fall in love with a scraggly man as myself, but love is strange like fire. Who really understands it?" "Oh papa, youre easy to love, Mamma was just playing girl games with you." He laughed. "Oh you might be right dear. She did like her games." "What happen to your frog papa?" Cosette asked. "The dear frog, he never made it back to the boat after fetching the Fish Princess. You and I owe him our life you know. He was such a brave soul: first escaping the birds mouth, and then saving my life." "I know papa. I sure wish I could thank him." "Maybe you will meet one of his children someday. Then frog would tell me of his thousand children. I cannot remember their names and what a shame, he was such a good friend." Isaac knelt down in Cosette's face.

Chapter 3

"The years with your mother were wonderful but all too fast. And the Kingdom of the the Deep Ocean... you just wouldn't believe how beautiful it was. There are no words..." "How did you breathe in the ocean?" "Hermy, my octopus, he would go to the surface, fill with air, return and attach to my faceover my nose and mouth. I could breath with him for an hour or more." Cosette Laughed, "Ew, Papa, I don't know if I could do that." "It was quiet comfortable once you get used to it. And there was no use for my mouth. The creatures of the deep ocean do not need words, they speak a language of the mind that travels by water." Isaac gave Cosette the rest of the water and an awful wave swept across their cold bodies. He pulled the sail over both of their shivering bodies. "That brings me to the treasure," he said looking down. "I want you to have it." "Yes of course Papa, we'll spend it when we get back and buy a big house on the shore, a small door for the baby crabs, boiled lobster every night, and... and your own writing room, on the roof, where you can look out and see the sunrise." Isaac laughed, with thin and labored breath. "No dear, it's not that kind of treasure." "What do you mean? What kind of treasure is it?" "It's here, in my pocket." He pulled a stone from his pocket and held it up to the light and said, "does that look like any pearl you have seen at the market? See the cloudy light blue color, the large size and semi transparent center. See how the light shines through it in a beam?" He rolled it in his hand gazing at it fondly then handed it to Cosette. She rolled the stone in her hand, pinched it between her fingers and held it to the light. It was a pretty light blue stone that reflected the light, but she could see that it was no pearl, it looked like many other stones she had seen on Bermala, but she went along with her Papa as she always did. She put it back in his open hand and he slid it into his pants pocket. "Where is it from?" "It is from your mother, a gift, she gave it to me the last time we made love." "What is it to make love?" She asked. Isaac laughed hard causing a fit of coughing that bent him over. "Oh, Cosette... to make love..." He could barley breathe but he still held a great smile on his face "...to make love is to give yourself totally to another person. And the greatest love is when you have all of you to give, for there is only so much that you have." Cosette gave him a confused look.
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He laughed, "Yes, I feel the same way. I wish your mother was here to talk to you of love." He rubbed her head gently, looking her directly in the eyes. "Just remember, you are a infinite being, and the price for what is infinite, is everything." "Yes Papa, I know what your saying, I'm almost thirteen you know." "Of course you are," he said with a smile. "So tell me when did she give you the pearl?" He sighed. "We made love for the last time in the deepest ocean by the Island of stars, it was so passionate so real, that we became water. I needed no air and forgot the land, bubbles boiled around us and currents made way for our dance. But, we fell deep into the ocean, far bellow the blue water and into the black. And once a man goes too deep in those waters, he can never return to the surface. We new this, and I was not afraid. I thought it a kind gesture from death itself, to let my last breath be in the arms of the woman I loved. You know, death is not so kind to others. "What happened?" Cosette asked. "Your mother, she kissed me. With a breath she pushed a pearl into my mouth and I began to float towards the surface. She staid in the darkness. I watched her face fade in to the blur of the deep. I somehow knew it would be the last time I would see her. I tried to fight, to swim back into her arms, but I was week. I had no strength in me. In that last kiss though, the stars stopped in their place, not a one moved or even shimmered. Even to this day they hold still in the sky above where we kissed and there is no time in that place. No ticking clocks. No greying whiskersno time." "How is that possible Poppa? How do the whales know when to go home. How do the fish sleep? How do you know when to eat or wake? How can anything live if there is no time?" "That is a grand question. Too grand for me, a lowly fish monger. I only know what happened, not the why." "Did you see her again?" "No, I didn't see her again. I didn't even believe she was true." "What? How could you not believe in her, after all that you had been through." "Well, after that last kiss and the pearl, I woke on the shore of our home Bermala, a thousand miles from the Island of stars and the deepest ocean. I thought it had been a dream at first, but then remembered the pearl. I looked for the pearl and found it in my pocket, but it didn't glow or shine, it looked like a common stone found in the streets of Bermala. I was filled with a burning anger and threw it as far as I could into the ocean's waves. I felt betrayed by my own mind, by the frog and the Fish Princess. It was all a dream and I had played the fool. So I went back to my life on Bermala, butchering the fish at the Market, emptying their

bellies on a bloody stone slab. I felt more alone than I had ever felt before. But one day it all changed by one dying fish." He stopped and took the iron pot and began pouring water over the side. Cosette noticed that it had resin again and was back to her Father's knees but she said nothing. He continued talking as he splashed the water over the side. "One day in the Market, I noticed a large beautiful blue and purple fish with razor sharp fins and large swollen lips like ripe grapes ready to burst. It wasn't like the other fish, I knew it from somewhere. I dragged it on to the bloody slab with my hook. Then I instantly recognized him and I was horrified that he was on my slab. "Who was it Papa? Oh tell me." "It was your grandfather, Bluefish: King of the Deep Ocean and the father of the princess, Dorcas, Your Mother." Cosette grabbed his arm tight. "Oh no! What did you do." "Well I cried. I was overtaken with emotions. I had spent many a night with him drinking and telling stories of adventure. He had given me away to your mother and blessed me with his sword. I cried big sobs. then I heard his voice.. 'Stiffin your gills' he said 'I don't have time for tears'." "He was alive?" "Yes he was but he didn't have long." Isaac told her everything about the old fish. Isaac had never heard the king's outward voice and it was hard to understand, sounding like their Uncle Saffron when he gargled his vinegar in the morning, and he also repeated himself several times. Isaac pulled the great fish under the bench so no one would see them. He held the large blue fish with both arms barely abel to surround it, when the King asked if he still had the Pearl. Isaac was confused for a moment, he had put the pearl and all of his past out of his mind. But he remembered and told him it was close by. "The Sea, The sea, you must return the pearl to the sea." The king said, fighting for breath. Isaac told the king that it was in the sea, that he had thrown it into the ocean after the last kiss with Dorcas. "No. No. Water," He said. "Yes, you need water," Isaac said. The King jumped and landed and with a loud slap echoing through the Fish Market. Workers stopped but saw nothing and returned to their work. "No. Water. The ocean is only water. You must return the pearl to the sea my man. The pear! The pearl she knows where she belongs, you find it. It will lead you with your protection." Isaac Promised the King that he would find the pearl and return it to the sea. He then covered the King in a blood stained blanket and raced, as fast as he could with the two hundred pound fish, to the water of the harbor.
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"No! No!" The king said, and with it's great weight flopped his tail and knocked them both to the hard ground. It's huge oval black eyes rolled and from under the blanket looked at Isaac as they both laid on their backs. "Cut me open," Bluefish said. "No, I will not!" Isaac said and tried to pick him back up slipping on the wet stone. "Cut. Cut me open now!" Isaac fell to his knees and placed his hands on the sticky fish belly. "What about your Kingdom? I can't let you die like this. you are royal, you deserve so much more." The King slapped his tail and his gills slowed almost to a stop. "The Kingdom is gone. Gone. No More." Isaac averted the gaze of the King's eyes, "My wife? Is she..." "Gone, No more. I'm sorry my man. They're all gone, all my daughters, all my wives. Gone." Isaac told Cosette he couldn't help but cry again and he laid his head on the Kings white belly. "Stiffin your gills my man!" The king said and began choking for breath. "Cut me open!" Isaac looked into the the kings eyes which were beginning to dry out loosing their thin moist covering. "I can't!" The king took large heaves between each phrase "This.. is your wife last wish. I must see it comes to pass. It my promise. Now Cut me open my man!" Isaac looked at King Bluefish and remembered his jolly laugh causing his fat bulldog checks to tremble like red-berry jelly. Now he trembled but not with laughter. He put his hand on the wood handle of the knife tucked in his belt. But he could not move, he felt his own hand trembling like the fish that laid before him. He pictured the King on his octopus throne, which curved and moved, modified to whatever position the King took. His jolly and nobel way of speaking, that made all of those around him feel the presence of royalty. It was quiet a controversy when the Princess Dorcas announced her love and plans to mary Isaac. There was to be no intermarrying of humans and fish in the Deep Ocean Kingdom. The rule had stood for thousands of years, and though there were decedents from man in the Kingdom, there origins had been long forgotten. The council warned the King that humans were the root of all evil, and to welcome them into the blood line could disrupt land air and sea forever. But the King loved his daughter deeply and blessed the marriage saying: kingdoms fall for all kinds of reasons, some for greed, some for lust, Some for blood, gold and steel, then they are forgotten like bubbles of air that float to the surface and are gone. But if a kingdom falls because of love, It is never forgotten, and is never far away.

Isaac lifted the rusty stained knife from his belt and there on the beach carefully sliced the thick blue spotted skin of the king. He could hardly see from all the tears in his eyes. The King's eyes rolled back and his tail slapped against Isaac's leg, the sharp fins cutting into his flesh. Isaac sliced until he reached the tail, fell on his back and wept. What had he done. First he had disrupted the Deep Ocean Kingdom by marrying Dorcas, now he had killed the last survivor, the King. His mind reeled and a heavy saddens sat in his stomach. He said to Cosette he had cursed the day he was born, to cause so many troubles, to loose so much. He thought of his wife, what would she think to see him slice the belly of her father. "What shame, what cursed shame!" He said, he yelled in the small boat then told her of that he threw the bloody knife into the harbor. "But, then I heard it," he said regaining his smile, "The cry of a baby beside him." He was crying and wiped his eyes, "It was coming from inside the King. I jumped up dug my hands into the belly of the king, clasping each side of the wound and spreading it open and I saw the baby inside." He patted Cosette on the head. "I looked at the king in confusion. The king still heaved slowly, eyes rolling, and now twitched uncontrollably. He formed his swollen lips one last time. 'Your Child my man.' His eyes stopped moving and the twitching ceased, he was gone." Isaac pulled the small baby from the King's stomach and noticed the octopus in the stomach that must of provided air to the child and from the looks of it, shielded the baby from the knife as he cut. Cosette had tears in her eyes, looking down at her feet. "It was you Cosette. I believed again. In your mother, the Kingdom the pearl. That is why we have spent all our days at the shore. I was searching for the pearl. I had to honer the Kingdom's demand, your mother's wish. And, here we are." Isaac threw his arms up and looked around at the empty ocean. "We're on a quest in the ocean, looking for the sea." He laughed slightly but Cosette did not. "It was after that meeting with King Bluefish that I decided to write my book, and I promised my self to finnish it before I die. It will be a great treasure to you and your children." "But it's gone Papa. You threw it in the ocean. You will have to start all over again." He took a deep breathe, she could hear his chest wheeze, "Sometimes you have to loose something before you can find it." "That doesn't make sense Papa." "Life is not science Dear. If you try to make it all make sense, the less sense it will make." He looked down to see the water seeping and bubbling through the patch on the stern, the empty bucket of pitch tar floating in the water. He looked at the spec of an Island that stood steady in the distance, but still too far to reach, and lifted the sail from his lap and Cosette. The life in his limbs left once again and he looked
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like an old man, back crooked, hoisting the sail. He then took the pot and relieved the boat as of much water as he could before resting next to Cosette, who was looking out at the tiny Island. "Cosette," he said. "Yes Papa." "Take the Pearl dear. It's yours." She took the light blue stone from his calloused hand. "It's really beautiful isn't it?" He said. Cosette glanced at the stone and looked away quickly, "Right Papa. It is. But Momma gave it to you, I don't want to take it from you." "You must, " he said and looked around at the boat, the seeping water. "We need to loose some more weight or we're going to sink." "There is nothing left Papa." "I know dear." Isaac looked Cosette in the eyes for a moment that seemed to be outside of time, as if it was under the same stars that had stopped in the sky after the kiss. He looked down at the stone in his hand then back at Cosette. "Cosette. You must take the pearl to the sea." "The sea? But you don't even know where it is." "I think I've found it. It's been in front of me all along. Now take the pearl." "What? Papa your making no sense. Your sick." He patted her head lightly as he stood. "Your mother. I loved her very much and I trust her and her Father, they would not lead us wrong. And, you can trust her too. Take it to the sea and you'll be alright." Fear gripped Cosette's heart, she felt something wrongthe strange look of peace on his face. "Papa what are you doing. I trust her and her kingdom, now sit down with me before you fall." "I can not my dear. Now I go to join her." "No Papa!" Cosette said, grabbing his waist. "I must, and I love you more than the ocean, that is much love my dear." With his last breath he pushed himself backward, out of Cosette's grasping arms, into the black and twisting ocean. Cosette cried out, fell on her knees, and watched as he sank into the sparkling bubbles of air, under the dark cloud's reflected light. His arms were outstretched and his eyes where wide open looking at her. She noticed her necklace of silver fish, sparkling and clutched in his hand, she touched her neck where it had been. "A gift for you papa." Tears ran down her cheeks, "Goodbye."

Chapter 4

Cosette awoke in a bed of white sand. She pushed herself up on one elbow, her head was heavy, eyes unfocused. She still felt the sway of the sea the shore moving slowly left and right. The warmth of the sand soaked through her skin to the very marrowof her bones and she thought she had never felt something so good, so comforting. She laid down and felt a sharp pain of guilt drape her insides, for feeling such a desire to lay in the sand, with her father dead, but she could not help it, her body demanded she enjoy the warmth after so much cold, so much sadness. The sand stuck to her body as she rolled being covered in a thin blanket by it's abrasive grain. She finally sat up, rubbing her eyes and shaking the sand from her legs and arms, a dank musty smell attacked her nostrils and she winced covering her mouth. As far as she could see there were fish, some still, some half eaten, some twitching and spinning in the sand. It was then that she felt the sticky wetness against her legs, and looked at the dead tuna pressing against her leg, eyes sunken, mouth open. she screamed. She jumped and ran for the lush jungle, breaking branches and larg leafs, not caring where she was going, only caring to flee the scent of death. She could hear the thud of her racing heart in her ears as she blindly broke through thick brush and branches, only her hands, falling forward on the edge of her toes, frightened desperately as though a army of dying convulsing fish were inches behind her when suddenly there was nothing to fall against and she ploped face down in the brown dirt. She stood, looked behind her impulsively, wiped the dirt from her face. Then she saw the beautiful small cove, heavily shielded with great walls of lush green jungle. The small circle of ocean was peaceful, separated from it's vast ever expanding horizon that caused her to feel so small and helpless. She walked slowly to the beach, afraid that she might see more piles of fish, but all she found were tiny translucent crabs scuttling sideways through the white sand. The little creatures gave her a small peace that she had not felt since they left on the adventures, and she sat in the midst of them watching their busy daily routine. She forgot for a moment that she was lost and alone and enjoyed a moment of comfort. One crab stood out, odd shaped and dragging a large claw too big for it's body, as if God had been tired and accidentally put the wrong claw on the wrong crab. She placed her hand in front of the struggling crab's path and it unknowingly crawled up in her palm. To young to know fear of the dangers of this world, the crab sat gently, seeming glad for a chance to rest. She brought the crab near to her face and studied it's odd claw. "You my friend I will call Ego, because one day your great claw will be your pride, and you will brag to all your friends of it's huge size and usefulness in crushing clam shells, and your head will grow larger than your claw." She took a piece of seaweed laying beside her, broke of a small piece and gave it to the crab, who with great speed lept from her hand and under a rock. "Fine." She said, with a mock disgust for his greedy action.
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She had the need for water, but she did not know where to go. The jungle looked lush and wet, even a drop from a leaf, would be enough to satisfy her, she thought. She followed a sent of water that was strangely in her nose, went up through a trail, and down a sand bank that lead to a almost perfectly round pond so clear she could see the sucker fish on the bottom. A stream fed the pond running over a great rock down from the mountain that loomed above the clouds. She ran to the water, suddenly realizing her thirst was greater than she thought, fell on her knees, splashed her face and cupped the cool water sucking the coolness in her throat. She felt alive again, strength seemed to follow the water through her body. Even though she had never swam she wanted badly to jump in the cool water and wade through the ripples. But then she thought of the surrounding pressure on her chest and legs. She looked at her blurry reflection and saw a fear in her face that she had never seen, but then she realized behind her reflection was her Father, sinking slowly in the dark ocean, eyes open and aware, hands arms surrendered to the motion of the current, her small silver fish necklase clutched in his hand. He looked so lonely, death looked so lonely. That no one can go with you when you die frightened her. That you were alone, without the ones you love to comfort you and to hold your hand. A leaf fell and tiny ripples erased the image. She jumped back from the water, fell on a mossy log, and cried deep sobs. A cocoanut popped against the log with a hollow thump and she awoke not knowing if it had been hours or days. The sun was sinking into a bed of cotton clouds, blue and purple, casting a pink glow over the sheltered pond. Her stomach growled and she took the hairy cocoanut in her hands. When she would visit her father at the fish market he would often scale the tall cocoanut trees. She thought he looked like a monkey with a lame leg, and would laugh each time. He tossed two cocoanuts down the sliding down with both feet turned in pressing against the tree to slow his decent. Then taking his knife from his belt he crack a nut with one loud pop from the handle of his knife. Most of the buttery milk would spill out on the stone walk, but there was always enough to quench her thirst. She took the large cocoanut in both hands and slammed it against the mossy tree, the vibrations tickled her hands, but the cocoanut didn't crack. The sky darkened without warning. Large rain drops began to fall and she ran under the branches of a especialy large bush beside the water fall. She tried cracking the cocoanut on the large rock that supported the rushing waterfall with no luck and in frustration tossed the nut in the pod with a splash. It was then that she felt a cool wind blow against her face, coming from behind the water fall. It was dark and cool, and she could see an entrance to a cave. It was just large enough for her to crawl through and though the thought of entering it such a small space was not her idea of fun, it sure looked better than enduring the rain. She laid down at the ase of the waterfall so as not to slip and fall into the pond and slowly crept towards the cave. A loud

pop came from across the pond and reverberated in the cave. Startled she slipped on the wet rock and slid towards the pond. Her nails dug into the rock and she looked in the direction the noise was coming from. Something was there. Through the blur of the falling water, she couldn't make it out, but it was small, around two feet, and upright like a monkey on it's hind legs. She slid down the rock in a shot and without thinking ran towards the mossy log where she had seen it. She slid in the muddy sand landing with splash and a thud. From the corner of her eye she saw the creature sprint, after a great leap, into the jungle. The wash of rain and the night sky made it impossible to make out, but she was sure of one thing. It was like nothing she had ever seen. The foot prints were tiny but wide, like a monkey but less like there long finger feet and more like a human foot, yet round. She sat on the log, the rain drizzling from the trees and saw a cocoanut laying on the ground beside her. It was cracked open, filled to the brim with white mile pelted by the rain drops. She dropped to her knees and swallowed the milk with one large gulp, then chewed around the corners, scraping the chalky meat with her front teeth. She looked around for signs of the creature, a little embarrassed of her manners. She heard nothing, so devoured the cocoanut in a way, as her father would say, not befitting a lady. When she had finnished the cocoanut she curled up in the mouth of the cave and slept a deep sleep. Dreaming of her life back on Bermala. There were clouds of smooth silky smoke in her dream, smelling like a musty strawberries that had been left out in the sun. She walked through the smoke slowly moving with her hands watching it curl and loop around her fingers. It made her smile. She separated the smoke with two hands like spreading a curtain and there was her old friend Serian, sitting in his velvet red chair, large ivory pipe hanging from his droopy lips, with rings of smoke puffing from the end. Serian was a odd looking man, his chin long, and cheeks wide, pouty lips and large glassy eyes. His smile was subtle, you would hardly know he was smiling if you didn't know his face when he was not smiling. He was the owner of an exotic tea leaf and tobacco store called The O'l Puff & Drip. He was usually asleep with a dusty book on his lap when she came to get her Father's Redbonette tea and dried honey comb pipe tobacco. She would purposely drop a box of tea or a book on the ground to wake him because she enjoyed his conversation and commentary on whatever book he was reading at the time. She honestly didn't know how he made a living, there were never other costumers when she visited and she would rarely see people enter the shop from her apartment view. Most of the walls were covered with ornate dark stained wood that contributed to the musty smell and fog of dust, which seemed to soak in any light that entered through the stainless windows. One wall was painted white with a strange mural of and wiry old man reading a book in bed, a pen in his mouth, a ragged room, paint chipping and cracks spidering the walls. Over his head an umbrella shielding him
20

from the drips falling from the ceiling. She told him the mural was sad and asked him what the old man was doing, and why didn't he fix his roof or the chipped paint and cracks. She thought the old man must be ill, or unable to walk. But Serian told her that it was a picture of man at his best and most noble, forsaking all earthly goods and pleasures, accepting poverty for the love of his calling and passion. He also said, most men work their entire lives thinking they need something more, one more of this and one more of that, where in reality they need very little to be truly happy, and in fact are most happy with very little. And then there were his books, lining every inch of wall space, sideways and stacked high with no order or care to where they were placed. He was reading the philosophy of war, ad he told her his thoughts on the book so far, as he always did, talking slowly and precisely, snapping his 'N's and D's. He was very serious about the way one talked and communicated their ideas. A word without a thought is a waist of the human mind, both the speakers and mine, he would say. He told Cosette of a great battle against two hundred men won by only one soldier. He was a very small man, only four foot tall, and though he had been in many battles, no one would ever attack him, because they couldn't see him. So he would usualy just swing his sword wildly until the battle was through and then head home where he lived alone on a farm. The two armies stood on apposing sides a cannon blasted and he shot out from the back and raced toward the apposing army not even on a horse. His own soldiers were shocked, and filled with great pride at his fearless action, following him they drew their swords. But then they saw the reserve army behind the 200 men that was a thousand strong. So the horn was blown, and they all retreated to the hills. But the small man continued, swinging his sword with a great yell from his mouth that could be heard from the hills. Seeing that the men had fled to the hills the thousand strong reserve went back to their camp because they were not needed. But the 200 on the front line stayed to watch the spectacle of the little man charging them alone. They laughed at the small man and when he reached them they were laughing so hard that they dropped their swords and held their guts falling to the ground. So the small round man swung his sword like a mad man and killed them one by one. The mens eyes were clamped shut laughing and could not hear the difference between laughter and screams of death until it was too late. He was a great hero in the cities in towns around his kingdom. The other soldiers would let him ride alone to honer him, but he never seemed to pay much notice to the cheering crowds as he road down the street, So returned to his farm where he lived alone. One day a young soldier who admired him greatly came to visit the little hero to learn the secret of his bravery. The young man saw him sitting on his porch smoking a pipe and went before him to learn of his great Battle. He stood before him and said, "I have come to ask the secret of your mighty bravery." The little

man said nothing. The young man said it to him again, but the little man said nothing, just smoked his pipe. The young man finally got right in front of his face and asked him again. The man said nothing and did not acknowledge him. The young man finally waved his hand in front of the little mans face and snapped his fingers by his ears. "Why he's deaf and blind!" he said, and he went to tell the other solders that he not only slay the 200, but he did it deaf and blind. This amazing feat lifted him to almost a god like status in their eyes, and they sent the priests to honer him as a saint. When the priests arrived he was still siting on his front porch smoking a pipe. But, this time the little man heard their horses as they arrived and went to great them with a cain to help him along. The priest said, "I thought you were deaf and blind." "Blind yes. I still am. But I have recovered my hearing." The priest bowed and told him they had come to honer him and he asked why. They were astonished by his humility. They told him it was for the battle against the two hundred. For you went before them alone and slay the entire two hundred single handed without the other soldiers with you. The little man had a confused look on his face and said "You mean I was alone?" Serian eyes popped open and he laughed so hard he nearly fell from his chair. Cosette just stood there, she didn't understand what was so funny. She told him that it was a awful long story for such a short ending? Serian regained his composer with a few sniffles as he pushed his glasses back on his long nose. "I'm sorry I should finish the story. You see the little hero had been standing to close to the canon when it first blasted. The gunpowder blinded him and the great noise deafened him, so he ran, in pain and in fright. Thinking the other soldiers were charging with him, he just did what he always did, figuring as always that no one would see him and no one would attack him. But his wild swinging sword killed the 200 laughing enemies without him even knowing Serian laughed again, but this time without the snorts and squeaks. "That is funny I guess," Cosette said with a giggle. "And..what is the moral of the story? (Because Serion always had one)". Serion fixed his glasses again, tapped his pipe. "Sometimes what you believe, is of greater value, than the present reality around you."

Chapter 5

She stayed by the pool of water for days. There she found red berries that were sweet and filling, and if it was a good day, brown bananas would fall from the trees which she would mash and mix with herbs and sea salt for a delicious dinner. She would walk and sometimes crawl everyday deeper and deeper inside the seemingly
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endless cave with tunnels and great underground streams that went for miles in all directions. She found a dried and empty crab shell that worked well as a bowl and a small shell that scooped up the bananas like a spoon. She made a bed of palm leaves, and a pillow from sand wrapped in a large leaf tied with many vines, and a table with two turtle shells and a scrap of bark. She liked her small collection of home goods and quaint surroundings, the protection of large trees and bushes from the sight of the mighty ocean, which made her feel she didn't matter to the busy world on the other side. At night she would star at the stars that never moved or glimmered like home. No shooting streaks through the air, or bright flashing planets far of in the universe. She thought of her Father's story of the last kiss, when the stars stopped in the sky, and thought she must be in that place, but laughed at the idea knowing her Father was prone to exaggerate some times. At night she would lay the stone, the one her Father thought to be a pearl, on the table beside her bed and during the daytime she held it tight in her hand, though it was uncomfortable and hard to travel the caves and jungle with. It made her hands sweat in the heat of the day. It was special to her, the only thing she had to remind her of her Father, except the boat on the shore, which she didn't like remembering anyways, and rarely traveled to that area because of the smell of fish. So at all times she feared loosing the pearl, and grasped it in her hand tightly, afraid it would slip and fall in a hole or crack in the cave. She had a vivid dream. Blown by wind, it fell from her table in the night, and rolled into the deep pond, she awoke and swam to the bottom, lifted the pearl, but it was heavy, like a bolder. Fearing she would loose it forever, she would not let go and drowned by the weight of the pearl. When she awoke from the dream she was shaking, and moved farther from the pond under the shade of a berry tree. To alleviate her mind, she hid the pearl in a small shell she had found and slid it into her pillow. But then she dreamt of a naked snail slipping into her pillow, seeing the nice empty shell and making a home of it, taking the shell and the pearl into the forest. So she would have to sped the rest of her days pulling helpless snails from their homes, in hopes of finding the precious pearl again. She laughed. One morning while exploring the cave she found a cavernous break in the rock. She climbed through and saw the glow of light. There was a large rock that blocked the entrance so she she crawled up on the round rock and through a small hole, just large enough for her head and shoulders, then it opened into a large room where light flooded every crevice. Their was a round hole in the top of the room, with vines, some hanging freely some clutching the cave walls. She could breathe in the cool open room and she felt safe being further from the the sight of the ocean. Their were natural tables made from broken stalagmites shooting up from the floor. She came to the cave often and began filling it with cocoanuts and brown

banna's but it was difficult climbing over the large rock carrying suplies. One day she was cutting the thick vines that crawled up and down the walls when she found a large entrance, she followed it and found that it lead out to the pond. The entrance had been covered with vines. She soon made this her home. She heaped fruits in the corner, and brought her bedding and the small sand pillow. She would explore the cave each day and go deeper into its halls each morning, careful to mark her path with stones, as her father had shown her one time on a hike through the jungle. She found a place in a crawl space that was a off shoot from her room, perfect for the pearl, a round indention one and a half feet tall and the same wide. It was the perfect area for her pearl. She placed the pearl under a small leaf and covered the larger hole with a rock to keep it out of sight. She carved her name on a wall with a shark tooth beside the hole, so that she would know where to find it, but not give away it's exact area. Wen she finished, she crawled back to her room to admire her work. She could see inside the tunnel and the indention from where she lay on her bed. She stood and began preparing her bananas for dinner when she heard a strange noise, like nothing she had heard before in the cave. It sounded like small claws tapping from somewhere deep in the cave, fast and moving towards her. She thought it might be the creature that left her the opened cocoanut, but didn't want to take any chances. Who knew what kind of creatures roamed this cave. So she took the shark tooth in her hand and hid behind a stalagmite . The sound got closer and more huried. She heard it climbing over the large rock that blocked the entrance. Fear struck her heart and her hand began to shake. The sun was on the decline and only muted light and shadows remained in the cave. A round shadow, as big as the cave itself appeared and she scooted farther behind the stalagmite. It stopped. Their was the sound of a sniffing nose. Before she could make out what it was it darted across the floor towards the small entrance where the pearl was hidden. She crawled on her knees to her bed where she had a view of the opening. She knew if the creature was abel to go in the hole, it was not as big as it's shadow made it out to be. She pulled leaves over herself to hide and peered into the hole. There was just enough light to see the creature, her heart settled, and she smiled in relief. It was a small furry animal. The animal looked up at the carving on the wall and Cosette became nervous. It made an etching, it's teeth running togather. It looked like animals she had seen in a book at Serians Tea Shop, an animal called a hedgehog, or possibly a porcupine. But it looked fuzzy instead of spiky, like a short haired dog, a shiny coat that glistened in the low light. It was almost perfectly round with a little triangle snout that jutted from the ball of hair. Its feet were hidden underneath its round fat stomach which giggled with each step. The animal's eyes were black and small, two shiny marbles embedded deep in it's fur. She watched as it climbed the wall where she had carved C-O-S-E-T-T-E and she got angry. Why would a porcupine
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want my pearl, she thought, and how would it know exactly where to look. The animal climbed with incredible agility to the name on the wall. Cosette saw from the side view the sharp claws that poked out from its little round feet. The small animal sniffed the name with a wet nose then it's teeth chattered as it bit against the stone where the name was carved. The teeth, small, and like a necklace of pearls. With it's beaded teeth the animal began chewing at the rock. She had heard of animals marking their territory, but how would the little creature know she had carved their. She tried to get closer to see what it was doing and dropped the shark tooth with a clang. The creature stoped. Descended the wall, going slowly to were she lay. She pulled the leaf over her head and felt and heard it sniffing the leaves, then it stoped. The round fluffy ball then returned to where it had been chewing and climbed to where she had hidden the pearl. When it came to the indention and saw the rock blocking it, it made a angry squeal that hurt Cosette's ears. It pushed hard on the large rock still squealing. Cosette realized then, that the hole may be the animal's home, since it was the same exact size as the hole. The creature began chewing on the large rock and dust filled the room. She wanted to charge the rodent, and scar it with her shark tooth. But it's claws were so sharp, and it's jaws obviously powerful. She worried that the furry creature would cut her and she didn't know how to fix wounds as her Papa did. She had seen Papa at the fish market wrap men's hands and fingers in a cloth after they bled, but she was not sure of all the details. So she decided to make a offering of peace to the creature and move the rock, it was the right thing to do. She had stolen the small animals home and thought of how she would feel if it had done the same. But she had to secure the pearl first. She walked towards the small entrance, her hands up in the air, moving slowly so not to startle it. The noise was so loud and echoey that the creature did not hear her foot steps. She got on her knees and climbed inside, slowly reaching out a hand to show she would not hurt it, but the creature was startled, falling from the wall and squealing. It hurt her ears and she covered them ."Calm down!" she said. It kept squealing, baring it's shinny teeth, hunched up on its back legs, eyes darker than before. It's hair was standing straight up, and it moved backwards, further into the dark. She took the rock from the hole, set it on the floor, and before she could remove the pearl, the animal jumped 4 feet in the air and landed in the hole, filling it completely, it's head and snout disappearing into it's fat and fur, looking like a cocoanut. Cosette slamed her fist on the rock, and told it to move, but it did nothing. "I try to help you, then you take my precious pearl, how dare you." She poked the creature with a fingerhard. It growled, but did not move so she took the shark tooth from her pocket and poked the furry animal harder, careful not to break the skin, but it would not move, nor show its head. She finally decided the creatures long claws and round feet had no way of picking up the pearl stone anyway, and why would it want a little stone when it can eat the whole cave. She

went and took her leaves and sand pillow and decided to sleep in front of the creature in case it woke; then she would grab the pearl stone and find another safe place for it.

Chapter 6

When she awoke the next morning, the sun streamed in through a hole far above the cave and covered the room with an orange glow. She immediately felt the warmth and leaped from her bed and crawled a few feet to where the creature had slept. It was gone. She looked around, she could not see it or hear it. She was excited it had left, all had gone as planned and she reached into the small pocket of rock for the pearl but found instead, an oval egg. She lifted the egg, not like the hard chalky goose eggs she was accustomed to, but soft and wet. The pearl was gone. The fur ball had traded this worthless egg for her precious pearl. She cried, her tears filling the cave with a hollow echo. she squeezed the egg hard in her hand ready to smash it against the stone. Her heart felt ten pounds heavier, she had lost the one thing to remember her father with. She was sick with sorrow and dark emotion. "I will kill your baby for taking my pearl," She said looking around, hoping to see the little thief run from the shadows. She swung the egg towards the wall anticipating the satisfying pop of the shell, but just as it was about to impact a small whimper came from inside the egg, her heart stopped. She was breathing hard and didn't know what to think. She was so angry, but the whimper was so small and frail, helpless. "forgive me," she said and sat the egg safely back on it's bed. She was sad and slept the rest of the day. Her dreams were filled with her father's dark eyes as he sank into the starry misty water. She dreamed of her mother and how she must have hurt when she knew her love was gone and could not return. She dreamed of the frog and his thousand children, and how much love he must of had to have so many children. She dreamed that she would never know this love, or the making of it, that her only love, the pearl, would be gone forever. She pictured herself as an old woman, sweeping the cave and looking after Ego the crab and a small hedgehog creature. She wanted to love, but besides her Father, she knew nothing of it. Was it something you could touch in your heart if you could look inside? Was it as real as the ocean? Or would it always be a ghost, like the shadows of her Papa in the pond, like the longing that has no satisfaction. She wanted to know but she was alone with no chance of returning to Bermala where people roamed the streets and old men sat on benches feeding doves. Sleep came and went all day, but she didn't know when she slept or when she woke, what was dream and what was real.
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The following morning she awoke to the orange glow that filled the cave, familiar and warm. She opened her eyes, stretched her back and shoulders then gathered her spoon and bowl, crushed red berries, green herbs and bananas for breakfast. She watched the entrance to the small cavern where the egg was, expecting to see or hear something, maybe the mother back for a visit. But it was quiet. Before going to the pond for a bird bath she checked on the egg, it was in the same place but had changed. Small patches of brown hair covered the shell. She touched it. It squeaked and she pulled her hand back in suprise. She touched it agin. It squeaked and she laughed and her heart was warmed all over. Just the thought that there was another life made her smile. Ego her crab was always shy, and would only play with her if she held food in front of him, it hardly felt like a fair relationship. She had played with the fish, her finger swirling, but they were cold, and they did not allow her touch. She picked the egg up and held it close, tucked in her arms, hoping it would be kind, unlike the mother. She made a bed of sand for the egg beside her bed and soon it had grown to the size of her fist. The patches of hair slowly disappeared, revealing a shiny black shell, not soft like before, but hard like the stone floor. She knew that they liked to chew on rocks so she took pebbles from beside the pond and placed them around the egg. She also gathered extra berries and bananas, just incase the little one had a sweet tooth like her. Afraid to leave the egg's side she moved all of the things she had found on the island into the small cave and filled a large lobster tail with water for bathing. The days passed quickly and she could hardy distinguish one from another. She was happy and felt she had a purpose in caring for the egg, changing it's sand and bathing it in the lobster tail. One night during a dream about her mother swimming like a dolphin under the deep waters, Cosette awoke to a loud sound of crumbling rock. It was dark; only a little moonlight drifted in from the hole at the top. She thought the cave might be collapsing so she grabbed the egg to escape. It was vibrating and bouncing in her hand. An excitement filled her belly and she ran with it to the moon light that drifted through the roof of the cave in one stream of golden yellow, landing in circle on the floor. She tripped on the lobster tail and the egg flew from her hands, rolled and bounced across the floor, then snapped against the wall. Her heart sank and she scrambled to get on her feet. The chattering noise had stopped and she hopping she hadn't broken it. When she reached the egg, she found it was broken into hundreds of sharp shards and she burst into tears. But then she heard a squeak and saw two glowing eyes staring at her from a dark corner. It sounded like a pig, so loud she had to cover her ears. She couldn't imagine such a sound coming from such a small creature. "Come here baby," she said putting her had out and walking slowly towards it.

She had just awoken and her eyes were still adjusting to the low light. She walked closer and stooped down with her hands out. "It's alright baby, I won't hurt you." Her eyes adjusted and she saw the creature. It was no baby, it was the mother back for her egg. Cosette fell back in surprise as the fur-ball squealed and bared it's teeth. It was only a foot tall, but sounded much bigger. The fur ball jumped on the wall and ran sideways as if there were no gravity. Cosette turned and looked where it was heading, she saw two more much smaller glowing eyes tucked away behind her bed. It was the baby and the mother was speeding right towards it. Fearing she would lose her only hope, she lunged across the room and swatted the fur ball down from the wall. "You give me my pearl, I give you your baby!" She said standing in front of the bed. The fur ball crouched, hair spiked on it's back, and growled. "Give it to me!" Cosette screamed. The little creature squealed, reared back and dove straight at Cosette. Cosette fell back and kicked hard at the same time. The fur ball bounced against the wall above her bed, then the celling, then plopped back on the other side. "The pearl, give it to me!" She lunged at the fur ball, it reared up and slapped a claw, tearing the skin of her thigh. She didn't feel any pain and scrambled to catch the creature. She swiped back at the creature with her long nails and knocked a chunk of the little creatures black nose off. The tiny black mass of flesh rolled down to Cosette's feet. The creature let out a squawk that nearly knocked Cosette on her back. "I will do worse. Give me my pearl you porcupine." Cosette jumped at the wounded creature again but there was nothing there. She turned and caught a glimpse of the light reflected from it's fur as it tucked it's self into a crack. Then was gone.

Chapter 7

Cosette was shocked when she saw the pearl stone, but it wasn't a stone like before, it was a true pearl, just as her father had described, milky and smooth, shiny and slightly transparent in the center. She could hardly believe her eyes. She wondered if it had always been that way. But if had--why had she not seen it? She was even more surprised at where she found it. Loddged in the head of the baby fur ball, just above it's two black beady eyes, almost like a spider. She laughed with joy and thought it the funniest thing she had ever seen. The pearl had sunk through
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the soft shell when first laid and grew into the creatures forhead. She laughed so hard that the little creature, small enough to fit in her hand, started to squeak with her. "You look like a spider," she said and picked up the puff ball, "a big furry spider." She held up the creature in the light. "I do not know what to call you, you have to do something first, then I will know." She tried to pry the pearl from the creatures head, just to check if it were possible. It squealed in pain. She left it alone and felt sad for trying. "I will not try again until you are dead but you have to promise you will never leave me. Do you understand? That third eye you have belongs to me, my Papa gave it to me and I must return it to the sea." The little ball squeaked as if in understanding. "I could call you pearl, or pearly, but you do not deserve the name of my precious pearl just because you happened to land on it. We will see what your name will be in time. For now I will call you fur ball, if that is all right with you." She checked the little one's mouth and saw the tiny pearly teeth. "You must of chewed your way through the egg. Are you still hungry?" the creature yelped as if it understood. Cosette was perplexed, but didn't give it much thought. She sat it on her pillow and fed it the small stones from the pond. She first tried to hold the stones because he was so small, but he constantly bit her fingers. So she rolled him on his back, he took the stone in it's paws, chewing at a incredible rate as he spun it. "Oh my goodness fur ball, what a healthy appetite you have." he also enjoyed the crunchy berries, but hated the banana's because the gummed up his teeth, and he didn't understand any thing in his mouth that was soft. He grew at a rapid rate. It was a chore in itself keeping his little cove stocked with fresh berries and stones. It seemed like only weeks and he was the size of a cantaloupe, no longer satisfied with stones, but instead climbed the walls chewing for hours at a time. Cosette was surprised that the were as small as they were. But realized later that they really didn't eat much of the stone, but more just chomped on it, most of it turning to dust and shards, but he did eat a great deal of berries. He became her constant companion, never leaving her side, sleeping against her breast, cuddled under her chin. He seemed to understand very simple jesters and even laughed when she did. Some days she would even forget she was alone and lost in the great ocean, enjoying his company and laughing with ease. But at night she would dream of home and awaken depressed in sad daze. He seemed to know this and would allow her time alone, going out to the pond, laying on his back in the sun until she emerged for her daily bird bath. Some times they would play with Ego who had grown to be quiet a handsome crab living in the ocean but

visiting daily for a meal of sea weed and silver fish. They were a team and would spend most days playing on the beach, sliding down drifts on the backs of dead jelly fish, and hiding from one another in berry bushes and under the sand. The fur ball played a game with Ego, bitting his shell in a friendly manner, jumping around the clumsy crab, which snapped it's huge claw at him. Sometimes he would catch up and pinch fur ball and he would yelp, but then they played even more vigorously. One day Cosette could not find Fur Ball, but figured he was playing with Ego. When it came time for lunch she set their places and went calling for them. That's when she found Fur Ball, stooped on his hind legs, nudging Ego with his nose. He looked very sad, and Ego did not move. She ran to them and found the problem. "Oh Fur Ball, he has shed his skin! Don't be sad, they all do. Just think how funny it is. He is probably very embarrassed, hiding away in the ocean, naked as the day he was born." Fur Ball did not seem to understand and would often visit the empty shell. Cosette still set a place for Ego hopping that he would return soon, both of them watching the beach as they ate. "He'll come back someday and he'll be even bigger, and snap your nose off." She joked. One day after Fur Ball had eaten her fill in the cave they decided to go and search the beaches for ego. He was full and walked with his belly dragging on the ground. She poked him with a stick and laughed at his huge belly as the walked through the tunnels. When they reached the waterfall Fur Ball slipped on a wet stone and slid towards the pond. Cosette's heart sank and she dropped their bowls and spoons falling to the rocks lunging to him reaching out but unable to grab his fur. His eyes widened as his large claws scraped lines in the rock but he was too heavy and finally splashed in the pond. His little paws kicked in a panic holding him on the surface for a moment then he sank to the bottom. Cosette screamed and ran around the pond seeing him on the bottom with bubbles escaping from his mouth. She took a stance to dive but sopped. All the sounds of the jungle seemed to disappear and the cool wind stood still as she saw her Father's reflection in the smooth water once again. He was more white and his skin looked translucent on the surface, eyes opened, dull and nearly void of life. She could not move. She cursed her self for being such a coward. Her heart was sick and she felt she might faint. Then there was a loud splash, wakening her from her daze. It was Fur Ball across the pond. He was kicking his feet and swirling around the surface of the water. He gave her a playful look and a smile. He liked it and could swim as well as the fish. She was greatly releaved, and scolded him for such a scare. He paddled his large foot claws and drifted on his back then suddenly jumped up and dove deep into the water. Under the translucent blue she watched him swim to where she stood. He popped his head up for a breath.
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Cosette clapped her hands, "How can you swim with all that rock in your gut?" She said. He shook the water from his furry head and splashed Cosette in the face. She laughed as he dove back into the pond. When a school of silvery fish came around to the center of the pool, he jumped and floped, then darted with great speed toward the fish; he slapped them with his claws and sucked them in his mouth. Cosette jumped up stomping her feet as he chomped down mouthfulls of the little fish. He continued doing this until the school of fish broke their form and spread throughout the pond.

Chapter 8

Over the following weeks it seemed all he did was eat. Cosette scolded him, saying soon he wouldn't even fit in the cave. Though he was still not much bigger than a cantaloupe, he became more round, and his stomach touched the ground. It began to rain in that time So heavy that it was easy to find food because it was knocked from the trees by the wind. Cosette began collecting a large store so she wouldn't have to go out into the rain. But Fur Ball didn't help her as before. He slept. Such a heavy sleep that she could not wake him. He snored loudly so she made him a bed of his own with lots of leaves over his head. She kept expecting him to wake each morning, but he didn't and days turned into weeks. She became very board and home sick in the cave alone all day. So she tried to keep herself busy building a roof over their bed to keep them dry from the rain, and decorating the cave with shells and fish bones from the beach. But it wasn't the same without the furry animal. She would sometimes lay beside him, act as if she were sleeping, then prod him in the belly with a sharp fingernail. He would only snort, wave his paws, then turn to his side and start his circular snoring pattern over. Cosette remembered the little upright creature that had left her the cocoanut so long ago and decided to explore the jungle, further than her and fur ball had ever attempted. They had always gone along the beach and never into the thick trees behind their cave. The big rains had stopped and it only drizzled during the morning and night so she thought that Fur Ball would wake any day, but he just continued snoring as always so she decided to go alone. She was used to adventures, her father had called everything an adventure, but she thought only certain times were true ones, like when they followed the man in the park all day, just for fun, to see where he might go. He was a regular figure in the park, coming after lunch, then leaving at the same time every day. The old man was hard of hearing and did not see them walking behind him. He first bought a loaf of bread from the baker, and fed the birds in front of the market. Papa got

angry and wanted to stop him because he abhorred those birds that pooped on his head and in his lunch sometimes. Cosette reminded him of the adventure, that if they gave it away they would never know where the old man goes, so he reluctantly complied. "I will speak with him later on the subject," he said. "No you won't papa, he's cute, leave him alone." Papa's anger was always cooled by Cosette. "Birds come anyway I guess." "Yes, to poop on your head," they both laughed. The trip became more interesting as the day continued. The old man, they had named "Mr. Wither," (just to have something to call him) went to the Double Tree Cafe and ordered a bowl of cabbage and onion soup to go. They knew because they asked the head waiter and he told them for a nickel he also told them that he had ordered the same item every saturday but had squid dumplings and noodles on sunday. The old Mr. Wither traveled to the corner of Penatong Road and the cross street Leazer. Penatong was a busy area with many shops and restaurants where it was easy to get lost in a crowd mid-day. The street Leazer was quiet with nothing but apartments. He sat on a bench, directed to the quiet street of Leazer, beneath a red brick apartment building. There bench was cast iron and covered with white droppings of birds but he seemed not to mind and he ate his soup with long slurps. They started to wonder if this adventure was such a good idea after all. "We should have followed someone young," her Papa said leaning on his wrist. "I've see more action from dead fish." "We shouldn't have followed at all, I don't think it's right for some reason," Cosset said. "Right? What could be more right? People walk in the streets, in public, of course it is right!" he said. They continued to argue when they heard the old man burp loudly. "Oh my," Cosette said, "the soup must be good. We must try it." Right after his long and deep belch, a window on the top floor opened across the street. There stood a lady in her under clothing. She blew a kiss to the man. She was about the same age and was big and round, bulging cheeks blushing red . She sat on the window seal. They just looked at each other. Mr. Wither smiled and would wave slightly with his fingers beside his leg. She would wave back with a handkerchief, but if you didn't know you would think she was fanning the heat. Papa did not like that she was in her unders, but said it was alright because many women lounge like that in the hot days of summer. They watched for almost two hours when the man burped again this time louder than the first. Cosette was young at that time only seven and asked, "Is that how you make love Papa? They look in love."
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Her Papa was astounded that she would even ask a question like that. "No. No. No," he said, "You do not burp for love making. And where did you learn such a word?" "From your stories." "Oh yes. Well.. To make love is a private joining of two that God put together and if God had put these two together he would burp in her house, but he sits out here in the street gazing and belching. This is not love Cosette, maybe old love, but love cannot exist in just memories, it must be reality." The man burped again even louder, they then spotted another man across the street, walk up the stairs to the apartment. The woman quickly shut the window as they watched, the man was talking very abrasively to the round woman. He looked out the window at Mr. Wither, now gathering his things, and slammed the shutters closed. The old man on the bench cried, not in a dramatic way, but simply cried, with small tears that rolled and followed the cracks in his old face. It was then that they decided to stop the adventure. They went away sad. They walked all the way down Gassberry Street. Her Father was quiet all the way home. He looked at the ground the whole way and did not say a word. He had to work early in the morning so he asked Cosette to make him some red-bonnet tea, he said it helped him to sleep. "Why are you so sad Papa. We don't even know Mr. Wither." She said "Mabye I was wrong Cosette, we don't know their story." "But you say what is right is right don't you?" "Yes, but..." "But what?" "We are not rich Dear, but my family is. We are of a higher class than most. I have just never felt that I should take their riches. I've seen what money has to offer and it's not much." "What does that have to do with Mr. wither?" He told her the story of her Uncle Saffron and his great love that was never to be. How he loved a woman like crabs love their shell, but even crabs loose what they love most. "You see in Bermala there are long traditions, and traditions are Bermala." He explained how his parents had planned a great wedding for Uncle Saffron when he was nineteen. He had never met the woman, she had been decided for him years earlier because of his blood. She was of a royal decent and would bring great riches to their family so it was decided with a grand stretch of land along the ocean. Her family was given the land for her hand in marriage to Uncle Saffron. But Saffron did not care of the riches and did not care to marry a woman he had never met, not just for himself but for the woman also, how was he to know if she would even like him, if she would be happy and Saffron loved happiness. But he had a secret. A secret so shameful that he had never told his parents or even his brother Ezra. He had fallen deeply in love with the housekeepers daughter Mia

many years earlier. He had never told her so, she was like a sister, apart of the family. The family never suspected one of their sons would fall in love with a lowly servant girl so they saw no reason in keeping them apart. But he did love her, so much so that he would cry often at dinner and his parents were perplexed thinking he was loosing his mind. So Saffron decided first to tell Mia of his love and then his parents. He saw love in her eyes as she picked up his laundry and dusted the shelves, but he had to be sure before he made such a fool of himself. Saffron enjoyed cooking but was not allowed in the kitchen with the servents, his parents saying it was bellow him, so he would often watch them from the window. Mia would be there, usually doing small jobs, pealing potatoes or scrubbing mushrooms. He could not find the courage to tell her though he tried many times. As it became closer and closer to his wedding day he would wait in the hallway when she gathered laundry. He determined to tell her when she came to his room, but all he could do when she appeared was tip his hat and say "Good day." It came to the day before his wedding and he knew he could wait no longer so he decided to announce his love to Mia no matter the consequence. She would be helping in the kitchen that night for the great celebration so he decided to wait in the cooler where she often was sent to gather goose eggs and butter. So he snuck into the cooler before the cooks began preparing the feast. He waited for hours watching the cooks enter and leave the cooler, but no Mia. More time passed and he could not feel his toes or fingers, but he was determined to talk to Mia that night if it killed him. When finally she entered. He looked from the dark at her long flowing silky hair, her hazel eyes, her cheeks that were pink by nature and he felt a courage well up in him like he had never had. He knew that nothing could stop him from proclaiming his love to her and the world. She stepped beside him, he could smell her sweet sent of olive oil. She took two goose eggs in her hand and stopped as if she knew he was there. He knew it was time. But when he went to reach for her shoulder, he found he was frozen solid. When he tried to speak, his lips, covered in ice, would not move. She looked in his direction but it was dark. He stood still as the earth, but his heart beating hard inside him. "Oh Papa! He married the other woman didn't he?" "Yes, that is his wife today, he had no choice, they found him in the cooler hours before his wedding. By the time he was un frozen, he was in no shape to resist." "But Mia, she..." "Yes, She is his servant still today. And it makes me sad. He is a good man, even with a love so great, he will not disgrace his wife. Only to be near Mia is enough. Now go and make my tea and pipe I must rest for tomorrow." Red-bonnet tea was her father's favorite drink besides an occasional hot whiskey and lime. It was made from a rare flower found brought from hundreds of
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miles away by sailors that fished the deep. When he asked Cosette to make it, she knew he was either troubled or excited about something. His sadness was usually the fish market. He was used to adventures in the high seas and faraway islands and to stand at a table all day lobing heads off was sometimes too much of nothing for him. Whenever he talked about his work his shoulders slumped in the slightest way only she could tell. He had been there for ten years and had only recently been missing days, saying it was his lack of sleep, but Cosette thought it might have been a lack of desire and adventure. She made him tea and brought it out on a small platter but he was asleep, sitting in his chair, his long arms slumped over the rails, knuckles lightly brushing the wooden floor. Red-bonnet was a acquired taste that she had not acquired, she drank it anyway, so as not to waist it. Cosette made a belt from a vine and found a large stick for a walking pole. She needed a weapon incase she ran into that mean fur ball again mother. "I'll take her entire nose off this time," she declared. She found a long pointy shell, pink like her spoons but looking more like a knife. She carved it on a rock by rubbing it back and forth until it was sharp as rose thorns. She then carved a handle and placed it in her belt. She took a medium size soft leaf and tied it up with berries for the road, then a loop at the top of the sack so that it would hang from her belt. She checked in on the Fur Ball again. He was awake, and chewing a hole in the rock by their bed. Though she was excited, she acted as if he had never slept saying, "Don't you get that dust on my pillow, move to another wall," pointing a finger. He understood and pattered across the floor to another wall. He chewed very slowly. Cosette could tell he was recovering from his sleep, sluggish, walking like he was drunk. "Let's go fur ball," she said, "You have plenty of time to chew; we have an adventure to pursue." The creature did not crawl down from the wall, he looked only at her with tired eyes. She could see he wasn't in his right mind so continued without him. She was still angry that he had slept so long and left her alone, but glad he was back. She had never been far from her small paradise by the pond, but she was growing tired of berries and brown bananas. She wanted to find something to eat that was more hearty, liked nuts, and thought maybe some mushrooms might grow in this humid air. She had tried to eat the silvery fish that the fur ball had brought to her but to watch them squirm on her crab shell plate was too much. She could not find it in herself to eat something so close to alive. She cut a path up the side of the cliff, it was steep and the rocks were sharp. She fell on her first try and cut the top of her foot; she decided to find another path. After many false starts, she found an open path that looked as though it had been well worn. She wondered what type of beast had worn the trail and if it was kind or mean. She took the knife from her belt just as a precaution. When she reached the top of the small mountain she was amazed. She could nearly see the entire island except for one side that was shielded by a huge mountain, which was reaching the clouds. It was cold and wet, the wind blew hard. She could hear the rustling waters

and knew the stream was near, and if the stream were near, the cave was under her feet. She thought about how funny it would be if she could find the hole that gave them light and scare the little Fur Ball as he did his work. After much searching she found the hole. It was not a hole but a crack in the earth that ran about 15 feet. She followed it looking down until she saw the fur ball biting on the wall. "YAOWWW," she screamed. The fur ball's legs went straight out, hair shooting out an inch, he hit the ground bounced a few times, then rolled to a stop. He looked up at her and squealed, angry. She laughed so hard she fell back in the slippery grass. Before she knew it, she was laughing while sliding down the back of a large hill and her laughter turned to screams. She moved at such a fast pace, like sliding on the jelly fish, that she could not stop or slow her self down, finally landing with a thud in a cold slop of mud. "Arr, all for a laugh," she said and shook the mud from her clothes. The little knife she carried, slid down behind her, and plopped in the puddle.

Chapter 9

The terrain was different from the jungle she was accustomed to, more like a forest with high trees, with great shadows that covered the land in evening shades of blue. It was cold and her little blue dress was hardly appropriate for the weather. Sounds of hooting and howling echoed across the dark trails that extended as far as she could see. She filled her pockets with pebbles to mark the way just as she had done in the cave. She was used to the quiet breeze of the ocean, but here, it was loud and echoed hollow in her ears. She found a stream to walk beside and continued dropping stones as she went finally arriving at a clearing, she noticed something bizarre in the landscape at the base of a great mountain that she had seen before. She could hardly believe it was real or natural--a rock formation or a sculpture in the distance. Higher than any tree and shaped like a bird, wings spread, scowling with a beak sharp and curled. She felt a small pain of fear in her chest, but took a deep breath and walked toward the formation, determined to find out what it was. As she traveled the rocky path she came across a large bush with bright red blossoms like the back of a lobster. They looked very familiar and she stopped gathering a hand fool, taking in the sent. "Red-Bonnet!" She said and began plucking them by that hand full, filling her little bag. She was so excited she could hardly contain it and little chirps of laughter filled the forest. The closer she got the more detail she could see. White or silver objects circling the formation, and a great waterfall spouting from the birds beak, which ran into a lake, perfectly round, not like the rough shape of her pond. She knew she
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had to be quiet and secret, like when they followed Mr. Wither on their adventure. Loud screeching noises could be heard, bouncing against rock and echoing for long periods. The closer she came, the colder it got, and the darker the forest around her. The ground in the clearing was full of tall grass, dead and yellow, with a narrow trail of dirt. It was good for covering, almost was as tall as her. She looked back and realized she could see the dark forest no more, and worried if she was going too far, but she kept dropping pebbles and moving forward. She heard a crunching noise behind her and turned. The path of pebbles was gone. She was afraid. There were small trails everywhere and she didn't know which one she had come from. She heard the noise again behind the tall grass. She held up her spear and ran towards it ready to attack but she stumbled over something soft and furry, falling to the ground hard. The furry thing squealed and she realized it was Fur Ball. She saw the crushed stones in his mouth and yelled at him throwing her spear lopsided at him. "How could you! That is our way home." The creature coward but continued chewing. "Uug. Now we're lost, are you happy?" He tucked into his fur when she ran towards him. She heard a noise behind her. This time it was big and she could see the grass being rustled violently as something came towards them. "Get back," she held her palm out to Fur Ball while she picked up her spear. Digging her heals in the ground she extended her spear, crouching like a tiger about to pounce on it's prey. She didn't know what to expect. Her knees shivered, and her balance was unsteady. She heard shuffling of feet pounding on the clay ground. She stepped one foot back, preparing to run. "Honk." The noise was loud, like a duck in pain. She scooped up Fur Ball and ran. The creature honked again and it was closer, right behind them. Then another noise right above her wings slapping the wind. She turned, it was a huge silver bird, but more than a bird, it was an eagle but with legs like a man, bent in a strange way and covered in feathers. His feet were large claws, with three talons. He gravitated above her, then swooped straight down. She ducked as his claws snapped by her head. "Oh god help me." She took her little spear and held it up with one hand running. The honking still came from behind her but further in distance. She turned again with the feeling he would take her at any moment, but lost her footing and flew backwards. She saw the bird clear for the first time as it descended. It's great eagle head, angry red eyes and massive curling beak. It wore clothes like man, a jacket with golden buttons and large metals on his chest with rough sharp edges, and one great star in his forehead, gold and flickering in the light. She hit the ground hard and the birds wings extended blocking the sun. The talons dug deep into her shoulders. A whimper escaped her lips, as she jabbed the

knife up, aimlessly, trying to hit something. Fur ball fell and cowered behind the tall grass. She the felt a weight heavy on her chest, the talons sank deeper in her shoulders, she screamed as her feet left the ground. She heard the honking sound again bellow her and looked down to see a toad, or something like it but large. It jumped up with little claws clasping her belt. The Eagle beat it's wings furiously and looked down with a scowl. "Damn Pest!" he said in the voice of a man. Cosette feared she would be ripped in half when a sudden flame shot before her face. She turned her face, felt the heat but it did not touch her. She heard the sizzling of feathers. The Eagle cried out like a man, and dropped them, four feet to the ground. They hit with a thud. She opened her eyes to see smoke trailing out of a green creature's mouth as it barreled through the grass to the forest. She was dizzy. The flapping of the wings was gone and so was the honking. Fur Ball jumped on her and licked her face furiously. "Stop it, I'm alright." She said. They slowly followed the flattened grass after the toad creature. Cosette was in pain, patches of blood on her blue dress around her shoulders. She hoped the creature would lead them back to some place familiar, at least the forest where she could find the stream again. They walked for a long while, constantly looking behind them for another attack from the eagle man. She had heard of many strange creatures in her Father's stories, but never thought she would see one face to face. Especially one so fearsome. She remembered the way it spoke like a man, an angry man, with a deep raspy chords. She felt a shiver go down her spine and she held Fur Ball closer to her chest. They finally reached the stream and she stopped for a drink and to wash her wounds. She heard something rustling behind a large rock, with a small stream of smoke streaming in the air. There was a foot sticking out from behind the rock. It had green leathery skin and one-inch rounded claws. "Come out," she said, "I want to thank you. You saved my life." There was more rustling. The smoke had disapeared. She stood and walked towards the rock. "Come on, I won't hurt you." She grabbed a hand full of berries as she walked tossing them one at a time towards the rock. Finally a small green head peeked from behind the rock. She stopped, and giggled. It looked like a horn toad. "Well come out. Look I'll put down my spear." The big green body came out next, she laughed again and so did Fur Ball, the green creature scowled. It looked like a horn toad that someone had stepped on, his back and stomach were flat like a table, with a shell like a turtle but soft, and there were spikes on its lizard like face that trailed all the way to it's tail on either side of it's back. She did not see anything to worry about from the beast, so she scolded it, and waved her knife at
38

its head. The beast lowered its head, seemingly ashamed. "Thank you. But you know it was your fault I ran in the first place and the eagle saw me." She smiled. "But it's alright. Were you running from the Eagle?" The toad creature shook it's head 'yes'. "Amazing. You understand me." The toad shook it's head again. "Can you speak like me?" The beast shook his head no, and opened its mouth making a loud horn sound. Cosette was excited to have a new friend and full of strength from their fight with the eagle. "Ah that's right, honk, honk," she laughed. "I shall take you home and you can play with us by the pond. We have a crab too. He's naked right now. You don't eat crabs do you? And we eat good food for lunch a dinner, but I'm tired of bananas. Do you like bananas? We're on a adventure, we have to return the pearl to the sea, but I don't know what he meant by the 'sea', because it can't be the ocean, he tried that, and now it's stuck in Fur Ball's head anyway so I have to wait till he dies or it falls out. Maybe pearls fall out like teeth when you turn seven. I don't know. Do you know what the sea is? " The creature only looked at her with a confused look and did not nod. She turned and walked along the stream. "Well come along." she said waving her hand. The creature stood for awhile, then trotted next to them. Fur Ball growled and bore his teeth. The toad lowered it's head. "Fur Ball," she said and tapped his head with the spear, "Act like a gentleman." When they returned to the small pond, it was morning. The toad creature carried Cosette asleep on his back. She stretched and thanked him, she noticed him contemplating the blue pond and asked whether or not he could swim. He nodded his head yes. She sat down on a rock nearby and looked at her wounds. "I think it's time to start giving out names," she said, dipping a rag torn from her dress in the pond. "Names are very important, you don't just make them up, names have meaning. They must fit the person, or what what you want the person to be." She wiped away the crusted blood on her shoulder. "Fur ball, I name you Gassberry, because you remind me of home." She looked at the toad for a long time and pinched his scaly cheeks. This is a hard one because I hardly know you, but I feel like I have for ever. She thought with her hand on her chin. " I name you Leazor, for the burping man, you burp fire, and their hearts were full of fire, a fitting name I think." He nodded his head and seemed satisfied.

Chapter 10

When she awoke, she felt as though she had slept a lifetime, and her body felt renewed, she snuggled up with her soft pillow of leaves and sand and then remembered that it was not a soft pillow. She looked to see the furry Gassberry rolled in a ball under her head. She patted her hand on the bed and felt it was also soft. "Leazer is that you?" He honked and it rattled the bowls and spoons on the table beside her. It startled her then she chuckled, "Good morning to you to." She cuddled close to Gassberry holding him in her arms."We make a team." Once the sun showed through the hole in the cave, she made tea for the first time with hot water. Leazer the toad, amazed her with his ability to heat his back like their stoves at home. His head could twist in almost every direction like an owl, even all the way backwards, which he would do to blow fire on his back. His back was like the coals they used to heat their stove, storing heat until they were bright red then white. She clapped her hands in excitement when he first showed her that morning by the pond, as if he was used to the habit. She filled her large lobstertail with water and gently laid it on his back until the water boiled. She then took her spoon shell and poured the hot-water into halved cocoanuts, mixing in berries, and red bonnet flowers. "Almost as good as home," she said. She let Gassberry try some, and he liked it, but Leazer didn't even want to try the hot liquid. "I guess we can cook the fish now Gassberry." She used her Crab shell to scoop a bowl full of the little silver fish from the pond then lightly toasted them on the crab shell. While they sizzled, she ran to the beach and broke off crusts of salt that had gathered on a rock. She sprinkled the fish with salt, added some nuts and mushrooms she found on the adventure and cooked them until they were crisp. She ate with such a slow meter, that an hour passed as she savored the crunch of each little fish on her plate. Leazer enjoyed the fish too, but Gassberry refused the crispy fish. He jumped in the water and gobbled up a mouth-full of fresh silvery fish instead. She was fond of the fish; they brought her back to her uncle's kitchen where they would cook seafood all day for the weekend celebrations. Papa would bring home the fish heads that were discarded. Uncle Saffron would buy the sardines, tomatoes, and basil, and friends would bring other assorted fish, like squid and shrimp, and if we were lucky a big red lobster. First, they would boil the fish heads in water, this smell was not the greatest, until Papa would put spices and juice of lemon in the boiling pot, then the aroma would bring everyone into the house. Uncle Saffron would fry the sardines over a hot fire in olive oil, when they were crisp as biscuits he would place them on a towel to cool, this made them more crispy. The tomatoes and the fish stock went into a big boiling hot pot. He cooked it down until it was less than when it started and thick like ale. The ladies, like Ms. Mia would lightly boil the fish, careful not to over cook them, and constantly ask Uncle Saffron to test them with a spoon. She was beautiful. No on would deny it.
40

Men followed her wherever she went, carrying groceries or helping her on steps. But she would not marry, or court. No one knew why except Cosette, Ezra and Uncle Saffron. She had fallen deeply in love with Uncle Saffron years after his marriage and everyone knew it except Uncle Saffron's wife, Joneasia, who was a bitter woman that everyone tried to stay away from at meals because of her habit of slapping hands with a wooden spoon when someone sampled a plate. She had a strong face, but was beautiful in her own way, elegant and always dressed like it was sunday. Cosette always asked her Papa why Uncle Saffron did not leave her for Mia, and her Father would always tell her the same thing, "Love is great, but character is greater still." Joneasia would scrub the shellfish with a hard sponge saying "Their dirty like children." Then Mia would un-peel the shrimp and crack the claws of crab and lobster, split the bodies, until there was a pile of meat. Chopped onions and potatoes were then added to the tomato mix, while Papa would make his perfect rice 'just for spice,' he would say. Saffron would toss in three or four fingers of pepper powder and roasted hot peppers. The fire would be turned off, and the fish were added to the mix to sit for one hour, about the time it took Papa to make perfect spicy rice. It was then heated up slightly, a hand full of fresh herbs, a few pinches of salt to taste, a lime, and it was done. The whole delicious mess was poured over the rice on each person's plate. Then Uncle Saffron would salt the sardines and crush them over each plate, squeeze a lime and drizzle olive oil. Cosette always asked for extra Sardines, and even now, by the pool, she asked Leazer for extras. He nodded his head and she took another handful. "We will have Gassberry catch us a big one next time Leazer." When she finished her bowl of crispy sardines they all laid down for a nap in front of the pond. Cosette was awoken an hour later by the patter of feet by the waterfall. She thought she saw the small upright creature, like the one who had shared a cocoanut when she first arrived, but her eyes were a blur from sleep, and she counted it a dream. She went back to sleep, but was restless with dreams, eagles and monkeys poking her with sticks. She waved them off, but they only poked harder. The monkeys dancing in circles, laughing and screeching scratching their heads. They had evil faces and the eagles looked on with their furrowed brows smiling while they sharpened their beaks with stones. She asked the monkeys why they poked her, but they did not answered continuing in their beastly dance. Then she was rattled from her sleep and realized the pokes were real. She jumped up and Leazer honked loudly. It was four or five small creatures or men, she couldn't tell, standing back as far as they could poking her with ornate spears, spears without points, blunt like a severed stick. She would have reason to fear their pointy sticks but they were so small that she only could only smile. Small but round like pumpkins, swollen cheeks and legs like winter squash, dark skin and

only two feet from the ground. Flat faces and large heads. The strangest thing was their headdress. They all wore animals the same as Gassberry on their heads as hats of some sort. The hats squealed at Leazer Toad. Cosette guessed it was a common dislike in the species. She wanted to pick one of the small people up and cuddle them, like a baby, but the expression on their faces seemed more of a serious manner. The leader, stood a few inches taller than the others. She could tell because he was much more adorned with bright red-bonnets and dried moth wings. He pointed his spear at Cosette's head. Just as he did this, she saw the creature on his head untuck her black head, to reveal its nose-less face. Cosette didn't know if she should laugh or run, it was Gassberries mother, the one she had lobed the nose off of. The little man pointed at Gassberry with his spear, and then pointed at Cosette's head. "Luna," he said while other tribesmen mocked lifting something to their head. "I suppose they want me to put Gassberry on my head." She laughed and the man pointed again; sternly this time. She asked Leazer if he understood them, and he nodded 'yes'. "Well do the small men want me to put Gassberry on my head." Leazer nodded yes again. "It must be a custom," she said. She took Gassberry and stuck him on her head, they all cheered, and welcomed her with pats on the back of her knees. The mean mother Gassberry tried to bite Cosette when the leader embraced her. She laughed they were all like little pets to her, she wanted to pick them up and rock them in her arms. Their big green eyes so innocent and their curly hair like the dolls she once had as a girl. She couldn't resist and she bent down to pick one up, but before she could grab hold, they made a loud sigh and fell on their knees, faces to the ground. "What did I do Leazer?" Leazer shook his head side to side. They began making a chanting noise and bowing to Cosette. "They think I'm special. What are they saying?" Leazer just looked at her. "I think it is the pearl," a voice said.

Chapter 11

The voice was distant but close, like a thought with an accent the same as her, but more foreign, young, child like and soft. It was a voice she remembered from the cave, while she slept dreaming but never thought twice about it, because it was in dreams, and who would question dreams. "Who are you?" she said. "I'm here." "Where?" "Here on your head, I'm Gassberry" "You can talk."
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"Yes I can talk," said Gassberry "Why have you never said anything?" She said. "I thought I was. I thought you were the one who couldn't speak, making all those strange noises all the time." "You mean talking?" She said. "Yes your speaking. It's very irritating." "Your iritating." She said. "You can stop your speaking. I can understand you without it." "I can't stop speaking. I don't know how to talk without speaking. Are you reading my mind?" "I don't know. I've never done this before. I don't understand it either. It must have something to do with being on your head, they all wear ones like me, maybe it is how they communicate." She was in shock with everying that was going on around her. She didn't know how to react to the bowing little people. She was glad that there were others, but now wished she could have her quiet pond back with a non-talking Gassberry, and an understanding Leazer. "What do I do Gassberry?" "I don't know. I guess you just stand here and let them worship." "Is that what they are doing? I don't like that." Gassberry snuggled up tight on her head. "Then tell them to stop." "Why did you show them the pearl?" She asked but said it out loud. "De Pearl. De Pearl." The little round people said still bowing low to the ground. "They understand, they heard me." She said and then tried to lift the leader from the ground and said slowly, "do you understand what I am saying? Do you know my words." He said nothing and pulled from her hands, bowing again to the ground. "Pearl," she said. "De Pearl." They chanted again, this time tapping their spears on the ground. She spun around, they were everywhere, in a great circle, she hadn't noticed so many before. "Why can't Leazer speak?" Cosset asked Gasberry. "Leazer." The men chanted. "I don't know, maybe he can, put him on your head." "Very funny," she said sitting down on Leazer's back, chin in her open hands. "Well this is nice. Now what? Are they going to follow me around all the time tapping their spears and chanting what I say?" She stood and the men bowed lower. "That's about it. I'm getting out of hear," she said and stepped through the rows of little men until there was a opening. She ran for the cave but heard there little feet patter behind her as she ran. She turned swiftly and the running men fell face down

once again. The cave was only a few feet away so she jumped on the larg rock and darted behind the water fall. The little men followed poking her with their rods. "Stop it!" she shouted and kicked one in the belly. He fell back into the group behind him, they fell back, and like a snow ball they rolled, bouncing and sliding on the rocks, splashing into the pond. Some followed her into the cave, others helped their comrades out of the water with their spears. The sound of pattering bare feat bounced around the cave. When reached the final corridor, they slid over the large rock one after another filling the small cave. She ignored them, some bowing still, others studying all the small tools she had made from shells and drift wood, putting bowls on their head and holding up the forks and spoons to the light. She took her spoon and bowl from a the leader and wrapped them in a leaf, shoved it in her belt, "You can stay around. I've had enough of this," she said. There were so many men in the cave now it was hard for Cosette to walk without stepping on a few. She tied the leaf bag to her belt and made her way to the exit but the leader blocked her passage on his knees, hands out. "Sorry little man, maybe if your people were more polite, instead of poking me, I would be inclined to ask you to dinner." She stepped over him, he grabbed hold of her leg. "Heylop," he shouted in his mouse like voice and she heard a loud rustling behind her. Thinking they were bowing again she payed no mind, shook him from her foot and continued down the corridor. "Strange creatures," she said to Gassberry who was snug on her head. "Yes, I hope they are not planning on staying," Gassberry said. "They won't. I'm sure they have homes, with little fat wives and kids." The cave was rumbling now, like the earth was quaking beneath their feet. "What are they doing now tearing my home up?" Cosette said looking back. "I don't know but it sounds like fun." Just then she tripped, nearly falling, catching herself grabbing a stagligtite. She looked down it was the little man again, this time making strange noises and pointing back to the cave. "Heylop. Heylop," With a excited little dance. "Watch it little man, that's enough. Now you go home, come back when you learn some manners." "Heylop," he said. She heard the rummble reach a fever pitch, small pebbles and dust rained down from the rock above. She turned and looked down the narrow hall. "What on earth are they doing? You better not tear up my home. I worked very hard on that rain catcher," she said and ran back toward the cave. The little man ran behind her hopping, "Heylop!" they shouted.

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Dust was bellowing out of the cave entrance and the little man ran out in front of her signaling for her to follow. She pushed through a crowd of little men jumping and singing with their spears raised in the air. She could see nothing. The room was thick with dust. "What are you doing, stop it. Stop it!" Gassberry jumped from her head and ran into the dust cloud. "Gassberry, come back," she said, both hands out stumbling through the cave, tripping over little men and her pots and pans which were scattered every where. "How dare you!" she screamed. "This is my home." She stumbled again, and yelped, this time unable to find her balance. The great rumbling stopped completely as she fell and hit the ground hard, her face slapping against the cold hard stone. She lay in a daze looking up at the celling as and the dust slowly cleared. She could see all of the little furry creatures, the ones that were on the little peoples heads, walking back and forth on the celling. There were so many that it looked as if her celling was carpeted, but moving. They slowly cleared one by one and returned to their masters heads. She was astonished of what was revealed above her. "How. I mean how. How do you know?" She said, laying on her back, eyes wide, burning with tears and dust. On the celling was the exact image of the globe that was on her father's leather book which had been thrown into the ocean. She rembered him buying the book from Serion at the tea and tobacco store. He had told Serian exactly what he wanted carved in the leather cover. A globe with four oceans separated by thousands of Islands. Serian was a master artist and sketched as Ezra described the sea monsters that he wanted dipping in and out of the waters with their long tail revealed in loops. And in the center of the globe was a fish woman holding a pearl, arms outstretched to heaven. Serian spent days etching and scoring the leather. At night she could see his lamp on, his shadow hunched over in the window. When she awoke it looked as if he hadn't moved. When it was finished her Father cried, and rubbed his had gently over the book cover. She had looked at the cover many times, and knew every inch and detail. The globe on the celling was an exact replica. Every detail etched with procession and beauty. She cried, as thousands of her Father's stories invaded her mind at once in a great ensemble of emotion and joyful sadness.

Chapter 12

Leazer lit four small torches the tiny men made from palm leaves and drift wood. They then lead Cosette, Leazer And Gassberry deep into the cave. Further

than Cosette ever dared to go. The cave became smaller and smaller, until Cosette had to crawl on her knees, shoulders and arms barely abel to move, sliding the torch on the ground in front of her. Just when she thought she could take no more it opened up to a cavern so enormous she couldn't see where it began or ended. The little men pointed at what seemed to be small buildings and shelters carved deep into the walls of the cave, with long rows of stairs, held up by huge columns, seeming to disappear high into the dark void above. In the center of the cavern was a large body of water fed by three great rushing waterfalls, that made her waterfall look like a dripping faucet. It was cold and wind blew across the waters stinging her face and bare legs. After an hour of travel she was cold, exhausted and could barely feel her fingers and toes. She stopped the small men and tried to explain with gestures that she was too tired to go on. They seemed to understand and walked beside her with there tiny hands on her legs. They lead her up a steep flight of stairs, high into the cave. She looked over the side and her stomach sunk, her head grew heavy so she sat down to regain her balance. They pulled at her dress and pointed up the stairs. "I think we're almost there Cosette," Gasbbery said. "I can't go any further. I'm scared. Who knows were they are taking us." "I don't get the feeling that they are something to be feared, I usually have a feeling when I'm in danger." Gassberry said. "Alright," Cosette said struggling to stand, "but I can't go much further." They reached a sprawling flat rock and Cosette felt a breeze on her face. A warm breeze smelling of flowers and ocean water. There was light coming from a crack, the width only large enough for her to slide sideways between. The Little men turned and smiled and began singing in their high seprano voices as they filled in a row walking one by one into the light of the crack. She slid through the rock and the warmth of the sun brightened her face. It was a thick forest, green and lush with wet heavy leaves. Thick vines hanging low to the ground swung in the breeze. She looked high into the trees, light breaking through leaves in streams of yellow, large butterflies the size of Gassberry floated in the air with colors so intense they seemed to glow. One flew low and smile at Cosette and she lifted her hand, it landed, it was heavy and she had to support her elbow with her other hand. She pet its back as it fluttered its bright yellow and purple wings. Cosette told Gasberry that she had never imagined anything so beautiful and he agreed his eyes as wide as hers. After an hour the forest opened to a clear path lined with red bonnets. The trail was too perfect for nature to construct, swerving in perfect arches around large trees covered in moss. She picked the red bonnets as they walked and stuffed them in her bag until it was full. She saw too children, half the size of the little men, running down the path. They were fat and round like the adults, but they wore nothing, bare as babies. They threw red bonnets in the air and rolled under them, as they rained down, they
46

laughed and rolled, their little bellies jiggling like pudding. She wanted to pick one up and she ran to them. They stopped their play and cried, running to the leader of the troupe. He lifted one and laughed pointing back at Cosette and saying something in their language. She smiled and waved back. They entered a wide field and little people from everywhere, ran down to meet them, mothers with tiny babies on their back, hugged the men, some picking up children and putting them on their shoulders, pretty soon they were surrounded. All the women and children looked back at Cosette shyly. Cosette only smiled and waved. They all wore Fur Balls on their head, and all were fat and round. They topped a hill and she saw the cliffs that surrounded the great green fields. Avillage carved in the rock loomed high above them at it's center a great building like those she had seen in books of ancient cities, but these were not stone on stone, but fully carved into the mountain. Children looked out windows and many little people stood in lines making a wall up and down the stairs that linked each residence. The leader stopped at the top of the hill and held out his hands, all others surounded him. He signaled for Cosette to come to him, then reached high and took her hand. "Estra to lu Heylop," he said. He paused and the crowed was quiet "Lu rastra." With his last phrase the crowd yelped and shouted in high voices. Little girls threw flowers in the air, and little boys danced around Cosette holding hands. Cosette was overtaken with warm feelings for the little people. She remembered her Papa saying that you can overcome any hatred for a people or tribe if you would only spend an hour with their children. She laughed and pulled globs of reb bonnets from her pocket and through them high in the air. They ushered her to the large building in the center of the city. There were enormous months, almost as large as the eagle men. She was affraid at first, but seeng that the people were not, she continued with them. The moths were covered in silver armor, on their chest, backs and face. Some circled above, others landed carrying bundles on their backs of bananas, large fruit she had never seen and even what looked like dead rats and rodents. The people set ladders on the moths and handed the food down in a line leading to the great hall. When she entered there was a applause of small tapping hands. It was beautiful, ornate sculptures of eagles, moths and horses lined the walls. The celling was a fantastic battle seen with every animal she knew and some she didn't. Lions in armor slashing the breasts of robins, strange beast with fins and many horns with swords of fire battling horses with the trunks of Elephants, and in the center, three stars encircled with men. Birds and sea creatures bowed low, some on their knee and some flat on their bellies. Children, some not even a foot tall lifted small hands grabbing the hem of her dress and took her to a huge chair in the center of many rows of tables. "Fer," they all said, she guessed this meant to sit but she knew there was no way she could fit in the chair, so she sat beside it on a large pile of pillows. She laughed with Gasberry as they watched the little people busily trotting back and forth with

food to a back room. they looked so happy and free, unlike the troubled streets of Bermada, where everyone looked at the ground as they walked as though they might fall if they did not watch their feet. Gassbery became excited with all the bustle constantly adjusting his little round feet and turning on her head until her hair was a mess. He began ranting and raving about the party, and how delicious all the stone walls looked. He said the carving on the celling was beautiful, but then pointed out all the flaws saying he could do much better if given the time. The stone was a red stone he had never encountered and was anxious to grind it with his teeth. He said, "I wounder if it's sweet, or bitter like the stone in our cave." Cosette thought he was drunk, as some of the little people looked to be, but he had not left her head the entire day. He talked about the other 'Fur Balls', as he called them, that sat atop the little peoples heads, "I am taller than all of them. look at me. I am the king of all the fur balls," he laughed. He was drunk for sure, Cosette thought, but not on the sweet wine the little people drank but on something else. They had always been alone scene he was born, he had never seen such excitement, and had certainly never seen creatures of his own kind. She became very agitated with his comments which were not words a gentleman should say at a party. He mocked other Fur Ball's spotted fur, while his was so consistent. He laughed about his mother with the missing nose; and asked Cosette to tell him the story again. Cosette was amazed by his energy She had never seen him like this. She wondered how could he know all these words, he had only been with her a year, could he really learn to speak in such a way? In such a short time? It felt like his words were bouncing inside her head, as if he whispered so deeply in her ear, that there was no line between her thoughts and Gassberry. Becoming dizzy with his chatter she finally removed him from her head. When she did, the crowed stopped in their places. One child pointed at his head, "Luna, Luna, Luna!" he said. Seeing the crowds response, gawking eyes and open mouths, she put him back. "I guess you are a real annoying 'Luna', Gassberry." "What a terrible name, mine is much better." Gasberry said. Leazer came up to the pile of pillows and perched himself under her feet. "Leazer, do you hear this wild mink, this absurd puff ball on my head, he will not let me be. He talked about wasting words, now he speaks more than I can ever hear at once. Do you hear him?" She yelled, and everyone turned and looked at her again. The room grew silent but she did not notice. Leazer shook his head no.

Chapter 13

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It was dark outside when the festivities began. Gassbery had fallen asleep and Cosette enjoyed the silence in her mind once again. The leader sat beside her on the pillows as a group of small women in ornate purple dresses, gold jewelry and shinny beads pierced in their ears and nose, came and danced before them. She could see the lines of food coming from the back room. Steaming trays of browned rodents with red berries on a cart with wheels. White larva the size of a eggplant stuffed with wild mushrooms and herbs. The food covered the long rows of tables that spanned the entire hall. The aroma was succulent and her stomach growled. The little man poked her stomach with his finger and laughed, signaling a group of women who were carrying a tray with hot soup in turtle shells. She wasn't sure if she wanted to try the turtle and rodents so she pointed at a fruit tray and he signaled for them to bring it. The party went all night and the trays of food never ended. Some of the men became drunk on their sweet wine and danced up and down the tables. It seemed to be a competition of some sort. The people clapped and sang until one fell, then a great cheer would ring out and more food and wine would make it's way down the isles. Though she couldn't understand a word they said, she felt very comfortable with them, and before the night was over, children cuddled up beside her sleeping on the pillows and her lap. She had forgotten how tired she was through, but when she saw the sun coming up outside, her eyes became very heavy, and though the party still raged on, she laid down beside the children and fell asleep. When she awoke it was quiet. The sun was in the center of the sky and dark spotted clouds cast cool shadows across the large field outside the hall. Only the children were awake. Most of the little people lay sleeping on tables and sprawled out across the lawn while some of them dragged themselves like bags of sand up the stones steps to there residence quarters. She laughed at a little man who had fallen asleep under a tree where the little children played, dropping flowers on his nose causing him to sneeze and scratch with fitful snorts and snores. She took a red bonnet blossom from her pocket and sat it balanced on his forehead, his eyebrows flinched and scowled, the children laughed so hard they fell to the ground holding their bellies. Then she tickled them with the blossoms too, and they seemed to beg for her to stop, with uncontrolled laughter and rolling in the grass. She felt something nudging her leg, something cold and wet. It was Gasbeary, looking up at her whining and licking her leg like a puppy, shaking his tail. "I suppose you want back on my head." She said. Gasbeary put his two paws on her leg and shook his tail even more rapidly. The children pointed at their heads and chanted "Luna. Luna." "Alright," She said, "but if you start your chattering like last night... Off you go, I don't care what they think." Little people everywhere were waking and dragging themselves to their houses carved high in the rock.

The little houses were very precisely made with sharp corners and carvings. They looked just like the same carved living spaces that were in the large cavern they had traveled through the night before but much more refined, and larger, with stairs and houses twice the size and the hight the little people would need. For such a small people the city was of a size and grander as she had never laid eyes on. It stretched high into the cliffs and continued further than she could see. there were waterfalls that came from so high in the mountain that it seemed they fell from the clouds. At the base of each waterfall were intricate water systems that distributed the water all through the city like the irrigation of a tomato field, in troughs and pipes that curved through the rocky terrain, then spidering out into smaller troughs, finally emptying in to large pond like structures. She could not imagine the strength and years it must of taken to build such a city, and from such a small people, that from the looks of them, did not work much at all. While most of the little people slept, hundreds if not thousands of moths buzzed over the city carrying buckets with their legs and food on their backs, jetting back and forth between communities. Cosette wanted to explore the city. There was so much to see. So many sights she had never dreamed of, but before she could a group of little men ushered her back to the main hall where the Leader sat in a golden thrown waiting for her. There were still many people sprawled across the floors and tables, but they were quickly lead out by groups of little men with spears. "Luna." The Leader said, then removed the fur ball from his head, which was Gassberies mother with the missing nose, and walked up to Cosette holding it out. The Luna growled at Cosette and showed it's teeth as the leader popped it on the head with his spear, saying something in their language. "Luna," he said and pointed to Gassberry. "It seems he want's to trade." Cosette said to Gassberry. "I don't want any part of this," Gassberry said, "I belong to you." Cosette bent down on one knee "I can not take her. I injured her nose, and she might want revenge." She pointed at the angry Luna's nose but the he continued insisting that she remove Gassberry. "I'ts alright Gasberry. If they do anything to you, I will squash them with my foot." She removed Gasberry and handed him to the king. She took the mother fur ball and scolded it with her finger, "You don't bite, understand." the king signaled for her to place the mother on her head, Cosette did, and he did the same with Gasberry. "Hello." Cosette herd. "Is that you." Cosette said, "I'm sorry about your nose, I mean, I didn't know what else..." "Don't worrie." The Luna said.
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The king went and sat back on his throne with Gasberrie on his head. He closed his eyes as though he was thinking. "Your very kind for not seeking revenge," Cosette said and walked down the rows of long tables. "No. I am not kind. I do what my master tells my to, and I will not speak of the incident with my nose. But I do have much work to do." "Much work?" Cosette said. "Yes. We Lunas have no language between us, we speak only from the words that our masters speak. My master does not speak your language, and I have never had a master with your language, so I must learn your language so that I can translate between us." "I see," Cosette said, "And Gasberry? He does the same?" "Yes, he is now learning the language of the Penatong, and through him, you will understand the language also." "Penatog. So that is what they are called. What a wonderful idea," Cosette said walking out of the Hall. "So what do I need to do? think of all my words?" "Oh no. I know all your words already. It will take longer for Gassbery though, he is young." "What is your name?" "I am called Luna-Bra." "Luna-Bra, may i ask why the Penatong wear Lunas if they already understand each other's language." "We are much more than translators. We are companions of the deepest sort, knowing and understanding our masters like no one can, guiding them with their own wisdom. Wisdom that is known, but forgotten in times of trial and emotion. We are also a Symbol." "A Symbol?" Cosette said, "Like a king's crown shows he is royal?" "Yes. But we are a symbol and protection of the Penatog people. No doubt you noticed how disturbed they became when you removed Gasberry. That is because of the Moths and the Eagles. " "Oh. I have seen the eagle men, they are very scary. One almost took me. Are the moths the same, should I worry." "No. The moths are the watchers. The eagles are the Leavers. The moths watch over all Penatong, and they know the Penatong by the Lunas on their heads. If a Penatong does not wear a Luna, he could easily be mistaken for prey, and attacked by the Moths." "And the Egals? the leavers?" "It is the same, though the Egales do nothing for the Penatong, they will not attack them if they wear their Lunas." "Why is this? Why are they so frindly with the Penatong."

"I never said they were friendly. They abide. We all abide by laws and treaties. This is a very ancient Island with many wars and many treaties. This is the treaty we all abide by." Cosette sat beneath a tree outside of the hall. "What have the Penatong done to deserve such a treaty? They are certainly too small to win any war, or make any demands of such great beasts." "You have no understanding of our ways and it is not my job to teach you. So if you don't mind, I have done my job and owe you no answers. The King has had enough time with Gassberry so if you could return now." "I'm sorry. Did I offend you." "Of course you have offended me. You stole my child." Cosette apologized but Luna-Bra did not respond. She felt sad for stealing Gasberry, but she also loved him much, and felt that however they found each other, they were meant to do so. She took Luna-Bra from her head and returned to the Hall. A sudden flash of fear shot through her when she saw a great moth in the center of the room. It was larger than any moth she had seen so far and dressed in more armor than the others. It had armor of silver on almost it's entire body and a face mask made of gold with holes for it's antenna, eyes and mouth. He held Gasbbery up looking at him in the light that streamed through windows from the celling. Cosette stopped in the entrance. "What have you done! You said nothing about the Moths." She ran towards the Moth jumping over the small tables. The moth turned it's giant head looking at Cosette in suprise then quickly handed Gasberry back to the King. "Hello!" The Moth said with a great smile. "I didn't want to scare you. We had no way of telling you what we were doing." He held out his arms in a friendly gesture and Cosette stopped. "You speak my language?" Cosette said. "Well thanks to your friend Gasberry. Yes. Now I do." The moth said adjusting his breast plate walking towards Cosette. Cosette swiped her little knife from her belt and held the point to Luna-Bra's belly. "Give me Gasberry or I'll kill this Luna." The king jumped from his thrown. "Oh no dear. you mis-undrestand our actions. We just want to understand you. Here. Here is your Gasberry. Now please come and talk with us. I'll call for some sweet wine." Cosette looked at the King then the moth. They were both smiling, and the moth did not look as scary as she had first thought. He was old, and had kind wise eyes that showed behind the mask but she was still weary and crept slowly towards Gassberry. "Sit. Sit." the moth said, "We have much to talk about."
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Cosette quickly grabbed Gasberry, then gave back Luna-Bra. "I'm sorry," she said, "I just am alone, and in a strange place. I don't know who is friend or enemy." "It's alright." The moth said patting her on the back. "I get that response all the time. I mean.. I am ugly. I'm old enough to admit such things." He laughed with a airy chuckle and pulled a table up and sat down. "Please, put the knife away. We are all friends here." Cosette looked at the knife still gripped tight in her hand. "I'm sorry," she said and slipped it into her belt. "I'll stand thank you... and no wine for me." A servant brought two Goblets of wine and sat one on the King's thrown. He sent the servant away with a finger and took a large gulp. "We have much to talk about, but first the Moth King has a offer for you." He lifted his cup to the Moth, "You Hiness." The Moth King looked as if he was suddenly awakened. "Oh yes dear girl. I will be straight to the point. We Moths have very short lives and we must be precise in our language so as not to waist time. So I must apologize if this seems premature; us only just now introduced." He scratched his chin in a thoughtful moment. "Dear Girl, you have something of value to me, and I have something that may be of value to you. I would like a simple trade." "And what do I have that is of such value? I have nothing but what I found on the beach. This knife and a few spoons and bowls." The moth king shifted in his seat, "Yes. I understand you do not have much on this Island. I could change that. I have storehouses full of any food you desire and tools you have never even imagined. But, I have something even greater, a treasure uncommon to this Island, and most likely uncommon to the world. There has never been anything like it seen by any Creature, and I have kept it safe for a thousand years, guards surrounding it twenty four hours a day. It is my greatest possession and I offer it to you for... " "For what?" She said. "For the Pearl." He smiled, but not in a showing way, but humble and kind. "Oh no," Cosette said covering her mouth, "I can never give the pearl, even for the greatest treasure in the world. My father trusted me to take it to the Sea, and I must do so. I must decline, no matter the treasure you offer. I don't have a choice any way. It is in Gassberys head and it hurts him to even touch it." The great moth shrugged his shoulders "Dear girl, Luna creatures are as plentiful as the stars, what is one less." He saw in Cosettes eyes her fuming anger at his statement and quickly retracted, "But! This Luna, your Gasberry, he is special, who would ever want hurt him. Certainly not I. We would wait for nature to take her course... Of course." Cosette turned to the Penatong King for his reasoning, but he had been drinking the wine the whole conversation and seemed not too interested in what

was going on around him. "I'm sorry your Highness. The Pearl can not be bargained for." "But you ... "No. I will not trade it." "At least look at the treasure dear girl." She thought for a moment, "I will look only out of curiosity." "Very Good, let us leave now to my palace." Cosette was caught off guard. "Oh no. I can't leave now, I want to explore the city. I've just arrived here." "There is Always time dear. We will return," he said. "Just tell me what it is." "Oh, but it is to subtle. Delicate. Beautiful! I can not describe such a thing; it must be seen." The King seemed to be caught up in his own thoughts of the treasure. Cosette thought for a moment looked at the King, he seemed harmless, even trustworthy like a wise old man. She looked at Gasberry, then Leazer who sat beside the Pnatong King. They made no motions. "Alright. Today I will explore and then I will go with you tonight." The King clapped his hands. "Very well. Very well. You will love our kingdom." She had hoped to talk with the Penatong King about their people and history, but he was slumped on the thrown, snaring, perched on one hand. "One last thing," Cosette said stepping closer, "I wanted to ask the Penatong King, but he seems to be enjoying a rest. They carved a symbol on the celling of my cave. It was a globe with snake like sea monsters and thousands of Islands." "Oh yes. That is the symbol of peace. It is very ancient and says that we are all of one island on one great island, so in a essence, should befriend each other." "Where did it come from, did you happen to find it on a book?" "A book? Well yes and no. It is on many books and is so old no one knows where it originated." She was disappointed with his answer but expected it somewhere deep inside. She had accepted long ago that the book was gone. Her Father was gone and all that was left was her memory. As she walked the city with Leazer and Gasberry she became increasingly impressed with the workmanship of each structure and home. They seemed to impeccably designed, down to every window and door. She was disappointed that many of the Penatong still slept, but she did find a small group who were lounging by a water reservoir with sleepy eyes. She asked many questions about their history but all they could remember was that they were a ancient tribe and had fought many wars. She asked about the wars, but none of them had actually fought in them, they just knew that at one time their people were warriors. She asked about the architecture and how they designed and built such
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heroic structures. They said they must of done it at one time, but they had no memory of it, or how they did it, but, they were very excited to tell her about the celebration that night. She was confused, thinking they were talking about the party the night before. But they said "No. No. That is the 3rd night celebration. The 4th night Celebration is even greater and the 5th night is so great that we must rest for two days." Cosette looked at them with confusion and said, "So you have celebrations five nights a week? When do you work. When do you have time to repair and maintain such a great city." They looked at each other and mumbled words she couldn't understand then one answered, "We do not know, but we're sure we must work sometimes." "But you can't remember when?" They congregated again together with low mumbled words the said "What is important is that the work gets done, not when and how." She couldn't help but giggle at their answer. She bowed and continued on the path up the cliff. She passed a small residence with many flowers and decorations on the walls of dried colorful beetles and Moth wings. She looked inside and there sat a woman that looked different than the other Penatong. She was fat like the rest, even fater, but her skin slightly less glowing, grey and wrinkled. Her stomach sagged over a small waist high skirt. She was reading a book. In the corner a bowl of water boiled on a toad creature like Leazor. "Hello," Cosette said peeking in through a curtain. "I hope I am not disturbing you." The little woman stood fixing her hair. "No. Please. Don't worry. I knew you would come." "You knew I would come?" "Yes." Cosette shrugged her shoulders and walked in after Leazor. The woman patted Leazor on the head. "What a strong looking Sops." She said. "Oh. Sops. Is that what they are called?" "Yes. And what useful creatures they are. I have had mine, Sops-hen, for many many years." She pointed to the Sops heating the water on his back with a flame from his mouth. Cosette looked in her eyes and saw that she was old. They were glossed over and dull. She realized she had not seen old Penatong people, or if she had, she did not recognize them as old. even the King looked to be a young Man. She looked at the weathered brown book on the bed and fingered through it. "Please sit. I have so much to talk about. Would you like some yellow grass tea?" "Oh yes. Please," Cosette said, "It smells sublime. What were you reading, it looks very interesting."

"That is our history. I have never read it before nor have many Penatong, but what a joy it has been to sit and read in the breeze of the day." "Wounderful." Cosette said. "I have wanted to learn of your history. I love any kind of history. My Papa always said you have not future without a past. I never understood it, but it sounded very wise to me." The old woman sat two stone cups of tea on a little bamboo table then took a seat across from Cosette. "I'm glad you want to learn because That is what I wanted to talk to you about. I told my husband that you must not leave before I talk with you and I see that he has granted my wish." "I'm sorry? Who is your husband? I must of met him but I don't remember." The little woman chuckled covering her mouth with a small wrinkled hand. "The King of course. Did he not tell you, I am his wife. The Queen. I'm very sorry that I did not come to the 3rd night celebration, but I had so much to pack and prepare for our journey tomorrow." She noticed the two bags by the door, packed so heavy they were splitting at the seams. Cosette didn't understand. Why would the king be so adorned and his wife in such simple clothes and humble home. The queen seemed satisfied that Cosette knew something she actually knew nothing of, so Cosette left it alone. "Oh were are you going? I love trips. My Papa called them adventures. Are you going to another Island?" The Queen took a slow sip of her steaming tea. "I am very excited. It is my time to go. You see, certain Penatong are selected each month to go to the other side of the mountain, to the Golden Kingdom. Usually it is older Penatong, or very young babies but it is a great honer to be chosen." "That sounds sublime!" Cosette said, "How long will you be there and what is it like." "Oh, You do not return from the Golden Kingdom and it is a simply wonderful place." The Queen had a longing and peaceful look on her face her eyes looking up slightly as though she could see something Cosette could not. "How can I describe it? Do you know, sometimes when you are walking in a field, just minding your own business, and suddenly you see a sunset with colors no painter could construct in a thousand years and then you feel something, a longing, as if you were made for something greater, that you only see glimmers and small revelations of beauty, but the true beauty still awaits you and when you see it you will be complete just by the seeing." The Queen had closed her eyes as she spoke. She opened them slowly. "That my dear. That is the Golden Kingdom. A place all Penatong dream of and someday will go." "Like Heaven?" Cosetts said. "But you have to die to go to heaven." "Oh no." The queen laughed "What good would it be if you were dead? No. The Watchers take us there. The Moths. You may have seen them flying around the city they are so majestic don't you think?"
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"I guess so." Cosette said and took the book in her lap. She flipped through the pages which were old an stained. It was mostly pictures of smiling Penatong and Moths, working hand in hand, building the cities, or celebrating. There were a few pictures that spread across two pages of animals, Moths and Penatong at war with many different birds like Robins and Pigeons with scowling eyes and black armor. "What did you want to talk to me about?" Cosette asked. "Yes. I wanted you to do something for me scince I will be gone. I love my people, but they have memories like walnuts. Very undependable. So I heard of you, that you were intelligent and brave. I thought you would be the perfect one to protect and hold our secret." "Of course," Cosette said placing her hand on the woman's knee, "I will help if I can." The Queen leaned in and whispered in Cosette's ear. "The King is not the King." "What do you mean?" Cosette asked. The Queen relaxed in her chair. "The book of our history is very entertaining. But I know things that are not in the book. Things the Watchers do not like to hear. You see. I am the last of my blood. The last of my family. We are called the keepers and only we have protected the secret for thousands of years. When I go to the Golden Kingdom the secret goes with me." She reached under her bed and took out a book that apeared to be made of Moth Wings. "This is for you," She said. Cosette took the book and fliped through it. "Why there is nothing in it. It's blank." The queen smiled, "Yes it is a gift for you, to write your story, but the secret is on the cover." Cosette turned it in her hands. There was a rough drawing of what looked to be an Island "What is the secret?" The queen took the book in her hand and traced the Island with her finger. "This is the Secret. This is the true King that will restore us. You see we were not always small and helpless. We were once great warriors. But look at us now." She laughed and patted her belly. "I don't understand," Cosette said. "The Island is the King. The royal family that left us long ago." Just then a small moth stuck it's head in through the curtain. "Lady Cosette, The King awaits." Cosette looked at the queen then the Moth. "One Moment Please." "But the sun is declining we can not travel in the dark. You must hurry." "Alright." Cosette said then whispered in the Queens ear. "I don't understand" The queen replied. "It is the Island that rules. It must be oreserved."

Chapter 14

Cosette kissed Leazor on the nose telling him she would return in the morning. He was sad and she could see it on his face. "It is ok Leazor, you made it without me before, it's only one day." She climbed on the back of the Moth King where there was a silver saddle with leather reins. She slipped and her knee slammed into his side. He laughed and told her he was extremely ticklish so she should be careful while in the air. Cosette laughed and said she would try. He started flapping his grand wings the Penatong that formed a circle around them crouched down to the ground holding their Lunas on their head. "Secure your Luna, this will be a windy ride." The King said. Cosette could barley contain her excitement, she had longed dreamed of flying through the air like a bird. Though it was a rough and bumpy start it was surpassingly smooth once the were high in the sky and level with the ground. She squatted on the saddle and gripped the reins so hard her hands were white. "You need not worry Lady Cosette. My balance is impeccable and I've never lost one passenger." She relaxed a bit, but still continued gripping the reins. "Where is your Kingdom?" The ground bellow was a blur of green and brown. She could see most of the Island and the ocean that stretched out where other islands dotted the landscape. She took the little book the queen had given her from her bag, looked at the ridge of the mountain, then the cover again. It was defiantly the same Island. The Island of Stars. She saw something from the corner of her eyes, beside her on each side were three moths in brass armor and large silver swords on their back. They didn't look like the moths that dropped food and scooped water at the Penatong city. They were muscle bound and had looks of fearlessness on their face. "It's not far. Over there at the end of the Island where the sun is setting." Cosette looked back at the Penatong city it was even more grand from the air, and larger than she had thought. The Mountain blocked the other side of the Island. She thought of the Golden City. She had felt those longings the Queen had talked about. Those Longings that her Father had talked about. Like she was made for something more. As if true beauty was hiding it's self, but of such grander that it could not always contain the glimpses we see in the sunset and cool morning mist. "Have you been to the Golden Kingdom?" She asked the King. "Well of course I have. I go there tomorrow." "What is it like? Why don't all the Penatong live there. Why don't you live there."
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"One. Two. Three questions in one breath," He laughed. "No matter how many times I go, it never ceases to give me great joy. It is where the Penatong belong, but it's not for everyone. What I see as beautiful, may not be what you see as beautiful, and so on." "I don't understand. Is it beautiful or not?" "Yes. It is beautiful." "Can you take me there." "Oh yes. I was planning on it." "How sublime." He shifted in the air and like the workings of a clock the soldier Moths beside him shifted their swords gleaming in the setting sun. "Hold on!" He yelled. "You must be pretty important," Cosette said with a laugh. "You could say that. But I would say you must be pretty important." Cosette sat back on the saddle and let the wind lift her hair in a wild dance. "No. Not really. I lived on an Island with my Papa, played with crabs and made red bonnet tea, then by a horrible accident I live alone on this Island. That's about it." "Accident?" The King said. She was startled when he turned his entire head around looking at her. "Oh dear!" She said. "Whatch what your doing." "I've made the trip many times." He said. "What do you mean accident. There are no accidents. Don't you believe in a God?" "Of course I do, but who is to say he doesn't have accidents?" The Moth laughed with his airy chuckle. "What God would allow accidents. If he is not in control at all times, his creation rules him, and he does not rule it. That would make him no God at all but a slave." Images of Cosette's Father flashed through her mind. Him sinking in the dark. His white skin and dull eyes that looked like the fish in the market. She had a burning in her chest. She thought of how happy he was when he searched for the pearl, when he wrote his book, when he bought the boat from Emilio. "I don't like that God at all. If it's not a accident than it's his fault. And I don't like that one bit!" She said fighting tears. "I'm sorry." the Moth said. "I just know it's not a accident you are her. I know that as a fact."

Chapter 15

The wind blew her hair back as she wiped the warm tears that were making trails on her face. She looked out at the ocean. It was almost dark and the sun hid behind the horizon. She thought of her many days on the beach with her Papa. He

loved the ocean in a way she never understood. He told her that it was here for the purpose of humbling man. Something so great and uncontrollable was needed to keep us from becoming gods of our own, he'd say. She loved the fresh air that smelt as if it had been washed clean by the salt and water. Often times he would relax from his treasure hunting and lay beside her, talking quietly of his adventures, and histories unknown to men . They sailed to its shores, the water so blue that it was hard to tell which was sky and which was water. The sand was as white as the corner of an eye. Her father said there was a group of many Islands far away, and if you could see them from heaven it would be as if you gazed on the stars themselves. It was there that a great king floated on the shore, as a babe, on the back of turtle with no history or knowledge of his parents. Though he was wiser than any child should be, he did not know he was of royal blood, but royal blood was in his veins, and the ambitions of a King ruled him from that young age. By the time he was nine he had conquered almost every island in that part of the world. That is why the islands have but one name: The Island of Stars. In her mind she lay listing to her Father's story, gazing at the clouds, picturing lions and horses in the fluffy with masses. He said the boy had conquered all that he could find, all that he knew of this world, and still his heart was void and empty. He had no one that was like him on any of the Islands, He was human and road with an army of birds, that though they could fly, sat on horses to honer the King with humility and lowliness. In his conquests he found many creatures, some exotic and strange, others that any man would expect in nature, but still he found no one for himself. With each conquest his heart became more poor and lonely until he found no pleasure in war. Not to say he didn't enjoy the birds, they were a fun bunch indeed, drinking and dancing until nights end with stories of old that would cause your hair to stand on end. The beavers he found where no fun to be around at all, even after their capture and submission, all they wanted to do was work, "not that work is bad," Ezra had said," but that their work had no end in mind, it was work for work's sake and their reward was more work." The king asked them once why they worked, even when there is no work to be done, they answered that they did not know, but said their pleasure was in more things, more bridges and damns and homes even if they did not use them or live in them. He thought of them as a sorry bunch living and dying with no end to their constant toils. The lions though, he adored them. They slept in the morning sun and worked in the night when food was needed, and they worked hard. They would build traps in the ocean for fish, and nets on the mountains for goats. They had invented fire quiet by accident when studying sea glass. They made great feasts and celebrations like no other creature, and when they were full and their eyes were tired, they would lie back in the golden sun and stretch out their legs sleeping for days.

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"Yes, he did love the lions." Her Papa rolled on to his back with his arms behind his head. Cosette laid on his chest. "Tell me Papa, did he ever find someone like himself, or was he always alone?" " Oh yes he found others, but it is such a tragic story, I should spare you." "Oh please Papa, tell me" Her Papa did this with all his stories and Cosette was used to it. He would act as though he didn't want to tell the story, so the person he was telling it to, would end up begging him to finish it. That is the way he liked it. He took off his jacket and laid it over Cosette. "I will tell you but you must not cry" "I won't Papa, I'm a big girl you know." "Of course you are. After he had conquered all, and found no love of his own, he despaired deeply, he despaired even of his own life. He became angry and mean, he would spend his nights yelling at God, and blaming him for creating him alone. though he came from his own, he had no way of knowing. He just assumed he was a accident. A creature never meant for creation." "No," Cosette said. "Yes," Papa said. She cuddled close to his chin. "When one day he decided to do something about his despair, he was going to take his own life. He ordered the beavers to build him a damn that went to the center of the ocean. They worked for months until there were no more trees only Sand." Cosette lifted her head. "But Papa, why did he not take a boat to the center of the ocean?" He patted her head, "This is a time long ago before boats like ours. He had conquered all the islands by swimming to them or on the backs of turtles and he knew no turtle would allow him to sink in the ocean like he wished to do, so he even went so far as to order all the turtles on a expedition far away, to find new Islands." "Oh." "Can I get back to my story now, or do you have other questions?" "No go on." Her Papa put his arm around her back. "So they built the dam, miles into the ocean, the waters crashed against it, but the beavers were good at what they did, the water did not break the dam. See, this king was a great swimmer, and he knew if he swam out into the ocean he would grow cowardly and swim back again. He wanted to take his life in a way where there was no way back. He knew how far he could swim, on a good day twenty miles, on a bad day twenty miles, so he had the beavers build the damn 30 miles into the ocean. He walked for days to the end of it to take his life." Cosette shot her head up. "Papa he could just swim to the dam though, he didn't have to go back to the island if he grew cowardly and didn't want to die anymore." Her Papa patted her head," I guess you want to tell this story."

"No go on." "He had instructed the lions, who had invented fire to burn the dam once he was in the water. A lion went with him to the edge of the dam, and once he was in the water, he ran back three times as fast as he came, roaring into the night for them to get ready to light it. They did not know what he planned and lions obey without question. When he reached the shore they lit the dam and it blazed in the night. It was built of such small timber it burned like a leaf and was gone before morning." "Did he die?" Cosette asked. "Hold on now." He patted her back. "He sat there in the deep waters until the bridge was burnt, he watched the final spark before the ocean washed it all away, and he did just what he thought he would do" Cosette raised her head "He didn't want to die. He grew cowardly." "Yes Cosette, but it was too late. The dam was gone, and he was 30 miles out; even with the fear of death he could not swim thirty miles. He had gotten his wish to die, but now when he looked at the beautiful stars dancing on the oceans waves, and felt the cool breeze on his sun burnt face, he didn't want to die. He knew now that even the smallest things in life are worth living for. So he swam and he swam." "Oh, did he die Papa" "Yes" "No!" "Do you want to finish the story or not, if you don't let me, I'll keep playing with you like that." "All right, go ahead Papa." "Where was I?" Papa said. "And he Swam..." she said. "Oh ya. He swam and he swam until he was 10 miles out from shore. His body grew weary and his muscles locked, and he could swim no more. He could even see the light of the lion's fire on the island, but he could not reach it. He called for the birds, but they did not come for they had taken a vow never to leave the ground out of honer. So he lay there floating in the water about to die, when a giant fish swallowed him." "PAPA!" She slapped his arm. "Yes and it drug him to the bottom of the ocean. The belly of the fish was so small that he was crouched in a ball, he felt the acid of the stomach trying to eat his skin away. He did not want to die this way, so he called out to God, the God he had yelled at and had been so angry with. He called out for him to save him and... God spoke" Cosette clenched her hands on her Papa's shirt.
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"He was angry you see. To take your life is the ultimate pride, and pride is the fall of man. He spoke, and he told him that he would live, but he would no longer be human. God told him that his wish would be granted. He would not be alone, and the only one of his kind but he would suffer the same fate, a knowing in his soul that he was meant for something more, forgetting all knowledge of ever being human." "That is sad. So he never would know who he was?" "Not to know what you are made for is the saddest story of all." "What happened?" "I don't know," Ezra said. "You don't know?" "Yes. It is a very old story. Some say he became a fish of some sort, some say a turtle. But no one knows for sure." Cosette remembered that she slept in his arms that night, saddened by the story. She remembered this because she always slept on her side of the bed. She really missed her Father as she flew on the moth over the beautiful Island. She wished he could be here to see.

Chapter 16

They swooped down through the tall trees and she saw the Moth Kingdom. It was nothing like she thought. Nothing royal, nothing gold. There were not even houses or buildings except for one in the center of the forest, a great light showing through it's center, and paper thin walls made of moth wings constructed many squares inside of each other. The light from the building lit the entire forest like a mid day sun and there were many steps that lead to it's base, surrounded by thousands of moths bowing to the light. She held on tight, and took a tumble as he made a hard right turn, he lifted his wing to catch her, and she pulled herself back to the saddle. "What do you think? Beautiful is it not?" "I don't see much." She said. "There isn't much to see. That is why it's so beautiful. Simplicity! As I said our lives are short. We do not have time for complexity of any kind." She jumped to the ground and heard rumbling wings from thousands of moths, so loud in fact she could hardly hear Gassberry telling a history of the moths he had learned for the Penatong King. "You must see inside the temple, that is where I hold the treasure. Please remove your shoes, and wash your feet at the door."

She walked in the temple. It was only light. It was so bright it was like staring at the sun, and when she clenched her eyes in pain, there were colored spots dancing. "I can't see." "But there is so much light how can you not see?" The King said. "It's too bright, it hurts." "Very well, we will lead you to my quarters bellow. But what a shame, you are missing so much." She felt prickly claws take her arm carefully nudging her up and down stairs. When finally she could see the light dampen even with her eyes clenched shut. She opened them to see a great hall much like the Penatong, but this one had no carvings, no ornate decoration. It was dug from the earth with spiny roots hanging from the celling. There was a large stage were six creatures with black robes from head to toe hiding every part of their body and face. They stood like statues on either side of a huge granite stone draped in a bright centered light. "My thrown," the King said pointing at the stage, "Isn't it welcoming?" "It's just a stone." Cosette said. "Yes." He said with a pleasant smile. "The black robes. They scare me who are they?" "Oh, don't let them worry you. They are only humble priest that keep watch over the treasure and the light." "What is the light?" He escorted her to the thrown, "Look above you if you can." Cosette's looked up. Her eyes burned more than before by the white light. She wanted to clench them shut but she couldn't, astonished by the sight. A light bug nearly two hundred feet tall above her head. It's wings were bound and was held suspended by a intricate spiderweb of thick ropes that wound around it's neck legs and arms finally anchored to the walls surrounding the thrown room. It looked down at her and she felt the sadness of it's eyes pierce her heart. "Oh Cosette!" Gasbbery said, feeling her emotion."I've never felt so sad before. Why is it so sad and also so beautiful. So Stunning." "I don't know," Cosette said still gazing at the bug tethered in chains," I don't know." "Glorious!" The King said, arms raised as if in worship. Cosette said nothing. She only wanted to leave. She didn't care if she saw the treasure. "Show me the treasure and take me back." "Oh my lady. We can not fly until morning. But we have a very comfortable resting place for you. But first the treasure." He walked behind the thrown where there stood a tall slender rock covered by a white sheet. Behind the rock was a doorway behind it only black. The King stood with a proud look on his face. The white cloth pinched in his claw. The priests bowed on their knees as the King
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swiped the white cloth with a snap. Bellow it was a silver object which sparkled in the light so small she had to walk closer to see it. Her heart sank in her chest. She pictured her father, his clasped had. "My necklace! That is my silver fish necklace!" "Well whatever you call it. How glorious it is. Are you ready to change your mind?" "No! Why would I trade you what's mine for something else that is mine. You will give it back right now it is mine. It was in my Papa's hand. How..." The king through the white cloth over the necklace and had a disturbing look on his face stepping towards her. "My lady, you are surely mistaken. The Moths lost nearly a hundred thousand of our bravest fighting men for this treasure. It is ours and has been ours for a thousand years." Cosette stomped her foot and stuch her face in the face of the King. "My Papa gave it to me, the day he bought two scoops of ice cream and a bag of crispy sardines.. It when in his hand when he..." "When he what." The king said leaning on his thrown. "When he died. Not even a year ago." The King placed his arms behind his back and paced the floor. "I'm sorry there is some mis-understanding here. But!" He stopped and popped one of his claws in the air. "It can easily be resolved. Trade me the pearl and it is yours." "I'm scared Cosette," Gassberry said, his voice quivering. "Don't be. I will never let you go." She returned. "You Highness I can not. Though the necklace is precious to me, the Pearl is more so. But you as a gesture of your goodwill should give it to me because it is rightfully mine." The King smiled. "Goodwill?" "Yes goodwill." "I knew this would not be easy. So I am prepared to offer you a even greater treasure. You will not be abel to resist this treasure. Follow me." Cosette thought furiously. What could it be? There was nothing more precious to her than the pearl. It had been her mother's. Her Father's. The Blue fish King had died for it. There was nothing that could take it from her. The King walked a small path towards the dark passage and gestured for her to follow. He stooped and stood beside it. "Go inside and you will see." "You go." "Clearly you can see neither I or the priest would fit inside the door. You must go. No worries." Cosette looked at the King then at the passage. It was dark, but had a single glow coming from the top that shown on the floor. She steped closer. Her legs began to shake.

"That's right. Just go inside and you will see a treasure greater than a common pearl." She placed her hand on the cold dirt the doorway was cut from. She felt something wet. It was worms digging in and out of the dirt now spiraling around her fingers. Gassberry warned her. He begged her to stop. But she had to see what could possibly be greater than the pearl. She stepped inside. The dull light was only a few feet away and the bumpy ground blocked whatever was there from her view. One more step. She leaned forward but could still not see the object. She glanced back at the king who was smiling. "Almost there. one more step." he said. She was unstable on the soft black soil and steadied herself with another step. Then it was there. On a flat rock behind a box constructed from the translucent wings of some insect. Her Fathers book. "What is it?" Gassberry said but she did not answer but only fell to her knees crying. She reached out slowly and touched the box, it was smooth like silk with little ridges like veins. Gassberry could sense her thoughts and knew the emotion she felt as she touched the box. It was greater than any emotion she had shown and he began to cry also. "It's alright Cosette. Take the book," he said, "I would do anything for you." "It was my Fathers. His greatest work. It means so much to me, It's his thoughts, his life." She wiped her tears which were running down her chin, "But, I couldn't" "I know your feelings and the book is worth much more than the pearl or me. Take it." Cosette cupped her face in her hands. "I can't" Then she looked up. "Gasbrry I'm sorry." She reached out and clasped her hands on both sides of the box to lift it. It was heavy. "Cosette watch out!" Gasberry screamed. Cosette looked up. There in front of her face were two blood red eyes glaring at her from the darkness. She jumped back instinctively but before she could catch herself the eyes lunged forward into the light and then she saw the large hooked beak beneath them. She screamed for the King when all of asuden she felt it's claws, like she had in the field, deep in the skin of her shoulders. A incredible weight pushed her body backwards until she burst through the opening. The eagles shoulders cracked the dirt on either side of the opening making it twice as wide. Clouds of dirt tumbled on her face and legs as they both slid across the floor. They came to a sudden stop. "So we meat again," The rusty voice said. She looked up in horror at the beak a few inches from her face. She heard a great bellowing laughter and looked to her side to see the Moth holding his belly laughing.
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"You evil evil beast! How could you do this." She was pinned to the ground by the eagles horrible weight. The King walked up beside them and twisted his head even with hers. "As I said. Our lives are short. Too short for complexity. Especially the complexity of good. But, Evil? You just do what comes naturally. Simple. Glorious." The word 'glorious' slid off his tongue like melted ice cream. "You didn't think I'd give such great treasures for your pearl when I can just simply take it? What a fool you are."

Chapter 17

"Your a liar, you knew that symbol of the earth was from the book." "Lying? What's that?" He stood an laughed, his armor clinking to gather. Still pinned to the floor she was in so much pain that she couldn't tell what part of her was hurt and what was not. The hot breathe of the eagle smelt like the fish guts at the market after a hot day. "Your wasting your breath dear lady." The Eagle said. "You have no one. You are alone and now you are mine. We've known of your coming for a thousand years. But we were not sure. You are never sure with prophetic writings. They are so temperamental you know. But, Oh, how wondrous it is to see them come to pass." He sat back his weight shifting to her legs she let out a wimpier of pain. Her only relief was Gasberry on her head, soft and comforting. "Oh Gasberry, I'm so sorry. I was going to.. I was going to give you to these..." "Cosette. Please stop. I love you and I will always love you. You are my mother, how could I not. And.. " he cuddled close to her head, "...I knew you wouldn't of done it in the end." The moth made a motion with his hand to the priest behind him. She saw something move from the corner of her eye. The black robe separated with each step and she saw something metal and shiny catch the light with a spark. Her heart pumped wildly. She thought this was the end and told Gasberry that he must live to protect the pearl. She knew that she was useless to them. They would certainly kill her and take Garberry and the pearl. The dark figure inched closer. The eagle continued talking but she had blocked out all noise but the swishing feet against a dirt floor of the priest. The sword came from under the robe she heard it zing as it left the sheaf. "Kill her," the Moth shouted pointing at her with his crooked claw. The eagle smiled and stepped back. The sword lifted above the head of the preist as he now sped towards her. She closed one eye as the sword came down ripping through the air with a whistle. It came down hard. Snap.

Cosette looked at the sword sticking in the dirt inches from her face. He had cut one of the anchored ropes that held the great light bug. He slid grabbing the six feet of slack from another rope that was held by a iron loop and quickly sliding through his hand. Falling to the ground he whipped the rope and and twisted it around Cosette's leg. Her body was shocked with the pop of a straight rope pulling her straight up with the gravity of the falling light bug. The Eagle and Moth seemed to be still contemplating the situation that had happen so quickly, when the heard a great rumble above them. Cosette looked bellow as the eagle and Moth looked up at her. She could see the Priest holding the rope with one hand a few feet bellow her. With one swift move he stripped the robe from his body to reveal bright red feathers. And she found she was looking into the large glass eyes of a robin. As they accelerated towards the top of the Moth-wing Temple the robin swung his sword back and forth slicing the web of ropes that bound the huge light bug. She could hear them unravel and snap by her head. It looked like the whole earth was shaking as the bug spread it's wings and ropes popped like fireworks, debre flying in twisted wind. Gasberry screamed the whole way but Cosette was silent unable to understand what had happened. The moths bellow that were worshiping on the stairs now screamed and were scattered all over the forest with the tremendous wave of the falling building crumbled. "Hold on!" The robin's voice came through the clatter of destruction. The rope that had pulled them to the top; now was becoming slack in their hands and they began to plummet to the rubble that was building beneath them. The robin was two times her size but scuttled up her body with incredible agility and lightness. He cut the rope around her leg causing her to free fall towards the earth. She fell like stone towards the smashed temple, the great bug lifting off beside her, wings flapping like a sail of a boat in a storm. She screamed, closed her eyes, prepared for impact when suddenly she felt light again and flew up towards the stars. The Robin had caught her on his back. "Grab the saddle," he said. She grabbed hold of a gold chain that was attached to the robin's neck and pulled herself straight on a leather saddle dropping both legs around his body. "Sorry for the trauma." he yelled looking back. Cosette was still in a daze, Gasberry clinged to her head, she felt his round claws attached to her skull and fell flat on the robin. "Not a problem," she said and took a deep breathe. To fly a robin was nothing like a moth. Where as the moth took sharp turns constantly balancing it's large body, jostling Cosette back and forth, the robin's flight was smooth as the tide. He used his wings to pull them to a hight, then glide down on the stream of wind. She lay on his back for along while and said nothing. Just watched the moon beams break over the oceans waves. The Island was far behind her and she did not care to look it's way. In the distance there were hundreds of small Islands, some with sparks of lights flickering in the dark. The
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salty wind felt so good on her face she could hardly imagine anything more soothing. "Up ahead," The robin said. She could see a mountain jutting out from the waters, white, snow capped, it's peak hidden in clouds. "What is your name sir?" she said. "My name is Eliot, son of Paul, son of Robert son of..." "Alright...I get it. That's a long name." "Just the first one will do." "Eliot, Thank you." "No need, just my duty. Hold on, may be a bumpy landing." "The mountain looks the same as the Penatong Island." "It is. It only looks like it is part of the Island behind the cliffs." "So this is where the Golden City is?" "The Golden City? What do you know of the City? "It's bliss, the place all Penatong long to go and right now, the place I would like to go. I'm so tired." "I will take you there in the morning if you want to see it." "Wonderful." "Ya it's full of something but not wonder."

That night Cosette slept in a tent made of animal skins while the robins danced into the night. The island was cold and bare. Nothing like the lush forests and jungle she was accustomed to. Where they camped was high up on the mountain on a flat cliff that overlooked the Island of Stars. The wind cut through like sharp ice and the robins wore badger fur to protect their feathers from the wetness. She lay in the tent listening to Eliot tell the story of her rescue ten different times with ten different endings. They laughed much, more of a chuckle, that before, she would have just thought of as a normal bird call, not a laugh. She would awaken often to robins with their head in the tent looking at her. "Very strange," she heard, or, "I'd like to hang that on my wall at home." They were a rough bunch using words, men ought to keep rare, as if they were the only words they knew. Cosette wondered what kind of wives could deal with such undomesticated men. In the morning Eliot was standing outside of her tent with a bowl of green mush, steamy and hot. "I'm sorry, it's the best we got." He said and handed her the bowl. She looked at it and poked it with her finger. "What is it?" "Nutrition," he said and walked off with one wing behind his back.

The smell made her stomach turn and it smelt so familiar, but also so different. She finally discovered it's origins when she saw half a moth on a stake beside the fire. "Are you going to eat that?" She looked down it was a small robin a little shorter than her. She was surprised because the rest were so tall. "Hello cute one." She pinched his round cheek. "I'm not cute one!" he said and pushed her hand away. His brows scowled creasing the skin between his large black eyes. "I am Noah son of Eliot son of paul son of Robert son of.." "Alright alright little one. I've heard the family line," Cosette said with a laugh, "You did it now Cosette. You've angered one of the son of sons." Gasberry laughed. "I know I couldn't help it. He's so cute." Cosette walked to the other side of the flat where she stopped beside a rock watching Eliot with four other robins. He stood, chest out, one wing behind his back, peering out over the cliff while the four sat shining his armor with seal skin. She leaned back hiding, watched, and feeling a little like a intruder. "I think we've found enough trouble. don't you? Let's leave this one alone." Gasberry said. "Hold on, i just want to see what they are doing." One of the robins took a silk cloth from a box and unfolded it carefully, then laid it front of Eliot. Eliot did not move but continued staring into nothing. The robin that had polished the armor handed it to another who bent down on one knee, bowed his head, and held the breast plate before eliot. "Eliot, son of Paul, son of Robert, son of James, son of Eliah, son of Gale, son of..." He went on for almost half an hour an Cosette grew board and slid down on her knees. "What is it with the sons,'" She said. "I don't know but I hope this isn't a test for later," Gasberry said. Cosette tried not to laugh. Two other robins fastened the breast plate on Eliot then another robing held out the sword and went through another long line of 'sons' this time for almost three quarters of an hour. They continued in this way until Eliot was fully armed complete with saddle and knives that circled his chest. Cosette was about to leave when one robin fell on his knees and cried out a beautiful song that echoed through the canyon bellow. The song gave her chills and she nearly cried though she didn't know why. When he was through he opened a long box and withdrew a pearl. The same pearl that was in Gasberry's head. "What is this?" she said. The robin then took a key from the box and unlocked a small door in the center of Eliot's breast plate with a glass front like half of a bubble. The robin reached into the box and took out a tiny dagger, only a few inches, and placed it, point first, into the opening of the breast plate, then finaly the pearl. The door was closed and like winding a
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clock the robin twisted the door with the key. "Their going to kill him," she said. But she said it out loud and not in her mind to Gasbberry. The robins turned and stepped forward, hands on their swords. Eliot gave her a stealy look, lifted his hand to stop the robins and watched as Cosette wobble and try to get to her feet, then disappearing behind the rock. She sat next to Noah by the fire, looking back to where eliot had been, waiting for him to emerge in a rage, "Here is my food, I'm sorry if I was rude to you." Noah looked at the wooden plate of mushy moth parts, looked at Cosette, and without a word took the plate and began pecking at it with his beak slowly. "Your Father, he must be a special man." Cosettes said. Noah stopped pecking and ran his feathers across his beak, "Oh he is much more than special, there is no creature in the world that can compare." Cosette felt a odd feeling in her stomach and then realized it was a memory of her Father and how she thought the same about him. "Cosette," a firm voice said behind her, "We need to talk." Cosette turned and saw Eliot it all his armor, looking taller and stronger than an hour earlier. She noticed for the first time his graying feathers, particularly bellow his beak, creating the illusion of a long white beard. She had always thought robins looked all alike, but she could see in his eyes and features a more mature version of his son. The almost square cheeks, and low brow which pinched his eyes into a angry stare. She was afraid. She had only known these birds for a short while, and from her experience with the Moth King, distrusted her judgment. "I'm sorry," she said. "I.. I was only curious." He surprised her with a half cocked smile. "Of course you are. all children are. Now we leave. I have an urgent message from the King that the Moths are regrouping." "I'll come too," Noah said taking a last peak of his food, then jumping up and dusting off his behind. "No son. You come with the rest of the group. We can't be slow..." Eliot paused, "...we need you here." Noah stood up straight and solitude, "Yes sir."

Chapter 18

The robin seemed sure of himself, and kind, although he was rushed in the situation. She suddenly saw the angry faces of the Moth King and the Eagle darting up the falls toward them. "Hold on tight," Eliot said. She grabbed the horn of the little saddle tight. It was all a blur to her now as she soared to great heights, with the Moth and Leaver right behind them. She felt so lost and wished her Papa could

tell her what to do. But, she was her own woman now and had to make her choices. Papa had always told her this day would come. "You will not have me for always, my dear Cosette, so you must become wise from me while I am here." She felt overwhelmed riding on this bird she did not know. She asked Gassberry what he thought, but he did not know either, he was afraid that someone would take him from her. "A lot of help you are," she told Gassberry, and then felt bad for saying such words to him, her only true friend in this moment. They flew over the highest mountain that touched the clouds, it was icy cold and Cosette could see her breath. Gassberry snuggled close to her head and kept her warm, she was afraid he might fall with all the wind. They scaled up in the sky over the peak, she saw the other the island of stars only a mile away it was lush and green, while the mountain was jagged and gray. She could see that why you would think the mountain was part of the island, it was only a thin bay between the two. There were rocky cliffs on each side of them, which lead straight down into the ocean. "Where are you taking me?" She asked the robin. "To the Kings side of the island," he said, "The King of the frogs." She laid her head down on the robin trying to warm herself. "I don't think a frog would help right now." The robin looked back. "I'm taking you where you will be safe." "But what about Leazor?" she asked "Who is Leazor?" He said. "He's a sop" "I'll see what I can do to bring him to you, but we have plenty of beds," he said. This made her very angry, that he would refer to Leazor as just a bed. "He is not just a bed. He is my friend," she said. "Yes, my deepest apologies."

The cold was breathtaking, like the time that Papa and her were kicked out of the house, for lack of money in the middle of winter. This was a town in the north called Le'fe, where her papa had worked as a barnacle scraper for a short while. They lay under a bridge, and used a fire that papa had built to cook two small pigeons for dinner. They had many blankets, but it was still cold. Her father tried to warm Cosette by holding a blanket over the fire until it was warm, but it caught fire, and they where one blanket less. Her Papa didn't say much during this time, until they where cuddled up to sleep for the night. "You know the pigeons were once the rulers of all birds." "I didn't know that Papa, they seem so dumb." "They are not dumb, they have just lost their place in life, much like us. If a soldier cannot fight he is not much good doing laundry." Cosette didn't understand this, but she listened on as Papa told her the story of the great war of the robin's
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eagles and pigeons. "It was not that they were stronger that they were rulers, the eagles were strongest, but they did not care much for war, and politics, they only cared where their next meal would come from." He told of the great uprising of the robins, how they where abused and starved by the pigeons hoarding of food. "There was one great robin by the name of Eliot, that called all robins to a higher goal in life; more than just scratching for food. He dreamed of a place where every bird was free, and where one bird would not be over another. A place where a bird could search for his own food without registering it and having to pay taxes. So Eliot the great robin gathered a force of 10,000 birds together to go against the Pigeon army of over a million. He knew they fought a loosing battle, and he would tell his troops so, but he gave them something more than their lives were worth, and that was a place in history. "We can eat out of their hand the rest of our life or we can die for freedom. Which will you choose?" He would shout this to the army he had gathered. They would shout back "Freedom, death, or freedom." So the war began, they had to fight smart because they were so small an army. They began by dumping the pigeons food into the ocean when it came to harbor, they all swore not to eat one thing from the pigeons, and would live off lady bugs if it came to it. And Lady bugs were very pretty to look at, but very bitter on the beak. They dumped loads of the pigeons food into the oceans, and paid no taxes on the ladybugs they ate. The pigeons soon began to feel the impact of the rebellion, they were loosing tens of thousands of dollars a day. So the Great War began. The robins strategy was to starve the pigeons, they were fat and greedy birds, and needed much to live on. The robins attacked their storehouse first and then burnt their barns full of grain. The pigeons retaliated by burning and killing much of the armys family. The robins did most of their work at night, and continued to burn storehouses of grain and berries all over the countryside. The pigeons continued killing the robins families, holding them hostage until the robins would fight a proper war. The robins finally gave in, but not without first burning the last storehouse of the pigeons. The pigeons came to the war field starving, because they would not eat lady bugs or anything of the like. They were used to their comfortable storage of grain and berries. But, though they were starving, their numbers were great, and they killed nearly half of the robin army that day. "You know what the robins did?" Ezra asked. "No Papa, tell me." Papa cuddled close to her, keeping her from freezing. "Are you sure, because it is very gruesome. "I can take it. Tell me Papa." Her Papa stood up to stoke the fire, "Nothing." "Nothing?" She said, "How did that help?"

"Well when the pigeons began to starve, they sought out new food, they looked everywhere but all the grain had been burned, and they simply refused to live from peasant food such as bugs, so they did the only thing they could think of. They began living off mice and muskrats." "Ew," she said. "Yes, but you see, these mice and muskrats were the eagles only food, when millions of pigeons began eating them, there was hardly any to be found. So, the eagles began to starve, The only strong ones, were the robins, because they lived off what no bird would eat." "Did the eagles die?" she asked. "No they fought back. When they found it was the pigeons eating the mice, they began eating pigeons, and suddenly there were hardly any pigeons left to fight." The Eagle and Moth king were just feet away from Eliot's tail. The Eagle clacked it's beak and pulled out one large red feather. Eliot grunted but did not slow. Cosette looked ahead and saw four great waterfalls falling from the mountain. It was a glorious site. Like pillars of water hundreds of feet high. They were so high that a cloud was above their heads. Cosette had always wondered what a cloud felt like so she stretched out her arm to touch it. It felt like cold air. She was disappointed. Suddenly the robin turned sharply. Cosette was not prepared and fell from the saddle, holding on with one hand. The eagle was suddenly right bellow her feet. So close she could smell his fish gut breathe. Eliot realized she had fallen and reached one wing back pushing her up on the saddle. The eagle snapped his beak and nearly took off one of her toes. She climbed back on shivering from the scare. "This is going to be risky," Eliot yelled over the burst of wind. The Moth King came up next to them, It's large wing beating on her head. "Hold on," Eliot said and swooped under one of the waterfalls but he did not touch the water. They looked back to see the the Moth King and Eagle slam into the water and fall, trying to flap thier wet wings. "You did it!" Cosette said. "Oh they'll be on our tail again as soon as they dry out those wings. We better hide. I know the one place they won't look for us." "Beneath the falls?" Cosette said. "No. In the Golden Kingdom."

Chapter 19

They crossed the mountains again and the four falls then went to a place the robin the golden kingdom. Was it wasn't golden. It was dark. Huge dead trees
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loomed over head hiding the sky. Brown vines sunk down into a misty haze around the ground. Cosette rembered what the Moth King had said. That one persons paradise was always another's. She wondered if this is what the Penatong dreamed of. How could they want to live in such a dark dusty swamp. Where there were green fields at the Penaton kingdom, this was black dust, what looked like an old the center of an erupted volcano that had long been forgoten "This my dear is the Golden Kingdom they speak of." They went behind a huge rock formation that stood on the side of the volcano. In the center of the volcano she saw small figures, like ants gathering. "I can see nothing Captain, you must take me closer," she said. The robin turned to her and whispered, "You must be very quiet for these giant trees echo and all is heard. But you must see this to understand the Island. Now step up." He held out a wing and nudged her. She nodded and pulled her self on his back. He walked down the rock formation until they were closer to the figures speaking. "I can't go no further my queen." He whispered, bending down to let her off. What she saw horrified her. She whispered into the robin's ear "Why do they do this?" He turned his beak close to her ear, "Because they are lost, they are slaves and they do not know it." She watched as each Penatong was brought forward to the Eagle Leaver. There was a long line and the ones in the back still held their luggage and danced around laughing. But, the ones in the front were silent. There was an old Penatong in front of the leaver now. The Eagle checked him over. Pinched his stomach and then plop him in his mouth. Another eagle step up and plop, this time a child, down his throat. Cosette was horrified, she wanted to scream, but their were too many Eagles. Maybe their golden kingdom was heaven after all, because this sure wasn't heaven. Cosette crept up closer to the robin as he crouched behind a large rock, "How will they survive if they continue sacrificing their own people?" The robin looked sadly at her, "They will not survive, that is the saddest thing of all, they sacrifice them for peace with the eagles and the moths, but they do not understand, to sacrifice a child is to sacrifice a nation." She wept sadly almost loud enough for them to hear, but she didn't care it was all too sad, to see the little smiling Penatong children walking up to the eagles and moths with such beautiful smiles on their faces, as if they are about to receive a treat from someone, only to be plopped in their throats. "The parent what are they thinking, how can they do this she thought." Cosette said with tears. Eliot patted her gently on the back with this feathers,"Dear. They do not know. They truly think they are going to the golden Kingdom. You see the Eagles are the farmers and the moths are the farm hands, feeding them until they are plump, making sure they do not work so they are not tough meat. It is a deliquesce to the eagles. And, in this way, the moths have peace with them. That is why they work so hard to make them fat, even changing their history so that they believe they are friends with the Moths, even though they are really enemies from long ago."

Cosette wrapped her small arms around the Robin's thick neck. "My dear robin, I cannot take anymore, I must go or die of a broken heart." "Let us go then." She looked up at him with big round tears welling in her eyes. "Why?" she cried. And it echoed through the trees.

The eagles and moths looked up. They jumped to their feet with their full bellies. The line of Penatongs with their children ran down the mountain side. The eagles and moths sprang from the ground and darted towards Cosette and Eliot. "Quick get on my back," Eliot said. She quickly jumped on his back and they were off. The eagles stumbled against the rocks trying to leave the ground with their bellies full of Penatongs, but the moths sped on ahead. She looked back and saw a moth right behind them. It bit at Eliot's feet, and he swerved in a circle, she held on tight to his feathers, but fell in the swerve. "It's okay dear, I have you," he said as he pushed her back on his back with a wing. She began to cry and it overtook her eyes, she could see nothing, she heard the buzzing of the moths behind her, looked back, but saw only blurry tears. "Why?" She thought. The Penatong where so sweet. Why would they do such a thing, the pictures in her mind over took her; the little children being swallowed, "Why?" she cried. "For God's sake hold Cosette," Eliot said. The moth was now pulling feathers from his tail, she could see his face cringe with each feather pulled. He hand not many feathers left to pull. "Fly faster Eliot," she said. He looked back "I cannot fly any faster with your weight." "Then I will jump off," she said. "No, I live and die for you, I have orders to bring you home safe." Just then the moth bit down on another tail feather and pulled. Eliot began to sway in the air, unable to control the direction with his tail. Suddenly three other robins flew up beside them one being the little Noah. "Men," he shouted, "Take her from my back." Cosette screamed, "No," as the other two robins lifted her with their claws. She swung in a haze from their claws as she looked back to see Eliot battle the Moth. The Moth was nearly twice Eliot's size and he pushed his weight upon the robin. Eliot fell to the ground, and Cosette watched as the moth tore the feathers from Eliot. "Go," he screamed, "Go." He hit the ground hard. Cosette continued to watch, holding a hand over her mouth. The moth ripped the feathers from his chest and began to bite into Eliot's flesh. She could barley see them now, as she flew hanging from the claws of the two birds, but she could see that Eliot was not moving, not fighting back. "He's dead," she screamed. One of the robins turned her away from the sight. It was Eliot's son Noah flying in front of them. He had glassy
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eyes, filled with tears, "That is not for your worry, we must get home quick." Cosette heard the buzzing of the moths behind them as they scaled the air, and went over the huge mountain top. Once they reached the mountain peak, the fluttering of the moths wings ended. "Are they still behind us she cried." The robins shifted their legs, one dropped her shoulder and the other grasped her between his two feet. "They cannot cross the mountain top, only we robins are small enough. We are safe."

They cascaded over the waterfall and down to a dark crevasse in the rock. "Sir," one robin said standing with his chest out and saluting. A small frog walked back and forth with his head down, a crown on his head. "Where is Captain Eliot?" he said still looking down, "Sir, he fell in combat with a moth." The frog stopped and put a hand over his eyes, he was crying, but it was hard to tell the way he stood so still. "Are you sure of that soldier?" He said in a weak voice. "Yes King, we saw him go down and..." "Stop, I don't want to hear it now." The frog was very disturbed and Cosette could tell, he was hunched over and hiding his face with his hand. He wore a tiny gold crown and a ornate robe made from, what looked like, moth wings. He stood a foot tall and had a cain he leaned on, but he did not look old at all. "He died to save me," Cosette said, walking toward him. "Of course he did," The Frog King yelled moving his hand and looking at her with red tear stained eyes. "I'm sorry, forgive me, he was my best... he was my best friend. From all time he has been there beside me." Cosette began to cry, "I am very sorry, he was so brave..." "I said I don't want to hear it," the frog said. He stuck out his hand and turned his head to hide the tears again. "I don't want to know," he said and over to Noah Eliots son. Noah had his head down in the tips of his wings and crying big heaves, his back jolted by the crys. The King sat beside him and put a hand on his leg. "Son," he said and then paused. "I couldn't save him," Noah said, his head still buried in his wings. "No one could save him. Not even the seasond soldiers." Noah turned to reveal his eyes glazed with tears, "It's different, He was my Father." The little frog stood and placed his hand on Noah's back. "I am your Father now."

To calm herself Cosette took the small tablet of moth paper from her pocket and went to the river to sit. She drew pictures of the brave robin, Eliot, and the Penatong and the Moth King and all she had seen on the island. She sat there the rest of the day, crying sometimes, thinking of Leazer and missing him.

Gassberry had been quiet. He felt her emotions and knew there were no words of comfort he could give. He rubbed his small paws on her head wishing his feet were long enough to wipe here tears. The thought of being so special had first excited her, but now it was serious and she didn't like the thought at all. She thought of how close she might have come to death with the Moth King, and the Penatong people. Why would they want her? What could she possibly do for them, she thought. She drew steady lines. The ink all over her hands. She always felt peaceful when she drew. She liked it when her Papa would hang her drawings on the wall and look at them squinting his eyes. He would point out the imperfections, but more so the places of beauty. He said that beauty is what you should capture, some capture the ugliness of life, but it is a waste of time, he would say. "The ugliness will always be here, We all know what it is, so why waist your time on it. The beauty though, is hard to find, and rare are it's moments." She thought of these wise words. While she drew the Moth King she tried to find what was beautiful, in the detail of the shading, and the gold of his ornate crown. There was beauty there, but as her father had said, it was very hard to find.

Chapter 20

After drawing most of the day she went into the castle that was carved into the side of the mountain. There, hundreds of frogs ate in silence at a long table. They were somber. She imagined that this place was usually a joyful feasting room, but tonight they were eating for the fallen one. The birds stood in a corner pecking at grain and ladybugs, while the horses stood in a stable that adjoined the large chamber. "These are my brave sons," came a voice from behind her. It was the King and he stood with a goblet of wine. I always wanted a family, but I never imagined there would be so many. But, I have taken my time with each one of them. I never had a daughter though, and I always wanted one. Your father must be proud." "Don't be so sure King. A daughter holds a father's heart, you might give up your warring for a daughter, but not for a son." "I would give up my warring for anyone, I'm so tired of it. So tired of death and the sword. Sometimes I dream of just swimming off with a woman I love and never looking back." He spun a small green finger in his wine. Cosette sat on the step next to him. "Do you have a wife?" "No, she died many hundreds of years ago. I have been alone since then. Well... not alone." He pointed at the rows of little frogs. "My, you have lived a long time."
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"Yes I lost count at one thousand. But, really there is no time on this Island. We keep time by the shore. By how the water rises and falls. But that is not time, it is just nature." "So I will always be thirteen?" "Yes for as long as you live you will be thirteen, well, as long as you stay here." He put down his wine and sat beside her. "I guess I'm really only fourteen, it's hard to believe, but... "Sir we have need of you in the war room," a robin said walking up from behind. "I guess I'll finish that story later," he said standing. "All right, I shall find something to eat and maybe go to sleep." Cosette said almost patting him on the head, but resisting the temptation. "Yes please do, there is plenty of food, mostly flies and maggots, but I think the birds can lead you to some good berries if you like." "Yes that would be more to my liking." She followed a bird to the back room where he fixed her a heaping bowel of berries, brown bananas and nuts. She sat down on the floor next to the frog's long table. "I guess you all are very proud of your father," she said to a small group of frogs chopping on maggots. One looked up and had a stern look on his face. "Proud is not enough of a word for what we feel for our king." Everyone was quiet after that, and she didn't feel like breaking the silence. She finished her nuts and berries and headed back through the castle looking for a place to sleep. She found a sops in a small room, it reminded her of Leazer and the small pond they used to play at and eat crispy silver fish. She started to cry but decided she had cried enough for one day. She laid on the sops and went to sleep. When Cosette woke in the morning, she was hungry. So she walked through the castle looking for the berry storage. She walked past the kings chamber. He sat slumped in his small throne made of gold, holding his head up with one small arm. A goblet barley tethered to his fingers. She sat on the small step and looked at him with sad eyes. "I am very sorry about Eliot. He fought well," she said. He didn't move. "Yes, he was a great warrior and friend." Cosette leaned back against the wall. "My father told me stories of Robins, and how they fought in the great pigeon war and how they helped King Ez, conquer all the Islands around Wenchy Island. I'm sorry I never got to hear all his battle stories. I'm sure he had many to tell." The king looked up from under his hand, "I would give up all our stories to have him back, he saved my life you know." He shuffled in his chair, clearly exhausted. "Just so many stories. Everything becomes stories. It's sad."

"Stories are not sad. They make up all that went before. If we did not have them we wouldn't know who we were. Who to trust. What is wrong and what is right." The king shuffled in his chair and sat upright. "I guess your right. I remember when it all started. I had helped a friend I had met on the ocean who was dying of thirst, and there was a fish-lady that had helped us, we chased her for days, He was in love with her..." Cosette jumped up, "You are the frog! The one that saved my Father." "Your Father?" "Yes, he told me the story of the frog that had fallen from the beek of a hungry bird, and kept him company on the lonely sea, and the fish-lady, my mother, and..." "Yes, that is the story, this is so strange," the Frog king said sitting up. Cosette sat beside him. "But I thought you died, when you went to get the fishlady for my father." "I nearly did, I had used all my strength to swim to her and was sinking under the waves, when I was saved." "By Whom?" "By Eliot, he had been searching the waters for me for a week, but he was looking for a boy, which I used to be." "You are King Ez," Cosette said excitedly. "Yes, that is I, the once cursed King Ez. Cursed to be alone." "So tell me how Eliot rescued you." Cosette said leaning against his small thrown. "He had been flying for days and was starving. He saw me sinking in the water and plucked me out with the intention of eating me. He threw me in the air, and I thought it was the end as I came down towards his gapping mouth. That is when I recognized him, My Captain Eliot. I screamed out 'Eliot' Just as I fell in his mouth. It startled him and he spit me back into the ocean again. He sailed down and picked me up and threw me on his back bring me to this Island because Wenchy Island had burned to the ground. I was nearly dead for lack of food and water and he nursed me back to health again." She watched the king as he told the story, for a frog, he was very handsome she thought. He stood and paced back and forth his arms were muscular unlike a frog, and he had the posture of a king. "Now he is dead," he said, shoulders slumping, "And it is my fault, if I were only human again, I could have saved him." He held out his palms and looked at them, "What a shameful creature I am so small, and helpless. How can I claim to rule this army. I'm a joke." Cosette bent down to him. "For a joke, you're not very funny," she said. The king laughed but she continued, "You have bravery and the strength of ten men in
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your heart. My father told me so, and a man or a frog that would nearly sacrifice himself for another, especially my father, stands ten feet tall in my eyes." "No, I should just give up and go sit on a lily pad." Cosette took his hand. "If it were not for you, My father would have died, and I would not be here. You are a good soul and you must not be so hard on yourself. Frog or man, you are special to me." "Thank you," he said and sat back on his throne, "I just need some time alone, if you don't mind. Tomorrow we will see the Horse Sear and find out why you are here. You will need rest it's a long journey." Cosette stood, "I thought you knew why I was here." "No, I do not know why, I just know that it was written long ago that you would come. By our prophet." "Who is your prophet?" King Ez walked over beside her and put one small hand on her knee. "Your Father."

Chapter 21

They set out early the next morning; King Ez led the group of robins sitting on white horses. The King flew on a small yellow bird in full armor. They traveled down the side of the mountain and into the valley. "How far do we travel?" Cosette asked after about an hour. "The king flew next to her and pointed to the large mountain that peaked in the clouds. "To the top," he said. The shadow of the mountain covered the whole Island. The clouds around it where not the white fluffy kind, but dark twisting bundles of grey. They came upon a river and stopped to water the horses. Cosette laid down and thought of home. She missed her home where her dolls lined the bed behind the curtain that separated the room between her and Papa. She remembered the smell of the house, like dead fish, which she surprisingly missed. She missed the robins that would eat from her hand at the window. She would feed them breadcrumbs after dinner, she would sometimes find them in the house, building nests and would carefully move their nest to the window. One night her Father decided to write a book about all his travels. "We will be rich Cosette," he said scribbling in a little red notebook. "When the world knows all that I do, they will want to wine and dine us, they will fight for turns to hear my stories at their fancy parties, and maybe I will be asked to captain voyages into the furthest stretches of the ocean. Of course, only if they will let me bring my precious Cosette, will I go. We will have to get used to being around people when I

complete this book because so many will want to meet me. So, maybe we should spend more time in the crowded streets of town." She was curious one night of his writings because he wrote constantly, days and nights, sometimes not sleeping. She had learned to read a little, taught by her uncle Saffron who was very smart. She opened the little notebook as he slept and was shocked to find it was just scribbles, there was nothing that even resembled writing. There were a few maps drawn, but besides that it was unreadable. She remembered asking him why there are only scribbles and pictures in the notebook, and no writing. He said it was how he wrote, he had never learned to read or write but he could read his scribbles. "Would you like to hear what I am writing?" "Yes Papa, but how will you sell the book if no one can read it?" "I haven't thought of that, I might need someone to translate it, but lets not worry about that now, let me read to you one of my stories." He pointed at the drawing of the maps. "This is where I traveled to for this adventure. You see it is far across the world, to a place called Caterland." He then covered up the picture that looked like the little people. You can't see this picture until I read you the story. He began with his attempt to travel around the world, and how he fought many strange monsters. Cosette noticed that he began every story this way. He said of the great Measaw Monster demanded his finger and toenails, and it was the most painful thing a man can feel; to remove his baby toe nail. He read the story of the Tongs a tribe of people that were ten feet tall, and lived for bugs and berries. They lived in huge caves dug out of rocks in the mountains and had strange animals for pets. The Tongs were a kind nation but they where constantly warring with the evil horse suckers; a group of a hundred or so with powers to suck life from any being with their mouths. He had drawn a picture of the horse Suckers mouths. They looked like a huge nose that laid two feet down from their face, soft and limber, and it had suckers just like an octopus. He stopped the story and made a big scribble on the page next to the horse suckers. "I just remembered the name of the horse suckers so I had to write it before I forgot," he said continuing the story. "They were called the Wenchies for they came from that island long ago, but we will call them just horse suckers so you don't get confused." He continued the story with the great battle of the Tongs and the Horse Suckers. There was a witch horse that lived with the Tongs and was mainly responsible for them surviving through many wars. With his spells, he could heal the sick and make men stronger than they actually were, but he could not raise the dead. "Only our Lord can do that," he said. "Of course," Cosette said. The day the great battle took place, it rained hard and lightening and thunder crashed down on the earth, starting fires all around the battle field. The Tongs began to lose the battle, nearly all of them were killed except the Tong King and
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his personal guard. The king road upon the Horse Witch and his men galloped on the back of rhinos. The king asked the Horse Witch to give him and his men the strength of a hundred men. They battled against fifty horse suckers and nearly won but the Tongs king was thrown too the ground. The horse suckers gathered around him and slapped their sticky snouts against his body, and they latched on sucking the life from him. During this time, the rest of the kings men fell and where killed. The horse witch lived but was very week from the battle. He was not strong enough to fight the horse suckers that where killing his king, so he cast a spell, the only thing he knew to do. The witch was delirious with pain from a sword slash to its side, so when he cast the spell he wasn't even sure what spell it was. He just shouted out a line of words and suddenly a light shown in the kings chest. The spell he had cast reversed the suckers power to kill, but as they sucked on the king, he began to shrink. When they finally gave up and fled, the king was a small as a lamb. Papa held out his hands to show how tall he was. "That small?" Cosette said. "Yes that small." Instead of being thankful to the Horse Witch for saving his life, the king whipped and beat the horse. He was angry and he would rather die then live as a tiny man. The horse tried to just leave in peace, but the king followed, whipping him, throwing rocks and cursing. The people of the town followed, spit, and slapped the horse with branches from a tree. Finally, the horse had enough so called out the same curse and said the king and all his children would be born as tiny creatures. They would be even shorter than he when they grew up. Since the king had over 500 wives, and most all the men were killed in the battle, the kings children grew to be two foot tall and took over the entire nation. Soon there was not a tall Tong to be found. The horse witch fled to the mountains and never was seen again while the Tong city went on with life but eventually forgot why they were so small. King Ez called out for the troops to saddle their horses and Cosette put her little drawing book in her pocket. She had been drawing the horse suckers and the Horse Witch. They left the horses tied at the river and flew the rest of the way up the mountain. The robins had weaved together a coat for Cosette from leaves and vines and she was quiet warm when they reached the top. The snow was falling and a dark cloud hung over them. The frog walked with a cumpas ahead of the group until he reached a huge slab of rock. There, he put his armor down and ordered all the robins to do the same. He called for Cosette and Gassberry at the wall and told Cosette what to do. There was a small hole in the rock slab, and she was to put Gassberry's pearl into the hole. She held Gassberry closely as he and stuck his face against the rock until the pearl met the hole. A great light shown from the corners of the rock, and it slowly began to creek open. When it finally stopped they stepped inside, there was a long hall in front of them and Cosette

could see the dark room at the end where a fire was burning. They walked toward the room, with King Ez leading and were met by a small rabbit in the hall. "May I help you," the rabbit said. "We have come for the Horse Seer. We have brought this young girl who is to be the Queen of the Pearl." "The rabbit looked up and down at the King, "And how do you know this girl is the Queen of the Pearl." King Ez was visually agitated, "Listen rabbit, just let us through, we opened the golden gate, did we not, so let us through" "Manners are required here sir," The rabbit snorted. "I will take you no where unless you take that tone from your lips." The Frog slightly bowed with his hand outstretched, "My apologies dear sir. May we please see the horse seer?" "That is more like it, right this way." They walked into the huge room filled with books, a fire blazed in a fireplace as big as a horse. The light jumped around the room from the dancing flames. Cosette stepped in, looking at the amazing amount of books. She heard a voice from shadows. "So you have come. We have been waiting." The frog and the robins bowed when they heard the voice but Cosette did not. "I'm a little girl, lost on this island, and I don't know why you would be waiting on me." Suddenly, a spark of a match eliminated the face of the old horse, as he lit a Pipe in his mouth. "I've known of your coming for a thousand years." Cosette took one step towards the old horse,"What is it here with the thousand years. Every thing is a thousand years." The horse turned and she could see his long snot and the small white beard that hung from the chin. "Because the book of prophesy was given to us a thousand years ago." Cosette looked at King Ez, he shrugged his shoulders, "What book sir?" Cosette said. The horse took a long puff from the pipe, and it lit up his nose. "The book your father was writing, we must have it."

Chapter 22

They sat in the warm room at the horses feet. He was an old horse with a small braided beard the twirled down to his belly. He sat in the chair upright like a man and had four small soft fingers instead of hooves. Cosette thought he had a very wise and kind face. The light danced around him and she could see the great scar on his side. "My dear Cosette, we are glad that you have come after these many years. I will tell you your future from your past, but I do not know all things.
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I only know what is given to me." King Ez sat on Cosette's lap as she listened intently. "You have come to me for the answer, for the key to why you are here and what role you play in this Island, am I right." King Ez cleared his throat, "She wants to know where the Sea is, I told her it was the..." "Silence my friend. Answer only what I ask, I am an old horse and have not the time for unasked answers." "Yes sir," the King said. The old horse cleared his throat. "As far as why she is here, I do not know. The book did not say why, it only said what." Cosette stepped in front of the horse. He was very intimidating. "What, what." The horse chuckled. She saw that his smile was very small. You almost wouldn't notice it unless you really looked. "Yes. The what is the pearl. The book said you would bring the third pearl." King Ez climbed up on the horses knee. He was shaking ever so slightly. "Sir, We lost the pearl of the air." "You what," The horse screeched, the air from his nostrils, knocked the crown from King Ez's head. King Ez stepped even closer on the kings lap, and stuck out his chest. "I lost my best man, Eliot, and to tell you the truth I'm more concerned about that than the pearl at this very moment." The horse seer lifted his arm patted King Ez on the back, "I'm sorry for acting rashly. You should grieve properly for your friend. Where is the pearl now?" King Ez looked down at his feet. "It's with either the Moth or the Leavers, we're not sure." "Than you will start with the Moth Kingdom, if it is not there... Oh dear. We will have to infiltrate the Leavers. We can't allow them to posses a pearl." Cosette sat down on a foot stool. "You said there were three pearls. Who has the third." The Horse Seer lifted his long mane to reveal a bronze crown. In the crown was the same casing like Eliot's breast plate. There was a bubble of glass just like Eliot's, but there was no pearl. He pointed at the bronze crown. "This is where it goes. But the Leavers have it also." "They have two pearls?" "Yes. We have been through many wars over the thousand years and we have lost much to the Leavers. They are a strong kingdom. Stronger than anything on the Island." King Ez and his robins started for the door. "Wait." The horse seer said straining as he stood. "The book. The book has the key for the Leavers to..." He looked back at Cosette and leaned in towards King Ez whispering, "The Key to the stars. We must have that book so they can not use it, even if we have to destroy it."

"No. You can't destroy it," Cosette said running around to the front of horse. "That is my Father's book. I would die if it was destroyed." The horse seer looked at Cosette then King Ez. "Keep it safe then. Just get it." King Ez slapped his two feet together, stuck out his chest and saluted. "We must ready the horses," he said, then turned to go. The horse watched the birds leave and then sat down again. He had large stacks of books all around his comfortable chair. He puled his pipe from a tray and puffed hard a few times. It was lit again. He signaled the rabbit to come. "Yes sir," The rabbit said standing straight. "Bring her some Red bonnet tea." Then he looked at Cosette, "Does that sound good?" "It sounds grand on such a cold night." The little rabbit darted off into a lit opening. The horse puffed on his pipe and leaned back in his chair. "Not many are old here. But I was old before and I tell you, I wouldn't trade it for the world." "Most would say different." "Yes, but I am not most." The rabbit walked in slowly with a steaming cup of bright red liquid. The horse seer sat up and leaned in. "Now there is something very important I must prophesy. You must be willing to hear." He swiped a finger without looking and the rabbit hopped back to the opening. "Oh, I am ready to hear," Cosette said and stirred her tea. "You, dear Cosette, must make a sacrifice. It will be called upon you to do something you feel unable to do. You will feel as though you are giving your life but you will find your life instead. You must be brave, and when the time is right you must act. Only you can know when that time is, no book or seer will be able to tell you, you must act alone. You are the one writing the book now." "But sir if I do not know when or where, how will I know what is right for the time?" "I wish I could tell you but that is all that is given to me." Cosette sat her tea glass down on a stack of books, "Given? How is it given to you. Was it my father's book?" The seer sat his pipe down and looked at her. "The last pages of your Father's book was blank..." "Yes because he never finished." Cosette looked down and picked up her tea again stiring it furiously, her eyes glassy with tears. "I sure wish he would of finished it." The seer looked at her with his large sleepy eyes then took her hand and slowed the stirring. "Every man is a writer whether he knows it or not. He toils and srtives all his days writing his story. But no matter how hard he ponders, works, or
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toils; He can not find the end. He can not write the end because only his children can write the ending and as you know a story is only as good as it's ending." She looked at him shyly, "But I can't. I'm not him." "You are him. Your everything he ever wanted to be." Cosette stopped stirring and the seer placed his soft paw on her hand saying, "You will know. When it comes time, it will be all but impossible not to do it." The horse looked down with sad eyes. "There is more I must tell you, but I would ask that Gassberry leave the room." "Why," gassberry said "I'm your closest friend. Don't let an old horse tell you..." "Gassberry go," Cosette said pointing to the lighted entry. He crawled off her head, down her back and slowly out the door. The horse sat up in his chair and placed his elbows on his knees. "My dear, the key to the stars, is your pearl." "And... " Cosette said. The Seer move further up in his chair and pointed one finger at the celling. "This Island lives by the stars." He cleared his throat."How can I say this." He scratched his chin. "It's a delicate balance and that balance is coming to an end." "Let me guess... the thousand years," Cosette said. "Yes. The thousand years is over. The promise of this island is over. If the pearls are not given back to their rightful owners than this Island will be over." Cosette bent her head down and crossed her hands. "Your saying Gassberry is going to die." The horse seer dropped his arms slightly and sat back in his chair. He did not say anything for a long while then started to speak, "My dear..." "No." Cosette cried, "I need Gassberry, I love him, he is my friend." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "What did your Father tell you to do with the Pearl?" "Take it to the Sea." "And that, you must do." "But, what is the sea?" "All I know is it's more than water. The sea is the heart of the ocean." Cosette wiped a tear. "What will happen if I don't?" The seer raised both hands looking up, "All of this. All that you have seen or heard of this Island will be no more and the Leavers will rule." Just then King Ez stuck his head in the door. "Seer, we're ready to go whenever your done." "Where are we going. I'm not going back to the moth..." "No. no. They will take you somewhere safe." "But it feels safe here," Cosette said looking around.

The Seer laughed, "Oh I wish because, I'm sure, you'd have so many stories for me." "Why can't I?" "I'm afraid that it is not safe here. Any of the three pearls will open this gate and... we only have one." Cosette was saddened. She wanted to look through his many books and talk about the Tongs war and so many other stories. He seemed to understand so much. She walked over to him wanting to hug him but not sure if it was appropriate. So she just stood there. "Come here," the seer said. She stepped a few feet closer. He opened his arms. "You will see me again. I promise." She started to cry and fell in his arms. "You make me feel like a child again," she said. "We must go," King Ez said from the door. "Wait," Cosette said stepping back. "I want to know what this key to the stars is." "Hopefully you will never see the key. The Leavers have created it. They are a inventive and stubborn race and it seems that nothing can stand in the way of their progress." "What is it?" "It's Gassberry. He is the key." Just then Gassberry ran out, slid against the floor and stood looking and wining at Cosette. "Alright friend, you can come back up." The Horse seer stood again and walked Cosette to the large door. He leaned in close. "I have much more to tell you, but I think you already know it. But next time."

Chapter 23

They made their way through the Moth swamp, where many had died from dark creatures in the shadows and quicksand. King Ez lead the robins on horses by walking before them; he of course was too light to sink in the quicksand, so he took a stick and prodded the ground directing them around large areas of the deadly dirt. Cosette lay asleep on the back of one of the horses. Gassberry slept on her head keeping her warm in the cool air of morning. She lay dreaming of her mother when suddenly her horse reared up. There was a large centipede like insect attached to the horses leg. King Ez ran back through the horses trotting feet and
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saw Cosette fall from the horse into a puddle. He grabbed his sword and yelled for the robins to come. They flew from their horses and darted toward the sinking girl. By one swish of his sword, King Ez swiped off the head of the centipede and it fell from the horse. He saw the two blood marks on the horses leg. It stumbled back toward Cosette and started sinking in the sand. King Ez grabbed the rains, but he was too light and was swung across the swamp. He quickly ran back, as the robins lifted Cosette from the sand. "Watch out," he yelled running with his sword drawn. The crazed horse was coming straight for them, and in a mad rage. "Move, robins Move quickly." He yelled, but it was too late; the horse tumbled into the robins and Cosette. King Ez ran on the quick sand while four other robins flew back to help. He held Cosette's hand as she sank, "Don't you worry princess we will get you out of here." He turned and yelled "Hurry," to the flying robins. They dropped down and lifted her from the sand, while two others tried to lift a sinking robins from the pit. They pulled hard, but they were too deep, they sank until no more was seen of them. The robins landed with Cosette and Gassberry. They all stood and saluted the pit of sand with King Ez at their side. King Ez said a few words for the fallen comrades, when a centipede crawled out from behind him. He placed his sword back in its sheath, and the centipede struck, wrapping its entire body around the small frog. The robins bent down and pecked at the centipede. The King gasped for breath. He to draw his sword, but it was wrapped tightly around his arms. The robins tried pulling the centipede off with their talons but it would not budge, though it was now bleeding. The king fought harder when he saw the centipede open its mouth, large fangs dripped with poison. It reared back ready to strike. It loosened it's grip and the king swiftly pulled his sword and swiped it in front of the centipede's face. The centipede struck with incredible quickness, the king stuck out his sword and it lodged in its mouth. The centipede squealed and King Ez looked up to see Gassberry with his hard teeth clasping on the back of the centipede. The centipede's eyes bulged as Gassberry bit down harder, and finally the centipede fell. The king leaned against a tree, His breath was labored, "thank you Gassberry, I owe you my life." Gassberry hopped around still growling at the dead centipede. They took a collective breath of relief when suddenly the heard the horse scream an awful whale; he had tumbled into the sand pit. "Men to arms." King Ez yelled. twelve robins swept in over the horse. "We're not loosing anyone else today," The King growled. They clasped hold of the screaming horse and pulled with all their might, but he was too heavy. He shrieked again. Cosette could see the birds necks straining and their cheeks puffed up. In the crowd of beirds Noah was trying to find a place to pull. But instead he slipped and fell down into the sand. But he was too light to sink. One inch at a time, the lifted the horse from the quicksand, then dropped it a safe distance. They

all took a long breath then turned to see Noah climbing from the quicksand. One of the larger robins laughed. "Your suppose to pull the other way young one." All the birds joined in laughing and Noah just scowled, his face half covered in mud. The king turned to the robins and Cosette. She was propped up against a tree. "We have lost much today men," he said, pulling his sword from the dead centipede's mouth. "Let's not let this journey be in vane." The robins were exhausted and they slumped on their horses. They exited the swamp into a beautiful lush field of poppy plants. "This is where you get off Cosette," King Ez said, flying on his little yellow bird. Cosette followed the yellow bird with her head. "I want to go now. I know what the book looks like. And I know where they keep it." "It's too dangerous Cosette, we can't take a chance of loosing you. The moths are a very ruthless tribe, and there is no telling what they would do to you. We can't take the chance, you stay." "Stay where, in this field alone?" "No, in the field there is a family of moles that will take care of you. They are brave and strong and know how to stay out of the moth's trail" Cosette crawled into a large hole in the ground following the king, It opened up into a large cave where she saw the moles sitting at a sop toad having dinner, it looked like some sort of large grub worm they were eating. "Oh come in friends," the fat mole said standing in front of the toad. "Will you eat? Sit and eat with us." The King stood. "Not today Mr. Wither we need you to take care of this young girl." "Oh yes," The mole said scratching his head, "I heard she was here." Just then Cosette crawled through the opening, "Nice to make your acquaintance," the mole said bowing on one leg. "Would you please join us." He pointed at the Grub laying on the sops toad. "Leazer," she cried running toward the toad. The mole held his hand under his chin. "I didn't think she would be that excited, it's just a grub." "No I think she has found an old friend in your Sops." The mole looked back. "Ya, he just was wondering around in the field, and we've always wanted a Sops table, it fits the room don't you think." T he king looked around at the carved out empty earth walls, "Quiet well." "O Leazer, I've missed you so much." Cosette said hugging his neck, he licked her cheek, and panted hard. "Funny, I didn't miss him at all," Gassberry said to Cosette. "Oh stop it Gassberry, you know you did. Don't pay any attention to Gassberry Leazer, he's been in a bad mood since this morning." She turned and introduced Leazer to the king. He smiled and bowed. "I've never been introduced to a table before, but how do you do." Leazer shook his head panting so hard that the dishes rattled on his back. "Careful there, watch the grub, I hand picked that
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one," the mole said steadying the large cooked grub on the toads back. "Well we must be off to the Moth Kingdom Mr. Wither, you take special care of Cosette and you might want to find her some berries and nuts to eat; I don't think she will want to eat all your grub." "Oh how very kind of her, we have plenty of berries in the back of the cave." The king shook his hand and hopped back out to the surface. Cosette took a seat on the back of Leazer and ate her berries while the mole and his two small boys gnawed on the grub. "Do you have any stories to tell us Cosette we enjoy a great story." "I have many stories. My father was a writer." "Oh is that so?" "Well yes and no. He did many things. I never read his book but they are bringing it back now, it's written in his own language." "Oh yes and a rich language it is, I've dabbled in it a bit myself. "What?" Cosette said with a quizzical look. "Yes. Your father's language. We all know of his work, it's a very important work in our history." He pointed to the row of moth wing books on the floor. "This is are my collection of the island's history. Only copies, The horse seer has the originals. What I would do to get my hands on the originals." "I sometimes write at night, it helps me to sleep, I see you have a moth wing book with you too. What do you write?" "I do not really write, I draw pictures. My father wanted me to be an artist so I could illustrate his book. I have drawn many pictures of the strange creatures. I have found on this island." The little moles nibbled the last of the grub. "Oh well perhaps you will draw us," the mole said sucking in his belly. "Perhaps I will, but you look just like the moles I have seen in books, you are not so strange except you talk and are, well, very large." "Well, it is in every creature to speak, some are just too shy, some don't know language, not us though, right children?" "Right Papa." The word reverberated in her ears, and she was suddenly sad, seeing the father mole tickle the children. Her heart sank to her belly. "I have a story of a mermaid and a man I can tell," She said. "Well by all means, tell it to us." "It's quiet sad, all my fathers stories were." She retold the story of her father and mother's meeting and King Ez on the boat, she told of how she was brought to the surface by the King Blue Fish. The moles slouched on the ground and listened intently, their full bellies squishing against each other. She finished her story after what seemed a long time, and she looked up to see the moles sleeping. The father and the sons snoring alike.

She opened one of the books on the floor next to the sleeping moles and saw the familiar scribbling. She couldn't understand how this could be a language it just looked like scribble to her. She placed the book down and opened a book of drawings. There were many strange creatures and they looked like creatures that her father had told her about there was the Horse-suckers, and the Molar Beast. How strange she thought the mole or somebody writes just like my father. She opened another book and was shocked to see her name scribbled at the top. 'History of Cosette' it said and there was a drawing of her when she was a baby. She read through the book, it was the mermaid story she had just told the Moles how kind of them she thought, to listen to a story they already knew. She looked through the rest of the books, and they were all in the Penatong language. "That is one of my Favorites," The mole said suddenly standing behind her. Cosette jumped a foot in the air, then grabbed her chest. "Oh, you startled me. She caught her breath. "What is this one about?" He pointed to Gassberry sleeping on her head. "It is about the pearls." "Oh please tell me." "Well, The story is so ancient that no one really knows. There have been many moth-tablets written on it and traditions are different to every tribe on the island." He took the book and dusted it off with one paw. A plume of dust went in Cosette's face. She sneezed. "Oh I'm very sorry," he said. "No please go on," Cosette said. He took a small pair of spectacles from the top of his head and slid them down low on his nose. "The more I read it the less I think I understand it. You see, there was a great kingdom of man who had great knowledge and understanding. But the knowledge turned into pride and they began to rule the earth ruthlessly creating weapons that would scar the earth." "I didn't know such a thing existed." "Yes it's hard to imagine such weapons that would be this destructive. I think there is too much killing with spears and swords." "Oh yes, I agree." "Well it says here that they battled endlessly for gold and and greed. As if it were their job to war." The Mole held up his little arm and looked at the ceiling. "They had great temples, so large it says that the clouds gathered round them." "Like a mountain." Cosette said. "Yes like tall mountains that glowed by many lightning bugs. So bright they were, one temple would light this Island." "What did they do in temples?" "They worshiped and sacrificed. What else would you do in a temple." He flipped a page. Cosette moved in looking at the book. "What do they Sacrifice for?"
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"We it says here that that some worship a god, some the sun, some the stars, these men worshiped gold. They built great store houses to keep their gold, that reached beyond the birds and there they would worship each day, their religion was of alchemy and there time in life was spent making grater and greater riches." "I've never know riches except my uncle Saffron but go on." The mole adjusted his glasses and let out a little snort before reading. "...There God was a cruel god, requiring their life and all that they were. So they slaved for this god of Gold, and became drunk on it's shine, it's powerful glimmer, until the it came to a point that the land was no longer enough to keep it all. So they pillaged the sea until she was bare, and scorched the sky with fire. And when their was nothing left, they built three great ships to house their gold, they gathered all kingdoms together in these ships to seek riches in the stars. Cosette taped him on the shoulder. "So they could fly like birds." "Mabye." He said. He cleared his throat looking at her and paused. "Oh yes continue please." "Alright then. The stars who had watched them destroy the earth for thousands of years did not want them so they fell back to the earth in great flames and all the power, gold and knowledge contained n the ships where rendered to their purest form in three spectacular perfectly round pearls." "Like my pearl?" He held up his hand. "eh, eh, eh. Let me finish. He mumbled looking for his place. "Here we are. The stars, had gathered around the earth because of it's beauty, a beauty that had no equal in the vast universe. But the sparkling blue sea and brilliant sky were gone, turned gray and black from the kingdom's greed. So that is why they destroyed them." "How did the pearls get here?" "They did not at first. One fell into the sea and was swallowed by the last of the whales, the second was snatched by the beak of a robin, and the last was found by The Horse Seer on the island of stars. So all the power and knowledge of man was divided between the kingdoms of the earth. It is said that the earth, air and sea will be reunited again in one kingdom that will rule." "Goodness that is quiet a tale." "Oh it is not a tale. It's a truth that casts it's shadow over many years. Now you must sleep dear child." She laid on Leazer. She tried to sleep but could not. She stroked Gassberry's fur and Leazer purred beneath her. "Leazer," she said into his ear. He awoke from a deep sleep. "I can't sleep. I keep dreaming that I am drowning in the ocean. I need some air, Lets go outside." Leazer shook his head a hard no. "What's wrong, are you scared?" She said.

He shook his head yes. "Well I'm going up; I can't take this darkness anymore. I need some light. I'll only be a moment." He shook his head again, but followed her anyway out the large hole. The moonlight draped over the fields of poppy; it was beautiful. She laid on the flowers and let the cool soak into her skin. Suddenly, Gassberry awoke on her head. "Where are we," he asked. "Where just having some air. The hole was scaring me." Leazer nudged Gassberry and pointed his head at the hole. "I think we should go in, the frog king will be angry," Gassberry said. Cosette laughed, "Oh I'm very scared of a five-inch frog." "You shouldn't joke about him like that Cosette, he has risked his life for you." "I know, I'm sorry, I like to laugh... "

Chapter 24

Cosette lay in the cool grass and watched the yellow moon slip behind a cloud. The stars were perfect and pure, seemingly chaos but in precision. She could smell the red bonnets in the breeze, and her chest was suddenly heavy. If she could only forget him and his stories, this pain would cease. She felt horrible for thinking such a thing, she wanted to remember her Papa, and tell his stories to her children. But, the pain out weighed the longing. She wanted to forget him, forget his smiling face in the mornings as he tickled her awake. She wanted to forget his eyes, the hazel eyes that could either condemn or cause her heart to shine--without a word. Her eyes were heavy. She felt the soft fur of Gassberry, and loved him. She had never had a friend before, and Gassberry, though sometimes hard to handle, was the closest thing she knew to friendship. She thought of what a gift the pearl really was; it was the gift of friendship. It held them together, by providence or some other fate, her mothers gift, had delivered a great friend to her. She could see the sun's rays peaking up from the hills, She thought she should go in so the Mole wouldn't worry, but the grass was so soft, and the morning perfectly comfortable for sleep. When her eyes were at the point of closing, something hopped over her. Startled she sat up. There was a field of Grasshoppers, the size of dogs, jumping toward her. She stood and placed the sleeping Gassberry on her head. There were hundreds of them, and they hopped through the tall grass, causing the earth to rumble. "Don't talk to them Cosette," Gassberry said. "Were are you going?" she asked one that was coming straight for her. He diverted his path and yelled out as he past, "The feast, of course." She turned and watched them flying through the air like a show at the circus. "Well are you
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coming, or just blocking the way?" A voice said behind her. She looked at the grasshopper, standing behind her, nearly loosing her balance. "Well, I don't know, what kind of feast?" She said. He smiled rubbing his two small arms together. "What kind of feast? Are you kidding? It's the feast of the forest, the only feast. You must not be from around here." She looked at his smiling face. "How is it that you talk?" she said. "I have never heard a grasshopper talk." "Well welcome to the Island. Every creature speaks. It's just that some are too shy or don't know the language. I speak your language--it's clear." She looked around, and now saw squirrels, skunks, and all sorts of small animals following the grasshoppers. "Well are you coming, or just waiting for a train?" The grasshopper said. "Do you have trains here?' Cosette asked. "Lord no, We read though, I have many books, but I have a feast to go to now, if you come along, I'll tell you about them." "What about the mole?" Cosette asked. "Well if he's a creature of this Island he will be at the feast. He's probably getting ready now," he said. "Will the eagles be there?" "No, lord no, this is the feast of the forest, not the city," he said looking around nervously. "Are you coming are not; I shall be late." "Let me tell the mole that I'm going, and I'll be right out." "Suit yourself. I haven't the time to wait on strangers." She saw that all the creatures that leaped and crawled had passed them by, they all headed in the same direction. She looked back, and the grasshopper was jumping away from them. "Wait," she said. "I just need to tell the mole. Wait for me." The Grasshopper stopped and turned to her. "Ma'am, moles are slow in speech and action, I have no time for to waist, I will miss the grand opening, If you would like to come, I can assure you he will be there; all free creatures go to the feast." She looked back at the hole. "Ok, we will come." Gassberry dug his claws in her head. "Cosette, I don't know. This is dangerous." "Stop it with the claws," she said. "I don't know, the frog told us we we're safe here. He brought us here for a reason." "He doesn't know everything, I'm going to the party, you can stay if you like. I need some time away." Cosette said running to the grasshopper. "Who would I have to gripe at?" Gassberry said. "Exactly, just trust me Gassberry, a party this big can't be wrong." She jumped on the grasshoppers back, and they sailed up in the air. She grabbed tightly to his hard shell, bouncing in the air with each lunge. She found

quickly that a grasshopper was not the preferred method of transportation. As they landed they would crash hard into his shell. Gassberry nearly fell from her head and urged her to jump off. "Mr. Grasshopper, can you please slow, just a bit, I may lose my Luna if you don't." The grasshopper jumped again, they sailed through the sky over the tall grass. "I am going slow," he said with a crashing land; then he flew up again. Gassberry fell from Cosette's head and sprang his claws grabbing the shell of the huge grasshopper. "Hold on Gassberry," Cosette yelled. He struggled to climb up the side of the Grasshopper, as he took another great leap in the air. Gassberry clawed his way to Cosette, who was barley hanging on, he pulled himself beside her, and they both flew up in the air, holding on with just their fingertips, as they sailed over the grass toward a huge group of animals. "Almost there," The grasshopper shouted. "Thank goodness," said Cosette preparing her self for the next lunge into the air. "Oh we forgot Leazer." Cosette cried. "That lazy toad," Gassberry said, "I'm sure he's not going anywhere."

The Grasshopper stopped. "Passengers off the train," he said. And smiled looking back at Cosette. Her hair was a mess, and Gassberry, wobbled on the ground trying to find his feet. "Very sorry for that." the grasshopper said. "I was just a little excited to get here." Cosette pushed her hair back and tied it in a pony tail. "So what's the big deal, what's the grand opening all about," she said. The grasshopper pointed at two squirrels on a tree, "Just watch, it's the greatest show on earth." The huge grasshopper pushed his way through a crowd of rabbits, skunks, and boars, and made a place for Cosette and Gassberry to sit under his legs. "Now watch the Squirrel to the right, he is probably the best acrobat in the world." Cosette watched the Squirrel as he took the vine in his hand and bowed to the crowd on the left. They cheered jumping up and down oinking and screeching. He bowed to the right, and made a very firm stance, holding the vine. He closed his eyes, straightened his legs and leaped from the tree. The crowd cheered. She watched in amazement as he let loose of the vine in mid air, but then she saw the Squirrel from another direction flying down, and catching him just in time by the back foot. He flipped up and climbed on the other squirrel's body to the vine. The other Squirrel did a flip and landed on his shoulders, the crowed cheered. Her eyes widened as he let go of the vine again, this time three squirrels in a triangular position caught him and tossed him on top of the triangle. He twisted and did a twirl while on the squirrels head bellow him. The crowd went wild, and Cosette clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh that's just the introduction," the grasshopper said. Just then a baby boar jumped down from the tree above the squirrels; they turned the triangle figure upside down and caught the boar with their feet. The crowd went wild. They went on doing feats of amazement until one of the squirrels fell to the ground with a loud thud. "Don't worry that happens every year," the
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grasshopper said. "We have to start cooking anyway." A hundred squirrels ran to the aid of the fallen squirrel. They lifted him up and chanted in an odd language, of hiccups and peeps. "Let us go before the squirrels start fighting with the chipmunks." The grasshopper said and lifted Cosette and Gassberry onto his back. He led them to a large grass hut, were there were four other grasshoppers busily cooking over four Sop-Toad's fires. The Sop-Toads sucked in and blew fire out of their nostrils on the sizzling pans the grasshoppers held. "What's for dinner?" Cosette asked. The Grasshopper helped them down. "Grubs, my dear, the best of grubs, found only across the mountain, we had them imported last week; they are aged for the feast." Cosette walked and looked at the white worms on the crab shells, browning and sizzling over the toads fire. "Here let me show you how we prepare them," the grasshopper said, grabbing a squirming Grub from a bucket made from a tree trunk. "First we boiled the silver fish in water." He pointed to one of the grasshoppers stirring a shell pot of silver fish, "Then we fry up some ants, and make sure their extra crispy." He pointed. "Now for a little spice," He said tossing a powder in the boiling pot of silverfish. "A little salt on the ants..." He pinched from a crab shell bowl a hefty amount of sea salt and sprinkled it over the ants. "...and our fine lady over there is pealing the cockroaches, she does a fine job." Cosette noticed she blushed bright green when he pointed at the lady pealing the roaches. "What is her name?" She asked. The Grasshopper laughed, his little front legs rubbed together; we have no names, those are for people and beast of the city. He put his arm around a grasshopper frying ants, "I know who this is, I need no name." He then put his arm around the grasshopper shelling the cockroaches, she blushed again and Cosette sensed the love. "I know this fine lady, right?" She nodded shyly. "We need no names," he said, tossing the pealed cockroaches in with the boiling silverfish. "Now watch this, this is important." he opened up the top of a boiling shell. "The perfect maggots, they take almost an hour to prepare." Cosette looked in the pot and saw the maggots, they looked no different from her Papa's Perfect rice; Creamy and consistent in size. "Well, if I may ask whether it is all right for me to name you, because I cannot call you grasshopper number one, and number two." The grasshopper's sweat ran down his forehead as he looked down into the pot of maggots. "Sure, because youre a stranger, you can name some of us." He looked up at her "Who am I?" Cosette took him by his arm and smiled. "You Sir are Mr. Saffron" "Saffron hu," He said, "I like it" "Of course you do, Creatures need names, it's what makes you... well, you" "I like that, go on," the grasshopper Saffron said. Cosette looked around at the Grasshoppers in the kitchen. "I will name only one more for now," she said.

"Ok, go ahead dear," Saffron said, "Take your pick." Cosette looked around again, and walked to the Grasshopper pealing the Cockroaches, she took her arm, and the grasshopper smiled. "You I name Ms. Mia." "Very good dear, but now we must serve a hungry crowd." Saffron said. Cosette tasted small shell spoon of the ants at the grasshoppers insistence. They were good she thought, a little more salt would help she told them, and they quickly salted them. She then tried a thin slice of the grub worm and thought of her Uncle Saffron and Ms. Mia. How they would cook together, like two dancers from the grand ballroom, they would pass spices back and forth, stir with such tenderness the fish heads. Mia loved uncle Saffron, and Cosette knew it. She only knew it after watching the old man on the bench at Leazer Street; the one she and her Papa called Mr. Wither. After she saw the love on his face for the fat woman in her underwear, she could see the same thing in Mia's eyes each time she glanced at uncle Saffron over the pile of shrimp shells. Sometimes there were tears in her eyes, after he would scold her for not cutting something right, but they were not tears of disappointment, they were tears from onions and a broken heart. Cosette could tell because they were like the old man Wither, as he sat outside the ladies window, his tears were not thin like regular tears, they were fat and round. They were heavy round tears, as Mia cried over the crab, lobster, and shrimp--tears of love. Just as Cosette tried the perfect maggots she saw Saffron grasshopper yell at Mia grasshopper for leaving a cockroach shell dangling on the body. She cried the same tears, the tears of love, round and heavy. She knew then that the Mia grasshopper really did love Saffron. She decided that she would do something about it. She watched Mia cry so much at home over love, now she could do something about it; she felt like she was the queen of the Island. She always wanted to tell Uncle Saffron, that Ms. Mia loved him, but she didn't. Now, she thought, I will do what I was always meant to do. Cosette thought love was simple; something like the perfect rice, or maggots, that you just followed the recipe and it would turn out wonderful. "Grasshopper Saffron," she said. "Yes," he said with a chuckle. "I am Saffron right?" he said. He laughed and jabbed Mia with his arm. Cosette stood between them. "Yes, you are Saffron, and you are Mia, and there is a reason I named you." Saffron grasshopper laughed, "What to make us your pets?" "No," Cosette said. "Then what," Mia said. "To announce a great love to you." The two grasshoppers looked at each other in confusion. "And what might this great love be?" Saffron asked. "The love between a man and a woman," Cosette said.
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"None of us here is a man, nor woman," The whole group of grasshoppers laughed. Cosette stomped her foot. "You are close enough and I tell you that Mia... you are in love with Saffron, are you not?" Mia crouched down with her front legs over her head and cried round tears. "Yes I am" Saffron slammed his spiky front leg on the counter, "What in gods good earth are you trying to do?" Cosette ran up to his face, "Do you not love her?" she said with her finger pointing. "Of course I do," he said, and then covered his mouth, the room was silent. Saffron reached his head to her ear and whispered, "Oh Cosette, why have you done this? Please leave us for a while. Let me clean up the mess you have made." Cosette went and watched the squirrels fly in the branches, no one watched now, they all sat at logs and feasted. Cosette wondered what she had done wrong. If there is love, should it not be proclaimed from the rooftops? Should people and frogs not die for it? She was very confused; She looked over at the grasshopper camp. All the grasshoppers gathered around Saffron shaking their fingers as two other grasshoppers cried on the counter, one being Mia, the one she named. She placed Gassberry on her head "Oh Gassberry, what have I done?" "I don't know Dear, you've done something though, I know nothing of love." "You love me." "Your right I do." "So, he loves her, and she him, should that not be known?" "I don't know Cosette, it looks like it shouldn't be known." Cosette looked at the raging grasshoppers, "Yes I guess you are right, but, my father always told me that love was the greatest of all human experiences, I just thought I would give them a gift." Gassberry tucked down close to Cosette's head "It'll be all right Cosette."

Chapter 25

Cosette watched as the sun went down in the hills. The sky was purple, and orange and most of the animals had left. She had a wonderful conversation with a table of skunks. At her urging they had talked about love, and how hard love really was. Cosette did not know the things they talked of; she couldn't understand why love was so hard. She explained that she loved her Papa even with all his flaws. She said she never even thought of his flaws when leading him home from a bar or

a tavern, she just loved him. They argued over kinds of love, but it all left Cosette confused. The Grasshoppers never even brought out their food, they all just stood there and fought the whole night while Mia cried. Cosette felt as if her father had lied to her with all his stories of love--of her mother swimming like a fish, she questioned all of it. He had once told her that all virtues were good, but the greatest was love. But now, she didn't know what to believe. She asked Gassberry, but he was ignorant to love as well. She remembered that he only knew what she knew, and went back to the skunks, who really seemed to know all about love. One Skunk said it was a disease, that every man should rid himself of. But then a woman skunk said it was something far off to never be obtained. Cosette liked most what the child skunk said when asked. "Love is kisses goodnight." They had all laughed at him, but Cosette felt a strange pain in her chest when he said that. She remembered her fathers kiss goodnight, each and every night. His face was some times itchy, and sometimes smooth, but his face was always there. The Grasshopper she named Saffron came and sat next to her on the small hill overlooking the valley. "I'm sorry, he said. "Why are you sorry, I did something wrong didn't I?" "Well yes and no," said Saffron. Cosette looked at the grasshopper his eyes were tired, and she could see that he wanted to cry, but she wasn't sure. "Love is strange," he said, "I do love Mia, but I am promised to another, my family... they have already arranged it." "Tell the 'other' that you are in love with Mia before it's too late." He laughed and she saw a small tear escape his large eye, "Oh you are a wondrous creature Cosette--you told them for me." "I'm sorry." "No! Don't be sorry. I love Mia, and I was about to marry another that I didn't love out of duty to the family. But, you have changed all that now." "Why would you marry someone you did not love?" Cosette asked. "It's very complicated. I don't know whether I understand it myself, but I was going to do it, next week in-fact. You know Cosette, that woman was there too, she was boiling the silver fish, I was to marry her, but now... well I don't know now." Cosette took his hairy arm, "of course you know Saffron, You will marry Mia, and there will be a big wedding, with a white dress... Oh and a large cake of grubs..." "You know nothing of love young girl." "I do too," Cosette said dropping his arm. "Love is kisses goodnight." At this, Saffron dropped his front legs to the ground and began crying. "Yes you're right," he said, "love is, kisses goodnight."
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He cried for a long time, while Cosette rubbed his scaly back. "The Mole," she said, "He never came." Saffron dried his eyes, "that's all right, you can stay with me, I wasn't expecting this, but you can stay." "What do you mean by not expecting?" "I mean I wasn't expecting to like you." "What does that mean?" She said. "Oh forget it, lets go home," he Said. "Yes home sounds good, but what about the king?" She said. "Which king?" "The frog King Ez, he will be looking for me." The grasshopper wiped the last tear from his eye. "I'm sure he will find you then. I will send word to the mole that you are at my house."

She was very surprised by the humble house of Saffron; it was only a grass pile. He did have a stack of books piled in the corner; they looked as if they had been rained upon frequently. "What books do you read? She said, shuffling through the pile. He looked at her shyly, "Well I kind of lied, I have only a few books, those were given to me by a man, kind of like you, you know human. He stayed with me for a six months after he became hunted by the eagles he left all the books and said he would be back. He taught me to read the language of the books and speak during that time. I have read those few books over and over." She flipped through them, "What are they about?" He sat back against the grass wall. "Oh they are wonderful, they are about a love, a great love, between a man and a fish woman, they have stories of King Ez in there too, he actually saved the man that wrote the books." Cosette flipped through the pages of scribble, "This is my father, I mean... I mean he wrote this, the same language as the mole's books?" "Oh your Father. Then he is the man who stayed with me. Very nice man I must say. That one you have is a hard language to learn. it's about the time he spent with them, This one though... He reached out and handed her a red notebook, "This one is in our tongue, it is about the fish woman; It was translated by the Horse Seer." "What will happen to you and Mia?" Cosette asked. "I do not know, she was very embarrassed in front of my family. I don't know whether I will ever see her again." "Sure you will," Cosette said thumbing through the book, "this is my father for sure; this is the story of my mother. I never knew they traveled to this island." "Oh yes they traveled all over the world, this is the last place they stopped, I met your mother too, well I guess it's your mother," Saffron said.

"Did she have fins, and a tail?" "Well yes she did, but no, not when she was on land, I saw here once in the pond by the ocean, there she did have fins." He lay back against the grass with his hands behind his back when they heard a fluffy knock on the grass door. It was Mia; she stood at the door in tears. Saffron took her in his arms, He cried, "I thought you would never come back, forget it, oh my love you will be mine." She cried and held him tight, their two upper arms grasping one another. "I will never leave you, even if I have to peal a thousand cockroaches," Mia said. Cosette cried but she didn't know why, she felt the love and it was very deep, like the ocean, deep enough to taste. "I must go." Cosette said. "No you cannot go, said Saffron. "No please stay," said Mia.

Mia opened a bag of Cockroaches, and they began cooking on the small Sops that was in the kitchen. Mia pealed the roaches as Saffron dipped each one in a crab batter he had made from crab meat and maggots. "My dear some fly juice?" Saffron offered up a cup to Mia, she took the fly juice and sipped it looking deeply in his eyes. "Great fly juice, have some Cosette," Saffron said offering her a shell. "What is it exactly?" Cosette asked. The grasshopper took a sip "The best of fermented flies, we press them in this valley and make some of the best juice." Cosette tried the juice, and it was a hardy flavor; she drank two cups before the meal was even prepared. They placed the fried cockroaches on the table, touching each others hands and smiling.

While they ate dinner there was a fluttering sound out side the door. Saffron immediately ran to the door and shoved his few books against it. "What is it," Mia asked. "It's nothing dear, eat your roach and drink your juice." He had a smile on his face, but Cosette could tell it was not a real smile. "Who is out there?" Cosette asked. "No one, lets eat," he said. "Honey there is someone there I can hear them," Mia said touching his hand. "No lets eat. Let's eat. Let's eat." he said, his face was very serious. There was a thud on the door. "It's no one, just eat," he said. The door thudded again. "I'll get it," said Cosette. "No," Saffron said. "There is someone there dear, Mia said. "Just eat," he said, a tear fell from his eyes. Suddenly, a moth broke in the grass hut, Mia screamed. Cosette grabbed Gassberry. The Moth tore through the door with it's pinched face and began
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throwing the books and tearing them. "Stop," Cosette said. "those are my Papa's." The Moth seemed to smile, and looked at Saffron. "Get out you big balloon," Cosette said. The Moth pushed his way into the small room. Saffron began crying, "I'm Sorry Cosette." "What," she said as the moth came closer to her. "I did it," Saffron said. "Did what," Cosette said placing Gassberry on her head. "I called the moths." "You what?" "I called them, he is here on my call." He began to cry. "I tried to call it off once I knew you, but it was too late." "Why?" Cosette asked. "They... they promised to take me and Mia to another Island so we could be together. If I only knew it was as simple as saying 'I Love You' to her, in front of my family." The moth took hold of Cosette as she secured Gassberry snug on her head. "It's all right Saffron, it was for love," she said, as the moth drug her from the hut. "For love," Saffron said looking at Mia's disappointed face, "for love." The Moth dragged Cosette from the small home and flapped its wings. They took off in flight. She did not resist this time. Gassberry wanted to chew off the legs of the moth, but Cosette told him not to. She wanted to find the Frog king, and that is were he was going, the moth city. The moth took them low into the trees, and flew side to side dodging the trees as the sun went into night. She saw a bright light ahead, it was glowing and orange. The had begun to rebuild their city with an even bigger lightning bug at the center. The moth dropped her on a large chair, much like the one at the Penatong's hall. "Good to see you again," a voice said. She looked up and saw the Moth king in all his jewelry and armor. "We've been waiting for you," he said. He held her fathers notebook in his hand. "Take her to the cave." Two moths stepped up from behind her and grabbed her by the arms. "What do you want with me?" She yelled. "Just let me go, I don't care about the book or what it says anymore. It's just scribbles." The Moth king pointed his hairy claw at the book he held. "My dear, It's a shame you couldn't even learn your own Father's language. Mabye it's just too complex for a child. Now sleep well, we have a long trip tomorrow." The Moths dragged her and Gassberry down the stairs, the walls were wet and slimy. They went into a deep cave were there was only light from small torches lodged in the walls. There, she saw the many cages lining the cave. They were filled with all kinds of animals, dear and elk were in the large cages, and rabbits, and squirrels in small cages. They dragged her to another corridor, and pushed her through a large door and she saw the cages lining the ceiling with hundreds of

frogs in Armor. It was King Ez's army. They all stood at once and bowed towards her. "I'm so sorry," she said. Her heart was sinking in her chest, and sank even farther, when she saw the red robins flapping roughly in their small cages. Noah sat crying into his wings. As she passed the cage she could hear him say over and over, "It's my fault. It's my fault..."

They threw her in a small cage and one of the moths tried to pry Gassberry from her head. Gassberry bit down hard on his claw breaking it with a crunch. The moth yelped, and slapped Gassberry across the face. Cosette felt the cold blood stream down her forehead from Gassberry's lip. "Are you all right Gassberry?" He sighed, "Yes, and I'm not going anywhere." "Good Gassberry, I don't think I could bare being alone, not in this place." She tried not to pay attention to the horrible crying, chirping and moaning. "I will never leave you, he said, "they will have to kill me first." "Don't speak like that, everything shall be all right, King Ez will rescue us," she said Just as she said that, the moth slammed the cage door, and locked it with a key. "I hope so," Gassberry said. "Oh surely he will, I know he is searching for us and his robins and his army... Suddenly a voice spoke behind her. "Why search, I know were you are." She turned to see King Ez lying in a small cage hanging from the ceiling. The light from the torch flickered and she saw that his arm was bleeding. The sides of his mouth bent down in a large frown. "King Ez, what has happened?" He lay, staring at the torch. "They have won, that's what has happened." "Don't say such things, what is our plan of escape." "There is no plan" he said. "They wonthey have you, and the pearl, the book, and my army, my sons. There is no plan, we've been defeated." Cosette looked at his bleeding arm, the blood pooled beneath him. "Your arm, you must bandage it, she said. "It doesn't matter now," he said, "What kind of king am I? I shouldn't be King. I'm just a little frog, what a jokeMe thinking I could save the Island." He laughed a weak chuckle. "A frog to the rescue... what a joke." Cosette grabbed the bars of her cage and stood. "You are no Joke, and you are not small. I have seen smaller hearts in the largest of men; You truly are fitted to be a king. I have never heard of such bravery." King Ez lowered his head and crossed his arms. She could see the tears in his eyes. "They killed my first born sons, he said and a tear fell, running down his bloodied arm, "they wanted me to tell were you were, But I wouldn't. So they began torturing my sons. I still would not tell, so they ate them. Each time I denied
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them the information, they ate another one, the moths killed twenty of my sons, and they died so bravely--no tears like me, I sit here and cry, and they were so brave." "What were their names?" Cosette asked. He told her the twenty names of his sons, and she asked to here all the names of his sons. There was Japeth, Samuel, Paul and Joseph, and many more. His face seemed to lighten as he told them to her. She remembered her father saying how much he regretted not remembering the names of the frog's one thousand children, so she made a point to remember each one. "Eliot was the eldest son, the first one to die today. I named him after my Robin Eliot; you remember the one that died... "Oh yes, I remember him well." King Ez wiped the tears from his eyes. "Eliot, my son, he volunteered to go first, he was a good son, as brave as the robin." As they talked, Gassberry crawled down from Cosette's head and began chewing on the wall. Cosette lay down on the mossy ground. "What happened king? How were you captured." He stood and grasped the bars, looking around. "I don't understand it," he said, "our plan was perfect, we found the book and had escaped with it, but they seemed to know everything we did ahead of time. We had moles dig us an underground path, so not to be seen, and they were just waiting for us when we finally surfaced. They had no way of knowing. But then we found out." "What." "It was Noah." "Eliot's son Noah?" "Yes. Now my son Noah." "What happen?" "He was captured from the back of the line. He's such a small bird, no one noticed he was gone. But they tortured him. They got all our plans from him and even where you where and I supose that is why you are here." "Poor Noah." King Ez shifted in his cage, "I don't blame him either though he will never again be abel to fly in battle without a great shame." They both were startled by the sound of falling rocks. They looked over to see Gassberry laying on the ground and light streaming into the cave from a hole. Two heads popped through the hole, it was the grasshopper Saffron, and the mole. "For love," Saffron said. Cosette almost clapped. "For love." "Now, Let us leave quickly, they are on their way to take you." Cosette smiled in relief. "How? How did you both know were we were?"

The mole pointed at his ears "Us moles have great hearing. I heard Gassberry chewing from this side of the wall" The king stood "Now you must go," he told Cosette. "Not without you," She said. "We can take care of our self, and our job is to take care of you, so go," he said, "go now." "Yes Cosette, we must go," said Saffron. Cosette looked at the king standing strong again, and felt the strangest feeling in her stomach; bubbly like birds flying around her insides. She felt a horrible sadness to leave him, but she knew he was right, the sun was up, and the moths would be down any minute to take her away. She looked at the King, and he looked at her. "Please go," he said softly. She saw something in him, that did not show on his outside skin, something handsome, worthy; in his voice she could see him as a boy, kind and strong. She blew him a kiss and crawled out of the small hole with Gassberry.

Chapter 26

She stepped from the hole and Gassberry followed her. They were in a large hole the mole and his sons had dug. The moles sons held a blazing torch. "This way." He said. And she crawled behind them as they moved through the tunnel. Roots of plants lined the top of the tunnel, and it was moist and cold. After a long while they came to a stop as the moles sniffed the dirt on the top of the tunnel. "Here is a good place," the mole said and then began digging up through the ground. Dirt clouds fell, and the dust floated in the air, causing Cosette to sneeze profusely. "Hang in there," Saffron said patting her back, "these three moles are fast, it will be over soon." She could hardly breathe with all the dust, and her sneezing increased. Saffron pulled a handkerchief from a shell on his side. "Here use this." Finally, she saw the light streaming in. The Mole stuck his head down through the hole, "Come on, lets go." They climbed the slopping tunnel to the surface. "Where are we going?" Cosette asked. "We go to the Horse Sear, it's the only safe place for now." Saffron said. "But what about the king and his men?" The grasshopper and the moles became silent and looked down at the grass. "I'm sure they will find a way," Saffron said, "but we can't worry about them now, we have to get you to safety."

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As he spoke, Cosette heard a growl from the forest. The forest was dark in shade, and she saw beady shining eyes and white teeth. They turned looking into the forest. The growling became louder. "Quick," Saffron said, "It's a badger. The moles pulled Cosette from the hole. She quickly threw Gassberry on her head, and they ran. The badger darted out behind them. She looked back and saw his sharp teeth, and the spit flying from his mouth. "Run," the mole said. The grasshopper grabbed Cosette while they ran and threw her on his back. They hopped over the moles. "Get on," Saffron said. They stopped for a moment as the moles climbed on his back "Hurry for goodness sake." The badger flew through a clump of grass and latched his jagged teeth into the back leg of the grasshopper. He cried out and stabbed the badger with his other claw. He would not let go; they began to fall. When Cosette took her small shell knife and sliced the badger across the nose. Blood splattered his face and he let go with a loud and deep squeal. Saffron hopped into the air. Each time he landed Cosette could hear the little cry he made. She looked back at his leg, were the badger had bitten, it was oozing white blood.

"Saffron your bleeding," she said as they flew in the air again. He landed and nearly tumbled over. "It's... It's all right, I'll make it." He jumped again and Cosette saw the large river in front of them. She heard the badger again as they leapt over a log. His eyes were red and angry, blood trailed over his face, and slobber flung from his teeth splashing the ground. He dove at them and missed as Saffron launched in the air. She looked down and could see him running to were they were going to land. "Look out Saffron!" they landed on the raging beast. He latched on to Saffron's other leg. Saffron screamed in pain, but pushed off again and they sailed through the air--the badger hanging from his leg. Cosette removed her shell knife again and began swinging it at the beast but, it was too short she couldn't reach him. They landed with a jolt, and the beast was knocked loose. He seemed dazed, and lay on the ground trying to push him self up. "I think that did it," Cosette said, "Don't believe it yet," said the mole, "badgers are evil creatures, and they never stop until they are full." They neared the river, and Cosette looked back at the badger; he was still lying on the ground howling.

"We must cross the river," Saffron yelled back at them, "badgers cannot swim." They landed at the bank of the river. "Everybody off, I cannot carry you across, you will have to swim my legs are hurt too badly." Cosette looked at the water, then back toward the badger. "I I can't swim either," she said.

"That's okay, we will pull you across," said the Moles. Cosette stepped forward peering into the running water. She saw her fathers reflection again. His arms outstretched and eyes opened. "I can't," she said Staring into the water. "You must," Saffron said stepping into the water, "come on, he will get his senses back at any moment." She watched as the ripples in the water rolled over her fathers face. His skin was glowing white, and little fishes, ate his flaking face. "I can't," she cried. They all looked back at her. "Cosette, I know you're afraid, but you have to do this. All of our lives are at stake," Gassberry said. She stepped one foot in the water, and her heart quivered with fear. The reflection of her Papa reached to her foot. She jumped out quickly and cried. "I'm so sorry Papa," she said. The others looked at her, and Saffron ran up to her placing his claw on her shoulder. "I know you can do this, we have to do this, you gave me courage to love, now let me give you courage to fight your fear. I'll hold your hand all the way across. I will not leave your side. Do you understand?" Cosette still stared at the water.

"Look out," The mole yelled. Saffron turned to see the badger barreling in behind them, "We must go, now." The badger came closer, growling with a wet snarl. She could hear his feet pounding toward them, but she could not move. Saffron threw her on his back and jumped into the water. As he jumped he felt the awful pain of the badgers teeth in his leg again. This time higher up on his leg. He cried out as they splashed into the water. The badger in a panic began clawing in the deep water, tearing into the back of the grasshopper. Cosette screamed, and Gassberry jumped down from her head growling at the badger pulling himself up on the grasshoppers back. "I can't go on," Saffron cried, as the badgers long claws penetrated his soft shell. He cried out again. The badger was nearly to Gassberry. Gassberrys hair stood up in a spike, and he growled loudly at the badger. The badger swiped at Gassberry, he ducked and came up clamping his teeth onto the badgers paw. The badger yelped in pain. "Moles, take her, It's the only way, I will take this badger down with me," Saffron said, as he sank into the water. Cosette cried. "No Saffron, you cannot, I will not leave you." The moles swam up beside them. Holding hands they yelled out. "Jump on our backs we will float you to the other side. "No, I cannot leave saffron; he has so much to live for now." The badger sank his teeth into the grasshoppers back, he cried out "Go my princess, I have tasted love and I am full, so go." The badger climbed his back and swiped at Gassberry again, this time hitting him and knocking him into the water. Cosette kissed Saffron on the back and jumped onto the moles. They swam her to the shore. She watched as Saffron sunk into the water
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with the badger squealing on his back, then he was gone. Gassberry swam to shore and they all laid on the bank breathing hard and crying.

They lay there for an hour, in shock, and sadness. They did not say a word until the father mole stood. "We must go on." He helped Cosette up, and she placed the wounded Gassberry on her head. "Are you all right my Gassberry? She asked. "I am hurt, in my side, but I think I'll be alright." "The horse seer will have medicine, so just hold on." They climbed the mountain slowly, the weather had turned very cold, and flakes of snow began to fall. "We must stop," Cosette said, "I can't go on. I need to rest." They sat on a rock and looked out over the entire island. She felt that it was her home now. So many had died for her, she now wanted to fulfill her purpose. She thought about, King Ez. She didn't know what it was, but when she thought of him, she did not think of a frog; she thought of a strong man. That was girded in great gold armor. She found herself imagining what he looked like before the curse. She knew that he desired more than anything to be a boy again, but she felt she could love him even as a frog, because his spirit was a man, and she thought that maybe, she loved that man. She thought about the look the old man Wither gave to the woman in the apartment, how he smiled slightly, and seemed light, as if you could pick him up and carry him in one hand. That is how she felt when she thought of King Ez. light. "Okay," the mole said, "we must be going now."

Suddenly, she felt the claws on her sides as she was lifted from the ground. She opened her eyes to see the horrid moths' face in hers. She looked down and saw the moles on the ground just bellow; they jumped and threw rocks at the wings of the huge moth. She went higher as the moths wings buzzed more loudly. "Put me down, I insist." The moth looked down with its bulging eyes and said something and laughed. She fought to loosen herself from his grip, and Gassberry bit down hard on his leg. But, he quickly stopped when they noticed how far above the field they were. They flew far above the swamps and the thorn tree forests, she could see in the distance the great Eagle rock. "Oh no Gassberry, he's taking us to the EagleLeavers, we must get loose when the right time arrives." "I'm ready to chew off these legs whenever you say," Gassberry said. They flew high above the golden Kingdom, and then over the Penatong city, until they reached the Eagle-leavers city. There were carvings of eagles everywere, all in a circle surrounding the one huge Eagle in the center. She saw them walking and flying over the city as they descended. "Get ready Gassberry," she said. They

passed an eagle-leaver on their way down, he was just like the one she had seen, but he had only one star on his head, and a few metals on his chest. They neared the ground in the center of the great city. Eagles walked everywere, seemingly busy to arrive somewhere. "Now Gassberry!" Gassberry began gnawing on the moths legs, it let out a squeal as he chomped through the first leg it fell, and Cosette dropped a few feet with a jolt. He chewed through the second leg, and they fell. When they hit the ground, they jumped up and started to run, but the eagles shuffled with startling speed, and soon she was surrounded. "Oh Gassberry, what will we do?" He was silent, but he growled his teeth chattered while he climbed back on her head.

Chapter 27

An Eagle-leaver reached down and picked up Cosette from the ground. Gassberry bit down hard with his pearl teeth into his wing. The eagle swiped his wing hard and knocked Gassberry from her head. "Gassberry," she screamed. She kicked hard, but the Leaver was too strong. He carried her away, and she looked at Gassberry as the circle of Eagles closed in on him. He stood with his hair pricked growling and biting. And then, she could see him no longer in the huddle of eagles. She was carried up the massive steps of the big eagle statue. She looked out over the city, all the eagles had stopped and stood at the base of the statue except twenty that flew over her, she saw Gassberry dangling from one of their claws. "Oh Gassberry, I'm so sorry... Let him go!" She cried. The eagle looked down at her and smiled. But said nothing. As she climbed higher she could see almost the entire Island, the four falls, and the great mountain. She saw the Penatong people in a line walking from their village towards the Eagle-Leaver's city. She saw the moths flying in a "V" formation towards them all sorts of creatures coming from the forest surrounding them. She looked up at the great rock sculpture of a Luna's head and saw the bright yellow light shooting from a hole in it's forehead, like Gassberry; The light beamed far into the heavens. She finally reached the top, and they entered the large rock eagle mouth and she saw the chamber of eagles standing in a circle surrounding Gassberry. She cocked her head to see him. "Oh Gassberry, I'm so sorry, it was my fault. He lay motionless. They walked around the circle of eagles, and she was placed on a great thrown. Two Penatong people seeming in a daze walked up and tied her to the thrown.

"Gassberry," she cried, "please move let me know youre all right." He shuffled his small feet, and brought his head from the large round table and looked
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at her. The pearl was gone, and a trickle of blood rolled down his face. His eyes were half shut, and his face was pale as sand. She screamed and cried, kicking one of the Penatongs over as he tried to tie her feet. Big tears rolled from her eyes trickling down to her chest. "Oh Gassberry." He looked at her through his half open eyes and his head fell to the table. She looked up and screamed. A Leaver held her down while they tied her feet. That is when she saw the bloody pearl, it was a rock cutting of Gassberry's face, and in the center set the pearl in a little hole. The beam of light came from the hole and shot up through the ceiling. Her head fell as she cried painful tears. She clenched her hands and beat her tied arms on the rock chair. "My dear princess, you will hurt yourself, please be careful." She looked up and saw the bright red Eagle, she looked around all the other eagles were gone. "Who are you," she said, "and what have you done to my Gassberry?" The red eagle looked back at the small furry animal laying lifeless on the table. "It is written, that he would have to be sacrificed, is it not?" She pulled at her ropes. "You devil, King Ez will kill you and slay all of you wicked birds." The red eagle laughed. "He will do no such thing. He is now being held at the Moth village by the Moth king, and will be delivered far into the ocean, by my eagle warriors. So far that, dear princess, I'm sorry to say he will die the death he once wanted." She gave up her struggle. "What do you want from me, why do you want my precious pearl." The red eagle walked around to the back of her chair. She saw Gassberry move his little legs. "Have you not read your fathers own book, I quiet enjoyed it." He placed his wings on her shoulders. "The best part is the story of the great race that had temples that rose to the clouds. The great race that went to the stars and made the three pearls. Do you know what is in those three pearls?" Cosette strugled against the ropes, "I don't care what is in the pearls." The red eagle scratched his chin with a squeaking noise. "Wrong answer. All the power, knowledge and riches of men are in those three pearls." Cosette kicked him. He didn't move. "I know the story. Now let me go." She said. "Yes, but what you don't know is, we are that great race. The leavers are that great race of men. And with those three pearls we will truly be the great race again. And we will go to the stars; even further than our fathers." "You won't do anything. Because your evil." The red eagle laughed and walked slowly to the alter in the middle. He placed his hands right in front of Gassberry and leaned forward. "And what is evil." "How did you become so ugly then. If you are this great race," Cosette said. He held up his wings, "We did this. The eagle is the greatest bird so why not share in it's power and majesty." He walked over beside her and picked up the little notebook. It's all here. She saw the notebook; it was her fathers notebook that he wrote so madly in. "I guess I will have to write the ending." He laughed and pointed at a blank page in the book.

He flipped back through the pages. "There was something interesting I wanted to show you. A prophesy that not even your Seer could translate. But we have our ways and many great minds." He stopped on a page and scanned it with his finger, "Here it is. It says that Cosette is a princess." Cosette remembered that her father had always called her a little princess. "That's not what it means. I'm not a princess... I'm only a girl." "Oh your wrong," he stepped up in her face, his fowl and stale breath smelt of a dead animal. "All the prophecy must be fulfilled. You will mary me, the King of the leavers, and become my queen. Together we will rule the great race." "I'd never do such a thing. Your a monster. You eat the poor Penatong." He turned and clicked his beak. "You should try one," he said, "especially the Penatong young. They are so..." He looked up as though he was looking for the right word, "...so very tender."

She looked at Gassberry with tears as the Eagle which spoke. Through her tears she saw him raise his head again, he looked at her with sad eyes. He pulled himself to his feet quietly, looking at her with the blood streaming down his face. He began to walk towards the wall, the red eagle went on. "But don't worry you will not be Queen for long." He flipped through the book again, "here it is on page one hundred twenty..." Gassberry slumped as he walked toward the wall. "...the princess must sacrifice herself for the possession of stars." Gassberry slowly began to climb the wall toward the pearl. "So I guess I won't have a queen after all." He slammed the book shut and laughed. "The stars will be mine, the stars you looked at as your Papa lay dying, they will be mine. You are the key to the stars and after your dead we will own this island." He threw up his arms and laughed, "We will feast on the children of every creature, hmmm I've never had Sops before, but I'm sure they're delicious." Gassberry was just three feet from the pearl, and he slipped. The eagle in his laughter did not hear the pebbles hit the ground. "But if we eat the tables what will we eat on? hmm, I'll have to reconsider that, but I'm sure robins and Lunas are very tasty." Gassberry slipped again just a foot from the pearl. Cosette spoke loudly to cover the sound of his feet. "My father wouldn't of ended it there, he would have saved me; I know him." The red eagle tossed the book on her lap, read it for yourself." He giggled. But she knew she could not read the scribbles. She watched as Gassberry chewed very quietly around the pearl, the blood left a path of drips were he had climbed. She tried to think of something continue the conversation, "The seer said, when I sacrificed myself, the pearls would go to there rightful owners." He laughed. "I read that part too, but no one knows who the rightful owner of the third pearl is. It is of the earth, air and sea yes. But with the power of these pearls I will dominate all three, so I would say I am the rightful owner of
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them all." He sat down on the table in front of her. Suddenly, she noticed the ground covered with frogs, moles and lunas; they all came and gathered around the red which. There were thousands of animals climbing the steps behind him. He bent down and picked up a mole baby and dropped it in his open beak. "See it's already starting to work, look how they come to me" He chewed hard. "Not bad, a taste I will have to acquire, but I'm sure it will be rewarding." He looked at the floor, and picked up one of the frogs, he was in armor. She watched from the corner of her eye as Gassberry struggled to loosen the pearl that was lodged tightly in the sculpting. "Well looky here, one of King Ez's army sons. I'm sorry but we must remove your fancy armor, and that pointy little sword." Cosette did not watch as he played with the little frog, she kept her eyes on Gassberry, who looked exhausted, chewing feverishly, trying to loosen the bloody pearl. With all the small animals entering the temple it was loud with chirps and growls. She tried to look away as the eagle removed the armor from the frog. Then she realised. It was King Ez. She heard a cry from the Red Eagle, and turned to see a sword stuck in his eye. She saw King Ez jump from his grip onto her chair. The red which clutched his eye. "You, I thought you were..." she said to King Ez. "No time for talk now, lets just say we need to finish your fathers story for him." He pulled a small knife from his belt and began slicing the ropes on her arm as the eagle witch stumbled around, trying to pull the sword from his eye. "I will kill you! ...Guards," he screeched. Just then Gassberry loosened Cosette's pearl and propped it in his mouth, his eyes were dull and barley open. He fell. "Gassberry!" she screamed. The eagle looked over with his one eye. "No," He screamed. Just then, Gassberry falling through the air, spit the pearl across the room. The Eagle dove for it and landed on the hard stone ground, hundreds of frogs jumped on him and began poking him with their swords. "Get off me." Two lunas scaled the wall and began chewing around the other two pearls. The pearl flew through the air in what seemed a long minute, right for King Ez's mouth. He opened his mouth and caught the pearl. He cut her last rope, "Go," he screamed, she jumped up from the chair and ran to Gassberry. "He's dead. Go," the frog king yelled from the chair. She looked at his open eyes, looking like her father's as he drifted into the deep waters. She heard the steely talons of the eagles marching up the stairs. "Thank you Gassberry," she said and kissed his cheek. She placed her small moth wing book at his side. "So you will always remember dear Gassberry." He looked at her with dull eyes, forced a smile, and then he was gone. "Go, for god's sake... Go," the frog king said from the chair. He raised his little knife, "Sons, to arms!" Nearly a thousand little frogs raced toward the on coming eagles. The eagle pushed up and shot his legs out grabbing King Ez in his talons. "You die tonight, you little toad." He turned his head. "Guards stop the little girl she has the pearl. The light that had shot from the pearl slowly disappeared and the

animals around, that had been in a daze, jumped on the eagles as they fought across the room for Cosette. Two eagles grabbed her with their wings, and she fought loose. She was surrounded, there was no way out. They slowly crept in on her brushing the small animals from their wings, when suddenly a robin bust through their circle. "Noah! Thank god your here." She shouted. "The king is in trouble." Noah swooped down and clutched her in his feet "Just hold on," he said. He flew high in the chamber pulling her up. The eagles tried to follow, but the frogs and moles and mice and a hundred other small creatures held tightly to their wings. Like he was swimming in the air, he floated down over their heads as they reached with their claws. Eagles took flight when they saw him, and he tossed her up on his back. "Hold on," he said. He flew hard, his wings fluttering at a dizzying pace, a hundred eagles at his tail. "How did you escape," she yelled into his ear. "No time for talk." He yelled and ducked as an Eagle flew over his head, his claws outstretched to Cosette. "The horse seer came to our rescue, he said it had been given to him. He and an army of grasshoppers. They overtook the Moth Kingdom and destroyed every moth in sight." An eagle bit at Noah's tail, pulling out two feathers. Noah stopped in mid air, and turned hard right catching Cosette with his wing. "Sorry about that," he said. It took a few moments for the eagles to realize they had lost him. He flew down into the jungle, through the thick brush, and many eagles slammed into trees. "Did the Moth King Escape?" She asked. He dove down under a fallen tree and three eagles slammed head first into it. "We don't know he deserted his people and hid away somewhere we couldn't find." He cut a hard left, dodging a large palm tree, an eagle hit the tree hard and slid down it. He turned flying up high into the sky as the eagles followed. "I will have to drop you off," he said. "I'll cause a diversion". Suddenly, right in front of them they saw the Moth King rise up in the sky. "Oh not him again," Noah said. He turned around and flew with all his might ducking back into the jungle. The Moth King gained on him, and followed them into the jungle. They didn't realize he was so close. Cosette turned back and saw the Moth King grinning as he swiped Noah's tail. "Nice to see you again Cosette," He snorted as he swiped again. Noah swerved hard and Cosette nearly fell. "Hold on tight." He flew straight towards a tree and then turned straight up, the Moth king saw the tree, but was already moving too fast toward it. He hit it hard with one wing but continued to fly. "That will buy us some time," Noah said. He looked up and saw the eagles overhead looking for them. He dropped down low and flew for the pond that was across the river but there was too much action behind him. He took a quick turn and lost them. He soared down the beach and he told Cosette to Jump. "I have to save King Ez." he said right before she jumped. Just as she jumped she saw the eagles break through a clump of trees. She landed hard on the beach then looked up and realized it was the place where she had first drifted on shore; the place of rotting fish and the smell of death. She started to run for the old pond where she used to play. Noah flew straight up toward the eagles.
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The moth king rose from the Jungle and darted towards him too. She watched as the Moth King hit Eliot hard, and they fell into the ocean; fighting as they fell.

Chapter 28

"Oh Thank god you're Alive!" Cosette looked up as the sun descended over the ocean. It was her uncle Saffron and standing next to him was Ms. Mia, and a few others she did not recognize. They cried, looking at her. "We thought you were dead." Mia bent down and kissed her on the forehead. "We were so worried. Oh thank the lord." She hugged her, and Cosette looked up seeing eagles and a small red bird flying above. Her uncle Saffron picked her up, "We must go now," he said. "No," she said quietly. "What do you mean no, hun, I know it has been hard for you to see your father die like that, we must go burry him." She looked at him, "We can't burry him, he's in the ocean." Mia looked her in the eyes, no, he's over there by the palm tree were you both always sat, he's gone hun, and I'm so sorry." She began to cry. She pulled a leather notebook from her purse, here hun you take his notebook. It looks as if he were writing in it when he died, I found it next to him, I think he would want you to have it." Cosette looked at the small notebook, the one the Eagle witch had held. "How did you get this?" Cosette asked. "I told you your father was writing in it, are you okay, do you need to lay down, or, here... here is some water." She pulled a canteen up and poured it into Cosette's mouth. She felt dizzy, and her head was spinning. "What about King Ez?" Her Uncle laid her in the boat, "I don't know anything about King Ez, But, I know you have to get warm, here's a blanket." He snuggled her tightly in a blanket. "No," she cried. "I must save the Penatong, and the moths, and turn King Ez into a boy again." She pushed out of the blanket and ran to shore. "And Leazer I have to say good bye to Leazer" Her uncle ran behind her, and Mia cried. "Poor thing," Mia said, she has been threw so much, imagine your father dying right there in front of you, and probably reading his story to her. Oh poor child." The other ladies with Mia put their hands on her back, "It will be okay Mia." Cosette ran to the little pond, and looked for the eagles and the robin in the air. She didn't see them. "Maybe Noah escaped," she said quietly. Her uncles stopped and watched her as she picked up a shell. "There's my Crab bowl, I've been looking for you." They watched as she ran over to a large flat rock covered in moss, and hugged it. "Oh Leazer, I will miss you, but I think they will make me go, tell the king and the Penatong, I am sorry, oh, and tell the seer that I tried, wait you silly thing you can't talk." Tears rolled down her uncles face as they watched her talk to the rock. She stood and ran to a hedgehog that had

wondered up. "Gassberry, your alive," she said, and held the small creatures face. Her uncles ran over to her as she tried to pick up the small hedgehog. "No dear, you'll prick yourself." He grabbed her in his arms. We have to go. "No," she screamed. "I'm the princess, you must do what I say; I'm the princess." Uncle Saffron noticed a small note book, much smaller than her father's, under the hedghog. "Isn't that the notebook your father gave you before you both left?" he asked. "Yes, and I want Gassberry to have it." Her uncle looked back at Mia, "Mia, come help please." Mia ran over, "What is it?" He pointed at the hedgehog still holding Cosette tight. "Can you try to get that notebook from under the hedgehog, I think she will want it later." Mia looked at the hedgehog "Come here baby, come here." She tried to take the book, but he growled and the pricks on his back rose to standing. "Well buy her another," she said. Her uncle rushed her over to the beach. He placed her in the small boat that read in faded letters The Possession of stars. Mia ran back and jumped in the boat, she sat next to Cosette and tried to calm her. "Just hold her there Mia while I push of, she's really had a bad time today." Mia held her close, as Cosette cried. She looked up and saw the stars unmoved in the heavens. "I'm sorry," she said. They rowed out into the ocean the other boats following as Cosette cried in Mia's arms. "It was true I tell you." Mia wiped a tear from her cheek." I know it was; I know dear." They rowed out into the dark ocean and Cosette sat up watching the waves twist in on themselves. She watched the sparkles in the water, and looked up at the reflecting sky of stars. She thought of her father and his many stories, she knew there were many more that she had never heard. He had traveled so far with her mother. What they must have seen, what beast they must have come upon in the many seas. She wished she new the end to his story. She wished she would have finished writing it. She thought of how funny the Penatongs were, and the moles that were so kind, and the fierce robins that would lay down their life, Even the eagles that were ravished by their own desire, and of course, The frog king and his many children. She grew sad and tired at the same time, like a wet blanket had been laid on her. The horse Seer had told her that she held the key in sacrifice, but she still didn't know what that sacrifice would be and now it was too late. The eagles and the moths would stay horrid, and the Penatongs slaves, the moles in fear of their life, and the frog king would stay a frog. The stars angry, stuck in the sky unable to venture the great universe. What could she have done, how had she lost the way in her fate. Her fathers story was incomplete, and so was she. But, he had to have an ending in his mind, she thought, so it must exist. The ending is not lost because it is not on a page; it is out there, maybe in heaven with her father. This did not help her though she felt as deep and dark as the purple clouds that clumped together like sheep. She thought further of the pearl, so many perished because of
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it, what was its purpose, it only caused more suffering when it was taken by the eagles. Maybe, she thought, it would have been better if her father had never even given her the precious pearl in the first placeThen this awful weight of the whole island would not be on her back. She only hoped that the horse seer was wrong, and that their freedom did not rest in her hands. But, what of the grasshopper who had tasted of love and was full. Was his life for nothing because she did not fulfill the story? She looked at her Uncle and Ms. Mia, He looking out into the empty ocean, she, with her eyes on the swelling waves. This saddened her greater still, that the two she had in life were like the Grasshopper before he proclaimed his love, never tasting, never being full. It was quiet except for the slapping hands of the waves reaching up the side of the small boat. She decided then that she would no longer tolerate the loneliness of Mia and Uncle Saffron. She had done it once and she would do it again. She thought of their silent love. Their loneliness sucked the air from the house each weekend as Uncle Saffron prepared his gorgeous meals. Mia would attempt to show her love by peeling the shrimp faster than the rest, and deveining the ones that were to be grilled with the lobster tails. The other ladies did not devein the shrimp. But still, Uncle Saffron did not seem to notice her, even when she would give him long and steady glances across the kitchen table. Cosette could not take it and she let out a little scream that startled them both. "What is it dear, are you hurt?" Mia asked. "Uncle Saffron," Cosette said. "I announce to you a great love." He laughed uncomfortably. "Darling you just need to sleep, so just lay there and save it for later." He rowed far from the shore into the blue ocean. "It cannot wait." She said through her cracked white lips. Mia rubbed her forehead with water from the canteen. "Ok hunny, you announce your love for us, we'll listen." Cosette looked at Uncle Saffron as he rowed the boat. He looked back at her with his kind eyes. "I announce a love between a man, and a woman" Cosette said quietly. Mia looked up at Uncle Saffron and shrugged her shoulders. Tears were in Cosette's eyes; she closed them. "Mia." "Yes dear." "Do you not love Uncle Saffron? Tears began streaming down Mia's face; she looked at Uncle Saffron and stared at him for a long while. He looked confused. She looked down at Cosette in her arms. "Yes, I do." Tears gathered in Uncle Saffron's eyes. He looked longingly at her. Suddenly, a frog fell in Mia's lap. She screamed. Cosette looked up and saw the yellow bird fly away. "King Ez!" Cosette yelped. Mia jumped up screaming. "What is it?" Uncle Saffron yelled. "A frog, a frog fell on me." She jumped around rocking the boat. "Careful you'll step on him Mia," Cosette said. "Step on him, I want him out of this boat now, I hate frogs."

"No he's kind and brave, Cosette said looking for him. She saw him, he was sitting on the edge of the boat "Oh king, what should I do? Cosette said. Just then a paddle slapped up against the frog--he flew into the ocean. "No!" Cosette cried. "It's just a frog dear, and Mia is driving me crazy with her screaming." Cosette looked over the edge of the boat and saw the king, he looked much like her father when he drowned, his eyes were open, and his arms spread. "Oh King," she cried. "Stop it Cosette, you're scaring us," Mia said. Uncle Saffron tried to pick Cosette up, and she pushed him back, making him fall, she dropped back down to the side of the boat looking at the King with his lifeless body. The sparkles of the stars shown on the water, and she felt a longing in her stomach. "Cosette just sit down, your scaring me," Mia said. Her uncle struggled to get up. Cosette looked at the stars in the water, translucent over the frog, and she knew what to do, just as the seer had said. She stood and jumped. Mia tried to grab her as she jumped from the boat. Cosette heard a scream that was soon muffled by her splash. She floated down deep into the waters, only lit by the moon. She took the lifeless frog in her hand and blew air into its mouth And suddenly the frog opened his eyes. A great light shown around the frog and Cosette, watched the frog change before her teary eyes. His legs grew long, and his arms took shape. His head blew up big, into a ball, and quickly formed into the face of a boy. She was so excited that she nearly screamed for joy, but realized she needed the air. She looked at the boy in front of her, he was smiling but was still green so she blew another breath of air into his mouth this time the pearl fell into her mouth from the boys mouth, and she felt her legs grow together. She looked down and saw her feet growing into a fin. Her clothes fell off her and two fins popped out of her sides, her hair grew as she watched the boy's skin turn a golden brown. He smiled so big at her that she thought he might accidentally lose his air through his lips. She felt the scales on her hips, kissed the boy on the cheek, and looked up at the shining stars through the blurry ocean wave. One star in the north sparkled and shimmered as though it had just woken up in a warm bed.

Chapter 29

Cosette felt the current of the water sweep over her body caressing as close as she could be touched. She held King Ez's hand pulling him toward the Island. She would stop and blow air in his mouth, and he would nearly lose the air simultaneously with a huge grin. She felt sorry for leaving her Uncle and Mia, but she knew she was not meant for the world they lived in. She had looked out of the
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ocean as they swam away and saw them standing and embracing with the moon light behind them. Whither they were sad, or happy, they were together. When they reached the shore, they saw the hundreds of frogs lining the beach with the horse seer standing behind them. King Ez was afraid that his children would not recognize him in his new light brown skin. And he rose slowly from the water. "My King," they shouted. "We have secured the beach and are at your service forever." They unsheathed their swords, held them up and bowed deeply. "Welcome back my king." The horse seer said. "Oh and my queen, is that you?" Cosette sat in the water up to her nose, she was too afraid of her new skin, and didn't know whether she could stand with the fins. "A feast awaits you, stand and join us," The horse Seer said stamping a leg on the ground. "But I don't know how," Cosette said feeling her fins rustle in the current. "You need only stand if you want to stand, you my dear are only half fish." Cosette stood; the water was to her chest. To her amazement, the scales fell off, and her big fin was transformed into two small feet. She looked at King Ez with a face of awe. He took her hand and they walked naked onto the beach. "Your robes," two grasshoppers said holding up the purple and gold robes. It was Mia and her mother. "I'm very sorry for your loss," Cosette said, "He was very brave grasshopper." Mia shed a tear and thanked her, she told her that she had tasted love and was full. They laid the robes over their shoulders as two yellow birds dropped crowns on their heads. They straightened their crowns and looked up to see the entire beach filled with creatures large and small. There were creatures she had never seen, large ants and beetles, a rabbit the size of a hippo, and Sea creatures, large crabs, and seal swam up from the ocean walking towards them. They were surrounded when the Horse Seer let out a great shout "Behold your King and Queen, bow and make way." The swarm of animals bowed and made a path towards the little pond that Cosette once called home. The seer walked beside them as they walked to the pond, the great red robins dropped red bonnet flowers from their full mouths, a cloud of red over their path. All the animals cheered and threw flowers, but these were tiny and yellow. Cosette and the King ran through the flowers to the pond. They laughed as the red and yellow flowers stuck in their hair. They reached the pond to see the little silver fish jumping in a constant ark far above the water. "What are we to do now? Cosette asked the horse seer at the bank of the blue water. "I'm glad you asked... Men!" Five frogs hopped together in a perfect dance holding her father's notebook. Cosette and the king noticed that the frogs were visibly bigger and their legs even longer. "What is happening to my sons?" The king asked. The horse seer patted one on the head, and they opened the book. "Well

they of course, like Cosette in many ways, are only half frog. They will grow to be a man's size, but will take on the frog when in water." "This will make them great soldiers," the King said and soluted them. Cosette took the kings hand, "But what about the pearls. What were they for?" "I'm glad you asked." He pushed his main back revealing the crown with the bubbled glass. In it was a pearl. He removed the pearl and his servant rabbit brought him two neclaces with the same bubbled glass. He opened the small locket and placed the pearl in it then closed it tight, locking it with a key. Cosette could see that the other necklace already had a glowing pearl. He placed one necklace over King Ez's neck, then the other over Cosette's. Cosette took the locket in her hand and smiled. "But what about the third pearl?" The seer smiled and signaled to his left. Out walked Noah with his fathers breast plate with a pearl at the center. "Son," KingEz said and held him tight. "You were so brave." Cosette could see a large tear form in Noah's eye. She turned back to the seer who was flipping through the book. "But what are they for, how will they save the island?" She said. The seer looked her in the eyes. "When your mother kissed your father so passionately that the stars stopped in the sky this Island was born. It was the restraints of time that did not allows to grow to our full potential. Whoever possesses the pearls posses the power of the stars. The eagles wanted the stars to move again because without time there is no progress and progress is what they live for. But if they did move, we would once again be slaves to time and time is a cruel master. But now the pearls are with their owners in one family." He pointed at King Ez, "Earth." He pointed at Noah. "Air." Then he turned towards Cosette. "Sea." "The sea," she said under her breath and smiled. She walked up to the seer and looked at her Fathers book. It was open to the once blank pages of the ending. "This looks like my fathers book, and his handwriting, but these pages were blank. Who wrote this?" "It is the end of the story. You wrote it." "But I didn't." "Oh, but you did." Cosette took the book and flipped through the pages, she saw a picture of King Ez catching the pearl in his mouth, and of the eagles chasing the robin holding her. She flipped a few more pages and saw pictures of Uncle Saffron and Mia embracing in the boat, "It is our story," she said. She turned the pages quickly. "What do we do now?" She continued flipping through the pages until she reached a picture of Her and King Ez standing under the Arc of silver fish with heads bowed. "Now you wed," said the seer, the creatures cheered again and through the
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remaining flowers in the air. "We marry?" King Ez said. The horse Seer laughed, "Why yes, you are the king and princess, that would entail a few ceremonies." King Ez looked at Cosette, and they both blushed bright red. Just then Penatongs came from under the waterfall, The shouted and cheered with their squeaky voices. Mothers carried tiny babies on their backs, and the young men helped the old as they walked forward surrounding the pond. "Aw, they have arrived, let the ceremony begin," the Horse seer said, leading the King and princess into the pond. He stood them under the arc of silverfish, and two small yellow birds dropped a lace veil over their heads made of moth hair. Cosette looked at the king, he looked nervous, and flushed. "It's okay" Cosette said rubbing her hand on his strong cheek, "I have always loved you since the first time my father told me the story of you." He looked at her, "And I, you." A furry round creature dove into the pond and swam toward them. Cosette looked, her eyes grew wide. "Gassberry," she gasped. He smiled at her and tied her left hand to the kings. "I'm so glad you are alive," she said hugging him in the water, him splashing her face in delight. "Yes I still have a few spells left in me, the horse Seer said. "He almost didn't make it to my chambers, but now he is here." He had a small scar in his head were the pearl used to be. The Penatong king stood at the bank of the pond as the king and princess gazed into each others eyes. He spoke words, and Gassberry translated them to Cosette, they word weighty words of promise, and true love: The kind that outlast time and stars. Until death, he said, would they be together hand and hand as they now stand. Cosette promised many things that scared her, such as giving all her heart could give to the King, always, even when he was most sickly or unlikable. The King in return promised to die, if he must, for her honor, and to love her as a king should, with all of himself invested in her future. The veil was lifted and they kissed. The crowd that was in the thousands shouted and stomped their feet, causing ripples in the water. "Until death," Cosette said. "Until death," the king said. And they walked from the pond man and wife. Later that evening there was a great feast, The Penatongs roasted great moths on sticks in the center of the room while the king and queen sat on their thrown. She looked out over the hall as she drank her sweet wine. The mole family was busy making dirt pies, tripled layered with mud on top. Cosette smiled and waved at them, and they waved back holding up one of the pies. She then saw the grasshoppers busy in a kitchen, they set up with straw and Sops, they were fussing over the maggots as usual, one said they were too sticky and the other said they were absolutely perfect. The horse Seer walked before the thrown and bowed on one knee. He looked up and took Cosette's hand. "Now, let the story began."

The End

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