Monday: 06/17/2030: I wake up with Xena’s tail covering my nose. I sneeze twice in rapid succession and sit up, stretching my neck and back and legs. My tail waves in the air as I stand up. The cats get up and follow me to the game room for their food. The others wake up and start eating. “Good morning.” “Good morning.” We eat together and I bring up my dream. “I finally heard from those three last night. They still haven’t woken up yet nor do they know where they are, only to go to the hidden temple in the woods if I want to find them.” “They know where Billy is?” “No. They haven’t heard from or seen him. In fact, they didn’t even know he was taken along with them.” “They said something about a hidden temple in the Forest.” “Yeah.” “I remember no Forest temple in all my years here. It must be far older than even Lyral.” “He’s right. I know of no hidden temples around here. All the great ancestor temples were destroyed long ago.” Destroyed? Long ago? “I thought that like Immortals, that our temples are indestructible, Lyral.” “The stars believed that the old gods were just so.” For some reason, her response just stuck with me, for almost nothing made by Immortal people can be destroyed, except by Divine will. Were the great temples of the past destroyed by the will of the Divine Godself? I go upstairs with the cats and take them on a walk outside. “They said something about a hidden temple in the woods in my dream last night. Now, Lyral and others like her know the stewardship and location of every modern temple on Earth. If she didn’t know about this one temple, then how did Mom and Dad find out about it to be able to tell me?” “That, we do not know, Lindsay. It is as much a mystery to us as it is to Lyral.” We go into the Forest, seeing if we can find this hidden temple of old. “How do you know where in the Forest it is, Lindsay?” “I’m not sure, Xena. But I have a feeling that this stone has something to do with it.” Reaching a large clearing, we see a slender, five-foot-tall stone, made of granite and shaped like an obelisk standing in the center. “This wasn’t here before and we’ve been all over this Forest on our land.” I touch the tip of the obelisk and a voice utters: “Pick the apples.” “Who said that?” “Not me.” “Or me.” “Help me, sister.” “Huh?” “The voice that I heard cried to me in a dream that night. She’s telling me to pick apples, but it’s not the right season for apple harvesting. She also sang to me through the crystal flower about apple trees.” “What were her words?” “Leaves of gold and silver blooms grace the apple trees. The Sun glints through their boughs like flames, fanned as the wind breathes. The flowers shine like the full Moon, guardian of the night. The fruit so sweet none can refuse, gift of the Divine.” The obelisk glows and veins of gold and silver appear in the granite, with the tip transforming into diamond. “There’s definitely something here worth exploring.” “We should show the others.” We ran back to the house and through the back door. “What’s the excitement?” “Come see what we found in the woods! We found an obelisk.” “I thought there weren’t any obelisks here.” “It’s made of granite, with veins of gold and silver and tipped with diamond.” “Huh. I’ve heard of those temple markers, but nobody’s seen them in the physical world since the Elder Days, long before modern civilization.” “Elder Days?” “I’ll tell you later.” Lyral goes downstairs and I see Grandma and Grandpa looking on their laptop for some new items, like our TV and some pieces of furniture that were destroyed. “Grandma?” “Yes?” “What do you know about a time called the Elder Days?” “What you learn of the Elder Days, you will learn from Lyral tonight.”
I’m upstairs in my room, texting with my friends.
Remembering Lyral’s words from last night, I decide not to tell my friends about the obelisk that I found or anything else about the dreams, especially the hidden temple in the Forest.
We spend the next half-hour texting back and forth about the canceled Squirrels game, about our favorite players, and about the craziest moments from this past school year.
Meanwhile, Lyral goes outside. She walks toward the woods, her gossamer-thin mantle of frost shimmering in the sunlight yet not melted by the summer heat. She enters the Forest, looking for the obelisk. She hears the music of many birds, the winged singers flying in a certain direction. She follows them to the clearing where she sees the obelisk I spoke of. Made of granite, veined with gold and silver, and tipped with diamond. She touches the tip and hears something incomprehensible, with the breeze picking up. “What apples? They’re not ripe yet.” Then, a circular field appears, encompassing the obelisk with a radius of ten feet, made from a swirling pattern of gold and silver with diamonds embedded in the metal. Not knowing what to think and being somewhat flustered, Lyral turns back towards the house, leaving a thick trail of ice and frost behind her from the marker to the house.
Meanwhile, Arctic Fox lies unconscious on the shore of a mysterious polar river. The crystal-clear water laps at her hands and she awakens, abruptly spitting sand out of her mouth and wiping her face clean. “What?!” She stands up so fast that she stumbles, with only her massive wings and tail stabilizing her. “Where is this?! Lindsay?! Roger?! TJ?! Where are all of you?! Where am I?!” She launches herself into the air to get a look at her surroundings from on high, trailing snow and ice behind her as she flies south, frantically looking around, trying to find those she loves. Below her is a forest of rather unusual trees, not wood, but crystal, glowing in the night, their light joining the light of the stars and the nebula in the sky. FireFly wakes up in the soft sand of a desert region just outside what looks like the ruins of an ancient city. Like Arctic Fox, he stumbles around, confused, asking where his loved ones are and where he is. He takes off, his wings trailing embers and smoke behind him, looking down at the ruins, flying north towards the crystal forest.
On some other planet, one steeped in darkness, lies TJ, unconscious on a forest floor, but the trees surrounding him are far from normal: their branches twist in uncounted ways, their leaves ugly and deformed in shape and texture, and the wood of the trees giving off an eerie green glow. This, joined with the dim red-gray glow of the planet’s sky, made for a terrible place to be caught in so vulnerable. Heading over the treetops, one sees tall, foreboding mountains capped with ice and snow. In addition to snowpack, the mountaintops were topped with dark towers wrought from ice, stone, and iron dark and heavy as the void of night. In a large fur-lined bed in the highest chamber of the highest tower upon the highest peak of the range, lies Billy Crawford, still unconscious, but otherwise unharmed by his being spirited away.
Meanwhile, back home after lunch, I’m helping to put new wooden siding over the holes in the third-floor bedrooms facing north. “Good job, kiddo.” “Thanks, Grandpa.” “So, what’d you and your friends text about?” “Mostly about the craziest stuff that happened over the school year. Mainly stuff that happened during school plays.” “Like what?” “Like someone putting a fake spider on a girl’s shoulder during the fall play and then someone farting big time during the winter play.” “Lordy, that’s the craziest stuff that happened to you and school all year? Now, when I was in high school with your grandma, we experienced some truly insane stuff, like on the day of our oceanography final, someone changed the writing on the whiteboard from ‘Historical’ to ‘Hysterical’ and neither of the teachers noticed, they didn’t learn of it until the prankster told them. It was good fun.” “Funny. Was it you? Or Grandma?” Grandpa hems and haws. “It was you, Grandpa!” “And that’s nothing compared to our senior prank.” “What was your senior prank, Grandpa?” “We took all these sticky-notes and decided to completely cover the vice principal’s car with them on the night before the last day of school.” “Did you get in trouble?” “They never found out who did it.” Grandpa laughs heartily, reminiscing on his teenaged 1970s mischief.
At 6pm, we sit down for dinner in the temple, eating a big order of Sonic chicken strips and french fries. After we finish the chicken and fries, Lyral dims the temple lights such that the only light in the room comes from the water in the font shining up and out onto the ceiling, illuminating the gems in its celestial night sky pattern. “This is the story of the Elder Days. Millions of years ago, humans evolved on Earth and began to drink the planet’s vast reserves of star water, left to it by the stars themselves, living longer and longer over the millennia, until 12 million years ago, with the Immortal Nation being founded and its first leader being Queen Aurora Andromeda, who was chosen for her wisdom and her belonging to no particular tribe. Over the next two million years, the people would thrive and grow into a great civilization. All the Emperors and Empresses of this Galaxy are her descendants in an unbroken line enduring for millions of years. One imperial palace was built on each of the planet’s seven continents, with the one in Africa’s Rift Valley being the largest and most sublime. The ruling family would spend roughly 52 days at each palace and would until they were destroyed during the Doom. After reigning for 1,000,000 years, Queen Aurora transcended to the Deathless Realm, where all good Immortals dwell after their time in this world ends. Immortals from Earth explored the Galaxy and colonized previously uninhabited planets. However, it would come to a horrific end. 200,000 years ago, the new Empress was being crowned in Africa, but before the sun set on her coronation day, the ritual was attacked by a dark power, the herald of an ancient horror. A vast force of darkness assaulted the Earth and the Empress and the Darkness fought, their battle shaking the Earth and taking them all over the world, and was so destructive that many buildings crumbled and collapsed from the force of their titanic struggle, including the Seven Palaces. This was the Day of the Doom of the Immortal Empire. Meanwhile, the ordinary immortal people all over the world and the Galaxy began to evacuate their homes for the Deathless Realm. However, not everyone was able to escape, for some on the African continent bravely chose to stand their ground against the Shadows, and so the Darkness’ curse struck them, stripping them of their magic, their immortality, and their memories of life before the curse. The same happened on the worlds the Immortals colonized. Among those who made it into the Deathless Realm were the new Empress, her parents, her mate, her pregnant daughter Aurora, and the bulk of her people. Saddened by the realization that not everyone made it, Princess Aurora Borealis begged to be allowed to return to the Physical Realm for the sake of those who got left behind but was initially told that it was too dangerous for her and her unborn children. Nevertheless, she swore an oath to never abandon mortal humanity.
‘I, Aurora Borealis, heir of the Olympianus dynasty, hereby swear that as long as those left behind remain in want of a guardian and guide, I shall dwell in the physical realm to guide and protect them, no matter how long they may need it. No temptation shall sway me, and no evil shall stand in my way. I shall not rest or return here until I fulfill this oath. This, I swear in the name of the Ancestors, the Æther, the Divine, and those unfortunately directly affected by the Doom. Those of you who would join me in this mission, step forward now.’
Thousands of immortals, many of whose loved ones got left behind as well as others who felt the need to protect those now so vulnerable like never before, stepped forward to bind themselves to the Princess’ sacred oath. Witnessing the resolve of so many of her people, the Empress agreed to allow the Princess and her followers to return to the physical realm on the condition that a new leadership be arranged to provide structure and laws. With that, Aurora and her followers left the Deathless Realm and arrived back on an Earth and a Galaxy now devoid of any trace of their once great civilization. The now mortal people forgot who they once were before the curse, so when they met the returned immortals, they thought they were gods, especially Aurora Borealis, and inspired the first mythological tales of gods. In particular, she became the basis for the Romans’ goddess of Dawn. At this point, with the Empire gone without a trace, Aurora, rather than being Empress or Queen, simply became Lady Steward of the Earth, charged not with ruling, but with guiding and protecting mortals throughout their natural evolution, though not involving herself in their politics. Over time, Lady Aurora Borealis becomes less involved in mortal affairs as mortals gradually become more technologically advanced until she eventually takes the form of the continual polar Aurora, dancing and undulating at the boundary between space and Earth’s atmosphere where she is today, watching over us.” “So, what’s this have to do with the great ancestor temples?” “Each family had a temple on their property which they spent much of their time maintaining. It was believed, according to the oral histories, that the battle between the Empress and the Darkness destroyed not only the Seven Palaces, but every single temple on the planet, with the other worlds following suit, thus we are the remnants of this great civilization.” “How did those who stayed behind lose their immortality if not for Divine will?” “A terrible curse that shall not be repeated in thought or spoken word lest it draw the same evil towards us.” “What is the name of the Darkness, Lyral?” “We do not speak her name for the same reason her curse is not spoken nor do the stars speak in detail of the horror that followed the corruption of Alÿran-Jakinduria.”
After I finish my chocolate milkshake, I go upstairs to the second-floor closet and into my Forest room. Everything is the same, except that now, a great apple tree, tall as you like, stands near my grotto. It is no ordinary apple tree, but one with golden leaves and silver flowers shining in the twilight. “Bless me! Gratia Maiores!” One of the silver flowers drops its petals and transforms to reveal a ruby red apple. I pick up the petals and place them by my collection of treasures, still shining like the moon and stars. I smell the silver blooms and I can honestly say that I have never smelled anything sweeter. Back down in the temple, I climb into my sleeping bag with the cats. “Goodnight, Grandma, Grandpa, and Lyral.” “Goodnight, Lindsay.” “Xena, guess what?” “What?”, she yawns. “I found a magic apple tree growing in my Forest room. It produced an apple.” “So?” “I think it’s a sign that I should go after them, to bring them home.” “But what about Lyral? And your grandparents? Won’t they be upset?” “Yes, they might. But I’m not going to wait around for them to return, and Billy, wherever he is, won’t be able to get home by himself. They need my help. I am coming to them soon, the purple light says, and I shall.” “Will we be able to stop you?” I smile slyly at Xena as we lay down to sleep.
Meanwhile, the obelisk and its gold and silver circle is joined by pillars and arches of a similar make and coated in diamonds, all surrounding the former. The diamond tip of the obelisk glows, summoning a font filled with star water on one end and on the other end, a bridge leading to a gazebo flanked by two willow trees. One tree’s leaves are gold on their undersides and the others are silver.
I dream of the magic apple trees and hear voices: the lady who sang of them and the purple light battling the Darkness. I ask the purple light: “Are you the Empress, nearly Doomed by the Darkness on her coronation day?” No response. “I am the Darkness who Doomed the Deathless! I now reign over your world and all the worlds to come!”
“̶̨̧͕͖̲̝̺̤̹͖̍́̐̾̇̓̾͘͝͠A̵̧͙͈͉͍̳̼͔͓̐͒̒̒͋͒̾̅͆̇̂͘ǎ̵̡̈́À̷̮̍͊́̽͐̍͂̈́͑̅̂̓à̴̫̲̗̙͇̌̐͜Á̶̡̹̬̮̹͖̤̰̌̂̚͘á̶̻̖̗̰̲͆̈̓͝Â̷̙̣͌͐â̴̢̳̞̰̙͎̺̦̺̱̟͊̎̕͝Ä̸̛̙̼͕̼͔̮͉͉̯̰̭̆͐̓̂̽̿̊̐̓̚ͅä̸̡̦͎̞̪̖̼͚̰̆́̒́̈́̇͌̕Ǎ̶̙̖͖̰͇͙͈̗̏̕͝ǎ̶̢͖̜̺̣͍͉̳̓̃Æ̸͉̊͒æ̶̢̡̗͉͍̤͎̓͆́́͜Ã̷̤͒̂́̏̽ã̸̧̫̠̜̈͗Å̵̛̠̦͈̺̒͋̉̊̇̿̑̉å̸̮̃̽̒Ḁ̶̄̑̑̔͐̓ā̷̬͕̳͙̺̀̏̈́͗́̀̒́̂ͅĄ̴̛̺͔̱̗̆̍̓̉̋̕̚ă̷̡̬̙̪͉͔̖͚̠̏Ą̷̡̛̄͗̈́̾̍͛̕͝ą̸̲̭̹̆̏̆̎̏̀͝Ȩ̷̨̛͚̞̦̳͕͚̙͉̮́̈́̓͑͊͐̈̽ͅe̶̘͛̍̇̈́͐̄͛͐̏͝Ë̷͎̠̼̻͙͋̊̈́̊̆̀̍͜͠ë̸̘̦͙̯͚̻̼́̑̓͒̇͆̍́͋̀͘̕É̴̡̜́̉͂̒̇̃͊͆́̕̕̕é̸̹̘͑̂̾͝È̷̠̞̲͇̫̥̹̗̯̆̆͑͋̉è̵͈̳̲̖̳̹̌̊̾͂͋̇̎̄͆̌͝͝ͅÊ̴̡̝̭̣͈͕̞̞̗̤͍̳̒͒̌́̉͆̉͒ê̷̝̼̞̦̗̬̱̘̪͕͇̅͌̈̄Ě̵̡̖͓̙̲̀͑̽̔̄̆̅̿͗̚͝͠ę̴̡̳̌̓͌͑̾̂̃̄͗̓̾̕͘Ẽ̷̠͙̯̯͔͕̍̃͆̌̑̓̀́͜ȩ̶̃̑Ē̷̙̜̭͝ē̷̛̦̗͔̩̜̄̈́̐̽͋͛͗͒̏͘Ė̷̺̯̦̱̱̼̍̓̓͜ė̸̱̲͈̫̱̗̈́̆̇̎͐̄̑̊͘͝Ę̶̢͇̰̝̺̜̣͚̹̙͈͋̿̀ę̸̫̟͔͂́̿̃̿ͅĨ̶̘̝̾̓͂̐͜͠ͅi̸̜̭͋͗̃́̆͊͐̈́̈͆̍Į̸̨̯̗͚̠̥̣̤͇̐̋̏̚į̵̢̺̙͓͉͔̼̹̮͔̯̦̄̀̑̈́̃̐̾̿̂İ̵̠̻̘̟̼̻͇̺̦̪̺̟́̎̐̒̈̈̇͛̚ı̵̲̥̪̳̥̺̮̀̈́̈́̉̌͑̄̓͆̕͠Ī̴̩̰̳͎͙̘̮͌ͅī̵̧̛̝̝̰̜̬̤͔̳͆̍̂Į̷̡͔̪̳̳̣̃̔̂̃̋́͝͝ĩ̵̥̙̀̈́͂̂͊Į̸̛̯̌̅̽͊̈́͑͛͛̈́̈́̈į̵̛͉̲̲̠̌̈́͊̊̄Ï̶̢̫̐ï̵͇̦̤̯̖̐̿͒̿̄͛̂͒̽̔̕Į̷̧̜͈͎̼̻̪́̑͛͋̎͘ͅí̶̯̗̥͒͝Ì̸̹̙̳̫̱̆̊̀͘͠ì̶̡̛͖̘͓̥̾̂̂͋̓Î̸̥̎͑̋̇̀͂͘̚̚͝î̴̳̠̠͚̀O̵̜͐ǫ̴̗͇̜̬̫̱̹̭͎̠̍Ő̵̩̎̌̚ő̷̲͓͔̪̝͙͍̗̖̱̪̂̄̐͛̉̃̓́̓̌̉̓͜Ǭ̸͍̤͔̪͓͎̰̳͍̗̊ͅō̸̟̔̒̌̓̓̆͂̊͘͜͝͝Ṏ̷̰͚̬̦́̈̀õ̸̗̣͚͕̩̜̞͚͖̯͊̓̇Ø̵̯̻̒̀́̿̚͠͝ø̴̛͔̬͌͗͛͐̈́͒̃͠͝Œ̷̨̖̖͕͓͓̱͓̜͎̀͜œ̸̹͔̺̞͉͊̃̀̌͗̐͘Ǒ̶̖͙̫̝͚̗̺͇͗̌ǒ̴͇̬̂̌̇́̃͗Ơ̶͙͉̈̈̒̈́̿̀͝͠ö̴̬̥̬͇͚͊̈̍͛͛̓̈̋͊Ổ̶̦̊̽͒͊̾ô̸̧͉̤̥̹̠̠̳̰͂̈́̑̌́̒͜Ó̷̱͖̙̾̕͜͠͝͝ó̴̡̪̠̗̏̈́̂͂͌Ò̷̻͍͗͆̌͒͗́̽̒̔̕̚ò̵̘̠̘̻̜̂̔́̿́̓U̸̳̙̼̜͍̳͂ụ̸͙̤̼̼̦͕͘ͅŲ̶͉͇͎͆̑͠ų̸͍̘́͆͌̈́̂͋́̾̓̊Ů̸̢̨̻̟̬̱̲̖͙̲̓̒͑̂͐ů̷̡͕̞̠̙̫̜͔̱̳̟̄̚͜Ű̷̠̮̹̒͑̓̆͛̏̕͠ű̵̹̃̏͐́̌̏̋̐̓͒͝Ū̴͍͔̄̑̌͐ū̷͔͈̰͖̹̊̈̈̈́̔̒͝Ũ̸̜͖͉̞̽́͋ͅũ̸̮̹̼̓͂̃̿͒͒̆̚͝͝͝ͅǓ̴̧̼̗̭̞͍̲͖̭͈̹͈͝ǔ̶͍̮̻͎̮͔̅̀̌͛̊̀̒͑͛̔͂̕Ư̷̡̯̖͙̻̩̘͉͎̩̭̙̈͂͋̈́̆̉͛͠ü̴͖͉͆̈́̚Ú̷̥̻̹̝̥̘̯̿͂͗͜ú̸̧̢͎̤̣͉̩͚̣͕̽͝Ù̶̡̧̘̫͖̻͉̆̃̌̊͑͆̾́͗̈́͘͝ừ̷̢̧̖̱̹̲̯̖̬̞̤͉̒͊̓̿Û̸͈̲͑͑̄͛̀̀û̷̬͖̣̋͒̀̒͝ͅY̶̤͕̪̔y̶̫̑͆̇̀̾̓̓̈́͐̕͝͝Ÿ̴̢̨͎̪͉̖̤̞͕͉̘̋̀̒͛̆̅̍̕ÿ̷̱͚̗̣̗̯̳̭̰̓͆Ỵ̸̡̨̞͉̗̻̫̂͌ŷ̸͔̰̩̟̪̜̬̱̹͈̮̼̀͗͆͒̈Ý̴͚͇͖̮̯͈̱̝̈́ý̴̗̳̋̏̋!̵̢̤̠̣̱̭̂́̌̇́͗̚͜ͅ!̴̛̥̯͎̦̞͛̎̆͐͂̂͝͠!̶̛̝̯̖͓̽̎̆̓͒!̸̢͍̥̺̦̯̲͋͊̿̋̚͜!̸̢͇̩̙̩̗̩͕̗́͒̉͌̎̏͛̋̾̌͝!̴͓͖̣̣̞̓̈́̊̎̓͑̔̀̏!̴̬̤̳̤͔̻͙̭͖̅̆͂̾̀̂̕!̵͓̬̺̳̮̜̯̩̃̆!̵̘̯̼̭̞̆̃̄͐̃͒͑̔̎̿͠͠!̴͓̉̾͠!̴̛̖̰̬̬͓̼̊͌̓̎͝!̶̢̱̣̺̪̺̜̀̇̃̍̌̎̎̾̅̀͠!̷̧̙̫̱͕͙̰̼͐̓͌̏̓͊!̴͇̖̱͇̥̺̊̋̋̏̈́̚̚͜!̶̨̧̯̘̰̣͇͕̪͋͒̃̐̊̚͝!̵̧̢̛̟̖̝̳̔͗̉̀!̴̛̤̾͆̿̊̽̕!̴̛̗̥͆͌̔̓̾́́͆͑͠!̸̪̥̜͎͙͆̓̅̍!̵͍͍̫͇̺̠͔̬̿͐̀̾̕͘ͅ!̷̧̛͈̗̯̺̟̦̿̒̒̽̕!̶̢͙̠̠̗̖̣̜͙̲̍̐́̂͊̚ͅ!̵̡̛͈͍͍̫̀͗̄́̈̀͒̇̕!̴̧̛̘̲͉̐̊́̃͆̑̀̒̾͐̚͜!̶͉̜̹͖̲͙̣̽͛̒̔̀̑̒̀̉̐̄̚ͅͅ!̸̡͔̫̗̬̼́͋̽̉͗̑̅͒!̵̲͔̈́̀̂̿͌̈̊̑̀̃̚!̷̮̻̰̭̆́͌̈́͐̽̕͝!̴̢̢͕̳͕̣̗͓͊̅͆̾̉̐̂͒!̴̙̳͇̀́̿̈́̾́̀͠͝ͅ!̶̢̨͖̦̥̰͚̖̯͚̯̙̍̾!̴̨̣̪͍̘͎̼̤̯͐͋̂̀̿̌̑̎͜”̶̧̞̬͎͉͖̹̀̀̿̄̑͗̋̐͒͠ ̶̡͖̭͉̙̝͖̼̰̖̍͂̚
Tuesday: 06/18/2030: I wake up with a start, sitting up abruptly in my sleeping bag. Looking around the temple, I’m surprised my rustling hasn’t woken anyone. “Xena. Spock.” “Yes?” “I’m going to that hidden temple now. I don’t know when I’ll return from this mission.” “Are you sure of this? By yourself?” “I know what I must do, friends. I am coming to them now.” Standing up, I go upstairs as quietly as I can, heading for the second-floor closet and my Forest room. Seeing that now several apples have appeared on the tree, all where there were blooms before, I pick all of them, stashing them in my sack in my amulet. I also pick up the silver petals from the first flower that transformed into an apple plus the petals that must have fallen from the tree as the rest turned into apples, and I carry them with me as well. I walk towards the kitchen window to unlock it. “Good luck, Lindsay.” Xena and Spock stand in the sunroom doorway. “Thanks, guys.” I hug them snugly and I unlock the window, climb out, and telekinetically relock it. I notice a trail of seemingly fresh ice and frost on the ground leading from the back door of the house and into the Forest. I follow it, the light of the moon reflecting off it and my hair and tail. As I enter the woods, I hear ringing bells. Temple bells. And a light emanating deep beyond the trees. I hear the apple woman’s voice clearer and clearer as I approach what can only be the hidden temple mentioned by Mom and Dad. “You picked my apples.” I pull out one of the apples and hold it up to the obelisk. “Yes. I did. Now, help me find my family.”
Previous Episode: Missing.
Next Episode: The Bridge of Light.
