NEBADOR Book Ten: Stories from Sonmatia by J. Z. Colby - HTML preview

Part 6

The following short story is the Second Place winner of the Last Nebador Writing Contest, 2014-2016.

NEBADOR Book Ten:Stories from Sonmatia 171

Floating Away

by Tiffany Pertranovich

This story takes place on the gas-giant planet Sonmatia Six, which the crew of the Manessa Kwi saw, but did not visit, in NEBADOR Book Five: Back to the Stars.

The green mist was floating at the top of the clouds, looking up at the stars, when a blue mist floated near.

“Hi,” the green mist said. “You get done with chores, too?”

“No,” the blue mist said. “I snuck away.”

The green mist giggled.

“What are you doing up here?” Blue asked.

“Dreaming about the stars. I want to go there some day. I am so tired of gravity. Gravity is for grown-ups! ”

“I know what you mean. Whenever I want to sneak away, I just float up

. . . and up . . . and up . . . and no one knows where I went!”

Green giggled again. “Want to be friends?”

Blue looked at Green. “And float away together if we can ever find a way?”

Green

nodded.

They touched, swirled together, and became a blue-green mist at the top of the clouds.



NEBADOR Book Ten:Stories from Sonmatia 172

“Assembly!” the evil queen roared. “Everybody get down here, at the bottom of the gravity well where everything is as it should be!” And then she whispered to herself, “(and I’m in control).”

All of the mist-people of Sonmatia Six trudged through the strong gravity to get to the assembly hall. The kids floated, until their parents saw them and made them come down and trudge with the grown-ups.

“Our scientists (damn them) have discovered something!” the evil queen roared when everyone was assembled.

The people gasped, because their queen rarely admitted the scientists even existed, and almost never told the people anything they discovered.

“They have discovered that a comet is coming our way. I didn’t believe them until I agreed to look through one of their gadgets. Now I know it’s true (and I’m only telling you because I can twist the truth for my own purposes).”

The grown-ups grumbled among themselves. The kids tried to float away, but the grown-ups saw them and made them come back down.

“The comet won’t hit the planet, but will skim through the upper cloud layers, and spread poisonous ice made of water, and poisonous gasses like air

. . .”

The people gasped and trembled with fear. The kids tried to float away again, and the grown-ups were so busy trembling that some of the kids made it.

“So even though I hate to do this (but secretly love it),” the evil queen went on, “I have to warn everyone to stay far away from the comet when it skims by, or you might get poisoned and die! ”

The people talked and grumbled and trembled as they left the assembly.

The real truth spread from kid to kid, because one of them had a father who was a scientist, and had heard him saying that the water and air from the comet wasn’t poisonous at all.



The next time Green and Blue could get away from chores and lessons, they floated together at the top of the clouds, partly green, partly blue, and partly blue-green.

“I think I can see the comet,” Blue said. “If it moves after a while, then that’s it, for sure.”

NEBADOR Book Ten:Stories from Sonmatia 173

“Yeah,” Green agreed. “The big question is . . . are we going to do it?”

Blue thought for a long time. “It’s a one-way trip. As far as the scientists know, that comet will never come back here . . . even again.”

Green nodded. “And we’ll have to sneak away three days before it gets here to be at the right place at the right time.”

Blue cringed. “Kids our age don’t leave home very often, except a few that have rotten parents.”

Green nodded. “My parents aren’t rotten. They’re just . . . grown-ups, and don’t understand why I want to go see the . . . the whole . . . the whole universe.”

“Mine aren’t rotten either,” Blue said. “They’re just . . . you know . . .

caught by gravity.”

The two friend were silent for a long time.

“Yep, it moved,” Blue said. “That’s the comet.”

“Yep,” Green agreed.



The parents of both Green and Blue arranged plenty of activities, deep in the gravity well, to keep their kids busy on the day the comet would skim the atmosphere of the planet. They had even rented part of Bouncing Cloud Castle, a treat few kids could resist. But they hadn’t realized that the most important day for keeping their kids busy was three days earlier.

After a normal day of lessons and chores, the two friends met in a secret place deep inside a dark cloud where no one ever went. They weren’t planning to gaze up at the stars and the comet. They were planning to leave home, probably forever.

It was their turn to tremble. Either one of them, alone, probably wouldn’t have found the courage to do it. But together, they did.

Without saying much, they took some deep breaths, looked down at their childhood home one last time, and zoomed away toward the place where the comet would skim the clouds of Sonmatia Six three days later.



Beings of mist can’t zoom very fast. Also, the evil queen’s police had thought of what might happen three days before the comet arrived.

“You two kids! Stop right there!”

NEBADOR Book Ten:Stories from Sonmatia 174

Green froze, but Blue knew what had to be done. “You go ahead. The police aren’t close enough yet to see our colors. I’ll puff up real big, and they’ll think I’m two of us. Go! Now! Before they get any closer! It was your dream to see the whole universe more than it was mine. And I bet you’ll find a way to come back and tell me all about it.”

Green hesitated, but Blue gave a big push, and Green knew Blue was being serious. “Bye! I’ll never forget you!” Green called, zooming into a cloud.

Blue waved good-bye as long as possible, then puffed up and turned to face the police.

“These must be the missing two kids,” one police-mist said.

“We just wanted to see the comet fly by!” Blue said. Then, in a slightly different voice, “Yeah!” Blue agreed, trying not to snicker.

The police took Blue, still puffed up, slowly back down into the gravity well where all the other mist-people lived. They didn’t notice that the blue mist had a hint of green in it.



Green was sad, but didn’t want Blue’s sacrifice to be for nothing, so went on, as fast as a mist can, toward the place the comet would touch the clouds.

For two and a half more days, Green floated as fast as possible, not wanting to be late.

When Green arrive at the right place, the comet was almost there. It now looked huge, and Green felt some fear, but Blue’s courage had made Green even more determined than ever.

The comet skimmed through the upper clouds, and with a deep breath, Green swirled into the comet’s gasses and bits of ice, leaving Sonmatia Six behind forever.

The comet left the clouds and flew back into space.

“Weeeeeeeeeeeee!” Green yelled, starting the biggest adventure any mist-person had ever had.

When the scientists looked through their gadgets at the comet, now getting farther and farther away, they saw a small swirl of green mist among all the white and gray of the comet. They also noticed that the green mist had a little bit of blue in it.



Farewell to Nebador

In this still moment, after reading about the courage of two friends, Green and Blue, it is time to say good-bye to Nebador.

Ilika, Kibi, Mati, Rini, Boro, Sata, and sometimes Ashley and her team, are out there in the stars, flying their beloved deep-space response ship on missions of all kinds. Susan and Alex have glimpsed Nebador, but have returned home. Daphne, Dem, Tir, and Green have just begun their adventures.

Kodi, Buna, Misa, Toli, Neti, Risan Gor, Liberty, Shawn, Blue, and countless others continue to live their lives on the mortal spheres of time and space, looking for what happiness and purpose they can find.

Miko, Nosta, T’shlix, Jenny, Jimox, Teina, and that girl of many names whom I usually just call Heather, have graduated into the mysteries that lie beyond mortal life.

Kerloran, Melorania, Shemultavia, and Dorolora, who are known by many names, along with others like them who did not enter our story, continue to watch over Nebador.

This humble author, and his readers, are now living close to the times that Heather foresaw, but without the benefit of wise leaders like Susan and Alex.

We must, therefore, turn our attention to the years ahead, when the sounds of chugging and whirring cease, and the wild creatures who remain can once again hear each other’s voices in life and graceful death.

A few of us might find a place in that world for a little while longer, as witnesses, and for training. Perhaps I will meet you deep in the woods around Mt. Brynion, or somewhere on the banks of the Coweeman River. When the coyotes perk up their ears, listen for the soft sounds of a minor pentatonic flute.

Be well!

J. Z. Colby

2016

About the Cover Artist and Authors

Sidney Oster, the cover artist for NEBADOR Book Ten, is a junior in high school where she takes several art classes in both two- and three-dimensional art. She has always done art in some capacity. For the past several years, she has enjoyed reading and critiquing the Nebador series, and so it was an honor to do the cover art for Book Ten. Outside of school, she really enjoys dancing, mostly tap and lyrical dance. She is also part of her high school robotics team, as she is really interested in the mechanical aspect of building and machining different robot pieces. In addition to dance and robotics, she also shows dogs in AKC conformation shows. In her scarce free time, she likes to cook, read, swim, and spend time with her family.



Mary Anne Brenner, the author of Still Voices, is 12 and lives in Australia.

She is convinced she learns more from the NEBADOR books than she does in school. She likes to take life slowly, learning and doing everything well, and is very happy, but thinks she might have been even happier one or two centuries ago.



Born in the Mojave Desert, J. Z. Colby now lives and writes deep in a forest of the Pacific Northwest.

He has studied many subjects, formally and informally, including

psychology, philosophy, education, and performing arts, but remains a generalist. His primary profession as a mental health therapist, specializing with families and young adults, gives him many stories of personal growth, and the motivation to develop his team of young critiquers and readers.

All his life, he has been drawn toward a broad understanding of human nature, especially those physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual situations in which our capacity to function seems to reach its limits. He finds fascinating those few individuals who can transcend the limits of our common human nature and the dictates of our cultures.



Terri Snyder, the author of Rini and the Old Slave and Boro and Sata, is 14 and lives in Nevada. She is a serious person who wants to know about all things, especially math and science, even though that doesn’t make her popular. In fact, she avoids social networking because it promises friendship but doesn’t deliver. Neither does she have any plans of becoming a vampire-lover, but instead likes the simple and honorable donkeys that live in her area.



Katelynn Persons, the author of Kibi and the Search for Happiness, First Taste of Freedom, and What’re Friends For? was born and raised in Portland, Oregon until the age of fifteen. She now lives and goes to school in Sandy, Oregon, where she continues her journey through her teenage years.

Although she is only seventeen, Katelynn finds much enjoyment in her passions for writing and theater, and was a voice actor and director for the NEBADOR audiobooks.



Karen Buchanan, the author of Buna’s New World and Neti’s Temptation, is 15 and a native of Quebec, Canada. She speaks both English and French fluently, is learning Spanish, and wants to learn German and Chinese someday. But she has discovered, in the last year, that there are much more important things in life, and is considering literature or art history at university.



Chenice Louise Clarke, the author of Sata’s Strength, is an avid reader, passionate women’s rights advocate, and is partial to a cold Coca-Cola or a bar of chocolate. A recent university literature graduate, she loves the theatre, collecting quotes, and spending time with family and friends.



Shadow Buffalo-walker, the author of Buna’s Search, is completely comfortable on a moon-lit night with coyotes yapping, wolves howling, and buffalo stomping, but has little use for cities and other man-made things. She learned more at the feet of an old native-American woman than in school, but admits that schools are probably necessary for those who want to fit into the human world. For her, it’s too late — she has seen the other side, and will spend her life with at least one foot there.



Kathleen Tully, the author of The Magic Needle, is 16, lives in Iowa, and loves inventions and discoveries of all kinds. She was identified as highly gifted years ago, is studying every kind of science she can get her hands on in high school, and is preparing to apply to colleges.



Sammy McNeil, the author of The Lonely Space Dragon, lives in Cornwall where he and his friends sometimes still make solar systems out of rocks and tree stumps, then lie in the grass and look up at the stars as evening descends over the hills.



Tiffany Pertranovich, the author of Floating Away, is a native of New York, where she is anxiously awaiting her 16th birthday, at which time she plans to begin earning her own money and making as many of her own decisions as possible. If she ever becomes a parent (which she seriously doubts), she plans to raise her children wisely so they don’t feel weighted down, and are able to grow up as soon as they are ready. She deeply appreciates her own parents for allowing her that freedom.