Digby rode upon his impressive gryphon friend Godel. As they sailed away in the cold winter air, the ground below grew blurry and indistinct. A fierce stormy wind began to buffet the travelers. Digby became gravely concerned. “Godel, I’m a little worried about finding the mall from this altitude. I can barely see through this storm. How about dropping down some, so that I can see where we’re going?” His aquiline ride consented and fell into into a deep and steady dive into the tumultuous storm. As they dropped through the clouds, Digby noticed that the densely populated Boston suburbs had somehow been replaced by what looked to be an endless expanse of ocean. As first he was at a loss. “This is weird…we shouldn’t be anywhere near the ocean yet. And we were going in the opposite direction…unless…unless we’re no longer in the real world. Somehow we’re crossed over into Nibiru maybe? Things sure are getting screwy around here.” 256
Godel continued his dive as Digby gazed around looking for some sort of recognizable landmark. Only a tiny yellow speck on the surface of the water caught his eye. He motioned toward the sighting. As it grew nearer, Digby was able to make out the outline of a raft, with a man standing and waving his arms wildly.
“Godel! You must see that. That man needs our help! Swoop down right away.” The powerful creature lunged downward towards the fast sinking craft. The swarming sharks could be seen viciously ripping at the yellow nylon raft. Detective Gardner could neither believe his eyes nor his luck. The sight of the impossible creature flying down to save him filled him with both wonder and fear. He stared breathlessly as the feathered beast grabbed hold of his shoulders with it’s sharp talons. Gabriel looked down beneath his feet as he was lifted into the stormy, salty air. He watched as the sharks below finally ripped apart his flimsy raft. He tried to call up to Digby through the beating wind and rain. “I’m not sure if you can hear me…but thanks…whomever you are…” The red-haired sprite heard only a faint confusion of sound. The trio sailed off into the ever worsening storm clouds ahead.
Carolyn had just finished watching herself die. She had stood by powerlessly as Samantha had plunged the deadly syringe into her helpless body. She had barely recovered from the shock as she withdrew back into the mirror’s inner darkness.
It’s absolute emptiness somehow comforted her She had collapsed in horror for 257
several hours.. She stumbled blindly in the nothingness grasping for anything at all.
Having no luck, she called out for help. “Hello? Is there anybody out there?
Anybody at all? I don’t mind talking to leprechauns or imaginary friends-anybody at all…” Her plaintive call went unanswered for several minutes. She walked straight forward into the blackness when suddenly a tiny spark of light caught her attention. It slowly became brighter as it neared. It was distinctly bluish in hue. To Carolyn, as it finally came into sharp view, it looked very much like some sort of fairy creature. It vaguely reminded her of Tinkerbell from the story of Peter Pan.
The recognition resonated within her. Her mind was suddenly struck by the seemingly innocuous question that Hillary had asked her that day she had disappeared. She had been asked whether or not the characters in her head were alive…or real…Today, Carolyn considered, she would not know how to accurately answer that same question she had so carelessly dismissed that earlier day. She addressed the fanciful fairy in a serious tone. “Now who are you? You are no doubt one of Hillary’s friends…or should I say creations? Whichever you are…what shall I call you? You don't quite look like Tinkerbell….that is clear…perhaps a friend of hers? I shall call you just Blue for now. Perhaps you would be so kind as to lead me away from this empty black prison?” The dark-haired fairy named Lilith waved her wand in the air in response. She beckoned the wayward woman on. They traveled 258
for quite some time until Carolyn came up to a hard, smooth wall. She banged upon the wall mightily and called out for help. Her pleas would not go unanswered.
Annie Koestler had been unsuccessful in her attempt to communicate with Hillary. They were both simply far too exhausted. Digby had been sent to somehow save Carolyn. She was left in her cold house with the strange visitor named Rupert. The melancholy prince gazed out at the cold winter day. “We’ve nothing like this bitter cold where I come from, you know. I would love to go out and experience the winter snow.” Annie walked over to the window to join her guest. “That would not be a good idea right now. As you may have noticed, things are a little topsy-turvy around here. And of course, you really should not be in this place. Your presence here is simply a mistake.” Rupert seemed to take offence to the woman’s suggestion. “Are you saying then that I am a mistake? Do you mean that I don’t exist? Well I can touch and feel and think as well as you can. Who is to decide who exists and who does not? You are neither judge nor jury in this matter.” The kind old woman smiled gently. She touched his arm “Please do not misunderstand me. You do exist. You are real…but not in this place. For everything there is a time and a season under heaven. It would be just as wrong for you to exist here, as it would be for Hillary to live forever in Nibiru. She is merely a visitor, as you are. She must exist here, so that you will exist there, do you not 259
see that?” The reflective prince considered his answer. “Ah…but you assume that we are somehow equals. This is not the case at all. Hillary will still continue to exist, regardless of whether or not I am…or am not. My existence is entirely dependant upon hers…or yours for that matter. So you see that my imaginary world of Nibiru is not as relevant as you would have me believe. My existence is superfluous…yours is not. That is the difference.” Annie was impressed by the intellect of the young man, but also slightly worried. She feared that his desire would overwhelm his better instincts. She attempted to calm him down somewhat.
“Rupert, you are such an intelligent boy. You must read and think a great deal.”He nodded sheepishly and sported the slightest grin. “Yes, perhaps…my father the king would say that I read and think and do little else with my time.” Annie was pleased to have mollified her visitor. “Well it sounds to me like your father does not really know you at all. You must believe in yourself, above everything else.
Never let anyone cause you to doubt your ability to demonstrate the truth.” Annie held the royal boy close to her. She wondered what had become of the enchanted storybook.
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Samantha was resolved to prevent any attempts to thwart her plan. Like her twin Hillary, she was fiercely determined. She sailed above the cold London night scanning the streets below for any sign of Hillary or Wallace. As her raven ride shot downwards for a closer look, the air around them grew blustery. A storm-front seemed to appear from nowhere and quickly enveloped the two hunters in a thick, rainy cloud. Samantha could see nothing at all through the teeming rain. At once there was a clearing in the mist and she watched in shock as a huge gryphon came sailing directly in her way. At the last moment she swerved and narrowly avoided a collision. For their part, Digby, Godel and detective Gardner were no less surprised to see the young girl atop the black raven come darting out of the clouds. Digby gasped and yelled. “Look out! Everybody hold on!” Luckily the raven and its rider avoided them at the last second. Samantha had a keen eagle eye and had instantly recognized the figure of Digby atop the gyphon. She decided to attack Hillary’s small ally. She urged the raven onwards around the sky to pursue her prey.
Instinctively she cut a path through the stormy sky. At once she was upon them.
She drew ever closer to her unaware prey. Godel and Digby did not see the fiendish changeling and her horrid black bird sneak up from behind them. The raven jabbed hard at the Gryphon’s talons, sending the helpless detective tumbling through the air. Digby suddenly noticed the attack. “Watch out! She’s back. We must stop her!” The majestic, agile winged creature immediately swung around in the air to face 261
the loudly cackling black bird. It lunged forward with its razor sharp beak at the bird’s throat, but missed. The gryphon caught the side of Samantha’s face and ripped out her entire left eye. A burst of blood shot into the air. Samantha cried out in pain and sailed away. Digby had seen the unfortunate injury, but urged Godel downward. “Hurry, we must catch the detective before he hits the ground!” The great beast plunged deeply downward to find the tumbling man.
Charles, Rodney and Chauncey the leprechaun stood together on the gravel pathway seemingly lost. The jovial green imp broke the silence that had descended upon them. “Well is there anything else that you'll need? I have my own business to attend to. I need to find the storybook. It’s gone missing, you know… it has become enchanted.” Charles nodded, not really knowing exactly what was going on. “I see. I am well aware of that strange book. So this must be where you and your kind live? I’m looking for my daughter and my wife. I don’t suppose you’ve seen either of them lately have you?” The leprechaun shook his head. “Well, of course I know who Hillary is, and I have had the pleasure of meeting your lovely wife. A very hospitable woman, she was. She was a little shaky- weak in the knees you know, when last we met. I did have to leave abruptly. I do hope that she’s feeling well.” The tone of the conversation gradually grew more serious.
“Chauncey…that’s your name right? Is there any way you can help me find my 262
family?” The leprechaun considered the request thoughtfully. “Well of course the Thinker-he lives in the centre of the maze, he would know….but if she’s here…she could be anywhere, if you see what I mean. Of course, she might still be caught in between worlds, that is, where I found you two. Why don’t you try the door once again? It’s worth a try. Charles looked behind him to see the small round oak door. “You mean the door we just came out of? Carolyn could be in there?”
“Yes…but hurry up. These doors don’t last forever you know…and these potions cost good money.” Rodney had simply listened to the conversation, drinking in his strange surroundings. He gazed around in all directions. The pathways and the maze continued indefinitely. He watched as the little fluffy clouds above remained motionless in the piercing excessively blue sky. He followed Charles’ lead. Hillary’s father proceeded to crouch down to the heavy oak door and pull upon the iron handle. It opened with a loud creak. He called out into the darkness. “Hillary…Carolyn…are you there? Is anybody there?” For a moment there was only silence. He was about to give up the search when he heard the faintest response. At first it was barely audible. It grew steadily louder. He continued to call out the two names with greater volume. Soon he could make out the voice of his wife Carolyn. “Charles? Is that you?” Carolyn ran along the smooth black wall toward a small light. She finally found the source of the sound. She crouched down to see the beaming face of her husband. “Oh my God…is that 263
really you Charles? I can hardly believe it.” She immediately began to crawl through the tiny oak door towards her happy husband. She emerged on the other side into his waiting arms. “I thought I would never see you again. I was trapped in that darkness…it seemed like forever.” Charles could not contain his overwhelming emotions. Uncharacteristic tears streamed down the lean, tanned features of his angular face. “I missed you so much, Carol. Don’t ever leave me again.” As he continued to hug her tightly, he felt her body grow strangely soft. His arms suddenly fell right through her body, as if she were some sort of ghostly hologram.
Hillary and Wallace emerged on the other side of the stone wall. Once again, Hillary found herself on the gravel pathway in the midst of the endless maze of Nibiru. Wallace seemed to recognize his new surroundings. “So, we’re back in your world I see. I kind of enjoyed being in London in the Peter Pan book. It was fun.” Hillary listened somewhat absent mindedly. She now realized that the danger facing them within this world was great. “You know Wallace, we never really left the storybook, we’re just in a different chapter right now. This world is no less real than the other one…and this is really not my world anymore…its ours.” Wallace listened intently to the explanation, but could not completely understand the logic .
“Well, one thing is for sure. Its never boring around here.” Hillary was unclear as to the direction to take. She wished that her ally Digby was present. She pointed 264
down the path to the left. “Let’s go that way. I think I remember this part of the maze.” Just as she finished speaking, Wallace noticed a rumbling sound upon the ground. He turned around and pointed along the pathway. “Hillary, who are they?” The young girl instantly recognized the terrible sight. It was the four evil crimson riders that had chased her earlier. Their appearance jolted her into action. “If only my friend Dante were here. He would save us.” Just as her finished speaking, a tall and majestic roan coloured stallion emerged from within the green hedge.
Hillary instantly recognized her equine friend. “Dante! I knew that you would come back!” The towering steed immediately lowered himself to facilitate their egress.
”No time for introductions I’m afraid. Get on both of you. You must know who that is right behind you.” Wallace and Hillary jumped quickly onto the horse’s back and were off at a furious gallop. The terrible red riders were in hot pursuit. “Dante
!Faster! They’re right behind us!” Hillary could hear the insidious howls coming from the diabolical creatures. Dante sped on down the pathway with all his might.
Annie had just finished conversing with prince Rupert of Nibiru when she heard the phone ring. It was the hospital. Dr Singh had decided to make the personal call to Carolyn’s mother. Annie listened intently. “Yes…I understand doctor. It was a bizarre accident. I see. Where will her body be held?” Okay…that’s fine. Thank you for calling.” She turned to her royal guest. “Well if you want to 265
prove yourself in the real world Rupert, now is the time. We need to retrieve Carolyn’s body from the hospital morgue. We need to bring it back here, so that my daughter can once again be whole. Do you think that you can help?” The young prince was emboldened by the idea of assisting in the real world. He saw this as one more step in his quest to become real. “Of course I will help. I would be honoured to do so.” Annie was pleased by the boy's bold sense of initiative. “That is excellent then. Now normally we would travel through the mirror to the hospital, and retrieve Carolyn’s body that way. However, you know about Samantha. She, or something even worse might be set to attack. Time is of the essence. We must find a way to get to the hospital. I do not own a car, and obviously we cannot transport a body in a taxi.” Annie scanned her mind and could think of no easy method to transport them. She stared contemplatively into the hallway mirror. As she did so, the outline of something began to take shape. Miraculously, the head of a large camel peered through the glass into the room. Annie was unfamiliar with the creature, but knew that camels were generally thought to be good and kindly creatures. She walked up to creature and proceeded to pull him gently into the room. The huge beast stood improbably in the foyer. Annie spoke quickly, “we must quickly ride him to the hospital.” Rupert wished that his disapproving father were there to see his valiant actions. Wasting no time, they both mounted the tan 266
coloured, humped beast and set off down the snow-covered Boston street. Annie hoped that she and the neophyte were worthy of the important test.
Detective Gardner could hardly have been in worse condition. First he had found himself surrounded and attacked by sharks, only to be miraculously saved at the last possible moment by a fantastical flying beast. He had then been attacked by what looked to him to be an impossibly large blackbird. The exhausted policeman found himself falling downward through the stormy sky. For a long while he could make out nothing but the mist and clouds around him. He had become strangely resigned to his apparent fate. He could think of nothing save for the thought that he would never see his precious family again. The mournful notion filled him with misery. His tumbling body finally broke through the clouds. From far above he stared down at an impossibly expansive maze. The labyrinthine green structure stretched out as far as he could see in every direction. The sight did nothing to alleviate his sad state of mind. The features of the maze grew ever more distinct. As his heavy body hurled fatally toward the hard ground, he could barely make out the faint outline of numerous objects in the sky moving towards him. The poor detective could do nothing but watch as he grew closer to the ground below. His silently said his prayers, not really expecting them to be answered.
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