The Two Worlds by Alisha Howard Page B

it?” she remarked. I jumped and turned around to face her.
She laughed at my expression. “It has been said that the magical
ring of Emoro would find it’s next wearer; looks like it
did.”
    “ Emoro?” I echoed. Rena and
Nia had walked over to where we were talking.
    Mimi nodded. “Emoro was a powerful
emperor in the ancient days on the planet Lombe. He was an evil
man, and his greed consumed him. During his final decades of reign,
Emoro wanted to find a mythical island that was said to contain all
the treasures of the galaxies. But no matter how hard he searched,
he could not find it. One of his servants found this ring tucked
away in the palace’s kitchen and brought it before Emperor Emoro.
He put it on, and like you, could not take it off.”
    “ So this ring is evil?” I
squeaked.
    Mimi held up her hands to reassure me.
“No, no. The ring finds those who are powerful enough to call for
it. The ring wearers want something that they cannot find, and the
ring helps them find it.”
    Nia frowned. “What do you want so bad
you called the ring, Kay?” I shrugged.
    “ I don’t know! I was just
checking out the cabinet!”
    Mimi smiled. “Do not worry, Kathleena.
You will be fine. As a gift to you, a first time customer, I will
give it to you for free.”
    Nia thanked her, and we left the
shop.
    “ Is it me, or did it seem
very suspicious that Mimi LaFaye gave me the ring for free?” I
asked. We had found a small restaurant to eat lunch in. Rena
munched on a pickled chip and nodded.
    “ Well...yeah,” Nia admitted
reluctantly. “But Mimi has a great reputation with the Counsel, and
she’s always been known to be a little...eccentric.” I wasn’t
convinced. On Earth, no one gave gifts for free. “Come on,” Nia
said, pouring a good helping of gravy on what appeared to be
potatoes. “Don’t worry about it. You didn’t combust or anything
when the ring came on.”
    “ Yeah, but I can’t take it
off!” I pointed out to her. Nia rolled her eyes.
    “ Must have chosen you for a
purpose, Kay,” Rena spoke up.
    “ I agree, Kay. There is much
purpose on this planet.”
    “ Yeah, yeah,” I muttered and
poked at my snoki, which was a type of sausage-like sandwich. I
still wasn’t satisfied, but I had another pressing question. “How
does this work?”
    “ Excuse me?” Nia asked,
taking another forkful of potatoes in her mouth. Where did the girl
put all of that food?
    “ How does this work?” I
repeated, looking at both Nia and Rena. “I mean, we’re here on
Turgor, right? But our bodies are back on Earth. How do I know this
isn’t just a complicated dream?”
    Nia looked at me as if I had sprouted a
second head. “Obviously not, Kay. For starters, I know what’s going
on when we get back to Earth, remember? And you carried your DiGi
and your Evrode with you, didn’t you?”
    “ That’s my point! I found
this place by dreaming, which means that I’m still dreaming. I
could just be going crazy...or worse, be in a coma like Grandpa.”
Nia opened her mouth to protest, but Rena beat her to
it.
    “ All worlds and planets
exist on different planes.” Rena glowed a warm orange. “Remember
our astral projection chapter we had to read the other day?” I
nodded. Our homework on Turgor was everything but boring. “Well,
when you fall asleep, so to speak, you astral project here to
Turgor, which is on a different astral plane. The mind is
incredibly powerful, Kay. It’s unfortunate that many Earthians like
yourself don’t use it.” I started to correct her on Earthians , but thought better of it. She continued, “When
your mind transports you to this planet, you are transported into
yourself on this plane. It was your power that Awakened your body
and soul on this planet. But your mind brought you
here.”
    “ So, how do I bring stuff
back then?” I argued.
    “ Again, the mind is a very
powerful tool,” Nia answered. “When you wake up on Earth, you are
able to materialize your DiGi on