beams of light emblazoning the sand.
“Holy cow!” he exclaims, thrilled by the sight. He picks up the Wind Rose. Its needle is spinning, round and round, from compass point to compass point. His heart fills with expectation and he is not disappointed. When the clipper ship appears before him, she is the same majestic, luminous vision on the water that he remembered. Sleek as satin, her awesome masts jutting proudly into the air, her silk sails bursting full into the skyline, the Moon Singer is the stuff of dreams, his dreams. And he is her Captain.
The great ship hovers a hundred yards out on the ocean, but his hand can reach out to touch her. She extends the gangplank inviting David aboard. He walks up the ramp, his feet never touching the sand, never skimming the water. The clipper raises the gangplank and sets out to sea, with David at the helm. As before, they sail together across the magnificent blue-green seascape, covering mile after mile of endless ocean in the blink of an eye, as David's hometown become a distant image.
Heather hides behind the rocks, shuddering at the sight before her. She cannot believe her eyes. It must be an illusion, no - a delusion. Or maybe she's asleep and dreaming. She can't be awake. Things like this don't happen except in dreams, or unless you're crazy and hallucinating. She has to tell someone, but who would believe her? There is no one else on this stretch of beach, no one to corroborate her story. And how could she tell, anyway? No words could describe what she has just seen.
Noticing David's laptop on the sand, she picks it up and the brilliant flashes of light on the screen mesmerize her.
What it is, she cannot fathom, but the dancing images of color are rhythmical and fascinating, and the sound - that glorious sound coming from the machine in her hand - is the most angelic music she has ever heard.
Eighteen
Unlike David's first voyage on the Moon Singer, which was fraught with raging storms and uncertainty, this trip is swift and direct, transcending time and space with record speed. This time there is no need to explore the gleaming white upper and lower decks of the great clipper ship to look for clues to his destination, or to marvel at the sight of the three towering masts of pure crystal encircled with solid gold rings. He knows that the Moon Singer was fashioned centuries ago by some very wise men who wanted to protect the power and knowledge they had accumulated, until the right person came along who would use the power for good and not evil.
David is ready for the voyage this time, eager to return to a place that enlightens and empowers him. Even though he has no clue what or who he'll be returning to, this alone – the leap into the unknown - invigorates him. He doesn't care if this foray is a dream, an illusion, or all in his mind for, as Ishtar once told him, “They are merely different levels of the same reality.”
Although Dad thinks I'm completely out of touch with reality.
Ishtar. The thought that he might meet up with the brilliant architect and engineer makes David even more eager to drop anchor. Will he see his old friend again, the man who gave him the courage to destroy the Glass Snake, rescue Saliana, and find his sister?
David's question is answered as the Moon Singer drifts toward land then halts a few hundred yards from shore.
A small boat, carrying David, is lowered to the water and David picks up the oars. The sky is azure and the sun a warm peach glow as David parks the skiff on the sugary white sand. He is greeted by a flock of sea birds that fly in formation toward a grove of trees, beckoning David to follow.
It is as he remembered, the mirrored pools of water, the strutting peacocks, the plush, emerald carpets of grass. It was once an Island of Darkness, overrun by evil and treachery, a place where people were enslaved and tortured into hopelessness, until David answered the call of Saliana's song and brought with him the impetus for
“Holy cow!” he exclaims, thrilled by the sight. He picks up the Wind Rose. Its needle is spinning, round and round, from compass point to compass point. His heart fills with expectation and he is not disappointed. When the clipper ship appears before him, she is the same majestic, luminous vision on the water that he remembered. Sleek as satin, her awesome masts jutting proudly into the air, her silk sails bursting full into the skyline, the Moon Singer is the stuff of dreams, his dreams. And he is her Captain.
The great ship hovers a hundred yards out on the ocean, but his hand can reach out to touch her. She extends the gangplank inviting David aboard. He walks up the ramp, his feet never touching the sand, never skimming the water. The clipper raises the gangplank and sets out to sea, with David at the helm. As before, they sail together across the magnificent blue-green seascape, covering mile after mile of endless ocean in the blink of an eye, as David's hometown become a distant image.
Heather hides behind the rocks, shuddering at the sight before her. She cannot believe her eyes. It must be an illusion, no - a delusion. Or maybe she's asleep and dreaming. She can't be awake. Things like this don't happen except in dreams, or unless you're crazy and hallucinating. She has to tell someone, but who would believe her? There is no one else on this stretch of beach, no one to corroborate her story. And how could she tell, anyway? No words could describe what she has just seen.
Noticing David's laptop on the sand, she picks it up and the brilliant flashes of light on the screen mesmerize her.
What it is, she cannot fathom, but the dancing images of color are rhythmical and fascinating, and the sound - that glorious sound coming from the machine in her hand - is the most angelic music she has ever heard.
Eighteen
Unlike David's first voyage on the Moon Singer, which was fraught with raging storms and uncertainty, this trip is swift and direct, transcending time and space with record speed. This time there is no need to explore the gleaming white upper and lower decks of the great clipper ship to look for clues to his destination, or to marvel at the sight of the three towering masts of pure crystal encircled with solid gold rings. He knows that the Moon Singer was fashioned centuries ago by some very wise men who wanted to protect the power and knowledge they had accumulated, until the right person came along who would use the power for good and not evil.
David is ready for the voyage this time, eager to return to a place that enlightens and empowers him. Even though he has no clue what or who he'll be returning to, this alone – the leap into the unknown - invigorates him. He doesn't care if this foray is a dream, an illusion, or all in his mind for, as Ishtar once told him, “They are merely different levels of the same reality.”
Although Dad thinks I'm completely out of touch with reality.
Ishtar. The thought that he might meet up with the brilliant architect and engineer makes David even more eager to drop anchor. Will he see his old friend again, the man who gave him the courage to destroy the Glass Snake, rescue Saliana, and find his sister?
David's question is answered as the Moon Singer drifts toward land then halts a few hundred yards from shore.
A small boat, carrying David, is lowered to the water and David picks up the oars. The sky is azure and the sun a warm peach glow as David parks the skiff on the sugary white sand. He is greeted by a flock of sea birds that fly in formation toward a grove of trees, beckoning David to follow.
It is as he remembered, the mirrored pools of water, the strutting peacocks, the plush, emerald carpets of grass. It was once an Island of Darkness, overrun by evil and treachery, a place where people were enslaved and tortured into hopelessness, until David answered the call of Saliana's song and brought with him the impetus for
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