This is a story i wrote myself. Its a bit long because one of my favorite past times is writing :D
The dark vortex couldn’t hold on much longer. “Dad we gotta get outta here!!!” I screamed with all the breath I had. “Dad! Dad! DAAAADDDD!!!!!”
“Ashley Lynn Brookman!” Miss Abigail shouted from the other side of the classroom.
“Whoa? Who?” I woke up. Miss Abigail’s high pitched voice interrupted one of the most important moments of the day, day dreaming about Dad.
“I’d like to talk with you after class,” she said softly, but still it didn’t make me feel any better.
When teachers want to ‘talk’ with you privately, it could only mean two things: one, your grades are excellent and you’re the most wonderful student in class; two, you’re flunking big time and your parents might get involved. For me, it’s positively the second one.
“Are you having problems with my teaching Ashley?” she asked me directly in the eye.
“Uh, I don’t think so Miss”
“Is it that you dislike History?”
“No, not at all”
“Well, is there any particular reason you’ve been falling asleep in my class?”
“No Miss, I’ve just been a little tired lately”
“Is it your swimming practice?”
“Uhm, sure.”
“Well then, I expect you to be in fit shape for my next class, get some sleep. Okay?”
“Okay” I left the room as soon as possible
History is actually something I’m very fond of. Learning how something became how it is today, it just fascinates me. Especially because of the fact there is about a million books about ancient history in my dad’s computer room. It isn’t really a surprise if you found six year old Ashley reading about the Egyptian culture while waiting for Super Mario Bros to load at the PC.
Miss Abigail isn’t a problem either, actually I enjoy her teaching skills. She’s one of the youngest teachers at my school, she’s very caring and can adapt to the teenage life. Even so, there is no way I could tell her my story. What I’ve been going through lately is just too big for someone like her.
So, let’s start from the beginning. My mom is a stewardess, my dad is a pilot. Wait strike that, my mom is a stewardess, my dad is an adventurer. Don’t get the whole adventurer concept? Let’s just say he loves to travel. He loves going around the world and discovering new stuff. Looking for new species of ferns in Brazil’s tropical rain forest, sliding on a kayak through the Amazon, hanging out with orangutans in the middle of Borneo, it’s practically his life’s passion. He’d just enjoy every moment there, and come back home with the most amazing gifts ever! Other dads come home with souvenir key chains, my dad comes home with strange leafs and the most beautiful mineral rocks. He would always come home, take a shower(and trust me he always needs it), then he would sit on the couch with me and tell me everything about the trip, give me extraordinary gifts, and tell me how much he wished I could be there to explore the Mayan caves with him.
Sounds great? I think so too. Until one day, on December 19th, he went away on a trip to the Middle East, or maybe it was to Asia? I don’t know. What I know is, he didn’t fulfill his promise to come home for Christmas. So maybe my family doesn’t actually celebrate Christmas, but we all always manage to spare time from our busy schedules to spend time together. Me and my swimming practice, Mom and her busy flights, Dad and his traveling. My Mom new that marrying a guy with a passion for something so different would not always be fun. So Mom and I celebrated our family with one missing member, she missed my Dad, but she didn’t mind his absence because she knew John G. Brookman very well, and new he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. She kept thinking like that, but it probably stopped. As she embraced the fact that it’s already March and Dad never came back. I maybe a kid, but I know that’s the reason she takes two shifts on the plane now, she’s trying to get her mind off of it.
As for me I, I know he’s out there. I just know it, I keep on having these dreams about my Dad, about him needing my help for something. But even though I’m only a 13 year old, I know there something that I have to do, something big. “The only big thing you have to do now, is keep up your grades and keep working on your swimming, not everybody is picked for the National Swimming Team you know?” that’s what Aunt Barbra keeps on telling me. “Angie’s probably getting more work because she’s doing really good!” and that’s what she always says about my Mom. Lies.
Lately I’ve been spending time with Aunt Barbra, she moved in about two months ago and I’ve been sitting with her at the dinner table every night ever since. Aunt Barbra usually cooks and watches the TV to spend her time, I go through Mom and Dad’s belongings and look for neat stuff.
“Aunt Barbra I’ll be in the computer room if you need me,” I shouted from the staircase
“Sure thing honey, I’ll be right here in front of the TV.”
That night I was looking through Dads’ stuff when I found a big black dirty book. “Interesting” I mumbled softly. The book had a hard leather exterior with a lock on the side, just like a diary. I opened it and found big yellow pages of my dads writing and some of his drawing, there were some pictures too. After inspecting it for a while, it drove me to one conclusion: it was my dads’ diary. All the dates, the journeys, pictures, and plans he’s written in it, what else could it be? Every single story he had told me was written precisely the same. Every place and every adventure had pictures and bits of specimens to be studied. It was all so real and so familiar, for some reason it brought me to tears. Especially when I saw the last page of the book, ‘Most Precious’ was the title of the page, and there was a picture of Mom, Dad, and I on one of our past Christmases. From then on I knew that my dad really did love us, and I would never let him down and give up on him. After embarrassingly weeping for a moment (sobbing up tears isn’t really my thing), I looked for his last writing from his journeys. Just as I suspected, before leaving on 19th December, he wrote his plans on the 18th, I guess he accidentally left the diary here.
December 18th 2007
Tomorrow I’m leaving to Syria to continue on the A67 Project. I’ll be back on the 24th for our family Christmas gathering. I couldn’t stand being away from them too long anyway. Especially after the new news about Ashley’s’ success on the National Swimming Team, can’t wait to see her face when I bring her the Gravokus Argalma from the Middle Ocean. She would be thrilled to see what that plant could do to oxygenate pool water. Adam can’t come with me this time, well I guess I’m on this mission alone.
John G. Brookman
My instincts were tingling out of control, I knew it! I knew my dad was somehow still alive. He didn’t run away, he didn’t forget about us, he’s out there! Somewhere out there and I just know that he’s waiting for my help. My dreams were right!
“My dreams were right Aunt Barbra! My dreams were right! I’m right! I’m right!” I couldn’t help to dance along happily while circling Aunt Barbra.
“Whoa? Right about what dear?”
“I knew it! Wait, I have to save him! He needs my help! But how? OH! Adam! He’d know what to do!”
“Adam? He’s probably asleep by now Ashley, and you should be too”
“Oh Aunt Barbra could you please please please take me to Adam’s house tomorrow?”
“Ashley what about your swimming practice?”
“Oh please Aunt Barbra, I promise I’ll never be absent for practice, ever!”
“Oh okay then, don’t tell your mom okay? Go brush your teeth”
“HORAAAAY!”
That night, I couldn’t sleep. Because I knew that tomorrow, all of my dreams of rescuing Dad would soon come true. And he’d be sitting in the front row with Mom for the swimming competition that’s coming up in two months. But with all the excitement, I still managed to remind myself that there’s a big chance that Adam doesn’t know where Dad is either. And there’s a bigger chance that I will never be able to find him.
Adam Kevin Brookman is the youngest sibling of the Brookman Brothers. Both Adam and John enjoy traveling and going on adventures. As John usually enjoys the wild flora, Adam enjoys the fauna. But still, both enjoy the wild life and both love studying about new or ancient cultures. Even though Adam and John are about 13 years apart in age, but there brotherly bond is really strong because of their same interest.
Mom thinks I should call him ‘Uncle Adam’, but Adam always insists on calling him his first name. It’s probably because he’s the youngest between all the grown ups in my family, and the title ‘Uncle’ could probably change his image. Adam is still 27 years old anyway, so I feel more flexible around him, like an older brother of my own. He’s young, he’s a certified scientist, and Aunt Barbra thinks he’s good looking. He doesn’t have a girlfriend either, well at least I thought so.
The next day I came to Adam’s house. Its been a long time since I’ve gone there, I usually go there with Dad to accompany him to work on his research. I knocked the door with my special knock that I made with Adam. Knock to knock knock knock
“Who is it?” a familiar high pitched voice started to show its face behind the opened door
“WHATTHE?!” I startled and fell backwards, directly into the Asian White Lillie’s pot, which now didn’t look like a pot anymore. My clothes were soaking wet with green Lilly water. But I couldn’t take my eyes of a certain figure in front of me.
“ButtheandyouwereandIam, Miss Abigail?” I mumbled like a maniac and froze for a certain period. Did you ever have that feeling where you started out excited and ended up being freakishly surprised, confused, and guilty because your History teacher caught you not being sick when you were suppose to be at swimming practice? Don’t forget the fact that you’re embarrassingly wet, because your clothes are covered with slimy Lilly goo, and you just broke an antique flower pot, all at your uncles’ house. Strangely it happens.
“Ashley? Aren’t you supposed to be at swimming practice?” I could see it in her eyes, she thinks I’m a total freak show.
There was no good explanation I could think about spontaneously, I could tell her I’m on my way to find my missing dad that went on a journey to the Middle East from last Christmas, but shutting my mouth always seemed better at times like this.
“Ashley?” a heavy voice from inside the house was approaching, it was Adam.
“Oh man, what happened to you Ash? Aw you broke my Lilly pot”
I wanted to scream, “WHATS WRONG WITH YOU? I’M SOAKING WET IN FRONT OF MY HISTORY TEACHER AND YOU’RE ASKING ABOUT YOUR FLOWER POT?” But sadly I was still in a freeze, so I just looked at him.
“Oh you met Abby, Abby this is Ash my uhm sister, Ash this is Abby. Have you guys met before?”
“Abby?” I said in the softest voice. Oh I met ‘Abby’ alright.
“Uh Adam, I better be going, I have some assignments to grade…And this is a bit awkward. So I guess I’ll be leaving”
“Oh okay, see you Abby” Adam had that look on his face, I know that look.
“See you Adam…Ashley” She smiled at me and went away, I looked at her and still didn’t say.
“Abby?” I asked
“Yeah, isn’t she wonderful?”
“I know that look”
“What look?”
“Oh whatever, I’m soaking wet in goo here, can I take a shower?”
I took a shower and wore one of Dad’s old sweat shirts that Adam kept. Adam was in the kitchen, so I sneaked around the house to look for some clues, clues that might lead to Dad. But while I was looking through one of Adams’ research books, Adam crept up behind me.
“Chicken or beef Ash?” he said out of no where
“WHOA! Stop scaring me like that. Chicken or beef?” I had no idea what he was asking.
“For the pizzas, do you want chicken or beef for the topping? Wait what are you doing with my books?”
“Uh well, nothing.”
“Ash, is there something you want to tell me?”
“I think you should order the pizzas first before we move on. I vote beef.”
Adam and I started talking about how Dad has gone for along time now with no news. We talked about how things have been at my house, with Mom gone and Aunt Barbra filling in. We talked about the old days where I use to sleep at Adam’s house while waiting for Dad working on his research. Its right when people say that it’s better to talk about your feelings rather then to keep it all in, especially when those feeling are full of uncertainty and curiosity. When you do spill all these feelings, you should always remember to do it with the right people, and in my case, Adam was the best person to tell about this.
“John did leave some coordinates to me before he took off” Adam said
“Really? Where did he say he was going?”
“He’s around the Middle Sea, he said he would go somewhere around Crete Island or Nicosia when he’s done at Syria”
“He is? Is there anyway we could find him?”
“Well, how many days could you get out of school?”
“You mean…”
“Yes, I want you to come with me. John always told me how much he’d love to bring you on a trip. He already trained you the basics right?”
“Yes! He did! Oh God this is going to be wonderful! I’ll meet Dad!”
“Ash, you can only come if Barbra allows you though, she is your guardian”
“Could you talk to her?” I smiled with victory.
Two weeks of absence might affect my grades in class, and missing many swimming practices won’t do any good for the upcoming swimming competition, but I’d give that all up for my chance to find Dad, and I finally got it. Aunt Barbra agreed with Adams’ sweet charm to give me a permit to leave school. Adam also said he told ‘Abby’ about the whole mission thing and she agreed, she even helped give some maps and articles about the local culture around the Middle East. It’s funny what a big brain and a pretty face could do.
Adam and I left home on a jet plane owned by one of Dads’ friends. We decided to go to Nicosia first to find clues of him. During the 8 hour flight, I realized that the coordinates that Dad left would leave us exactly in the middle of the sea. It would be ridiculous to be studying for so long in the middle of the sea, not to mention the fact that he’s alone. But somehow I felt it would be right if we checked the exact coordinates he left before searching around Crete Island and Nicosia. After insisting Adam to go to the Middle Sea first, we finally got there in good time.
“Ash, look around you. I told you there’s nothing here. It’s all blue…and wet…” Adam seemed tired, 8 hours wasn’t that fast without Dad to take shifts driving the jet.
I stared down desperately, I knew something should be here. Or was it all just my wild dreams? My imagination? A simple delusion of a daughter that has been longing for her father? I took Dad’s big black book and Adam’s note of the coordinates.
“It just has to be here! I know it!” I cried to myself, I didn’t even want to see Adam’s reaction.
I stared at the writings carefully, what did I miss? All I could see was Dads’ notes earlier. Suddenly, at the edge of my eye, I realized a small writing in a thin layer of black ink below Dads’ signature. Spledide mendax.
Spledide Mendax? Dad once told me what that Latin proverb meant. But it was years ago, on one night before bedtime he told me what it meant, I couldn’t remember. I stared at the blue sea below our jet, not caring of Adams’ voice insisting to leave this location. I took a deep breath while enjoying the sight of the blue sparkly sea below us. Drops of yellow sunray blinded my eyes for a second from the scenery of blue waters.
Blinding.
Hallucinations are blinding.
That’s what it meant.
Without any further thinking, I opened the jet plane emergency door. Adam ran to me, ordering me to close the door because it was dangerous.
“SPLEDIDE MENDAX!” I screamed out the words with all my breath.
Suddenly the water below the jet started to stir up, rumbling, and twisting all about. A cyclone started to form beneath the jet plane. All of this may seem like a catastrophe for usual people. But somehow all that was happening felt right in my head, frightening but right. The cyclone looked exactly like the vortex in my dreams, scary, dark, and has the ability to suck everything insight. With seconds to spare from being sucked into the cyclone with the jet plane, I couldn’t help to do what I’ve been doing in my sleep. I jumped into the cyclone. With Adam dragged on my hand with me.
A bright blue shine of light passed my half closed eyelids, giving a shock to my tired physic, my body was wounded. I must have hit something hard. It was the ground. But the ground here wasn’t made of dirt, it was made of a hard mineral, some kind of iron with diamonds in between. I woke up to a shock when I saw the most beautiful scenery in front of my eyes. It was a city like no other, buildings like Greece, golden God statues and strange shaped pyramids, with blue and green Sakura trees all over the city. The reflected golden rays from the statues lighted up my face. Adam stood beside me, gazing speechless to the most beautiful architecture he had ever seen.
“Adam, where are we?”
“I don’t know Ash… The air is extremely moist, the cultural markings are like nothing in this world, and my compass is going crazy. Where do you think?”
“Could it be… The cyclone brought us inside the waters?”
“You mean, underwater? An underwater city?”
We stood in amazement for quite a while, enjoying our the heart filled emotion of victorious satisfaction.
“Ashley?”
A familiar voice crept up behind us, I jumped into a defensive mode for a while, but after realizing the figure behind us, I ran into his arms and hugged him tight.
The End
