The Land Across the Lake: Part III

 Scotty woke with a chill. Wen gently tapped his shoulder. “It’s time to go.”

He sat up and stretched out, but he quickly wrapped his arms around his torso. “It’s freezing!” 

“It’s the mountain air,” Wen explained. “It means we’re almost there. Just think, one more day and you’ll be back in your own bed.”

Scotty smiled. He missed his fluffy Star Wars blanket with the Millennium Falcon on it and his room. He missed the plastic glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling and the posters of knights and dragons on the walls. He hated sleeping on the ground. The leaves stuck to him, and the rocks and twigs poked into his back. 

He looked down. “Can we really go home?” 

Wen sat beside him. “I think that if we talk to the Mountain God and explain everything, there’s a good chance he’ll help us. I don’t think he wants us here; that’s why he gave us the stone in the first place.”

Scotty nodded. “Ok, I’m ready to go.”

Wen smiled and helped him up. She and Max had already packed up their things and put out the embers in the dying campfire. 

Max was tending to the stag when they approached. “What’s the holdup?” he asked.

“We’re ready,” Wen said. 

“Ok, let’s go then. We’re wasting time,” Max said. “We still have to figure out how to get to the Sky Palace.”

They began to mount the stag. Scotty waited for his turn, looking out into the desert behind them. He wondered if the golems were still after them. He stared wearily at one of the boulders in the distance as if it would come to life. Then, he saw it: the shadow creature. It stuck to the rock and peered its single eye around the corner. It noticed Scotty and quickly disappeared behind the rock.

“Scotty, let’s go. Give me your hand,” Max ordered, but Scotty paused.

“Wait,” he said. 

“What now?” Max asked, rolling his eyes.

“Something’s been following us. I saw it before, but I thought I might be imagining it–but I saw it again right now,” Scotty explained. 

“Where?” Wen asked eagerly. “What did it look like?”

Scotty just pointed at the boulder, silently. 

Wen slipped off the stag and ran to the boulder. 

“Hey, wait!” Max protested. “Where is she going?” 

Max ran after her, and Scotty followed them. Max stopped short behind the rock, and Scotty almost knocked into him. He peered around his brother. Wen was holding the one-eyed shadow creature in her arms, whispering, “I’m so sorry.”

The creature’s eye was wide, and its arms hung limp at its sides. It was small–even shorter than Scotty. Its entire body was black; its hands and feet were like claws, and it had no facial features other than the large red eye in the center of its head. 

“Is this…?” Max started. 

Wen looked back at the boys but never let go of the creature. She had tears in her eyes, “This is Jimmy, my brother. He must have been following us all this time. Thank you, Scotty!” 

She smiled up at him. Then, she stood up beside Jimmy. She held his hand as she spoke, “Now that we have found him, we can take Jimmy with us, the Mountain God can change him back to normal, and we can all leave together.”

She knelt beside her brother. “Did you hear that, Jimmy? We’re going home!”

The little monster tilted his head to one side. 

“I don’t think he understands you,” Max observed. 

“That’s ok,” Wen said. “We’ll have you back in no time.”

She walked Jimmy to the stag, but the little monster hid behind her. He held onto her arm, but she insisted, “It’s ok. I’ll protect you. I’ll never let anything bad happen to you ever again.” 

He looked up at her, and Wen squeezed his arm gently. She mounted the stag and pulled him up to sit in front of her. With the boys safely behind them, she spurred on the stag, and they continued their journey to the mountains. 

They galloped across a grassy plain–their goal never out of sight. It seemed to stay at a distance no matter how far they went, but they never stopped. 

Scotty didn’t know if they would make it up the mountains. Even if they found a way, he worried that the Mountain God wouldn’t help them. He didn’t know if he would ever see his mom and dad again, but it didn’t matter to him. He had everything he needed in front of him. He held onto Max and buried his face in his brother’s back. Max reached back and messed up Scotty’s hair with his knuckles, and Scotty laughed. 

“Sorry, we couldn’t go fishing,” Max said. 

“That’s ok. I just wanted to be with you,” Scotty said. 

“…yeah…Sorry, I acted like I didn’t wanna go. Truth is, I missed you too,” Max admitted. “We hung out all the time when we were younger, whether we were fighting with cardboard swords or playing board games. We had our own little adventures. I don’t know what happened. I guess I just got lost for a while.”

“That’s ok,” Scotty repeated and hugged his brother. “Just promise you won’t leave again when we get home.”

“No way,” Max said. “I’m not going anywhere.” 

Scotty smiled. He hadn’t felt that happy in a long time.

They rode the rest of the way in silence, but both sets of siblings stayed close together. 

When they got to the base of the mountains, they dismounted and looked up. The mountains were incredibly tall and seemed even more impossible up close. They rose straight up to the sky like pillars holding up the clouds. The surface of the closest mountain was covered with trees, but it was so steep that they slanted off the rockside, struggling to hold on. That was only the first fifty feet; after that, there was nothing but clouds, and the peak was nowhere to be seen. 

“How are we gonna get up there?” Wen asked, Jimmy still clinging to her side.

“I don’t know,” Max admitted.

His shoulders were slumped as he looked up at the impossible obstacle, but he quickly picked himself up. “But we’ll figure it out.”

He walked to the base of the mountain and felt the side, but there weren’t any footholds or handholds. The side was smooth, as if it were made from polished stone. 

Max backed up to get a running start. He sprinted towards the mountain with all his might and ran about three feet up the wall before falling on his butt. He tried again and failed miserably. 

“Max, I don’t think-” Wen started. 

“No, it has to work!” Max argued. 

“You’ll only hurt yourself!” Wen exclaimed. 

He ignored her and kept trying–each time falling to the ground with a thud. Finally, Max paused. He sat on the ground, looking down in defeat. Tears welled up in his eyes. “I can’t do it. It’s useless.”

Wen ran to him and put her arms around him. “It’s ok. We did everything we could. It’s just impossible-” 

As Wen spoke, the mountain began to shake, and rocks fell onto the ground beside them from high above. 

Max and Wen crawled back toward Scotty and Jimmy, and they all stared up at the mountainside. A humanoid shape began to emerge from the rock. It had green skin and moss all over its body, and there were trees on its back.

“The giant!” Scotty exclaimed.

He ran to the giant, who bent down to greet him as soon as he was free of his mold. He smiled at Scotty as his giant, mossy beard blanketed the ground in front of him.

“What are you doing here?” Scotty asked, but the giant just stared at him.

“This must be how the talking trees knew about the journey to the mountains. It must be another one of the giant’s sleeping places,” Wen reasoned. “He must know where the Sky Palace is!”

Scotty looked back at the giant. “Think you can help us? We need to get up there.”

He pointed up the mountain, and the giant followed his finger. He stared at the top of the mountain and looked back down at Scotty and the others. Suddenly, the giant bent down and flattened his hand on the ground. 

Scotty looked back at the others. “Come on, guys!” 

They walked forward, hesitantly, but boarded the hand all together. With one motion, the giant raised his hand into the sky, and they held onto his fingers for support. 

Scotty watched the trees and greenery wiz by, and before he knew it, they were traveling through the clouds. The air grew cold, and Scotty shivered. He had to close his eyes as they broke through the clouds. The sun was blinding at first, but once his eyes adjusted, he looked around. 

Everything around them was blue–bluer than the lake and bluer than the clearest day on the ground. The ground beneath them was made entirely from clouds, but there wasn’t a cloud in the blue expanse above. The only spot was a small cluster in the distance that looked sort of like a house, but it was so far away. 

Max tested the ground with his foot, but it fell right through. He quickly picked up his leg, and the others pulled him back onto the giant’s hand. 

He breathed heavily. “How are we supposed to get across?” 

Scotty pointed in front of them. There was a small sailboat coming towards them. It was made of clouds and floated through the sky with ease. It had one sail but no wheel or tiller, and the sail didn’t seem to move. It rested against the giant’s hand, bobbing up and down as if it were floating on water. 

“The Mountain God must have sent it!” Wen exclaimed. “Come on!”

“Wait!” Max yelled, reaching out for her, but she had already climbed aboard with Jimmy still clinging to her. 

The boat held them and stayed afloat on the cloud sea. Max sighed in relief, and the boys nodded at each other. Max went first, and then Scotty, who proceeded to lean over the side of the ship and patted the giant’s thumb. The hand slowly disappeared through the cloud barrier. 

The ship turned on its own and floated towards the house. There was plenty of wind, but the sail didn’t billow. Little wisps of the cloud ship were carried off with each gust, and by the time they reached the house, the ship was almost gone. They were standing on a raft with small remnants of the former shape hanging around them in mid-air. 

Luckily, they floated up to the front door of the Sky Palace and disembarked onto the front steps just as the cloud ship dissipated. 

Scotty frowned at the structure. The Sky Palace was nothing more than a small, one-story home. It was also made of clouds, but they were too thick to see through. There were no windows or external features other than the door and a roof. The house seemed to move. The walls wavered in the wind, and the base glided across the cloud sea like the cloud ship. 

Max turned to the others. His eyebrows were lowered over his eyes, and he stood tall. “Let’s go.”

He opened the door but didn’t enter. He seemed to be frozen in place. Scotty tried to peek around him, but he couldn’t see beyond the doorframe. 

Suddenly, a voice called out, “Don’t be shy. Come in.”

Max shook out of his trance and walked forward. Wen took her brother’s and Scotty’s hands, and they followed. 

The inside of the house was just one room. It was made of white and gray clouds, but the walls looked solid. There were little stone bowls all around the room that didn’t drop through the house. The bowls were all filled with water, and they were placed all around the room: on the floor, sticking out of the walls, and even on the ceiling. But the water stayed in them like magic. 

In the center of the room, there was a man. He sat on the floor, cross-legged, and his eyes darted all over the room to the water bowls. He was rather small and young. He had no facial hair–not even eyebrows. He had olive-colored skin, and he wore a blue robe around his shoulders.

Max hesitated walking towards him. “Um, we’re sorry to bother you, but we were hoping you could help us-”

Without looking at them, the Mountain God spoke, “I know why you’re here. I’ve been watching you all. There is nothing I don’t see inside my kingdom.”

His eyes continued to dart around the room, and Scotty realized, every time he looked at a bowl, a picture appeared–but it was only for a second. As soon as his eyes moved, it disappeared. It was too quick for Scotty to make out. 

“So, you want to go home?” the Mountain God asked, and they nodded. “Why should I help you any more than I already have? I gave you the wishing stone, and none of you used it to return to your world. You two were too greedy and fought over power. And you two used it to make a big mess in my kingdom. You silenced the talking trees, and now, I can no longer hear what’s happening down below. You broke apart many of my soldiers, the stone golems. It will take them forever to reform.” 

He paused, eyes still moving tirelessly. “However, you two have been punished for your greed,” he said, and Wen hugged her brother against her. “And you have done some good, although I’m not certain that it outweighs your bad deeds.”

Max and Scotty looked down bashfully. “We’re really sorry. We didn’t mean to hurt anyone,” Scotty insisted. 

“Well, even though you deafened me by silencing the talking trees, you gave the giant a well-needed break, and I’m considering finding the trees an alternate means of transportation,” the Mountain God conceded. “And, as for the stone golems, although you broke them apart, those who weren’t broken have not stopped romping to the rhythm of your song. They are doing it as we speak.”

The Mountain God’s eye paused on one of the bowls, and an image appeared. A group of stone golems were jumping up and down and bobbing their heads back and forth. 

Max smiled, and Scotty and Wen laughed. Even little Jimmy’s eye widened at the comical display. 

The image went away as the Mountain God’s eyes moved. This time, he addressed them directly, keeping his eyes on the humans. “I will give you one last chance to make the right decision. If I recall correctly, Jimmy has not had a chance to make his wish. I will change him back to the way he was, and it will be his choice what he will use his wish for. If he is greedy, you will all stay here and become my servants. If he is not, you will return home and forget this place and everything that happened here. I wish you luck.”

With a wave of his hand, Jimmy transformed into a human again. His single, red eye spread out and separated into two brown ones. His black skin slowly faded to a light brown, and the long claws on his hands and feet shrank into fingers and toes. 

“Jimmy!” Wen exclaimed. She knelt beside her brother and embraced him. “I’m so sorry! I will never let you go ever again!” 

Jimmy’s eyebrows were furrowed. “What happened?” he asked. “Who are these people?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Wen said. She handed them the stone. “But you still need to make your wish. You can wish for anything you want, and no matter what it is, I will still love you.”

Jimmy looked down at the stone and then back up at his sister. “Can we go home? I’m scared.” 

Wen smiled with tears in her eyes. “Yes, we can go home.”

She looked up at Max and Scotty. “This means we won’t remember the meeting.”

Scotty could feel tears forming in his eyes, and he ran to Wen. “I’m gonna miss you!”

She patted his back affectionately, “I’ll miss you too, Scotty. Thank you for helping me save my brother.”

He nodded and backed away. 

Wen stood up and walked towards Max. He slouched and looked down. 

Wen lifted his chin with her finger. “Thank you for everything,” she said. She took his face in her hands and kissed him. 

Scotty quickly looked away, but he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. 

“Take care of Scotty,” Wen said. “And Scotty, you take care of Max. He needs you.” 

The boys nodded. 

She turned to the Mountain God. “I’m sorry for all the trouble we caused you. Thank you for giving us another chance.”

The Mountain God bowed his head. “I wish I could say I never doubted you, but…well, you understand. You managed to prove me wrong.”

Wen smiled and nodded. Then she turned back to Jimmy. “Ready to make your wish?”

He nodded. He closed his eyes. His eyebrows furrowed, and his forehead scrunched as he concentrated. 

Scotty took that time to look around the room. The Mountain God had gone back to his surveillance. Wen held her brother’s hand, and Max was right beside Scotty. 

He looked up at his brother and smiled. Then, everything went dark. 

***

Scotty knocked on the door of his father’s office. It was where he got all of his work done while they were staying at the family summer home. 

“Uh… I’m a little busy right now. We’ll go fishing in a bit, Sport,” his father called through the closed door.

Scotty looked down. He knew that what his father really meant was: Not today. And not today could mean: Not for a few days. 

Scotty walked back to his room, head held low. He walked past his brother Max’s room and heard the sound of a guitar roaring through the walls. He continued to his room. 

He sat on the floor and turned on his N64. He felt tears welling up in his eyes, and his controller slipping from his fingers. 

There was a knock at his door, and Scotty wiped the tears from his eyes. “Come in!”

The door slowly opened, and Max stuck his head in. “Hey, you wanna play knights? I bet we can find some long sticks down by the lake.”

Scotty stared at his brother for a moment. Then, he turned off his game system and jumped up. 

“Yeah!” he exclaimed. 

He followed his brother out the door, the biggest smile spreading across his face.

Written in August 2019