Journey to Rainbow Island (22 page)

“I
F TWO PEOPLE BELIEVE
in our crystal heart, it will become two hearts,” Yu-ning announced softly. “If three people believe, there will be three hearts. If four people believe, there will be four hearts. Now, if we have twenty people who believe, there will be
forty
hearts. This is the magic of the crystals. If forty people believe, there will be eighty hearts. And on it will go! All you have to do is believe, just like Caspar and Anne.”

Slowly children began walking over to Anne and Caspar, until all the children formed a circle around more and more crystal hearts overflowing like a fountain. The rhythm of the room flowed in a beautiful, undulating circular pattern, pink light emanating from the center and filling the entire space, until all the children had produced thousands of crystal hearts together. Yu-ning was at the center, handing out a crystal heart to each child until everyone was fastening a luminous crystal heart around his or her neck with a beautiful red silk cord.

“The man will see our beautiful shining crystal hearts, and he will unlock the door,” a little boy said.

“I see him. He's walking over to the window,” another girl cried out. Yu-ning saw the man scanning the room; as he took in what was happening, he became instantly horrified by the sight before him. All the children were hand in hand in a spiral around the factory floor; pink lights flowed from the center of the circle, where a mountain of crystal hearts was rising toward the ceiling. The man's rage grew until he banged on the glass in a state of fury.

Yu-ning saw some of the children grow nervous, trying to conceal their crystal hearts. “Let it shine,” Yu-ning instructed ardently. “You don't need to put it away. You don't need to hide it.”

“Oh no . . . he is coming this way, he looks so angry. I'm scared,” exclaimed a small boy.

The man stormed out of his office and down the passageway toward the stairs. He paused at the top and shielded his eyes from the light pouring out from the hearts of each child. He bounded down the stairs toward the children, who braced themselves, tightening their grip on the hands of the children next to them.

“What is that around your necks? They're too bright. Put those things away!”

Yu-ning walked right up to the man. “No,” she said. “We are not putting them away! This is our power. This is love. More love is more power! There is nothing you can do now; our chain is more powerful than you. There is no more fear and no more darkness.”

“Put them away now!” the man screamed again.

“We are not putting them away!” Caspar said, no longer afraid. The man looked shocked to see Caspar stand up to him. Soon all the other children were shaking their heads disapprovingly at the man.

“Put those things away! They are too bright!” The man was furious, trying to grab onto the children. The children collectively backed up and moved forward in unison, throwing the man off balance so that he fell backward. He landed on his back and quickly sat up, aghast. The entire factory was shining brilliantly.

The children were no longer afraid. The lights were expanding outward, brighter and more luminous. Every darkened corner of the factory was cleansed and purified by the light. Yu-ning and the children were laughing as they witnessed the magic flow all around. Yu-ning clapped and started singing a melody. “We all have a heart in our hands. We all have a heart to share. Shining so bright, I see a heart for all to wear, shining so bright in my heart!” Soon all the children were singing and swaying.

Yu-ning was standing next to the man with light streaming all around her. “There is nothing you can do. Please don't cover your eyes; please see our hearts so you can know yours.”

The man writhed on the floor in agony, yelling, “It's too bright! I can't open my eyes! Put it out!”

“Just look at us. Your heart will grow bigger and brighter if only you open your eyes to see,” Yu-ning persisted. The kids stepped back sadly, watching the man become even more deranged. He was swinging his arms, trying blindly to grab them and hit them. He started to turn away and crawl to the stairs, still shielding his eyes.

Yu-ning walked up to the man and produced a shining pink crystal heart from her pocket. “Please,” Yu-ning called out, extending the crystal toward him. “This one is for you. It is made from a single pure heart of love and faith. Can you please try?”

“Get that thing out of my face!” he shouted viciously.

“Fine. If you want us to leave, we will leave, but you must give us the keys to exit this place. You don't see the magic. You don't want the magic. We have to leave you now,” Yu-ning said with authority.

“Yes, get out of my sight if you don't want to work! Get those things out of my sight!” the man yelled bitterly, covering his eyes with both hands.

“We need the keys,” Yu-ning repeated.

The man crawled up the first thirty steps and paused to reach for the large key ring in his coat pocket. He threw them at Yu-ning and bounded up the final ten stairs, rushing to his chambers. Through the window the children could see him taking a key from around his neck and opening a lock on a small wooden chest. He took out several ingots of gold and hugged them to him, looking back and forth in a state of panic. He rushed to the window and quickly pulled down a shade, closing himself off in darkness. Yu-ning picked up the keys. “He needs the crystal heart the most, but he doesn't want it. Now everything around him will remain dark forever. The light is within him, but he doesn't realize it.”

She looked at her friends and held up the keys. “I told you that with our power we would open the doors.” The children were still in a circular chain with their hands clasped
together. Yu-ning entered the circle and gripped the hands of the child on either side of her, lifting their arms and swinging them with determination. “It's time. Let's go outside.”

Yu-ning saw a little boy, no older than four, standing timidly on the end of the circular chain. He was weeping and frightened, and he was the youngest of all the children. Yu-ning knelt down to hug the boy. “What is it?” Yu-ning asked, filled with compassion.

The boy was so tiny, and he was trembling like a leaf. “I'm scared. He's up there watching us with his stick.”

“Don't worry, he can't hurt you,” Yu-ning said, hugging him again. “And look, his stick is broken!” she said, pointing to the wooden pieces on the floor nearby. “Hold your crystal heart and come with us. It's all right . . . we are all here for you.” Yu-ning ushered him into the center of the circle.

Yu-ning waved to the man above. “Goodbye! I'm taking everyone to my Island. Everyone is welcome, and you can come with us if you want.”

The man opened his door, still shielding his eyes. He screamed spitefully, “Never! Who cares about an island with rainbows and no gold? I can always get more children!”

Yu-ning looked at him intently, eye to eye, and shook her head. “No. There will be no more children in this lonely place. We are leaving the mountain of crystal hearts here. Anyone who comes here will know only light. You can come with us or be trapped in your dark chambers forever. These are your only choices.”

The man's eyes practically bulged out of his head. “No! Take them with you. You said you'd leave with all of those things.”

Yu-ning repeated herself slowly and deliberately. “There will be no more children in this place—ever. There will be no more suffering. We all have to go now.”

“You have no power over us any longer. There is no power without love,” another girl shouted to the man above.

“We will only make toys for ourselves to play with from now on!” a little boy called out.

Yu-ning nodded and smiled with pride. “Yes! Let's go! Let's go to my Island.”

All 500 children had their crystal hearts around their necks, glowing pink in unison. Yu-ning led the circle, holding the little boy's hand, as they all moved forward up the stairs toward the door leading to the courtyard. Before they left, they found the kitchen and took large quantities of food as well as a good supply of water—each child carrying a water skin. The children were amazed at the variety of food the man stored in his larders—most of which he had never shared with them.

They left the kitchen and pantry and headed down a corridor toward the exit. They all stopped in front of the foreboding door. It was enormous and heavy. Yu-ning fumbled with the large key ring and worked hard to unlock the bolts. Once it was unlocked, she tried to push the heavy door open, but it wouldn't move. She realized that only an adult could push open a door of this weight.

Yu-ning continued pushing, and then saw Caspar standing next to her, pushing with all his might. Soon several children were pushing the door on either side of Yu-ning and Caspar, and the others were giving them support from behind. Slowly the door swung open, and the children shouted with joy.

Yu-ning felt someone take her hand. It was Caspar, and he was smiling. He reached into his jacket and pulled out the toy rocking horse he was making. “This is for you. We will play with it together on Rainbow Island.”

Yu-ning hugged him tightly. “Thank you, Caspar! Thank you.”

The children followed Yu-ning and Caspar out the door, across the inner courtyard of the fortress, through the far passage, and out the side door near the main gate. They looked proud, happy, and relieved. All the children were celebrating as they exited the fortress and walked down the path that led toward the beach.

As they passed through the dunes, Yu-ning asked Caspar how he ended up working at the factory. He told her that when he was five, his parents had both died in a flood, and he was left without a home. He was sent away to a boarding school on the island of Malinga. “It was an awful place,” said Caspar. “I was only there for a year, but I had a hard time reading, because sometimes the letters get jumbled on the page. The teachers thought I was lazy.”

“Oh!” said Yu-ning. “One of the children in my school has the same struggle—our teachers have him make up a story out loud, and they write it down for him. Because he knows the story, it makes it easier for him to read the words on the page, and then write it himself! Our teachers have lots of ways to help children learn.”

“They didn't help me like that at the boarding school,” Caspar said. “The headmistress told everyone I was better off living with my aunt. But it was a lie. Instead, the headmistress sold me to that man in there, to come work at the
factory. One night he came to the school, and many of us were taken away in his boat while everyone else was asleep. Anne was taken then too. All the kids that were sold were orphans—I guess because no one would miss us if we disappeared . . .” Caspar grew silent, just looking up at Yu-ning.

Dumbfounded, Yu-ning asked, “Sold? You were sold as a slave?”

“Yes,” said Caspar, with great sadness.

Yu-ning stopped in the midst of the windswept dunes and hugged Caspar. “You will never be a slave again, Caspar,” she whispered.

As the afternoon advanced, Suparna and Magic joined the large group of children at the beach. Together, they constructed a makeshift camp nestled against the shelter of the dunes. They used driftwood collected from the beach and tall grass from the dunes to make lean-tos. The children spread blankets inside for sleeping.

But the greatest excitement surrounded Suparna. The children were fascinated by the enormous, rainbow-colored raptor, and begged him for rides around the cove. Suparna spent hours taking groups of children on rides high above the bay. Toward the end of each ride—to the children's delight—he would fly low toward the water and then splash down in the bay, drenching the screaming children in warm salt water.

Anne stood next to Yu-ning watching the younger children laugh and play in the ocean. “Some of us have been here for years, Yu-ning, and this is the first time we have swum in the ocean. I have never seen some of these children smile before,” Anne marveled.

“Caspar told me how you both came to be here on Darqendia . . . I am so sorry about what has happened to you, Anne,” said Yu-ning, squeezing Anne's hand.

“Caspar is like a little brother to me now,” Anne said. “We have been through a lot together.”

“Are you originally from Malinga Island, near the boarding school?” Yu-ning asked.

“No, I am from Farcara Island, from a village called Caer-a-mor. When I was six, my parents were killed in an avalanche while working in the mountains. My younger sister and I didn't have any known relatives, so the elders of our village thought it wise to send us to boarding school on Malinga. But I doubt they would have sent us away had they known what would happen to me . . .”

“Is your sister here on the beach with us?” asked Yu-ning.

“No, Ariadne is still at the school. She's very smart, which makes the school look good. Smart kids get to stay, I guess . . .” Anne said with a wan smile.

Yu-ning squeezed the girl's hand. “Suparna and the teachers on Rainbow Island will not let this continue, Anne. We will go to Malinga Island and take your sister away from that boarding school. Any adults who would sell children for not getting good enough grades . . .” Yu-ning couldn't say another word, but just choked back her own anger and tears.

“Why are you here on Darqendia, Yu-ning?” asked Anne.

Yu-ning felt a connection with Anne; like Yu-ning, she had lost her parents. And right about now, having a girlfriend her age was a welcome change. Yu-ning explained all the events of the past three weeks. She described Rainbow Island, the attack of the obsidigon, and the stolen crystals. She also
told Anne about Lightcaster and that she and Suparna were looking for clues about the missing arrows.

“That's why we came here to this island,” Yu-ning said. “We were hoping to find someone who might know more about the Darq Render arrows that used to be made here on Darqendia.”