The Vanishing Stone (3 page)

3

N
ikoleta arrived back home and discovered that lunch had in fact been made. Misty made grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. That was actually one of Nikoleta's favorite meals. Misty just finished serving everyone (everyone being Helga, Mary, Kun and Luci.) when Helga looked up at Nikoleta, “Where have you been young lady?” Nikoleta suddenly forgot that she wasn't supposed to go anywhere but her room. Not to the beautiful beach to get away from Mrs. Crazy Metzger. “Sorry....I just went to the beach for a little bit," she answered. “Well you aren’t supposed to go anywhere. I understand you were probably just trying to get away from that senile woman but you are not to go anywhere for a few days! Anyway, have some lunch.”

  
              After that, lunch was relatively quiet other than Kun's toddler babble. Afterward, Helga asked Nikoleta to help clean up. Nikoleta gathered the dishes and threw away napkins and crumbs. While helping Helga wash the dishes, Helga said to Nikoleta, “Nikki, you don’t have to see Mrs. Metzger anymore if you don’t want to.”

 
              “Umm...Okay. I didn’t like her anyway," Nikoleta smiled. Screaming with joy on the inside, she continued to wash dishes and she wiped off the table, after.

 
              “Alright, Nikki, time for some chores. Go upstairs and collect everyone's sheets. Also, bring down everyone's dirty clothes and towels. We're going to start some laundry. Then I'll have more things for you to do."

  
              Nikoleta went upstairs and collected sheets and dirty clothes. It took four trips but she got it all down stairs. There were a lot of sheets and clothes between twelve girls. In the basement, Helga was starting the three washers and poured detergent into them. “Thanks for bringing these down Nikki, now go clean the living room, you know, pick up toys, vacuum, dust, use the wood polish, all that stuff. And after that go do the same thing with the girls bedrooms upstairs including your own," Helga commanded, waving her hand.

 
              After a couple hours of doing the assigned tasks, Nikoleta was a little worn down. She lugged the vacuum and other various cleaning supplies up and down the stairs and then up to her attic room. It wasn't easy. By the time Nikoleta was done, it was 3 pm and the other girls were getting out of school now. “Nikki!” Helga yelled upstairs to Nikoleta. “Yes?” Nikoleta yelled back down. “I know I said don’t go anywhere but can you walk to the elementary school and get the girls?” Helga asked. “Yes ma'am.” Nikoleta answered.

 
              Nikoleta was a little tired from chores but she was glad to be able to get some fresh air. She loved being outside. She put on a light sweater and a black crocheted hat that Misty made her for Christmas last year and she headed for the door. Walking about six blocks away she arrived at the elementary school meeting Jena, Carlita, and Marlee as well as a few other girls.

              “Nikki, Nikki!” Jena called out. She ran up to Nikoleta with a coloring page in her hands. “Guess what Nikki? I colored a picture of a frog and I made it pink and Miss Bean didn’t get mad at me!” Jena explained with a toothless smile. “Well that's great Jena. I told you I would straighten her out," Nikoleta gave her another wink.

All the younger girls and Nikoleta were walking the short walk back to the orphanage and Nikoleta looked at them thinking that as much as all the girls annoyed her, they were also a sort of comfort. They were the only family she had. They made her laugh and sometimes she took it upon herself to look out for them. The younger girls sometimes had a high “turn-over rate” because people would actually adopt them so it was quite often that she didn't get a chance to get close to them. No one wanted the seventeen-year-old who looked like she had a chip on her shoulder. The other girls looked happy and carefree and hopeful. She gave up hope that someone would adopt her years before. It was hard to keep hope when no one gave her a second glance.

  
              Nikoleta then began to wonder what she would do in the next couple months when her eighteenth birthday came along. What would she do? Would she stay there? After she graduated, would she go to college? Ugh. There were too many questions to think about. Not now. She had a little time. The point was that she should be content where she was. It wasn’t like the outside world was much better, anyway. But deep down she longed for a real family. She could only hope.

             
They all arrived home and Mary had snacks ready. There were strawberries, carrots, crackers and lemonade. “Brain food” she called it. The girls lined up at the kitchen sink and washed their hands one by one. Backpacks and jackets were hung up on the hooks in the hall way and they all sat at the tables awaiting plates. Nikoleta helped set the table and some of the girls got their books out to start homework while they ate. It was the typical routine. Nikoleta stood by the door way to the living room watching them all waiting to see if anyone needed help. Being the eldest, Nikoleta knew how to do all the subjects that the younger girls were doing. Just then, there was a knock at the door. 

 
              “I'll get it!” Nikoleta announced. She walked over to the door and looked into the peek hole and there stood a short blonde girl with big glasses. Nikoleta opened the door, “Hi, um, Nikoleta?” The girl asked nervously. “Yes?” She answered. Suddenly she knew who this girl was. It was the girl Mandy was messing with in the cafeteria the day before. The whole reason was she was stuck at home for two more days but she couldn’t blame this girl.

 
              “Hi...Um, my name is Katie. I'm sure you remember me from yesterday, right?” she asked unsure. “Yes, yes of course. What's up? Do you want to come in?” Nikoleta asked. “Oh, no, no it's okay. I have to get going, but I have your homework assignments here," Katie said. “They told me you lived here, so here I am. I, um, also wanted to thank you for what you did. You didn't have to do that. You're brave and no one's ever stood up for me before," Katie smiled and looked away. “Oh it's nothing, really. I just can’t stand Mandy and people who bully other people. Thanks for bringing my stuff," Nikoleta smiled back. “Maybe we could hang out sometime,” Nikoleta offered. “Yeah, yeah that would be cool. Okay, well, I have to get going. I'll see you when you come back to school," Katie walked away waving goodbye. “OK.” Nikoleta waved back.

  
              She turned around and shut the door. Maybe she just made a friend.

***

                 Dinner that night was as hectic as usual. Some of the girls complained about having to eat something green, Kun was throwing food onto the floor, and Helga was giving someone a lecture. These people definitely made life interesting.

 
              After everyone had eaten and dishes were washed, yet again, Nikoleta went to her room and was pondering the idea of going to the beach. She deserved it after such a rough day.
Why not
? She thought. She went up to her room in the attic and sat on her bed. The digital clock on her nightstand read 7:45pm. It was too early to go to the beach now, maybe in a few hours. Now she would read or study, maybe even draw.

 
              Instead of doing any of that, she ended up day dreaming about going back to school and being one of the popular kids. Yeah right. That would never happen. She wasn’t blonde, mean, rich or promiscuous. Suddenly, she remembered the necklace she found. She opened her drawer and took it out. Now that she was inside with a light on she could get a good look at it. It was very pretty. She had never seen anything like it. It was a gold chain that had a grayish-purple stone pendant that looked like gold was melted over the top and a hook attached. She decided to try it on and when she fastened the clasp together she felt as if she was leaving her body. The room started spinning and she closed her eyes. After a few moments it stopped. When she opened her eyes she discovered that she was in a strange room.

4

W
here on Earth was she now? It was a small room that looked as if it were made of cement. This room she was in had a very small bed (small enough to fit a medium sized dog) and a tall, white candle stick in a holder on the wall. There was a rug on the floor and a table up against the wall in front of her. On the table, there were two pictures in home-made looking frames. Tip toeing to get a closer look, she saw that one of them was a man with dark hair and a woman with shoulder length curly hair and a....dragon? Was that a real dragon? It didn't look like a toy or stuffed animal...it looked like a girl dragon with a blue body and purple wings and horns. With them was also a baby--a very new baby. The other picture was a dark-skinned man with green eyes and dark green dread locks and the girl had lavender colored eyes and short, blonde, choppy hair. Who were these people and why did they look so weird? Green hair? Lavender eyes? Good grief, where did this necklace bring her?

 
              The door to the room was actually a sheet being used as a curtain. She was thinking she should go out of the room but how would she explain herself to anyone outside of it? She couldn't possibly explain to people that a necklace brought her here. No one would believe that in a million years.

 
              Just then, she heard voices, laughter to be exact. Then she heard a noise coming towards the room. The curtain was pulled back and in flew the dragon she saw in the picture. The dragon did not notice her when she first came in, then it looked up. “
Aaaaaah
!” It screamed. “Who are you and why are you in my room?” The dragon backed away bumping into the wall knocking something over. This
was
a girl dragon. Before Nikoleta could answer, she heard others coming towards the room. They came in through the curtain too. It was the guy and girl in the other picture. “What's going on in here? Who are you?” The girl asked pointing a knife at her. Nikoleta still didn't know what to say. The man seemed to be looking at the necklace she was wearing. “Day, look at her necklace.” he said, slowly pushing down the girl’s. The girl and the dragon gasped. “Where did you get that?” asked the girl. Finally, Nikoleta spoke, “I found it...” she said. “Oh my goodness! Guys, do you know this is?” said the dragon. Then it went flying around closer to Nikoleta. “No...It couldn't be, but she does resemble Amelia,” the girl said. Who in the world was Amelia? Nikoleta found it hard to believe that she looked like anyone. “Are you Nikoleta Soter?” asked the man.
Whoa
. These people knew her name? What on earth was going on here? “Y…Yes…?” she answered. “I am so glad you found the necklace!” The dragon exclaimed. “I'm Kibbie,” the dragon continued. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. We have been waiting for you.”

  
              “What? Why are you waiting for me? And who's Amelia and where am I?” Nikoleta asked nervously. “You are in Amarian. I'm Kibbie, like I said, and this is Bosh.” The man held out his hand and Nikoleta shook it. He was tall, dark-skinned, and shirtless and had the same features she saw in the picture and dark green pants to match it all. Was he human? “Nice to meet you, Bosh,” Nikoleta said with a small smile. “And this is Day.” Day held out her hand and Nikoleta also shook hers. Nikoleta decided Day didn't look so much like a girl but a young adult woman, probably about twenty-four or so.“So what's going on here? How do you all know my name? And I have never heard of Amarian. What country is that in?” Nikoleta's mind was going crazy. A necklace brought her here, these people did not look human and a dragon was talking to her! The three others laughed. Then Bosh said, “Amarian is a country. It is Earth but a different dimension of Earth. We live underground in this town called Grundon that the Princess doesn’t know about,” Bosh explained. “What princess?” Nikoleta asked. “The evil Princess Karina who runs this place,” Kibbie said. “She is a terrible person, just like her father.” Nikoleta just looked at them wondering what exactly they were talking about. There were no princesses where Nikoleta came from.

 
              “Are you hungry?” Day asked Nikoleta. “Not really, but thank you,” Nikoleta answered. “Why don’t you come out here and see the rest of our home?” Kibbie asked. “Okay.” They lead Nikoleta out of Kibbie's room and out into a small hallway with two other curtained doors. “This one is Bosh's room and this one is Day's room.” Kibbie pointed to each of the curtains. “Out here is our den area. Here we read and talk and play games sometimes.” The den area had a large, gray rug in the middle of the floor and a book shelf with very old looking books on it. On the opposite wall, there was a gray couch with small, red, round pillows sitting on it. “Sit down Nikoleta. Make yourself at home,” Day said to her. Nikoleta sat down on the couch and it was actually pretty comfortable. Looking across the home she saw the kitchen area which really wasn’t much. A cauldron hanging over a fire that smelled like some sort of delicious soup was cooking. There was a tall table with a round, metal basin sitting on it which Nikoleta assumed was the sink. There was another sheet hanging in the the kitchen and behind it was the bathroom. Not modern at all; it had a large metal tub for bathing, a round seat with a deep hole in the ground for the toilet and tissues sitting on a small table...toilet paper? There was also a dining area next to the den area. It was a fairly large size for something underground. It was not like any home she had ever seen but it felt comfortable and familiar, like she had been there before.

              “Here, we gathered some fruit earlier today. Try them.” Day offered her the small bowl of the fruit. They looked like berries. She had never seen berries like these, they were small, round and pink. She tried one cautiously and it was actually very sweet like the small cherries they put on ice cream sundaes. She ate the whole bowl. “Thank you,” Nikoleta said. “Will you be staying here tonight, Nikoleta?” Bosh asked. “Yes, Nikoleta you should stay here with us. You'll like it here,” Kibbie suggested. Nikoleta didn’t mind it here in Amarian so far but thought she should be getting back. Helga would literally have a heart attack if she weren’t in her bed the next morning. “Yes, we could make you a bed there on the couch,” Day said. “I really should be getting back, you guys. I appreciate your hospitality, but the fact is I just don’t know you. I came here by...necklace...and I meet three strangers who know my name,” Nikoleta explained. “Back where?” Kibbie interrupted. “Back home.” “Oh, back to where you live with all the...people and big cities?” Kibbie asked with a sad look on her face. “Yes.” Day started to speak in a nervous voice, “You can’t go back there unless the necklace takes you back.”

 
              “What? What do you mean? I have to get back! I have people who will be expecting me to be home in the morning. I can’t stay here. I really don’t even know where here is. I have never heard of Amarian or any other dimensions of Earth.” Nikoleta started to panic inside. She was in an unfamiliar world, with these freaky looking people and a talking dragon and she couldn't escape unless the necklace decided to take her back? “Well, when will the necklace take me back?” Nikoleta looked at the trio. “We don’t know. There's no way of telling, as far as we know," Bosh explained.

  
              “Nikoleta you are here for a reason," Kibbie said. “The necklace knows what its doing.” Nikoleta sat down on the couch and began to ask more and more questions. “Why am I here? Why would the necklace bring me here? How did it get by the tree?”

 
              “The necklace went there on its own,” Bosh explained. He looked at Day with worry in his eyes. “I'm sure it brought you here for a good reason. It knew you would find it.”

 
              “Is there something you guys aren’t telling me?” Nikoleta stood up. “You guys are hiding something. I always know when someone is hiding something. I know that look. What is it?”

 
              No one answered her right away. They were in fact hiding something but weren’t sure how to tell her. They didn't want to bombard her with information too quickly.

 
              Nikoleta stood there looking at them waiting for an answer. She knew they were going to tell her something, but what? None of this made sense. She never saw these “people” before yet they knew her name as if she were an expected guest. Were these people friends or foes?

  
              Nikoleta didn't like being in the dark about things even though most of the time she minded her own business. There were already too many questions in her life to have something else not be answered by these particular strangers who obviously knew what was going on. The expressions on their faces said it all.

 
              After a couple of minutes, still no one said anything. Nikoleta was getting angry. “You know what? I'm out of here!” Nikoleta began to walk to the front door...which was another curtain. “Nikoleta, wait!” Kibbie said in desperation. Nikoleta turned around waiting for Kibbie to say something else, and then she did say something, “Nikoleta, we know your parents!”