A Past That Changed The Future - Bonny

"It's been a month. A month . . . since she-" Ju choked on her words, unable to finish.

"I know." Bonny said. 

"Bon-Bon, do you think we'll be ok ?" Ju asked, but she didn't want an answer. She looked up at her older sister.

"Of course we will! Don't think like that, June-bug." But Bonny looked like even she didn’t believe her words.

"Let's not keep the boys waiting, hmm ?" Bonny was quick to change the subject - not that Ju minded.

She nodded.

"What about Li Lu ?" Li Lu was the youngest member of the Junior family.

"She needs her sleep. She's only two. Come on, don't you want to play with Dune and Hune ?" Dune's their pet duck and Hune is Ju's twin.

Ju shook her head.

“Come on, Ju-Ju. I can’t do this right now.” Bonny stopped walking. She knelt down.

“I need you to be brave, ok ?” The sisters hugged.

They walked hand in hand to the dining table, a small circle with the world map painted on it.

The ship creaked as they walked, bobbing softly amongst the waves.

They passed Li Lu’s door, stopping only to watch her snore softly as she dozed in the sunlight coming from her open window.

“We should bring her with us. Just in case . . .” Ju trailed. Just in case she disappeared too.

Sensing Ju’s uncomfort, Bonny nodded.

She walked over stealthily to Li’s cot, unlatching the wheels, she rolled it along the wooden floors and towards the table.

Dune and Hune were sitting on the carpeted floor by the table and Ty had his head resting in his hands.

Upon the sisters appearance, he looked up. Bonny and Tyler exchanged glances. What were they going to do ?

They couldn’t just pretend everything was ok.

A month ago, their mother disappeared. Their dad was taken away.

Their life had changed – and not for the better.

Now, they were wanted for little thefts and lived in a pirate ship owned by their late uncle.

What were they going to do ?

They were going to investigate.

Find out why this happened to them – they owed it to their mom.

But first, they would go to the Southern Territory.

To follow the trail of clues their mother had left for them.

None of them had ever lived in a warm tropical place since they always stuck together.

Bonny boiled a pot of chicken noodle soup. She bit her lip and cleared her throat.

Hune, Dune, Ju and Ty looked up.

“I think . . . We should go to the Southern Territory.” There. She had done it. She had raised The Subject. The one they never talked about.

“We can’t go around, aimlessly floating. It’s getting us nowhere.” She expected them to yell at her, but everyone just sat quietly and nodded.

She cleared her throat again. “Did you all loose your voices or something ? Why aren’t you talking ?” She was the only person speaking.

“Am I talking to ghosts ? Hellooooooo ? Hune ?? Ju ? Ty ? Even you, Dune! Just give me a quack!” She sighed.

Walking over to the cooked pot of soup, she poured it out for each of them, only giving Dune the soup water (it would be weird if a duck ate chicken).

“None of you are getting any food until you tell me what’s going on!” she demanded.

“Bon-Bon . . . I-I’m scared. ” Oh.

“Don’t worry, June. We’re going to find out why they took away our parents and then get them back!” But Ju stared back with sad eyes.

“I meant . . . you. You’re not the same. None of this is the same.” Ju began to sob. “You never yell! And, everyone else is changing too. I-I stole from a kid earlier. A girl. And s-she said was very mean to me and she that I look ugly and that she hated me.” She pulled her knees to her chest and began to rock slowly. Beside her, Hune looked up.

“Oh. Well, I’m sure she didn’t mean it. We’re going through a difficult time. She isn’t. I promise this will all go away. Okay ? It will go away when we find mom and bring dad back. Yeah ? And then we’ll go back to normal and pay all these people, we’ll give them back their money and the stuff that we stole from them. Okay ?” June looked up with teary eyes. “R-really ? We *Sniffle* -we will ?” Bonny nodded.

“Now let’s eat before this food get’s cold.” Bonny passed out the bowls and they ate in silence, listening to the waves crashing against their boat.

Bonny opened one sleepy eye. It was still dark outside. She glanced outside. It was roughly around 3AM.

She was about to fall asleep again when the boat lurched. She threw back her covers and rushed outside. She couldn’t see much, but she could tell it was a lightning storm. The rain was slow but sharp and very difficult to see.

What she had thought was morning fog, was actually the raindrops crashing against the deck of the ship, spraying everything.

She could see the grey clouds.

She quickly checked the controls. They were old fashioned, she knew, but the ship contained an engine, and if the rain messed it up, they could crash.

She didn’t see anything remotely similar to a zap anywhere near the wheel, so she headed below deck to check on everyone.

Hune and Dune were still asleep, but Li’s wailing had woken Ju. Oh no.

Bonny ran through the ship’s hallways, all but crashing into the walls. She threw open Li’s room and rushed inside, pulling her out of her coat. She could see Ju in the corner of the room, terrified.

“Ju . . .” Could she really blame Ju for wanting to take care of her sister. “Ju, can you hold Li Lu for me ? I need to go back above deck. I need you to take care of her. Go to Hune’s room and close the door. Get some blankets and try to stay in a corner or under a table.” She ordered.

Ju took Li Lu and ran out of the room. “Be careful!” Bonny called after her.

Now, for the hard part. Bonny gulped.

She ran to Ty’s room to wake him up, then dragged him back to the control’s centre. “Okay. I need you inside and try to keep everything under control. These are for the engine. I’m going to go outside and try to steer the boat out of the rain. I’m thinking of stopping to reload. But first, we need to get out of this storm.” Ty nodded. He knew that when I was serious, he needed to listen.

Bonny ran out onto the slippery deck and fell. She managed to get back on her feet, only to fall again. “Great. Just great.” She muttered under her breath.

She gave up trying to get up and began to crawl over to the steering wheel.

She gripped it like her life depended on it, which was true.

Up ahead, she could see a swirling mess of blue ocean. A whirlpool! She marveled. I’ve always wanted to see one. Just not . . . up close.

I have to be alive to reach the Southern Territory! She thought. But she only felt more fear, not confidence.

She gulped and imagined herself in a calm state. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!” cried her brother, Ty. Bonny took a deep breath and ignored everything but herself.

She stood stiff, and almost fell over, but she did not open her eyes. Instead, she got back up and swayed softly, following the movements of the water. Then, she braced herself and changed her movement. Slowly at first, but quickly, she was not dancing with the wind, but against it.

Instead of going all wild and swirly, she was slow and calm. Her hands found the wheel and she gripped it, trusting that her ship was bobbing amongst the water, not in a whirlpool. She could see the whirlpool far away, in her mind’s image.

Calmly, she opened her eyes. Her mouth fell open. They were no longer in the whirlpool!

“What . . . what happened ? Where did the whirlpool go ?” Bonny asked Ty.

“I don’t know, but whatever you did must’ve worked! You went all blue and glow-y and  stuff and then you blasted us out of there! It was like, one second we were stuck, and then the next second, we teleported!” Blue ? Glow-y ? Teleport ? Bonny mulled this over in her head.

“Hey . . . um, Ty. Do we still have all of Mom’s books ?” Ty nodded.

Bonny didn’t need anything more, she darted away.

She didn’t stop running until she reached the last room, one filled with all sorts of sentimental treasures.  She headed to the back and found what she was looking for.

Bonny opened the large chest, coughing up dust.

Waving her hands around, she pulled out stacks of books, only stopping to read the titles. Moby Dick, One Little Lie, Portraits or Pies, Jewel’s Journal. She had found it! Her mom’s journal.

It had all sorts of adventure stories and painting, but she was looking for the very last entries. This one sounded more factual to her than the others – but fantasy all the same. Until now, that is.

Water Powers – One of the Four Elements

 Water Powers are RARE and only found in people of the WATER TRIBE – which has been lost for generations. To control water, is to control EVERYTHING around oneself, for water is in everything there is. From what I have researched, this water can heal, transport (otherwise known as teleportation), create and destroy. Such powers could stop the war! I must find those who are gifted (or cursed ?) these powers and plead for their help. I must go to each of the Compass Territories and recruit as many of these people as can.

Bonny had read this before, but believed it was simply a story – her mother couldn’t possibly believe she could stop this war! Bonny’s mouth felt dry, and she had a sudden urge to hide and never come out again. She wrapped her arms around her knees and sobbed softly to herself.

“Bonny ? Bonny!” Ty was looking for her, but she didn’t feel like talking to him. “Weird. I thought she’d be here. Hmmm…” Ty was standing by the doorway and looking straight at her. No . . . through her.

TO BE CONTINUED (MAYBE)