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Callisto's mom's image disappeared as fast as it had appeared. The Terios faded into the trees as the suns crossed paths and started to set. The girls and Callisto stepped out of the Swirling Stream, just in time for the Phoenix. It descended right in front of them after Callisto had summoned it with his Telex II watch. "Today was a lot of fun, Callisto. You have such a nice home and planet. I am glad we visited" Myrna said. "I am just worried that our planet is becoming polluted by Xmoke and won't be as nice as yours." "Well, I wanted to give you two something. I think it may help save your planet. This bag has all the tools neededto build generators that will store the sun's power in Ixahr. Without burning it, Ixahr can be used to produce clean energy as many times as you like! This way no Xmoke is made, and it won't harm the plants or animals!" Callisto explained.  "Thank you!" Both girls excitedly screamed in unison as Xymna took the suitcase. "We will do our best to save Planet Earth from Xmoke!"  And with that, they hugged Callisto and ran offinto the Phoenix. Their silhouettes fading into the ship. They were ready to make their journey back home. 
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Myrna and Xymna enjoyed the great conversation with Callisto. They basked in sunlight and watched as the light blue clouds slowly moved across the sky. The day could not have been more beautiful. Above them flew many different birds. Some birds even perched on the balcony’s edge, singing beautiful melodies. They somewhat resembled the birds on Earth but had four wings instead of two. Two smaller wings folded easily under the large wings. The smaller ones were always a lighter color and glowed. Many of them had streaks of black, white, or yellow down their back.  After drinking the enjoyable Kokol, they put their cups down and headed down the long flight of twirling stars. Xymna knew they were heading for the Swirling Streams. She was excited to go for a swim since it was getting quite warm as the day went on. Myrna asked, "Where are we going Callisto?" Xymna answered promptly, "We are headed to the Swirling Streams for a nice swim and to play with the Terios." "I could definitely use a nice dip in the water," exclaimed Callisto. "The nice thing about Swirling Streams is that as soon as you leave the stream, the water bounces back into the Stream! It’s like a magnetic attraction! You don't even need a towel," explained Xymna. "No need for a towel! That is so amazing!" Myrna added, hopping towards the stream. They passed the friendly forest, and in a few minutes they came upon the Swirling Stream Calipto, which was bursting with life. The Streams were sparkling with pink and gold hues. A great light show could be seen at the bottom. The Oysters lit the Stream in circular patterns as the small fish darted around in groups, dancing along the stream bed. The Terios happily jumped from branch to branch using their wings to fly and play. They were Myrna's favorite because they were always so playful and cheerfu. Myrna was the first to jump in because she absolutely loved to swim. Callisto let out a chuckle, remembering what Xymna had told him of Myrna; how she could swim as well as a frog. Xymna and Callisto followed her into the water. The three played with the Terios and swam until they heard someone calling Callisto's name.  Suddenly, a friendly face showed up in the sky above- it was an image of Callisto's mom. She was summoning him to come home for dinner. It was the coolest thing to see Callisto's mom's image sparkle in the sky.  "Callisto, it's time to come home and have dinner with dad and me. Oh, I see your friends are visiting too! Bring them along so they can eat with us!"
Xymna and Myrna waved to Callisto's mother. She waved back. "Your mother is very nice Callisto, but I think it's time for us to go back home. We need a good night's rest before breakfast with our family in the morning," Xymna gently explained. "Well, you will have to come back and join us for lunch or dinner another time," Callisto's mom suggested. "They will, mom. My friends visit quite often. Phoenix can bring them back another day," Callisto answered. "As long as you promise me they'll come back," she said. "We promise!" They all said in unison. The door was large, round at the top with a square base. It opened on its own as soon as it recognized Callisto’s image, and they all stepped inside.  Callisto's mom and dad were not home yet. "Mom and dad are out shopping," Callisto let the girls know. “Let's go to the balcony and have some Kokol." As they stepped out to the balcony to have some Kokol, which tasted incredibly refreshing, Callisto went on to explain: "Mom and dad are at the Space Market shopping for outfits and space gear for our family trip to the Magenta Mountains. Every year we make that trip and enjoy the festivities at the biggest event on the planet. The festival is called KHALIBRA and it celebrates the Starlight Kingdom's eight planets (Khaliku, Haliku, Astikar, Lastikar, Istima, Bistima, Ryla, and Aryla). Each planet has a sister planet-Haliku’s sister planet is Khaliku. The sister planets rotate in orbits that cross each other at some point and are very similar. Almost everyone from the eight planets joins in these festivities. It takes 2 months to prepare for the 2 week festival, which happens on a different planet each year. This year it will be on Astikar- the red planet. Astikar is a bit warmer and has three suns and a lot of desert, so we need more cooling gear. Mom and dad went shopping for some."
"When did this celebration start?" Myrna asked. "It started ten years ago," explained Callisto. "It is a celebration of unity among our solar system. A long time ago, we all lived in peace and everyone was happy. Our planets flourished and so did life on them. Every single one of them. But then the people of Ryla and Aryla started to develop advanced technology, just like people are doing on Earth right now. They started to manufacture and use this nice technology. They were able to teleport, build fast rockets, tall buildings, and big cities. They even started to share it with other planets." "Sounds like they were smart!" Xymna interjected. "In manufacturing, yes they were smart. Then unexpected things started to happen," answered Callisto. "The animal life on their plant started to get sick and die off. Their plants did not grow as big and healthy like before. They also started running out of materials to build their technology."  "What did they do next?" Myrna asked anxiously. They started traveling to other planets to mine for materials. The inhabitants of those planets, including Haliku, did not like that and demanded they stop immediately. Other planets like Istima and Bistima, needed the technology to survive. It was a tense time. Ryla, Aryla, Istima, and Bistima wanted more technology. Khaliku, Haliku, Astikar, and Lastikar valued their animals and plants and wanted them to stop polluting and manufacturing. We liked our nature and wanted to take care of it," continued Callisto. "I hope they were able to solve their problem before too much damage was done" Myrna said. "The Haliku leaders called on the leaders of all the planets to meet on Haliku to solve the problem. They wanted everyone to be happy but also to protect our planets. Surprisingly, Ryla and Aryla leaders agreed and convinced the others to also come. Their planets were in bad shape. Xmoke covered their trees and animals. Half of their planets no longer had plants or animals after only a few years. They wanted to save their planets before it was too late!" Callisto continued.  Xymna interjected with a sense of urgency, "We are getting Xmoke on Earth now too!! That's why you couldn't communicate with me. We must do something about it too! Tell us what we should do, please!" "I can tell you what we did at Starlight Kingdom to solve the problem,and maybe it will help your planet. Instead of mining Ixhar and burning it for energy, the leaders of Starlight used the energy from our two suns. They used the Ixhar to store and release the sun’s energy. This way we could keep using the Ixhar we had, rather than burning it to create energy. It took them awhile to figure this out, but now our planets are cleaner. We also sent volunteers to help clean up the mess on Ryla and Aryla. It took us 5 years to clean up the planets! All the planets get along and are co-existing in harmony now. That is why we have decided to celebrate our success every year with the KHALIBRA festival!"  Myrna and Xymana had a look of relief on their faces. They were both so happy to discover a solution to help save planet Earth from Xmoke. They now knew what they had to do- to stop the pollution on their own planet. It was awesome to know they could fix the problem AND still be able to use the new technology to enhance life on Earth.
The space rocket zoomed through a brightly guided path and through a round tunnel filled with pink shimmering lights. "Fasten your seat belts...you are getting close," said Callisto. "I will see you soon." His voice faded as his image quickly dissolved. Xymna quickly increased the engine power so they could launch to the Far Right Starlight Realm. This Path needs the rocket to travel ten million times faster than the speed of light. So far they had been traveling much slower. As the rocket sped up the Smart Auto-Launch and Steer controls were activated to avoid colliding with any cosmoparticles. Cosmoparticles line the orbital paths. All traveling ships or rockets have to avoid them. As they entered the Realm, a hexagonal blue and white gate appeared. Around it, a dizzying array of blue colors collided into a swirling matrix. Myrna was ecstatic as she saw the wonderful display of comets and cosmoparticles around her.  Soon enough, they entered the StarLight Kingdom. And there, in all its glory, planet Haliku appeared. Haliku was light maroon and royal purplewith its magnificent blue swirling streams visible even from outer space. It looked heavenly within the dark cosmos.  Xymna expertly maneuvered the Phoenix to the south side of Haliku, where Callisto and his family lived. Unlike the cold and dry north side, South Haliku was full of exciting life and cool streams. As the Phoenix landed, Callisto was there waiting for them. With a huge smile and outstretched arms, he was ready to greet them with a big hug! As soon as they landed, they jumped out and ran straight toward Callisto, hugging him and almost knocking him over!  "I missed you so much!" Xymna yelled excitedly. "I can’t wait to go exploring, play, and have so much fun! She started jumping up and down, doing her happy dance and waving her arms.  Myrna just stood there, almost stunned at the magnificence of the planet. She saw the absolutely stunning horizon with the magenta mountains lining it. It was a beautiful sight. The weather was warm and sunny with a slightly cool breeze. She looked up and saw that this plant had two suns- one to the east and one to the west. I have never seen anything like this, thought Myrna. The air was cool and refreshing, going down her lungs and rejuvenating her. She was lucky to have caught Xymna as she was leaving earlier that night! Callisto smiled at her, "Welcome to Haliku! I’ll give you a tour of my planet but first I want to show you where I live. Perhaps we can drink some refreshing sweet Kokol. You can also meet my mom and dad." Kokol is a thick, sweet, vanilla drink, with tapioca-like chocolate nuggets and light smooth cream on top. It can be served warm or cold (depending on the season) and gives those who drink it a lot of energy. Xymna and Myrna followed Callisto down a lush path alongside a Swirling Stream in the green, blue and magenta forest. The trees had large, elongated leaves and swayed in the mellow breeze. The branches and leaves seemed to move for them as they walked along. Around them they could hear chirping, clucking, and the chitter and chatter sounds of the animals and birds in the forest. The euphony was lively and joyous. Myrna caught a glimpse of a few Terios jumping from tree to tree.  The two suns shone down on their faces as the made their way through the thicket. A winding maroon, brick walkway led to one of the largest trees Myrna had ever seen. The tree stood very tall, with its massive roots deep within the blue and green Haliku soil. Each leaf was as big as Myrna and was a deep purple with an indigo outline.  "Is that your home?' Myrna asked with an amazed look on her face.
"Yes it is!" Xymna declared. "Isn't it so grand?" They climbed a twirling set of stairs through the large leaves to Callisto’s home. Xymna made sure the Phoenix was geared up to take them to the Starlight Kingdom. She went to the back of the ship and grabbed some fruit and yogurt from a small mini-fridge. Callisto had made sure it was stocked up with food for their journey. It would only take them 2 hours since in space, time is relatively shorter. Xymna smiled as she looked out the big, circular windows while she ate yogurt mixed with banana and peach. They would soon be entering into 8XC Orbital Path. All of a sudden, one of the windows transformed into a big screen and Callisto appeared smiling.  "Are you enjoying that yogurt Xymna?" He asked. Xymna looked up beaming. "Of course! Strawberry and Star-Lemon is my favorite!” Then with a mouthful of food she excitedly added, “We still have an hour left but I can't wait to get to Star-Light and play with all the Terios and swim with the Shimmering Squids in the Swirling Streams!" Terios are flying space apes with light orange wings, brown bellies, and a thick maroon fur coat. They have huge black eyes, small noses, and slick long ears. Terios are some of the cutest species of the Starlight Kingdom. They have a harmonious call, are very friendly, and love swimming and finding Glowing Oysters in the Swirling Streams. The Oyster shells shine and glimmer with light making the most spectacular show in the Streams. Also in the Streams are Shimmering Squids, the softest and gentlest creatures Xymna has seen. They love to rub against your leg and feel very soothing and cool. They glow purple and yellow and make the prettiest patterns as they light up the Streams. The Swirling Streams are a great place to have fun!  "Callisto, I want my sister Myrna to swim with me in the Swirling Streams. She has been taking swimming lessons lately." Myrna was only two and a half, but she was fearless and loved the water. She could hold her breath for a few minutes underwater and never cried like the other kids in her class during swim lessons. She swam like a frog and was swift and agile.  Callisto thought about it for a minute. "Hmmmm...do you think she could swim even in the Swirls? "Yes, I know she can! She is so fast she may even be able to catch some Chocolate and Vanilla Oysters! " Xymna knew how hard the Chocolate and Vanilla Oysters were to catch. They were great at hiding and using their shining lights to trick swimmers. "Who is that?" Myrna woke up to the bright blue bear on the huge screen.  "That's Callisto, the blue bear you saw in the stream and he is my best friend. He lives in the Starlight Kingdom with his family. Their home is in a giant tree, it’s almost like a tree house but it has so many floors, levels, and rooms!" Xymna told Myrna.  "Hi Callisto! I thought I was dreaming when I first saw your reflection in the stream. What were you trying to do?" Myrna asked him. "I wanted to let your sister know I was launching Phoenix to get her. I couldn't get my message across because there has been so much pollution around Earth." Callisto said. "The signal from the Starlight Kingdom was strong but kept getting weaker the closer it got to Earth." "Why is there so much pollution? What's causing it?" Myrna inquired. "It has been happening for a while now. In order to get from one place to another in lightening speed, SuperCars were invented. Now, people can travel quickly across the world in just a few seconds! Some higher quality models can even teleport people; they just think of a place and within the blink of an eye, Poof! They have reached their destination. Crazy, right?  Humans are mining the Earth's mountains for Ixahr to fuel these cars. Ixahr is a precious element discovered a few years ago, deep in mountains of far east Asia and in central Africa. Ixahr is a smooth, blue-green hexagonal crystal found beneath the streams of the tallest mountains.  When Ixahr burns, it creates all the energy needed to teleport people and move them at high speeds. Manufacturing these cars though is driving pollution, making the air dirty and not good to breathe. It also generates a lot of Xmoke. Xmoke is very dense and lands on the leaves of trees. It stops them from using sunlight. The leaves become hard, shatter, and die. Earth may be in danger because of Xmoke. All the trees might die away!"  A loud siren then sounded as they entered the 8XC Orbital path. "Get ready!!!!!" yelled Xymna.
As Myrna slept and the Phoenix entered the Orbital Cycle Paths, Xymna unbuckled her seat and walked over to Myrna. She pressed the recline button and slowly the seat transformed into a soft cushiony bed. Xymna draped Myrna with a white fluffy blanket.  Xymna was the older of the two siblings. She was calm and studious. Ever since she met Callisto, Xymna kept the space mission a secret and had never told anyone about it, even Myrna. She recalled how this adventure unfolded. It all happened accidentally on a nice spring Saturday at their home in Georgia. The day was perfect for a picnic, especially with all the nice lilacs and azaleas in bloom. Her mom had asked her dad to get everything ready for the picnic at Sweet Spring park. Xymna was helping dad with the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while Myrna played with their youngest sister Jilna. Mom was preparing some freshly squeezed lemonade and getting all their outdoor toys and bikes ready.  At the park, they ate all the tasty sandwiches before dipping their feet in the cool creek next to their picnic table. It was then that Xymna saw Callisto's reflection in the flowing clear water. He was trying to tell her something, she stared very hard into the water. She could see Callisto but there was no sound, she couldn’t hear him! All of a sudden, she looked up and saw that Myrna had spotted them with a surprised look on her face. Xymna knew that Myrna, standing on the bank of the creek, had also seen the reflection. Xymna shouted "What did you see?" Myrna looked a bit pale, she stuttered, "Nothing..." Xymna was doubtful, "Are you sure you saw nothing?" Myrna’s tone wavered , "Absolutely sure."  Xymna splashed further downstream acting as though she was chasing some fish. She hastily looked for Callisto’s image again but she had no luck at all. Myrna, now flustered, returned to the picnic bench. She sat next to mom and dad and watched them play with Jilna. The rest of the picnic went by uneventfully. Callisto disappeared after his brief appearance in the water and did not come back. That night Xymna couldn’t fall asleep. She knew Callisto did not want to be recognized or seen. She kept thinking about how Myrna had likely seen Callisto in the water. She gazed at the stars outside her window, wondering what Callisto was doing thousands of miles away. She missed him and the Starlight Kingdom- that fascinating world he lived in. Before she meet him, she did not know the Starlight Kingdom existed. As far as she knew, no other kid had been there. She really enjoyed being with Callisto- he was such a fun space bear. She had visited him twice already. The last time he promised to give her a sign when she could come visit again. He even taught her how to fly the Phoenix and navigate the solar system through the Orbital Cycle Paths. As she was looking outside the window, she suddenly saw what looked like a comet zigzag through the sky. She hadn't seen a comet before, only heard about them from her mom. The comet zigzagged across the calm night sky and made the image of Callisto’s smiling face! She saw a bright light at her window. She knew Callisto had sent the Phoenix. She was so happy she almost screamed in joy. But she had to keep quiet. She slowly opened her bedroom window and started to climb out when she heard a shrill voice behind her. "Xymna! Xymna! Stop!!" She looked behind her, Myrna was standing in her bedroom doorway looking at her in disbelief.  Xymna had no idea what to do. She didn't want Myrna to run back and tell mom or dad. Myrna cared about her and didn’t want her to get into any trouble. "Where are you going? What is that?!!!" Myrna exclaimed in amazement. "Come along Myrna and I can show you. It's a space rocket from far away." Xymna stated calmly and quietly. "I saw that blue bear in the reflection earlier today. Did he send this?" Myrna asked. "He's my friend and a very nice Space Bear," Xymna tried to convince her sister. "Come with me and I can show you. We can have lots of fun!" And that was the beginning of their adventures.   "Are you ready?!" Xymna exclaimed. She had flipped several switches, and their space rocket The Phoenix began to hum. Myrna could feel the vibrations under her as the engines started. She was as excited as ever for the launch. This was her FIRST trip to outer space. She had always heard about it but never thought she would actually get to visit! "Of course I am ready." Myrna said as a matter-of-fact. She just wanted to be in space already. "Can you please launch us already?!" Xymna explained, "Not without the right steps. Or else the engines would give out or we may be swept into a different orbital cycle path and into a different kingdom like Abbey of the Dark! We want to go to the Starlight Kingdom. “  The air circulator kicked on- all eight engines were now powered to full capacity. The blue lights with the red halos kicked in as the seatbelts fastened tight. The space rocket had a very strong launch so the girls needed to be strapped down well. "Callisto, we ARE coming!", both girls laughed with anticipation as they looked at each other. VVV-RRR-OOOOM!!!! The rocket took off and they were instantaneously launched from the roof of their grandparents’ home into the Michigan summer night sky. The sky beamed with twinkling stars dancing in the darkness. The Phoenix shot straight up towards the glimmering stars within the celestial dome. The Phoenix picked up speed, and the rocket was blazing! It left behind only a trail of billowed smoke, like white lines drawn in the midnight blue sky!  Once the vertical climb ended, the ascension gradually slowed down. The view of Earth and the Moon below was incredible. Xymna read the map as Myrna started to sleep. It was a Friday night and they had a long day at school. But Xymna needed to make sure the rocket was programmed right to avoid wandering in unknown orbits and systems. She mapped out their quest: In order to pass through the Far Right Starlight Realm and enter the Starlight Kingdom, she needed to take Orbital Cycle Path 7XU then 8XC. She looked over at Myrna, who was now fast-asleep with her head teetering on her shoulder.  |
