Chapter 2: Myrna

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.

< Chapter 1

Chapter 3 >