We all know the story about the boy who
didn’t want to grow up. We all also know that to get to “Neverland” you have to
fly towards the second star to the right and straight on till morning. But!
What about the second star to the left? Well that’s the story you are about to
hear.
A long time ago, long before Peter Pan was born, a teenage boy named Charlie
sat in his bedroom. It was late at night and Charlie’s mom and dad thought that
he was in his bed sound asleep by now. But that was not what Charlie was doing.
Charlie was kind of a trouble maker and didn’t always do what he was told. He
sat in his room watching over the stars. He gazed over the stellar sky looking
for something. Something that didn’t belong there! Even though Charlie seemed
to be a trouble maker, he wasn’t true to his heart. Deep down he had always
been a sweet and caring boy who hated the Charlie that he pretended to be.
Every night Charlie sat in the window gazing across the stars wishing that one
day he would wake up and be able to be the real Charlie that wanted to get out
so badly. But even though he wished every night without anyone knowing, it
never came true.
Every night Charlie prayed the same prayer:
Shining star so bright at night
please destroy my endless fight
I want to be just who I am
pleas grant my wish if you can
The night when he said the prayer for the
100th time everything became bright before his eyes. Suddenly
everything was normal again but before him was a beautiful teenage girl in a
long white dress.
She asked him: “Boy. Do you really want to be the real you?”
Charlie couldn’t understand why she asked that kind of a question but he
answered anyway.
“Of course I do. Why shouldn’t I want to be the real me?” Charlie asked, but
before he knew it the girl took his hand and dragged him out of the open
window.
Charlie looked down on the street from the second floor and began to fall. He
screamed out so loud that almost the whole neighborhood could hear it. Right
before he landed on the street a little floating boat caught him and flew away.
“What the hell is this? Am I dreaming?” he asked.
The girl simply shook her head. The boat floated up towards the skies, towards
the second star to the left and then Charlie and the girl flew straight on till
morning. Charlie fell asleep in the little floating boat while it was still
flying towards the second star to the left.
Ф
Charlie woke up by the bright sunshine that shined down on his face. He opened
his eyes and couldn’t see anything for the sun. The girl bent over him and
blocked for the sun, so that Charlie could now see the stunning girl.
Charlie asked the girl without thinking about where he was: “who are you?”
The girl looked at him with a questioning face, but answered with a big smiling
kind of laughing mouth: “I’m Stella. Stella Starlight. So Charlie do you want
to know where you are?”
“Yes of cou… wait up. How do you know my name?” he asked suddenly.
Stella explained that she knew all about him, because of a cup with some
special water that always showed what Charlie was doing. She explained that she
had heard him pray for a while and decided that on the 100th prayer
she would appear and make it come true. Charlie just stared at her for a while
with a couple of bewildered eyes. Then Charlie passed out from the shock.
Stella carried him with a struggle into her room and laid him on her bed.
Charlie opened his eyes and saw three
human looking animals. The biggest one had the ears, tail and fur of a wolf,
the middle one had the ears, tail and the scolding of a crocodile and the last
had the ears, tail and feathers of an eagle. He wasn’t totally awake so he
thought that he was still dreaming a bit, but he woke up when the human like
animals began to talk to him and asked how he was feeling. He jumped out of the
bed in fear but bumped his head into something hard in the weary low ceiling
and fell to the ground. The entire human like animals began to laugh. One
rolled on the floor, number two stood at a wall banging the hands hard on it
while the last covered his belly with his arms from the laughing cramp. Charlie
stared at them while he touched where it hurt on his head.
Then he yelled: “stop laughing it isn’t funny at all! You scared the hell out
of me you know!”
then he said more quietly: “who are you guys anyways?”
The human like animals answered shortly but all at the same time: “we are all humans
cursed by Stella’s dad Scuro.”
Then one said “We call ourselves the butterflies”
Right after they all said that Stella stepped into the room. She just stared at
the butterflies and they ran of whispering something about that they were in
trouble now.
Stella walked past Charlie not looking at
him for a second. She sat down looking at the floor.
“My dad and I were really close when I was little. But when my mom died he
suddenly changed. He became cold and rough to everyone and everything around
him. Then one day I was walking in the forest knowing that my dad was out too,
but I didn’t expect that I would meet him. The forest is rather big you know.”
Charlie nodded. Stella continued:” well I met him anyways. He didn’t see me,
but I saw him bent over a man while holding a bloody knife in his hand. I don’t
know who he was but I know what my father did. Well my father dropped the knife
and began to search the other man. He picked something up from the man’s
pocket. Some kind of a key, but it wasn’t an ordinary key. It was round at the
end and longer than a normal key. Like it wasn’t for a normal key hole, but one
far inside a wall”
She looked at Charlie with tears in her eyes that showed all the pain she went
through. Charlie suddenly felt the urgent need to go over and hug Stella and tell
her that she could tell him everything she wanted, but he stopped himself.
Stella’s story had made Charlie forget about his head, but now he remembered
and he felt the pain. He touched his head and looked at Stella right after. Stella
walked over to him and sat down beside him.
“Turn your head and let me look at it” she said quietly but surprisingly sweet.
Charlie blushed, but did what she said.
“My god you’re bleeding.” She said. “But not much”
Charlie just smiled for himself and nodded a bit. Stella took out something
that just looked like leaves and other stuff from the forest. She took some
water from a mini fountain in the room and mixed it together with some of the
levees and herbs and made some kind of medicine. She took a little piece of
cloth that lied on the floor, dipped it in the medicine and covered Charlie’s
wound.
She touched his shoulder so he got a tiny shock and said:” this should help in
a couple of minutes.”
Charlie turned around and looked at Stella.
He smiled at her and said:”thank you so much Stella, I appreciate it.”
Stella blushed, but before Charlie could notice she turned around.
Ф
“rrrrrrrring ding ding” was the sound of the bell Stella rang. She sat down at
a big chair that looked a bit like a thrown, and just as she looked up the tree
butterflies came sliding down from a slide, that went all around the round
room, sliding farther and farther down towards Stella. Charlie was amazed by
the room: a mini fountain instead of a tap, herbs and levees that worked like
medicine, and a slide in the room. What more could there be? The room was large
and round, up against the wall all around the room stood some beds, there was a
big long table in the middle with five chairs. One for each butterfly and one
for Stella, but there were one that wasn’t used.
“Who’s that chair for?” Charlie asked them all.
“Well it WAS for my father but he lives in the other end of the forest now, but
feel free to use it whenever you feel like it” Stella said smiling.
Then she turned serious:”why did you guys have to tell Charlie about your curse
and my father? That meant that I had to explain to him what’s going on out
here!” she yelled. The butterflies looked down and said in a quire:”Sorry
Stella”
“well, what’s done is done and we can’t change that so don’t think about it
anymore” she said smiling again. Charlie just stared at Stella. Like he was in
some kind of a trance, but he was just overwhelmed by Stella’s smile so that he
couldn’t take his eyes of her. Then Stella looked at him, without Charlie
realizing it, and she smacked him in the back of his head with a flat hand and
said:”wake up silly. We have a key to find! What are you looking at anyways? Do
I have something in my face?”
“Um no, no I was just spacing out for a moment.” Charlie said with an awkward
smile “Why do I have to help you get that key?” he asked.
“Well first thing is that you’re a boy so you are obviously stronger than me.
And the second thing is that when you were sleeping in the boat on our way to Luce,
which is the name of this world, I noticed the sun mark you have behind your
right ear.” Stella Said.
Charlie looked at her with a couple of questioning eyes.
“That mark says that you are the reincarnation of the light soldier Dio that lived
here many years ago. The light soldier saved this world from my grandfather’s
grandfather. And you are here to save Luce again and, probably from my father.”
Charlie turned around walked over to a bed and fell right down on it.
“Gees… do I actually have a choice?” he asked.
Stella shook her head and explained that if they didn’t Charlie wouldn’t be
able to get home again. She said that when she was searching for information
about the key she discovered that it wasn’t for a key hole, but a key to open
up a portal, called Casa, which would bring him back to his real world. Charlie
sighted, then he got up from the bed, took a sword that lied on a box and
said:”well shall we go and save the world?”
“wauw. That’s the sword that only Dio could carry! You really are the
reincarnation of the light soldier!” Stella yelled out of joy.
Then Charlie laughed and said:”well if you say so.”
Ф
The next day Stella, Charlie and the butterflies went
on to get the key from Stella’s father. Stella had changed out of her white
long dress and into a pair of solid big boots, white knee socks, a pair of
dirty, green and sloppy knee trousers, a tight light brown top and a pair of
cloves with no fingers. On her back she had a bow and arrows and a sword and on
the side of her right hip there were a mini knife. She was well prepared. Not
like Charlie who just had the sword from Dio which only he could carry. The
butterflies all had a bow and arrow, but they all also had a different
weapon. Terra, the eldest of the
butterflies had two half long swords that was light and had to be held so the
side of the blade that wasn’t sharp rested on each arm. Vento the middle one had a long and strong
bamboo stick. So hard that it could break a house. Fuoco the youngest one had
two nunchakus, so sharp that they could cut a mountain in two pieces. Charlie
thought about how Terra, Vento and Fuoco could grip their weapons with animal
hands, but he looked at their hands and saw that they where human and not
animal hands. He felt kind of helpless with only one sword and wearing his
pajamas because he was taken to Luce in the middle of the night. They all went
on a dangerous journey to the other side of the forest.
“Along the way” Stella said “we will come across something that might help the
butterflies to get rid of the curse. That’s something we can’t miss to try!”
Then Terra, Vento and Fuoco all looked at Stella with surprising faces.
“What? Did you guys think that all I cared about was the key?” said Stella.
They looked down with shame saying:”we thought we didn’t mean very much to you”
“what are you guys talking about? You are my best friends, so why shouldn’t I
care for you?”
They looked up and smiled. They ran to Stella and hugged her while crying tears
of happiness. Charlie thought that Stella looked like a mother with her three
children.
“What is this ‘something’ that could help them?” asked Charlie
Stella answered:”it’s some kind of a drink that only a special sorcerer can
produce. I know where she lives and I think she would be more than willing to
help. She’s very kind and helps everyone she can.”
She continued “it’s on the way to my father’s house and we might be able to
sleep there too.” She said while walking and listening after some of her dad’s
helpers, the so called ‘ombras’. Charlie walked behind Stella, watching her bag
and her hair. He could smell her hair, a bittersweet smell of pineapple and cherries.
He was about to be entranced by Stella again. He watched how her hips moved
when she walked, her hair moving in the wind. Then she stopped and Charlie
bumped into her. Stella turned around and shushed at Charlie and the butterflies.
She took her bow, drew an arrow and shot into a bush. Out fell one of the
ombras with Stella’s arrow right into its chest and about ten others flew out
from the bushes and attacked them all. Stella, Terra, Vento and Fuoco all drew
their special weapons and began a counterattack. Charlie stood in the
background just like a statue. He just watched Stella and the butterflies fight
with the ombras. Stella looked at Charlie.
“Wake up Charlie you dumbass. Draw your sword!” she yelled.
Charlie could still not move. Then Stella ran over to Charlie, pushed him down
to the ground and yelled:”stay there you idiot. If you can’t fight then at
least stay out of our way!”
Then Charlie looked at her with empty eyes and slowly said:”sorry” and nothing
more for the whole fight. Terra used her long swords that rested on her arms to
cut through the ombras, Vento used the bamboo stick to knock every opponent
down and then kill it with a little knife and Fuoco used the nonchargos just
like Terra, to cut down every ombra that came in the way. Charlie was still as
stiff as a statue but woke up when he heard Stella scream. She was hurt.
Charlie’s eyes looked like they were on fire lightening up by his hatred for
the ombra that hurt her. He drew his sword and ran towards the ombra, which was
bent over Stella and about to kill her, and cut the ombra in two pieces with
one single stroke of Dio’s sword. Charlie looked down at Stella and saw that
she cried. The tears ran down her cheeks and didn’t stop. Charlie’s anger
disappeared the moment he saw her crying. The butterflies had just killed the
rest of the ombras and watched Charlie and Stella.
Charlie sat on his knees and embraced Stella and said:”don’t worry, I’m here
for you. You can talk to me whenever you feel like it okay?”
Stella just nodded and tugged her face into Charlie’s chest while crying her
heart out. “Charlie, I was so afraid. I
thought for a moment that I was going to die!” she mumbled.
Charlie began to stroke her head and
said:”don’t worry Stella. What happened opened my eyes and I realized that I
have to protect you whenever you need me. So don’t worry I will be there for
you when you call,” he said calming Stella down.
Stella dried her eyes and turned back into the old Stella. They all slept in
the forest that night.
Charlie couldn’t sleep because of the cold
air. He turned around every thirty seconds desperately hoping to sleep. Then
Stella poked him on the bag, and he turned around facing her with just four inches
between the two of them. They both blushed and Stella moved a bit away from
Charlie looking him straight in the eyes.
“Are you cold?” she asked with the sweetest tired voice Charlie had ever heard.
“uum yea. A bit” he answered shortly.
“We can split my blanket if you want to?” she said.
“Are you sure? Aren’t you going to be cold to?” Charlie asked.
“Of course I’m sure. Why would I ask if I wasn’t?” Stella Said.
Charlie smiled at her and then they shared Stella’s Blanket.
Ф
“Morning sleepyheads!” yelled the youngest member of
the butterflies, Fuoco, while jumping on top of Charlie.
“Mmmmm…” it came from Stella while Charlie gasped for air every time Fuoco
jumped down on him.
“Say Stella?” Charlie said while still gasping for air: “what gender are Terra,
Vento and Fuoco actually?” he asked
Stella answered mumbling:”Terra is a girl; she’s about a year younger than me,
Vento and Fuoco are both boys, Vento is a year younger than Terra and Fuoco is
two years younger.”
“hmmmmm” Charlie said “it’s hard to see their gender because of their animal
looking form”
“Well we’re soon going to break the curse, but if we don’t get moving again we
won’t make it before my dad starts destroying Luce. So shall we get going?” She
asked.
Charlie just smiled and took his sword, knocked Fuoco down by tickling him and
went to wake up Terra and Vento.
It was really cold that morning. Every
time one of them was breathing it was showed as a little cloud of warm air.
Stella was freezing in the thin clothe she wore, and Charlie and the others
were no better. Charlie looked at Stella and saw that her lips were turning
blue. He stopped for a moment, took out the blanket the two of them slept under
and covered Sally with it. She looked at him and smiled. They were beginning to
talk to each other with their eyes. Charlie’s heart began to beat faster and he
got nervous.
Terra gave him a push and said:”We have ‘something’ to do, we’ll be right back
okay Charlie, Stella?”
Charlie’s face looked just like a question mark. He didn’t get what Terra was
doing, but the butterflies left anyways. Charlie looked at Stella and smiled
awkwardly.
“Thanks for the blanket” said Stella with a voice that could almost melt
Charlie’s heart.
“N - No problem” he just said.
After some awkward time alone the butterflies came back and there were no
awkward feelings anymore. Stella, Charlie, Terra, Vento and Fuoco went on with
their journey to find the sorcerer, which could help the butterflies, and
Stella’s dad.
Ф
As they went on with their journey Stella was suspicious. There hadn’t been any
signs of any ombras. She held on tight to her sword and listened while she and
the others walked behind her. Charlie asked her about if something was wrong,
but she didn’t answer. They wandered into an area with a big waterfall, no
trees but simply grass.
“Let’s stop and eat here” said Stella and walked to the waterfall and sat down.
She asked Vento for his bamboo stick. He gave it to her. Stella took out some
rope from her sloppy trousers and tied it around the bamboo stick. Then she
threw it in the water. After about five minutes Stella had already caught their
dinner. Charlie made a fire and found some sticks that the fish could hang from
and get grilled over the fire. While they were eating Stella stared at Charlie
out of her eye hook. She watched him eat in his pajamas. She looked at his hair
and his eyes.
“He has so big shiny eyes. They’re so beautiful.” She thought to herself.
“So where does this sorcerer live?” Charlie said loudly and happily.
“Shhh” said Vento to them all. “Can you hear that?” he said.
They could hear rattle from the bushes. Stella got up and drew an arrow. She
fired it away towards the noise, but right before the arrow entered the bushes
it stopped in mid air and got blown up. Out came an old woman with a basked
with herbs in one hand and a stock in the other.
“Who are you to shoot at someone older that you?! Young people now a days don’t
respect the elders!” said the old lady.
“Strega is that you?” Sally yelled out of joy.
“Stella? Stella Starlight?” asked Strega.
“Yep that’s me” she said smiling. “How old are you now Strega? You can’t be
over 200!”
“actually I’m 210 now.” Strega Laughed.
Charlie, Terra, Vento and Fuoco just stood and stared at Stella and Strega. They
just watched the two reunited friends.
“Everybody this is Strega. She’s a friend of the family and she’s the sorcerer
that will be able to help you butterflies to get back to normal.” Stella Said.
“Nice to meet you!” said the butterflies in a quire like always. “We hope that
you will help us.”
“Well I will do my best. Now shall we go to my place and get some real food?”
Strega asked. They all nodded and walked right after Strega on a little road
that led behind the waterfall and in to a cave. Inside the cave was a little
house with smoke out of the chimney. They all walked inside and saw how small
but cozy the house looked. Fire in the chimney, everything was made out of old
wood and it made the atmosphere very nice. A tiny kitchen that was combined
with the living room where the chimney was. They walked inside and sat on some
small and comfortable chairs by a long table. Strega walked in to the kitchen
and began to make some food for all of them. After a while were Stella and Strega stood in
the kitchen and had talked about the past, with Charlie and the butterflies totally
quiet just watching the two of them, they came into the living room with lots
of food. Beef, pasta, salad and everything else you could imagine.
“So Strega. Do you think we could sleep here tonight?” asked Stella while they
were eating.
“Mhm” mumbled Strega while her mind was only into the food.
They all laughed.
In the evening it began to rain heavily.
The rain got into the house so they had to put up buckets to collect the water
and prevent it from dripping down on the floor.
“I only have two rooms and one of them is mine. I believe that Stella and
Charlie would like to get some rest from the three wild kids so you two get the
room next to mine.” Strega Said.
Charlie and Stella didn’t stop her. They all went into their rooms to sleep.
The rain was getting worse. Stella and Charlie could hear Terra, Vento and
Fuoco yelling and laughing, and Strega tried to get them to relax. Stella and
Charlie laughed. Then a lightning stroke and right after that the thunder came.
Stella tugged herself under the blanket. Charlie looked at her.
“Are you afraid of the thunder?” he asked.
“N " No I umm. I just want to lie like this” she said from under the blanket.
The thunder stroke again and Charlie could see that Stella was shaking. He
pulled the blanket of her and hugged her.
“I’m here for you. Don’t you remember what I said yesterday?” he asked.
Stella looked up at him with teary eyes.
Then she said crying:”I’m so sorry that I can’t be stronger Charlie!”
Charlie moved away from her, and she looked at him. Then Charlie smiled and
kissed her. He could feel that it made Stella relax. She kissed him back
Ф
Stella woke up holding the sleeping Charlie’s hand.
She smiled and laid back down looking at him. She didn’t look at him for long,
because Fuoco stormed in with a big cocky smile on his face. He ran towards
Stella and Charlie and jumped up in the air so that he a second after landed on
the sleeping Charlie. Charlie opened his eyes up wide because of the rough awakening
and gasped for air.
“Oh Fuoco, you little troll!” he yelled and got up.
“waaa, the old monster is after me! Terra! Vento! Come save me!” yelled the
laughing Fuoco while running for his life with Charlie right after. Both came
in to the room.
Stella sat up in the bed and began to laugh.
“You two could be brothers!” Stella said.
“Oh no, you didn’t just say that!” said Charlie with a smile and ran over to
Stella in the bed, pushed her down and began to tickle her. Stella couldn’t do
anything because of her laughter and tried to get the words:”Charlie stop, I
surrender” out, but she couldn’t. Then their eyes met and Charlie stopped
tickling Stella and kissed her. Terra, Vento and Fuoco all stood and looked at
the two of them.
“That was about time!” Terra said.
Vento didn’t know what to feel and just stood still.
“Eeeeew! They’re kissing! Cross!” yelled Fuoco and ran out of the room.
Stella and Charlie looked at the running Fuoco and both began to laugh.
“Good morning everyone” Strega said. “I’ve made some breakfast for you.”
They all sat down and began to eat. Stella and Charlie sat next to each other,
the butterflies on the other side of them, and Strega at the end of the table.
“So Strega, how about making that potion for the butterflies today?” said
Stella.
“Yes of course, but I don’t have all the herbs to make it, so we have to find
it in the forest. It’s all near the house. “ Said Strega.
“No problem. We will help you” Said Terra.
They all looked at Strega and smiled. Then they all took their weapons and went
out to find the herbs that Strega had told them to find: riviste, erbe-root and
frutta. All the other stuff had Strega already in her house. They all went
looking, but Strega stayed home, because of her bad heart. Vento and Fuoco had
got the job to listen and look after ombras since they haven’t attacked for a
while. Charlie, Stella and Terra went around the area where Strega had said the
herbs were. The riviste were a water plant so Charlie went to the waterfall to
look for it. The erbe was a root from the erbe tree which was in Strega’s
garden. Terra went for that. Frutta was a fruit hanging from the fruit tree.
Stella took her bow and arrow and pointed it towards one of the fruttas. When
she looked up in the skies she saw something that looked like shadows in the
skies.
Stella immediately ran towards Charlie yelling:”Charlie look out! There are
ombras here!”
Charlie looked up and saw the ombras that passed by him in the skies. Vento and
Fuoco didn’t notice the ombras. When Stella got to Charlie and saw that the
ombras hadn’t attacked she knew that they had to get to Strega’s house. Stella
just ran past Charlie and he followed immediately. Terra, Vento and Fuoco
joined them when Stella and Charlie passed by them. They ran to Strega’s house
and saw that the ombras had attacked and destroyed half of the house already.
Stella and the butterflies drew their arrows and attacked the ombras. Charlie
drew his sword and ran towards them; Stella dropped her bow and arrow, drew her
sword and ran together with Charlie to help him. Terra, Vento and Fuoco came to
help after a while. They all killed uncountable ombras even though they were
knocked to the ground several times. The ombras kept coming and they could all
see that they soon would be defeated if someone didn’t do something. Out
stepped Strega. She dropped her stock and pointed her one finger towards all
the ombras and said:”essere andati!” and all the ombras
disappeared. Everyone fell to the ground in relive.
“Wow you’ve gotten better Strega!” laughed Stella.
“Yea alot if I would say so myself” said Strega Smiling wide.
They all looked at the now half house and thought that nothing could be done.
But once again Strega stepped forward.
“ricostruire” she
said and then it looked like the pieces of the house moved back in time. All
the parts of the house that the ombras had destroyed came back to the house and
looked like itself in a couple of minutes.
“Ah, that’s my house!” said Strega as she walked through the door.
They all looked at her realizing how powerful she actually was.
Strega took out a big pot and filled it
with water. She asked for the herbs that Stella, Charlie and Terra had
collected and put them in the water. She took out some other herbs from a shelf
above the stove and threw them in the pot. She mumbled something that they
didn’t understand. She turned around, found some cups and put some of the
mixture in them and gave them to the butterflies.
“Drink this and you will all become normal tomorrow” said Strega.
The butterflies drank it immediately and went to sleep.
“It’s unbelievable that we used a whole day getting the herbs and defeating the
ombras!” said Charlie.
“Yea. It’s like the day just started” Stella said.
Charlie nodded. They went to their room to sleep. They had pushed the two
single beds together so that they now could sleep together in one big bed and
tugged in.
“Now all we have to do is defeating you father get that key and send me home”
Charlie said.
Stella sat up in the bed.
“Charlie you know I love you right?” she said looking at him.
“Of course I do. And I love you to Stella.” He answered.
“Then I would like you to stay here Charlie. With me after we’ve defeated my
father. Could you possibly think about that?” Stella asked.
“Stella I would love to, but what about my mom and dad? They are probably wondering
where I am right now” he said thinking about how much he missed them.
“Yes. And that’s why I want you to think about if you could stay here even
though you probably won’t see your family again” said Stella with hope in her
voice.
In came Strega with a loud voice saying:”why don’t you just stay here and visit
your parents often? By that time you have the key to the casa!”
Charlie and Stella looked at her surprised that she just almost smashed through
the door. Then they looked at each other and smiled.
“I would like to talk to my parents when we get the key. I want them to
understand how important this is!” said Charlie.
Stella smiled, Strega almost smashed through the door on her way out and they
could hear the butterflies laugh from the other room. Everything was back to
normal again.
Charlie expected the usual wake up from
Fuoco, but this time it was also Vento and Terra that came smashing all the air
out of Charlie. He opened his eyes and saw three totally normal persons. He
screamed in surprise and it woke up Stella that rubbed her eyes before she saw
the butterflies on top of Charlie. Then she laughed really loud and hugged them
all. Charlie jumped out of bed grabbed Fuoco and danced around the room. Then he sat Fuoco down beside the two others
and looked at them.
“Well well. Who would have thought that these three actually had some good
looks in them?” laughed Charlie.
Fuoco just laughed and looked high and mighty with his new look: short brown
hair, a couple of big green eyes. He was a short little boy with a face that
could get him out of every stupid thing he did. That was probably why he always
was that little rat, which always woke Charlie up. Charlie looked at Vento. He
could just barely see a smile behind Vento’s long, black hair that covered most
of his eyes. His long, thin, grey eyes made his mysterious look fit really well
to his personality that was quiet, but still happy. He wasn’t much taller than
Fuoco. Then Charlie looked at Terra.
“What a beautiful girl before me! But my one and only is right next to me” he
took Stella in his arms “so don’t try anything okay?” he said with a cocky smile.
“Oh don’t you worry. You know that I’m the one that made you two the couple you
are now!” said the new Terra, with long almost white, flowing hair with bangs
that was a little too long.
She was taller than Charlie and her eyes looked like the ocean. A couple of
shining dark blue eyes that looked so calm, but when she got angry the sharks
would show up in them.
Ф
The very same day they left Strega and the rest of the
group went straight towards Scuro, Stella’s dads, castle. They walked straight
from Strega’s house and walked towards the castle that now was shown through
the trees. Stella looked at Charlie and could see that he was nervous. She took
his hand and smiled at him.
“Don’t worry Charlie. We are five persons that defeated my dad’s ombras. And we
are still five people that are going to defeat my father.”
Charlie smiled at Stella and squeezed her hand a little bit, while they
continued to walk towards the big castle. Nothing in the forest moved, only the
whistle from the trees broke the silence.
“There it is!” said Stella “my dad’s
castle.”
she looked down, silently. Terra, Vento and Fuoco walked behind Stella and
Charlie. They didn’t say anything while walking.
At an unguarded moment, Scuro jumped down
through the tree tops and landed right in front of Stella and Charlie. Charlie
was terrified of the sight of Stella’s Father. They looked nothing like each
other. Stella looked like a normal girl from Charlie’s world, but Scuro looked
like a monster. He wasn’t green or with seven eyes. He was just a big man with
a treadening look. He wasn’t “normal” big. He looked like a giant that could
run down the forest with only two steps. Stella, Charlie and the butterflies
all drew their weapons and got ready for battle.
“So, my daughter has come to stop me?” Scuro said with a big loud resounding
voice that made the bird in the trees fly away.
“Well I will let your little boyfriend try to get rid of me.” He almost
shouted.
Then he grabbed Stella that could fill out the big giant hand of his, and then
he threw her down in the tree tops. An army of his ombras came rushing in on
the other four. Charlie looked at the falling Stella while she screamed out
loud. She landed in a tree and fell down on the big branches, that cracked and
made her fall ten meters from above and she landed hard and brutal with her
face down in the ground. Stella moved a bit. She turned around on the ground,
and looked up at Charlie, with a face that said: “kill him”. Then she passed
out.
Charlie couldn’t believe what just
happened and fell down on his knees with his sword in his hands. He didn’t move
an inch. Vento and Fuoco both dropped their weapons and looked at the lifeless
Stella. Terra began to cry. Not for long, because the tears turned into anger.
Without realizing it the earth began to move. Terra began to scream in anger
and the mountains that they only could see the top of cracked in two. The
ground was shaking so they almost couldn’t stand up anymore. Charlie didn’t
move even though the ground was shaking. Vento and Fuoco both went over to
Terra and took a hold on her with both hands. Terra stopped screaming and began
to cry again together with Vento and Fuoco. The ground was still shaking. Vento
made the wind blow so hard that the trees cracked and Fuoco began to burn the
ground so that nothing more but dirt was left.
Scuro began to laugh: “Haha. Is that the
only thing you could do?” he said.
He almost didn’t get to finish his sentence before Terra, Fuoco and Vento all
attacked together with their new revealed powers. Terra made the roots of the
trees go straight at Scuro, but he dodged it. Fuoco got the fire he made on the
ground to surround Scuro, but he just stomped his feet and the wind blew out
the fire. The Vento tried to make him fly with the wind powers he discovered,
but he wasn’t strong enough to lift such a big man.
They all felt hopeless, but before they
began to run for it, they heard something. They turned around and saw Charlie
bending over Stella. He took her and held her, passed out body, in his arms. He
was crying so much that the tears from his cheeks dripped down on Stella.
Suddenly his sword began to shine. He laid Stella on the ground and rose from
the ground in a slow but serious way. He looked at Scuro with teary eyes, which
had the look of a killer. Scuro looked a bit frightened, but covered it with a
big loud laughter.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to try to stop me. After all the others couldn’t do
a thing.”
Charlie didn’t answer, but he just took his sword and held it against Scuro who,
at that time, stopped laughing and became serious. He looked at Charlie and
smiled a bit. Then he ran towards Stella who was still lying on the ground.
Charlie looked at him and the anger rose up in him. Without knowing he let out
some kind of shining, light shadow out from his back. Stella woke up a bit and
looked at the shining Charlie. She looked surprised, but began to smile with a
hopeful smile. Scuro was still running towards Stella, but Charlie screamed in
anger and raised his head towards the sky, and out of his back came a big pair
of shining wings. Charlie looked like an angel. He raised his sword again and
flew, with his new created wings, towards Scuro who now was bended over Stella
who was still conscious. She was so terrified that she couldn’t scream. But she
didn’t have to, because Charlie had already stabbed Scuro. A little sun mark on
the shank of the sword appeared. It was exactly the same as the nark behind his
right ear. It didn’t shine, it just appeared. Like someone had burned it into
the shank.
Scuro looked down at the small sword that
Charlie had stabbed him with. That little sword that, if it was a regular
sword, only would feel like a needle, could hurt him so much. He fell to the
ground and took about ten trees with him in the fall.
He almost whispered “I’ll come back. Watch your back, I’ll get you one day!”
then Scuro died and the exhalation was a big, resounding noise. Charlie was
still flying with the big wings of his. He landed on the ground safely, and ran
to Stella.
Ф
Stella woke up under a tree. She looked up
at the leaves that swayed from side to side. The sunshine blinded Stella now
and then, when the leaves didn’t cover the sun. She felt relieved that Scuro
was dead. Charlie was beside her. He was still asleep, and didn’t make a sound.
Stella smiled and laid down beside him again. But that didn’t last for long.
Fuoco came jumping up to Charlie, waking him up with the usual wake-up call.
Charlie couldn’t breathe like always. Stella was laughing, but relieved that
they all were back to normal again. Charlie ran after Fuoco that screamed for
help. Charlie stopped running after Fuoco after a while. He stopped when he saw
Stella smile and went over to her.
“We found the key that will help me to get back to my world.” Charlie Said.
Stella smiled and said: “That’s great. I know where Casa is, but Strega has to
help us to get to it. She has to open the door that’s protecting Casa.”
“That’s fine. We’re not that far away from her house anyways.” Charlie Said.
“Charlie…” Stella said “do you know what happened to you yesterday?”
Charlie answered a bit confused: “yes, a bit. But I don’t think I would
understand anything if you explained it to me. But you could try.”
Stella explained that the big wing was from Dio, the man that saved Luce a long
time ago. The wings were from Dio’s spirit that had always lived in him. She
told Charlie that when he got angry at Scuro, it made Dio response on the
energy and he came out of Charlie’s body for a while. Charlie looked like a
question mark.
Terra and Vento were sleeping on the other side of the tree. Fuoco got the job
to wake them up, but Charlie was surprised about how he did it. Fuoco went
slowly over to Terra and Vento and poked them a bit. He wasn’t the wild little
boy towards his brother and sister, but towards Charlie he was that little
devil boy, who could smile and get away with everything. He woke Terra and Vento
up and all of them wend to see Strega one more time.
When they arrived at Strega’s house it was
as peaceful as before. Stella had been afraid that some of the ombras had survived
and attacked Strega. But Stella was relieved to see the house whole and that
Strega were in the garden drinking one smoky drink.
“Strega, my friend!” yelled Stella with joy in her voice. “We have come with
the key to Casa, but we need you to get us inside so that Charlie can go home!”
she said, but with a little bit more sadness in her voice and eyes. Charlie
didn’t notice it. Strega wandered out of
the garden with her hand on her back. She had been working bended over all day.
“I thought you might come back soon. I saw in my dreams all the things that
happened too you guys. It was a terrible battle, especially for you Stella. Are
you all right?” Strega Said. Stella just nodded.
“And Charlie. My god you discovered something new about yourself. You have
really grown into something big in the time you have been here.” Said Strega
overjoyed.
The butterflies stood and said nothing. They were all tired and didn’t want to
go anywhere. Stella asked Strega if the
butterflies could stay at her house meanwhile her, Charlie and Strega went to
Casa. Strega was a bit worried that they would break the house, but after she
saw how tired they were she said OK.
Ф
When Charlie, Stella and Strega arrived
outside the Casa Strega stepped forwards. She mumbled something like last time.
It sounded like: “porta
chiusa fino.” This made the big door, which protected
Casa, to open. They all went inside. Charlie looked at a big door in the middle
of the room. It was a big old but strong looking door. On top of the door was
the mark that Charlie had behind his right ear. He wasn’t surprised anymore
about stuff like that. Everything in Luce could happen. He walked over to the
big solid door, took out the key and unlooked the door. The door opened and
Charlie could see his own room again. Nothing had changed. But something was
still wrong. The time stood still.
Charlie was somehow relived. Stella walked over to him.
“The time is not standing still; it’s simply slower than our time. “ Stella
said.
“As long as they haven’t discovered it yet” Charlie answered. “I’m in doubt
Stella. I don’t know if I should stay here with you and the others. I’m afraid
that my parents won’t let me stay here.”
“You mom and dad will still discover that you’re gone. You have to talk to them
about it. They might understand you.” Stella Explained.
She gave Charlie the push that he needed to explain his parent everything. He
walked through the door and into his own world. Stella watched him explain his
parents everything. They didn’t believe him at first, but he gave them proof.
He took out Dio’s sword which was covered with blood. His parent stiffened a
short time, before they began to cry in joy and sadness at the same time. They
explained Charlie that of course could he stay in Luce and live with Stella.
Charlie hugged his parents that couldn’t see anything of the old Charlie in the
boy standing in front of them.
Charlie packed all of his things in his
room. All his clothes, bed sheets, pictures and all the toilet things. He said
goodbye to his parents and promised that he would visit them soon. Then he
walked back through the door into Luce again where Stella and Strega was
waiting. They walked back to Terra, Fuoco and Vento who was still asleep.
Charlie wanted to wake Fuoco up like he always woke Charlie up. He felt
exited.
Share This
Email
Facebook
Twitter
Read Request
My Library
Subscribe
Flag Writing
