Chapter 3, All Aboard!

The third chapter of "Expand Your Horizons."

IV

Five days later…

Each Atlantean on the trip carried their own bag of possessions to the two submarines.  They were the old submarines from Rourke’s expedition �" fairly decent submarines in the end.  They loaded their bags into the submarines and then started to load provisions, sleeping bags, pillows and mats.  A large crowd of Atlanteans had come to see them off.

“Two weeks exploring the wonders of the world!  I think we should go to the Pyramids of Egypt first.  Did you know that the first pharaoh in Egypt’s pyramid is covered in hieroglyphics that have hints of Mesopotamian and Greek script which actually….”

Milo excitedly lectured Aman, who was trying to give Milo obvious signs that he was not interested and that he was busy getting ready for the trip.  Milo was bubbling with excitement.  Kida had allowed them to go for two weeks.

“…and that’s how the Grand Canyon came to be!  Oh, I can’t wait!”

“I always feel like I’m forgetting something.  I’ve got my clothes, my brush, my guitar, my flute, my surface world money, my Crystal-phone, my alcohol…” 

Wally looked into his bag, shuffling through his things.

Milo gaped, “you’re bringing….?!”

“Yeah, I know.  But I’ll play them both.  I can’t just abandon my flute like that,” he kept racking his brain, “still feel like I’m forgetting something.  I hate the feeling.”

“Hello, friends!” Urika waved at Milo, Aman and Wally as she walked toward them, praying they were who she thought they were from that distance.

“Hi Urika!” they said.

Suddenly Milo heard his phone making a strange whooshing sound, the “ringtone,” incidentally.  He awkwardly picked it up and talked into it, “Hello?”

A familiar voice spoke, “I have some questions for you, whoever you are, and I will not hang up until they are answered.”

Kida jumped out from the submarine behind Milo and pushed him playfully.

“Eeek!!” he looked behind him and then smiled, “Oh, it’s you.  Come to say goodbye?”

“Of course!”

They shared a long, loving kiss and embrace.  Wally, Urika and Amanotep’s parents and siblings said goodbye to them, hugging and kissing as well.  It was a bittersweet moment.

“Oh, don’t worry too much, everyone!  It’s only two weeks.  What could happen?”

They all laughed.  And then they boarded their submarines, Milo with Wally, Urika with Aman.  Milo and Urika were the drivers.

V

Wally and Milo watched Atlantis slowly disappear through the window of their submarine pod.

“Thanks again for making this trip happen, Milo.  I’m so excited to see the surface world.  A little scared, too,” Wally laughed.

“Oh, don’t mention it.  I’m just as excited.”

They were silent for a few minutes.

“My crystal!” Wally cried.

“What about it?”

“That’s what I forgot!”

“Oh, don’t worry.  You really don’t need it in the surface world.  If you get hurt, Sweet will fix you up, especially if it’s your neck.”

“Oh, alright.”

VI

Urika squinted at the controls, trying to maneuver through the tunnels separating Atlantis from the rest of the ocean.

“Where do you want to go the most, Aman?”

“Probably New York.  It’s supposed to be the biggest city in the world or one of the biggest cities.  There must be so many powerful people there.  So much to see, too.  How about you?”

“Oh, well, I don’t know.  It’s so hard to choose.  Maybe Tokyo.  I’ve heard good things about it.”

“It’s enormous, too.  Two huge cities.  They’ll be so different from little Atlantis.”

“Yeah.  I wonder if I’ll faint again,” she laughed.

“So… what’s your favourite dessert?”

“Huh?  Oh, Garashuk.”

“I like Lampila.  What’s your favourite colour?”

And for the next two hours or so, Aman was bombarded with meaningless questions, like “What’s your favourite fruit?’ and “What is your favourite subject?”  When Urika ran out of material, she started asking him about hypothetical situations, like what he would do if he was flying a ketak and it took him beyond the city or whether he would rather be friends with so-and-so or so-and-so.  Urika simply didn’t have a lot of experience talking to people casually, as friends, so she fell back on “surface questions.”  She didn’t want to get too personal.  At least not about serious things.  Eventually, Amanotep told her that he was tired and he was going to nap in the back.  

“What in God’s name was that?” he muttered to himself before going to sleep.