You may not have noticed, but there have been other characters present within the story of Flash Meridian’s adventures. They have been here all along, from before the beginning. Like that ghost of a whisper Flash had sensed before meeting Bucket, someone has been lurking in the shadows of every word.
Timo woke one morning with this very thought in his head. Like Flash Meridian, he lay in his comfortable bed. He faded between dreams and a room whose curtains blocked the light of a new day. The drapes were haloed by soft sunlight that seeped in around the edges. It was a friendly light that welcomed him. It was a patient light that allowed him to slip back into dreams, yet offered the possibility of parting the fabric and flooding the room with the full light of day.
Creatures were also present with him, nestled into the bedding, and occasionally making their presence known by shifting positions, or putting their faces so close to Timo’s that he could feel their warm breath on his cheek and nose, or the tickle of their whiskers on his skin.
One of these creatures was white, with black spots that seemed to move independently across his body when he walked, and the other being more eager to communicate, more anxious to play.
Another participant lurked deeper still, a shadow of the shadow beneath the words. While nearly invisible, they were the most important person in this story. Nearly invisible, yet I see you, dear reader, on the other side of the page.
You join with the fishlike aliens, flitting about in the air around me, sometimes sending messages from your table to mine, and I am grateful.
The clarity of the water made it difficult to judge the depth. They just sank deeper and deeper. The bright surface seemed to expand as they dropped further from it, and Flash’s mind wandered back to the ocean planet, and even further back to the Atlantic Ocean on Earth.
The fishes still swam in spirals around the group as they neared the sea bed. Here, like above, he saw soaring jewel spires and winding valleys. Even at this depth, seaweeds grew and swayed in the currents. Fields of patchwork sponges carpeted the floor. Flash nearly forgot that he was submerged. There was no crushing weight of water. The sensation was one of weightlessness. Mer creatures swam toward them, appearing out of caves and from behind the crystal towers. From the chest down, they were clothed in iridescent scales, and above that, they looked human.
They waved, beckoning the group to follow. Peering over a steep cliff, they saw a shining city, bustling with commotion. Of course the residents didn’t use valley pathways to get from one place to another. The crowds hung above the buildings the way the whales hovered above the plains in the world above.
The group didn’t go down into the city, but passed above it. One mermaid swam up to them and bowed her head as she greeted the prince. My name is Meri, she said, and offered to take the entourage sightseeing. She led them to an undersea canyon, the floor of which twinkled, a blood red field that shone in ribbons of light. At one end of this wide valley, a small mountain rose up. At the top of the hill, a jagged rim encircled a crater like hollow. In the center of that, stood a colorful castle. Why, that looks like our crimson plain! Eeli called back to Flash and the others.
They descended to the chasm floor. Looking about, they saw the reef like mountains, the foothills and the cliff which crested at the cobalt plateau. The seahorses carried them up the cliff where they saw something that resembled the amethyst roadway that led to their home. Passing through the main gateway, they were engulfed in holograms that repeated Olo’s history. This is the deepest part of the ocean, Meri said, waving her arm to welcome the adventurers.
Eeli gazed up at the tower above him, and a bell or gong rang out loudly through the water. He laughed, amazed at the spectacle.
Flash rode up to his balcony, high on the castle wall. He could see, through the open door, a hologram which appeared to rise from the bed inside. There, Lem stood, craning her neck to see him.
He dismounted the seahorse, stepped onto the platform and into the room. He could hardly believe his eyes. Oh, I’ve missed you, he said to the apparition. I’ve missed you so much.
Her eyes sparkled. She didn’t speak, yet Flash could hear, or sense her voice, like he had at their first meeting in the mother ship. I haven’t gone anywhere, she said. I am always with you. There is nothing to fear. I miss the way it used to be, he said. When you were in your body.
Lem only laughed. I don’t miss it. You’ll see. I am not my body. I don’t need it. My body was afraid. Nothing can hurt me now.
Your friends are waiting. Before you go, I have a present for you. It’s here on the pillow.
Flash looked down and saw a bottle of wine. In sweeping calligraphy, the label read
I am always with you. Forever. Lem.
He clutched the gift to his chest, and thought he must surely be shedding tears. He couldn’t tell, surrounded, as he was, by water. We will be together again soon, she said. Until then, I will visit you in your dreams, he answered.
Stepping back out onto the balcony, Flash looked down and saw his friends waving up to him. He waved, and climbed back onto the seahorse. They all headed back up, seeing many more wonders in the terrain before rising again through the borderless blue that engulfed them.
They were silent as they ascended to the surface, as each one had had encounters in that place that were meant only for them.
There was an archipelago scattered offshore, and this is where they surfaced. The string of islands was actually the tops of mountains that rose like enormous ribs, with only the tips of the spires visible above water. Here, Flash said goodbye to his traveling companions who were picked up by a dragon, and flown to the mainland. Flash swam to the closest one. It was deep violet in color. So dark on the shadow side that it appeared black. Rounding the island, the lighted side shone in purples and lavender. Here, he came upon a stairway that spiraled up from beneath the waves, and was hidden from his view as the rock tapered to the top. He climbed it, and was swept from the narrow steps a few times by the crashing of the sea. The water held no danger, so he persevered, until he made it above the waterline. He ascended the steps until he came to an opening, and stepped inside. The light streamed down in rich, cool color, the beams catching facets in the stone that burned in bright white. A fountain burbled and then burst a spray of water as the waves pummeled the structure at the surface of the sea. The sound of the fountain was musical, the steady rhythm of drops was punctuated by gurgles and roars as the tunnel, or pipe emptied and filled again. The ceiling of this space was domed, and as he gazed up at it, he saw that it resembled the night sky. The facets burned like stars, and the projected colors were like nebulae. He sat with his back against the wall, and fell into a daydream. His thoughts were rinsed away in the song, as he had been at the base of the staircase. He allowed the mental pictures to arise, noticing, but not focusing on them until another swell wiped them away. He let them come and go. He didn’t grasp at any outcome. Wishes and fears alike just traveled by.
If a memory happened to catch his attention, he wished it well and allowed it to go on its way.
He began to see constellations in the dome, effortlessly connecting the shapes. The cat. The cauldron. The gate. His eyes closed beneath the familiar Ololian sky. He did not sleep, nor could he say how much time had passed before he stood again.
A red light shone through the stone, dancing through the cathedral like space, and Flash went to the doorway to see what caused the blaze. It was a dragon, come to carry him home. He straddled the beast at the base of its neck. Behind him rose a row of armored plates.
It raced above the sea, and climbed as they crossed the shoreline. In no time, they reached the castle, and Flash stepped onto his balcony. His legs quivered a bit from the thrill of that ride, and while Flash preferred the gentle whales, he could see why Eeli chose the dragons.
At his side, hung a satchel that contained the gift from the deepest part of the ocean.
Flash began to wonder whether K. D. could sense herself becoming obsolete. Her role had changed, at any rate. She wasn’t as matter-of-fact as you might think. Yes, she was a computer, but you may recall that her software had been incorporating more and more of Flash’s own nuance. Her personality had been evolving since they left Earth’s orbit. Since coming down from the mother ship, she had encountered many more people, interacting with them at great length in the museum. Everyone she encountered added to the data she compiled and then in turn, expressed. The new data brought a richness and dynamism that was imperceptible from one day to the next, yet apparent over time. Flash had contemplated this phenomenon in himself, being changed slightly by everything his senses brought into his brain. She was not obsolete at all, but was simply adapting to her new environment.
One day, she attempted to upload her memory banks and transfer them to Earth. This was unsuccessful. She calculated that thousands of years had passed in Earth time since their voyage had begun. One less command in her queue of tasks, and one more bit of information she stored. She would have mentioned this to Flash if he had asked. He didn’t, as he no longer relied on her for information. He could ask, or not ask. The truth was still the truth. Asking wouldn’t change anything but his understanding.
Eeli invited Flash to join him on a trip to Olo’s ocean, and of course Flash accepted.
In the days leading up to his undersea adventure, Flash leafed through the book. He recalled how he and his family had consulted it prior to their arrival on Olo. He read about various structures and life forms he might encounter below the surface. He also learned about the ocean’s dimensions, depths and capacity. Once he and the prince, along with other attendants, found themselves submerged beneath the waves, it wasn’t like he expected it to be at all. It felt familiar in ways that surprised him. The colorful ripples, like the air above, pierced the water in intense beams of various temperatures, based on the hues. Fishlike beings circled in swarms that reflected the light off their bodies in brilliant holograms. They danced in the shapes of whales, mer creatures and dragons, their edges softer, appearing even brighter, set, as they were, against a darker, deeper, uninterrupted background. At first, Flash found himself holding his breath. He did this unconsciously, out of sheer habit. When he at last exhaled, and then inhaled the less dense water, he was refreshed and relaxed.
They had just entered the sea, and already beheld wonders they couldn’t have imagined. Forgive my inadequate description.
The surface still shimmered just above them, a sparkling, rippled ceiling of light.
They hovered there, neither sinking nor floating back up, and Flash felt content. A herd of seahorses rose from deeper water, in a colorful shoal that surrounded them. They formed a ring around the group, facing outwards, the way the mammoths had encircled Flash on the frozen planet. The prince mounted the back of a seahorse, and soon everyone was descending, straddling their submarine steeds.
The water grew cooler and darker as they fell, but only slightly. The light permeated the deepest part of the sea, even into the chasms and trenches.
The ocean floor was bright. Being made of crystal like the dry land above, it captured and reflected the beams back up.
People flocked to the museum, not only to see the artifacts from the mother ship, but also to see the new exhibits featuring Olo’s natural wonders. The undisputed star attraction was the K.D. Head. I know she was simply an electronic device, but due to her face and voice, she really was believable as a living thing. Even Flash got the undeniable feeling that she was happy to be retrieved, and put back to use. The Ololians had so many questions about Earth, about Flash Meridian’s travels through space, and even about their own planet, there was always a crowd around her. There was no lock on the museum door, so the interrogation went on day and night. Like Bucket, K.D., as she’d come to be known, couldn’t have been happier than to share her knowledge and company. The yellow pod, too, was moved from storage into the museum, bridging the entrance to the gallery of jewels, having been made on Olo as a special gift for Flash.
The gift shop now featured Wizzzers and View Masters, only they were made from gemstone crystals, which were abundant. The Ololian Etch-A-Sketches created colorful images in light. Turning the knobs brought the images to life. The View Masters didn’t need reels. Looking through them at the structures on the plain brought surprises to the already brilliant edifices. There was a spire shaped tower just to the side of the museum. It was reminiscent of the reef like mountains visible in the distance. When Aino looked at it through the View Master, she saw the mer creature swimming around it. When she flipped the lever, it held out a bouquet of seaweed toward her. Turning, she pointed it at a mound like form. It looked sad, under a black sky. When she flipped the lever again, the hovel came to life in a lush green landscape. She flipped it again, and Peck came bounding out the door under a sky that contained every shade of blue imaginable.
If you spun an Ololian Wizzzer, it would fly up into the air, shooting sparks of color like fireworks. They hung there flashing for the longest time before slowing and descending softly to the person who had sent them up.
There was nothing boring or stuffy about this museum. People were allowed to touch things. Everything was interactive and educational. There was a room that simulated the cockpit of the mother ship. You could recline in a replica of Flash’s chair, and order up a cup of coffee. You could even turn the gravity off and float about, exploring every detail for yourself.
One of the most popular activities in the exhibit was drinking a glass of wine made by Flash himself.
You could sit in Flash’s seat and actually enter his dreams.
You might find yourself thundering over an ocean reef, trudging through a grayscale powdery world or meeting a giant on a mountain top with Flash Meridian right by your side. You might visit with Flash’s grandfather, who would be happy for the visit, and teach you all he knew about painting.
The toys, the coffee, the wine, everything was free, of course. They had no concept of money.
Even Flash was impressed by the level of detail that went into the exhibit, and particularly the recreated mother ship. It, along with the cave, became a place where he could connect with earlier times in his life. The child within him enjoyed it most of all. His childlike dreams had come true, because he had dared to dream them. The whole universe took on a greater depth of meaning for Flash as he showed his inner child all that he had done and seen. His appreciation grew as everything became sacred and holy.
When the exhibit was eventually replaced, they kept the cockpit simulator intact, and it became a permanent attraction in the museum. K.D. came up to the castle suite, and kept Flash company, as she had aboard the ship. You may remember the sounds Bucket made when he first came aboard. The ones that caused Flash pain, and filled Lem with dismay. To make matters worse, the sphere would join in the uproar. Flash didn’t know whether its sounds had meaning. Poikani still giggled at certain toots and blasts emanating from the trio. They were much quieter in the castle suite, still it was a memory Flash chose to leave in the past. Bucket had spent eons collecting data, and K.D. had been designed to store it. It was doubtful that the information she amassed would ever be transmitted back to Earth, but her compulsion to stockpile it couldn’t be suppressed any more than Flash’s own phenotype could be altered for the convenience of another. He just asked that they use their indoor voices. While she still sang him lullabies, he no longer relied on K.D.’s symphony of clicks and beeps for information and safety.
When Flash awoke every morning in the castle suite, he was filled with peace. He would watch the gently shifting glow that seeped in around the drapes until he felt like getting up. Eventually, he would throw the curtains back and bask in the warm glow that flooded the room, or step out onto the balcony and feel the cool morning breeze against his skin. There was so much to explore, so many friends to meet, so many things to see, yet no pressure to do or see anything. The days filled themselves completely. Feeling the carpet beneath his bare feet was an activity in itself, if he thought of it that way (and he did). His toes would practically sink below the pile when he stood still. When he noticed this, he felt connected to… the castle… to Olo… to the entire universe, and to himself, too.
He could request food to be delivered to his suite if there was something specific he wanted to eat. Lem had always had meals delivered, because she preferred to stay inside. Flash normally walked down the corridor to one of the seating areas, where food was served daily. Residents of the castle could take their meals to their suites, or sit and visit with anyone else who happened to be there. I’ve told you about the outdoor tables, where you could go anytime throughout the day or night. The food outdoors was more casual than what was presented in the castle, but it was no less delicious. Certain Ololians enjoyed making fancy foods like air Ruby cake and crystal macaroons. Flash liked something to eat with coffee, and all the dishes offered visual, gustatory and olfactory surprises. Everything was made with love. At least that’s what Flash was told when he asked what made the trifle taste so good. You really couldn’t go wrong.
One night, Flash climbed into that big bed, and woke to a dream. Once again, he found himself in a desolate world. It was neither Earthly nor Ololian, yet it seemed to be a combination of the two. The details were strange, and everything was just off somehow. Poorly put together. Taking in the wide scene in front of him, it looked like Earth, but when he focused on any particular object, it just seemed incomplete. Forms were hinted at, but not fleshed out. Imagine visiting a world that was painted with a big brush. That’s what this felt like. Corners didn’t line up. Proportions were just wrong. He could make out an area that represented a road, so he followed it. He walked along a lopsided fence. In places, there were horizontal boards with no posts holding them in place. Here and there, he saw posts that hovered above the ground, or backer boards with nothing holding them in position. The whole scene gave the impression of a badly designed video game. He followed this road until he came to a town. Here, certain objects were complete, the details sharp. Certain buildings were meticulously rendered, while neighboring structures were loose and insufficient. Automobiles were parked along the side of the road and these appeared with crisp precision. The high definition features drew his eyes to them, making the rest seem more convincing, but only because his eye was drawn away from them. He stood, looking at a restaurant building. While the walls were straight, and the colors were inviting, it never crossed his mind to go inside and order a meal. The word DINER glowed in pink neon, but for all the attention to detail, it simply did not appear credible. He continued walking, and passed several more structures that were only hinted at. Beyond that, the drive in movie theater was crisp and whole. He heard the sound of an engine in the distance. As he watched, an automobile came into sight, approaching along the road he walked. The car was grand, both outdated and timeless. Other details were unclear, telling him where to focus his attention. The scenery was poorly constructed… a mishmash of memories that were on the verge of being forgotten. His mind seemed to jumble disparate pieces together, and the effect was believable enough if he didn’t look too closely. It reminded him of low budget science fiction movies from the mid 20th century, and the effect was mildly entertaining. When the car reached him, he saw two people in it. The woman in the passenger seat waved to him out her window. She smiled at him, and Flash knew he had seen the face before. It was Buffy, and the vehicle was driven by Skip. They did not wear royal robes, and their familiar whale was replaced by a touring car. Flash had the feeling that he had entered an alternate universe that was retelling his journey to Olo, but getting it all wrong. Skip pointed toward the outdoor screen that towered above them, and the film began. A black and white cartoon Wizzzer danced across the screen, holding hands with an Etch-A-Sketch, whose other hand was held by an anthropomorphized View Master. They sang a song about Cracker Jack being available at the concession stand. Flash found this disturbing, and glanced back at the occupants of the car. They smiled and clapped along, their eyes glued to the images on the screen. A teapot did a cartwheel, and steam spewed out of its spout, hanging in the scene after the dancers exited the left side of the frame. Flash longed for Olo, where the closer you looked at things, the more you saw. On Olo you could look into the facet of a jewel, and see galaxies reflected back. This was a shallow, commercial world, which Flash found vulgar.
This was no dream. It was a nightmare, and he was relieved to awaken again and see the undulating light creeping in around the drapes in the castle.
The dream haunted him, and he remembered his apprehension during the long minutes that passed while the table of elements assembled the sphere. He wondered what half-baked beings might inhabit the diners and homes of that other world. He was warm beneath the fluffy bedspread, yet he shivered at the thought. He imagined zombie like forms stumbling out the door into the even light of that place. Faceless heads floating above crooked bodies whose feet did not reach the pavement, hints of jagged children in their wake. Two-dimensional people with no sense of their own grotesque shallowness. Flash wondered whether others, in a more advanced state might see him in a similar way. At least he could hope that his next incarnation would be even better than anything he could imagine in his present form. We’ll see, he said to the sphere, who had rolled to the side of his bed.
He reached down and petted the Sphere, then rose and threw back the curtains. Light blazed into the room. The hologram of the forest had returned, and the friendly orb sang beneath the forest canopy. Flash knew better than to take any of this for granted.
Suddenly the silence was broken by music. Bucket had followed him, floating above the great chasm Flash had just crossed over. I found the invisible bridge! Flash called to him. Yes, you did, Bucket answered, You could have just asked. You knew where it was? Of course. And where am I now?
You are right here,
Bucket said. But am I still on Olo? Flash asked. Of course. And can I go back across the bridge?
If you want to.
Flash was unsure what to think. The myths about the bridge seemed exaggerated. He thought it would take him to another world… another dimension. It turns out it was just an ordinary, magic, invisible bridge. Nothing settled on it. No dust or water droplets would collect on its surface, betraying its location. Flash had walked onto it with his eyes closed. It would require a lot of faith to step back onto it with his eyes open. It was completely imperceptible, even though Flash thought he remembered where it was, or what angle it took across the gorge. That chasm was so deep, he could not see the bottom of it. It faded to blackness in its depths, and Flash understood why no one came back that way. The little whale was too small to carry him, so he thought it best to explore on this side of the bridge. He walked, and the calf floated along. They were joined by Bucket and the sphere. This was a part of Olo he had never visited. He followed a narrow path over jagged terrain, high in the mountains. The trail wound its way to the very top of a spire. At the summit, he came upon a tall tree, whose branches spread out like wings on either side. Beings flew about in the treetop. They were not fishes. They were not birds. These were humanoid figures, with broad, feathered wings, and lovely, joyful expressions.
One of these angelic creatures swooped down and alighted in front of Flash Meridian. They stood face to face, and looked into each other’s eyes. Light seemed to emanate from the being. It placed its hand on Flash’s head, and peaceful waves rippled through his body. His inner child felt it, and Flash was reminded again that time was a construct that he had outgrown. He’d seen the picture of his life before crossing the invisible bridge. His life was not linear, but a painting he could move freely about in. The presence of his child self was proof of this. Because Olo was a painting of his life, this pinnacle was also part of him. The winged person didn’t speak. Words were not necessary. It just smiled. When it removed its hand from Flash’s head, all self doubt and concern was gone. Flash felt empty, in the most wondrous way. The being held its cupped hands above its head, and Bucket settled into them, with the sphere still aboard. Bucket and the sphere made soft chirping sounds which grew more exuberant. They sang together, and Bucket was filled with more love than he could hold. The trauma of his past loneliness evaporated into the thin air. The angel then turned to the whale and blessed it, too, before ascending again into the treetop.
With this, Flash began his descent down a staircase which spiraled along the outside of the peak.
One step at a time, he went slowly down the mountain, treading on the translucent stairway. As they made their downward spiral, they took him around and around, giving him a panoramic view of Olo in every direction. There was no handrail, just a smooth vertical stone wall on one side, and a sheer drop on the other. Flash had to focus, and this kept his head clear, which was his goal when he set out to walk on the plain. He hadn’t realized that he would be making this pilgrimage, and yet, here he was, transfigured, or at least blessed. There was a repetition to this journey. Step after step, nothing seemed to change on the seemingly endless staircase. The whale and Bucket glided patiently by his side. Flash wasn’t bored or discouraged about the distance, nor was he afraid or tired. He thought again of the slow moving transformation that took him from a small child to an old man. When he finally reached the bottom of the stairs, he was surprised at how quick the journey seemed to pass. I thought it would take longer, he said to his companions.
He wasn’t home yet. The foothills and the plains stretched between him and the castle.
The white whale came looking for her calf. When she reached the troupe, she lowered her pectoral flipper to the ground so Flash could climb up onto her back.
They sailed over the forest, and Flash felt refreshed, despite his long trek, and his earlier excursion to the mother ship. The shadows were getting long, and objects were backlit against a colorful curtain of sky.
Flash didn’t tell anyone about finding the invisible bridge. Whenever he heard the tall tales people told after bridge combing, he only listened and smiled, waiting to hear about the chasm and the Angel Tree. Besides, who was he to say the stories he overheard weren’t true? Maybe the experience, like the book, was tailored to the traveler.
He kept these thoughts quiet, and treasured them in his heart. Maybe he was the first to return from the invisible bridge, but who knows how many others had crossed it and come back down? As he had told Lem once, you can’t have people figured out. Everyone carried unspoken knowledge with them in their day to day lives. Because everyone is different, everyone could be his teacher. Flash reminded himself to acknowledge the divine within each one, believing this brought him one step closer to what he should do, and bringing greater depth and richness to life. He peered through the facets, and from time to time he caught a glimmer of something deeper. Each encounter was a portal to the shadow world that underpinned everybody and everything. He wasn’t special, he was privileged and humbled to be a part of it all.
The 2nd edition of the Adventures of Flash Meridian includes many new Episodes, illustrations and other F.M. goodies, as well as The Adventures of Mr. Pumpkinhead.
With the pod put safely back in storage, Flash went for a walk. He felt that he needed to clear his head.
He was very fond of the mother ship, which had carried him so far, and through situations that he thought would be the end of him. It was now an empty vessel, devoid of personal belongings, and he had no plan to return to it again. Why would he? There was nowhere he wanted to go. He didn’t remember where the ship came from. Deep inside, he remembered. The way an adult remembers their first step. It’s in there, and began a lifelong journey of steps, like the ones Flash took now. His inner child walked with him, remembering only the cave, and then waking up to spectacular colors and fresh air that surrounded and filled him. Flash’s prehistory was preserved, rather cryptically, on the cave walls. The drawings and paintings withstood time, and the destruction of the planet. There was no urgency to revisit them or understand them. They were safe, and they just were. This moment was all there was. This was the only moment that existed anywhere. It was not the most important, it was all. Flash kept walking. Not to get anywhere, but just to be. He kept putting one foot in front of the other, aware of the beauty beneath him. A patch of diamonds reflected the universe back to him through their facets. Another step, and those joyous lights were replaced by others. He would never see them in the same way again. It wasn’t sad that the diamonds gave way to garnets, and garnets to rubies. They came in and went out of his field of vision the way the sumptuous air entered and exited his lungs. Their only purpose was this moment.
With a clear head, Flash came face to face with a sheer cliff that rose abruptly from the flat ground. He turned to see that he was not alone. The black and white whale calf hung silently in the air.
Tears welled up from deep in his core, and streamed down his cheeks. He was not sad. Not afraid. He was just here in this moment. The calf nuzzled Flash’s shoulder, almost knocking him to the ground. Instinctively, he reached up and scratched the whale’s face. He had thought he was alone. This playful presence reminded him that he was part of it all. He was one spark reflected by a diamond amidst a sea of jewels, his only purpose to shine that sliver of light for a brief moment, whether or not anyone saw it.
Flash found himself at the base of a steep blue cliff, the top of which was the cobalt plateau. He saw no way to climb it, so he turned around and headed back across the plain. He remembered the day he floated up into the sky. It took no effort at all. Once again, he stretched his arms out, closed his eyes, and tilted his head back. The light was bright red through his closed lids, and hot on his skin. He wasn’t trying to fly, or levitate, he was just recalling that feeling on that extraordinary day, while fully experiencing this one. A feeling of gratitude filled him, and it felt almost like floating. Floating high above the painting of his life, and the cast of characters that assisted and accompanied him along the way. The view was incredible, even though his eyes were closed. To one side, he could see the wooly mammoth and saber toothed tiger, surrounded by a ring of giant mammoths who waved lettuce leaves from the ends of their dancing prehensile trunks. Off to the side of them, the mer creature also waved vegetation up to him, gazing up through huge, unblinking eyes. Next to him, an enormous octopus unfurled its tentacles. Whales swam through his field of vision, blocking his view from time to time. An enormous yellow whale passed by, and in its wake, Flash could see still more friends gathering and waving up to him. Archy grinned and patted his suit, and was engulfed in a cloud of dust. The king and queen were there. Aino and Jewely unfurled their wings and rose up from the plain along with a flock of robins and Bucket, who cradled the sphere inside him. Another whale slid into view with Mad and Luuu on its back, laughing and waving. Flash‘s parents and brothers were there, smiling. The shepherd of the stars also looked up, squinting in the bright light. Many others were visible, completing the picture of his life. He carried them all inside of him. His heart seemed to swell and he realized that every one of them was indispensable in getting him here now. He felt like his heart would burst. Placing his hand upon his chest, he felt the child he had been, and still was. He had been walking with his eyes closed for some time. He felt the firm, flat crystal surface beneath his feet.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw a landscape far below him. The view was one of floating, but he felt a solid surface beneath him. He had found the invisible bridge. He was not afraid, yet he had a decision to make. No, he didn’t. Like he had done in the cave, he just kept walking straight ahead.
Even here, he was not alone.
The black and white whale calf with migrating spots accompanied him silently, and Flash was glad for the company. When, at last, he reached the other side, he stepped back onto visible ground, and the baby whale, playful as ever, did an arial somersault. Flash laughed, and asked What should we do now?
Pumpkin season was coming to an end, and the director of the museum had an idea for a new exhibit. When he saw Flash in the cafe one day, he asked him if he had any interesting items from his travels that the Ololian public hadn’t seen yet. Flash thought for a minute, and said Yes, I have a few things in the mother ship. A black furry hide that I picked up on a frozen planet, and a cup that I chiseled out of the ice. Anything else?
Flash thought hard. He closed his eyes and visualized the interior of the ship. I could unplug the K.D. Head, he said. No one is using it up there.
And so Flash planned a trip up. He was excited to visit it again. He didn’t miss flying through space with no known destination. He’d done that already. He found his destination on Olo. Still, he had a lot of memories connected to the mother ship. I’ll look around while I’m up there, and see what else I might have.
Flash told his family about his plans to revisit the mother ship, and asked if anyone would like to join him. Mad and Luuu were busy. Bucket had developed a fear of going back into space. Poikani wasn’t really interested in going, and so once again, Flash was going to go alone. He readied the pod and took off without making a big deal about it. He lifted off and rose high above the crimson plain and the cobalt plateau. The reef like mountain spires towered above him for a moment, but he zoomed past them, rising to a vertical ascent. In no time, the blue sky went black, and he felt the familiar silence and slow motion effect of weightlessness. The homing device on the pod did all the work, drawing him to the mother ship, which awoke after her long slumber, to welcome him.
Flash was flooded with memories of other times he had looked down on the glistening planet he had come to love so much. He understood the images so much better now. When he looked at the fish head, or the woman hanging clothes on the line, he now thought of the friends he had there.
Flash knew he was not leaving like he had twice before, and yet he already missed Olo. He would be right back.
The pod was attracted to the mother ship, and docking happened automatically. He felt a soft thud, and then heard the clicking and slight jostling of the locking mechanism which secured the pod and sealed the hatch.
He floated up into the larger ship, which was down from the pod, as the pod was nestled into the underside of the mother ship.
Upon entry, he immediately saw the black hide, which was draped over his chair. He laughed to himself when he saw the Wizzzer, View Master and Etch-A-Sketch, which he had forgotten about. When he lifted the hide, the Olo ball rolled out, and bounced on the floor. I might as well have a coffee, he said, and that old friendly voice responded, Certainly.
A cup dropped from somewhere, and the aroma of fresh coffee filled the cabin.
An alarm beeped softly, and turning to the computer screen, he saw that the table of elements was still missing the molecules it took to produce the sphere, the toys and the ruby.
The ruby…. Where is that ruby?
He found it between the cushions near where the toys had been.
For all the familiarity of this spacecraft, Flash felt a little uneasy. He just wanted to get back to Olo.
He finished his coffee, cancelled the alarm and disconnected the K.D. Head. Come on, sweetheart, he said to the now dormant head like orb, and moved everything into the pod, securing it for the brief trip back.
He did one last scan of the cockpit, partly to see if there was anything he had missed for the museum, and in part because he wasn’t sure if he would see the interior of this ship again. He did see something on the floor under the control panel. He picked it up. It was the joke book prize from the Cracker Jack. When is clay no longer clay?
He put it in his pocket and floated down into the pod head first, like a slow motion dive, and swam into position in the pilot’s seat. The K.D. Head was strapped into the copilot’s chair. It was strangely quiet, and had no face, being powered down. He remembered the time when this object had been his only companion. It had informed and warned him. It had entertained and comforted him. He simply plugged it into a port on the instrument cluster. It flickered and sprang to life. Simulated life, but you know what I mean.
Flash released the locking mechanism, and the pod tumbled gently from its docking bay.
He had a clear view of the mother ship now. Its lights twinkled against a dark background, and on the underside, it reflected a distorted yet vibrant reverse view of Olo’s surface.
Flash didn’t linger. The pod dropped, and swooped into position to re-enter the atmosphere. Soon he was enveloped by blue light, and sailed high above Olo’s ocean, losing altitude quickly. The speeding pod left a vapor trail in the thickening air as the ground seemed to rise toward him in his descent.
He slowed, and circled the plains, and touched down near the hangar where the pod was kept.
Bucket hovered outside the pod to greet Flash as he stepped onto the sparkling crystal tarmac. He was happy to hold those familiar objects again, and helped Flash deliver them to the museum.
