Bucket was about to present a series of trivia questions that would reveal the locations of Olo’s portals. We know about the one beneath the arch… the one that Flash had used to reunite with Luuu after finding his inner child. This was the one that Archy traversed from the great beyond.
It had been a long game. People were getting tired, and the spaghetti squash wine made everyone forget the questions as soon as they were asked. In fact, they forgot that they were playing a game. Attention turned toward a table where a banquet had been laid out. The location of the portals remained a secret known only by Bucket and the dragons.
Everyone had a good time, and that’s the important thing.
Like the portals, there were other unseen features and objects on Olo.
I’ve told you about the bridges between the spires of the reef like mountains. Well, there was rumored to be an invisible bridge up there, somewhere. It was made of crystal, probably diamond, that was so pure that you couldn’t see it. There were no inclusions, no particulate matter to stop the light, nor would its surface reflect light, no matter how bright a beam was projected onto it. Imagine solidified air. It was like that, or so it was told. It was solid. You would trip over it, or run into it, if it lay across your path.
The Ololians played a game they called Bridge Combing, where a group would split off in the dark of night to search for it. Later, they would gather at a table, telling fantastic stories of stumbling across the bridge, and tall tales of what happened when they found it.
The invisible bridge was cemented into Ololian culture. Whenever someone transitioned… left their life on Olo for their next chapter, they were said to have crossed the invisible bridge.
Perhaps that’s why no one could find it. Everyone who solved the mystery went across it, and didn’t come back. Whatever lay on the other side of the span must be incredible if no one returned.
The next morning, the courtyard was filled with well wishers who had come to see the king and queen off. Buffy and Skip stepped off a small dock like balcony and onto the back of the white whale. The royal whale was the only one that had retained its original white color. The rest sported every color you could think of. In time, the baby whales were adorned in gradient hues. Deep rich tones at their dorsal ridge faded to a lighter shade of that color on their bellies. When this younger generation began producing offspring, many of them wore dazzling patterns in both of their parents’ colors.
A black whale calf with white spots that seemed to migrate across its body appeared at Flash’s balcony one day. It was too small to carry a rider, and just seemed to want to play or visit.

There was something familiar about this little one.

The king and queen were setting off on a tour of Olo. They would fly low, just over the treetops, making sure everything was ok. People would come out of their homes and wave up to them. They would call greetings up to the royal couple, and some of them would ask questions. Without advance warning of where they would eat dinner, the whale would set them down near a table, where they would feast on delicious but simple foods, and immerse themselves in deep conversations. These were diplomatic trips, but without any fanfare or fuss. Buffy and Skip wanted to know how the other Ololians lived, what they thought about, what caused them concern. Their goal was to blend in, though this wasn’t really a possibility. There was always great respect and genuflection, which the couple received graciously.
That black and white calf came back to Flash’s balcony day after day. All of the whales on Olo were friendly, taught by their family to interact with, and allow the people to climb onto their backs. This, and other instructions, were embedded into the language their ancestors knew. Without the whales, Olo would have retained its drab appearance. Their importance could not be overstated. While the king and queen had been on the planet before the transformation, and couldn’t recall another home before coming to Olo, the whales were a part of this landscape, literally emerging from the dusty soil.
One morning, Flash stood on his balcony, watching the morning light rake across the plains. The rays turned the crystals on in silent explosions of brilliant color. The little whale bobbed up and down playfully. Poikani entered Flash’s apartment, looking for the sphere. When he saw the calf, framed by the open doorway, and backlit by the sunrise, forming a halo, he froze. There was something about this young whale, beyond the color and how the patches of white traveled across its body.
Flash had wondered whether this might be Lem, in another form, come back to see him again. Poikani had no doubt.
Something caught Flash’s eye, moving slowly down the foothills toward the cobalt plateau. It was Buffy and Skip, returning home. When they reached the edge of the crystal plain, the calf turned away from the castle and raced to meet them. This was the calf of the royal whale.