What’s The Next Step 5

Next Step 5

Chapter 5: Revontulet

Ling
Carlisle and Legolas took our blood samples for testing. I went into panic mode but I was held by Emmett and Esme. Carlisle wanted to send our blood to the nearby laboratory to ensure him that we healed completely. I admit I was suspicious.

Anyway, the adults gave their consent for us to travel to the ‘end of the world.’ It’s the adults’ inside joke that we didn’t get. Carlisle wanted to go to the library again in the afternoon. This time, Tyng and Amalina came. Legolas wanted to stay at home.

We traveled in Carlisle’s Mercedes. The library was surprisingly huge and looked like the White House. Carlisle immediately excused himself and headed off to the medical section. He’s very devoted to this field of work. Amalina rushed off to the science and technology section. Tyng and I went from one rack to another. We were flipping through some old, worn-out books when we stumbled upon a dictionary.

The dictionary was old and the pages were yellowish. It was bound tightly with a leather strap. Tyng undid the strap and brushed off the dust on the cover. “It’s an elf language dictionary. It translates from Elvish to Latin to English,” Tyng said as we pored over the old book. “I think there’s a part where it translates from English to Elvish,” she added when she read through the list of contents. When she found the page she wanted, she turned the book upside down and opened the cover of the book again.

Suddenly, a random thought entered my mind. “Look for the word ‘Undiscovered’,” I said. Tyng frowned. “What for?” she asked while looking at me. “I thought you already knew the word.”

“I’ll look if you don’t want to,” I said when Tyng sneezed. “Boy, it’s dusty,” Tyng said and blew her nose into a tissue. Tyng checked out another rack of books while I ran my finger across the book. “I can’t find the word,” I said after awhile and sighed. “Did you find under the letter D?” she replied. She peered at me between the gaps of the rack opposite of me. “Yes, I did. I even checked the index,” I replied and shoved the dictionary back to where it belong.

“Maybe it’s nonexistent in Elvish,” Tyng said and shrugged. She blew her nose again. “Let’s check another,” she added. The result was the same. Nothing. “Try the word ‘find’?” I suggested. Same. Nothing. We even looked through the thesaurus. “Why don’t they have the word? Aren’t elves supposed to be much more knowledgeable than Einstein?” Tyng said and frowned deeper when she accidentally got a paper cut.

I got really irritated with the dust and we decided to check something else out. “Let’s ask Arwen and Legolas when we get back,” I said. I’m not satisfied. “Where did you girls go to? You’re covered in dust,” Carlisle said when we walked up to him. He was at the library counter searching for a book. “Went through some old books,” Tyng replied.

“Ready to go?” he turned around and asked after getting the book he looked for. “Hold on. I want to borrow a book,” Amalina said. Carlisle passed his card to Amalina.

“What book is that?” Tyng asked when Amalina looked so excited when she got to borrow the book. We were walking towards the car. “A book about twilight and aurora,” Amalina said. “It’s interesting.”

“Might help all of you later,” Carlisle commented after putting on his shades. Carlisle dropped us off in front of the house. “I’m going to the lab for awhile,” he said. I unlocked the door and stepped in. The others were watching television. I could see that our bags were ready at the bottom of the stairs. We packed our stuff yesterday night.

“Where’s Arwen and Legolas?” I asked. They pointed to the dining hall without looking up from the TV. Amalina joned them watching a serial drama that got everyone’s attention. Tyng and I went into the dining hall after watching a few scenes. Arwena nd Legolas were using the phone when we came in.

“Just called to check on my people,” Legolas said. “How can we help you?” Arwen said and ended her call. Tyng and I settled into the chair. “Why is that we couldn’t find the word ‘Undiscovered’ in the Elvish dictionary?” I asked. “Why are you interested in that word?” Arwen said while placing two cups of steaming coffee in front of us.

“I found a book about us in your royal library and our gifts are listed right beside our names. Trisha’s gift was left blank and the word undiscovered was scrawled there,” I explained. Arwen exchanged a knowing look with Legolas. Legolas gestured to Arwen with his hand.

“Usually, the elves write the word undiscovered when they do not know how to explain something. To make themselves look smarter, they use the word undiscovered. You can try looking for the word ‘silly’, ‘dumb’ or ‘lazy’ but you can’t find them in our vocabulary. In the olden days, elves are very stubborn and arrogant. They want to be seen as geniuses,” Arwen explained slowly. She never paused to breathe.

“So what is Trisha’s gift?” I pressed. “Let’s see. It has to be something that elves do not like,” Legolas said. Not much of help. We couldn’t think of any suitable words. “We’ll think of more later,” Arwen said. “Thank you for both of your time,” Tyng said before we went out to meet the others.

It was a long drive. Thank goodness we have a good and comfortable car. We passed by Carlisle’s Mercedes. He flashed his lights at us. He was on his way back. We passed by the sea. It was all frozen and penguins were sliding on the ice. It was as if they were tap dancing. “The penguins are so adorable,” Alice cooed. Jasper peered out of the window.

Amalina was reading her book and shared info with all of us now and then. Tim will explain things in more detail while Jasper will ask questions. Edward snapped pictures of all of us. Bella had her earphones on.

“We’re here,” Alice announced cheerily. We got out of the car. It was freezing cold and windy. I hugged myself tightly. “We can only go this far,” Pogue said. We stopped at a beach. The sun disappeared underneath the sea. The twilight looked better than yesterday somehow. There was the greenish-blue glow again.

“Do you know auroras can emit energy?” Amalina piped up. Pogue checked his watch. “We can still make it to Fairbanks to see the aurora,” he said. “Let’s go. It’s something different,” Rosalie said and hugged Emmett. She must be bored with twilights. We got into the car again and hit the road.

I just knew that they love speed. We nearly fell out of our seats when Pogue floored the accelerator. We were the only car on the road. ‘You’re going to kill the planet Pogue,” Alice warned. “He’ll kill us too. The road is slippery,” Caleb spoke up. Pogue slowed the car down to 60 just because we were nearly there.

We saw the aurora when the car stopped. All of us got out quickly. The aurora was glowing green and a bit of red at the top. It was also moving like waves in the sky. “This is so amazing,” Daphne said out loud with a huge smile on her face. I heard a bit of whistling. “Did someone whistle?” I asked and looked around.

“It is from the aurora,” Amalina said and stood next to me. She shone the flashlight onto a page of the book. “We can send telegraphs without using batteries,” Pogue said as he poured a warm drink for us from a huge flask. Amalina and Pogue love Physics, anything mechanical. They have been discussing a lot of things related Physics.

The aurora was very bright. Everything was dark because Pogue killed the engine of the Hummer to savour the moment. “Embracing nature,” Emmett said. All of us kept silent for a while. I heard the whistling again.

We stayed a while longer before deciding to return home. Damien just called Pogue to check on us with his cell. “Time to go. We are wanted,” Pogue announced and opened the door to the driver’s seat.

I tried to stay awake throughout the journey home. Daphne already dozed off. “Get some sleep. We have a long way to go,” Alice said. “I don’t want to miss anything. I’ve been sleeping too much anyway,” I replied. Pogue turned down the volume of the radio.

Alaska at night was pretty scary. It was all snow and ice. When we finally reached home, my friends and I were super exhausted. Esme opened the door for us. My friends and I immediately went upstairs to sleep.