Destination, Placida: The Return

Cibola, the City of Gold

Note: It has been many years since either Ran or her friend Angie have ventured back into the pristine majesty of Placida. One day, the progeny of both friends happen to discover it, and not one mythical character has aged. Aquarius has grown some in years, but nothing has transformed her warmth and caring. Even Loki, long since dead, is very much alive here in Placida but only lives within its enchanted surroundings.

“The sky knows when it’s time to snow, don’t need to teach a seed to grow. It’s just another ordinary miracle today.”—some lyrics from Ordinary Miracle

Chapter 1—Cindy Hart and Riley and Rowan Williamson

Cindy Hart was her mother’s daughter. She resembled her in every way, particularly in her natural inquisitive nature. She had been named after Ran’s mother, Cynthia. Ran had kept in contact with her parents as soon as she had graduated from college then gotten her Masters in mythology and history. She worked as a librarian and her husband, Kevin, worked as a real-estate investor. Both of them were busy, but managed to keep their passion kindled as well as uplift their darling toe-headed daughter, Cindy Hart. Cindy even got to meet her mother’s friend, Angie, who was also married. She had two children of her own, fraternal twins Riley and Rowan. Like her mom, she got along swimmingly with the boy and girl team. However, the three of them together were about to rekindle the friend’s past on a land they almost had forgotten…The mystical realm of Placida.

One day, the three friends were playing Clue together when they heard the lonesome howl of a wolf. Although it was eerie, neither one of them was afraid.

“That’s strange. It’s only early evening. A wolf wouldn’t be howling at this hour.”, Riley said, adjusting her glasses.

“Yes, that is most peculiar sister. Let’s investigate. Come on, Cindy !”, Rowan agreed, grabbing the platinum-blonde by the hand and leading her outside. Once there, there was a glorious white wolf waiting for them. He stood proudly at the entrance to the woods, the sun glowing off of his white fur.

“Let’s go…”, he said, pointing his nose toward the woods, playfully.

“That wolf actually spoke. This becomes more curious by the moment.”, Riley stated, raising a bewildered eyebrow. Everything transformed into a glittering, green, expansive wonderland, filled with creatures they never thought to be real. They all pinched themselves, thinking they were dreaming, but seeing as they could feel the pain of the pinch, they weren’t dreaming at all.

Chapter 2—Meeting Aquarius and Other Fantastical Creatures

After Loki stopped in the heart of a realm that was the most beautiful place the children had ever seen in their lifetimes, a huge blue rabbit with a pom-pom poodle tail came hopping their way.

“Is this like Alice In Wonderland ? I wonder how deep the rabbit hole goes…”, Riley said.

“I don’t know, but I know who this lady is. This is Aquarius. My mom knew her when she was young !”, Cindy stated, excitedly.

“Now I remember ! Mom told us about her too !”, Rowan added as the large morabbit approached them. Immediately she hugged them, knowing who they were.

“It is good to see the apples don’t fall far from their respective trees.”, Aquarius said, warmly as she mussed up the children’s hair. The three of them laughed, feeling safe with her. There were other morabbits, smaller ones that had been inquisitive about the three humans. Humans weren’t too common in Placida so they were an object of curiosity for all the fantastical creatures there.

“Why were we invited here ?”, Cindy asked, after she had introduced herself and her closest friends.

“There is a place we know of, but have never seen. It is only known in legend. Perhaps you have heard of it. It is called Cibola.”, Aquarius answered, wisely. She always sounded so maternal her voice had the quality to soothe and at times, lull the children involuntarily.

“Yes, that is familiar. Do you know where it exists ?”, Rowan asked, wanting to see the city of gold since inwardly, he was quite skeptical that it was real.

“Past Hydevar in the North. You must pass the Dwelling of Darkness in that area, but do not fret. There are guards there watching over the prisoners.”, Aquarius stated, assuaging the children’s fears. They had known exactly who those prisoners were from their mother’s detailed and tremendous stories, but actually hearing it in person was surreal.

“Thank you. We’ll do our research and come back with our report.”, Riley stated, saluting proudly. Aquarius laughed lyrically.

“You are all such brave little children, and I know you shall do well. Before you go, please enjoy a dinner with me. I am certain you will enjoy it.”, Aquarius offered, and already smelling the ambrosial meal coming from the village the children couldn’t possibly refuse.

Chapter 3—Past Darkness and the Trek through Hydevar

After the lavish dinner the three children had, they began to make their long journey to Cibola. Walking past Darkness had been a bit unnerving, but seeing the guardians next to the prisons where evil creatures were kept they felt a sense of calm. Hydevar was just ahead, but they had to make a stop. There didn’t seem to be any hotels where they could rest.

“Now what do we do ? We don’t have any resources with which we could set up camp. It’s practically barren here on the threshold to Hydevar, and I can see blustery winds ahead.”, Riley said, practically.

“This is a magical realm, Riley. Use your imagination. Like this.”, Rowan said, raising his hands. With a simple wave of his hand, a tent appeared.

“Ooh, nifty.”, Riley said, who tried as well, generating her own tent. Cindy had already produced some firewood and set it ablaze.

“Woah…”, the fraternal twins said in unison. Indeed, here, imagination had thousands of possibilities and could be used in numerous constructive ways. Before long the three of them had warmed up to the glowing fire, telling stories and soon sleeping in their tents under the stars before entering the snowy land of Hydevar.

Hydevar had all types of snow creatures, all of which were quite quaint and curious in nature. They were beautiful to look upon, and very helpful in assisting the trio across the frozen tundra until they reached the edge of the “island” of Placida.

“Is this it ? How do we cross ?”, Cindy said, a bit disappointed that this was all the further they had come and still had to keep going north without a method of doing so. One of the ice pixies whistled, and a gryphon appeared.

“You rang, Quartz ?”, the gryphon named Gandalf questioned.

“I certainly did, old friend. These three need transport to Cibola.”, the pixie stated, honestly.

“Wait, did you ask them as to why ?”, the gryphon responded, seeing the response as dubious and begging more questions.

“Yes, actually I did. They want to know if it exists. I doubt their intent is self-seeking or greedy. I mean look at them, they’re mere children. They’re too pure to understand the real meaning of money.”, Quartz stated in their response. The pixie trusted the trio, sensing their innocent auras. Gandalf eyed the three with his silver eyes, looking them over intensely. He placed his large paw on their heads, one after another, dousing out the truth through brain-waves and also through scent. After he had made all of his checks they were deemed kosher by him.

“You’re all welcome with Gandalf. Hop upon my back, we’re setting off for the island. Find what you need there and when you need me again just whistle like Quartz did and I will return for you.”, Gandalf said paternally as the trio did as they were commanded. The three of them were surprised how silky a gryphon’s fur was on the back or how downy those feathers were. But even more splendid was the flight itself. From above in the stratosphere, among the galaxies, they saw the continents of Placida below, some they knew, some they didn’t. It seemed though, Placida was constantly evolving, and if imagination was any indication of what type of land it would be in the future, it would be a most stupendous one and more miraculous than anyone had ever thought.

Chapter 4—Shining, Shimmering Cibola

Cibola was surrounded by galaxies and stars, yet the atmosphere was viable. The thought that this place even existed was extraordinary. Even the most skeptical child in the group, Rowan, had to believe that such miracles did thrive within this special realm.

Gandalf landed and lowered himself to allow the children to dismount. Riley was about to reach out and touch one of the idols when Gandalf stopped her.

“Don’t ! No human has ever been here before. You are the first. Touching anything might have dire consequences, so be careful.”, he said. Gandalf, and other gryphons, had acted as Cibola’s guardians for eons, and yet they never aged. Gandalf was possibly thousands, maybe millions of years old, but there were matters even he could never answer, like how Cibola came to be or why it had such a sacred aura. No matter what, they knew they were witnessing God in some shape or form.

As the children witnessed the paradise before them, they hardly even spoke. It was as if they could hear a faraway symphony and wanted to listen to every lingering note until Cindy could hear the voice of her mother from afar.

“Mom and dad are worried about us.”, she said, with some melancholy in her tone.

“Leaving so soon ? You’ve only been here for a few minutes.”, Gandalf said, wondering what the children’s hurry was.

“I heard mom calling. She’s concerned. In your world, it might be only a few minutes of time that has lapsed, but in ours, it could be hours. It’s no wonder she is fretting…”, Cindy said, wringing her hands nervously.

“Then by all means, I will return you, you can relay your information to the Overseer and exit this place.”, Gandalf said, as he picked up the children and returned them to the heart of Placida, the village of Wisp.

Chapter 5—Saying Goodbye

Once returned to Wisp, the children told Aquarius and the others of what they had seen.

“Oh, it’s indescribable. Idols and pyramids everywhere you can see. Everything is made out of gold. Nothing lives here, but the realm itself has a sacredness to it.”, Riley said, her voice full of brilliance and ebullience.

“The gold spread as far as the eye could see. It was only limited by imagination. There’s no telling how far Cibola goes.”, Cindy finished.

“We had no idea.”, Aries chirped, his voice excited and eager.

“We all need to do more research in the future. And perhaps the gryphons could assist us.”, Taurus added, astutely.

“That they could, my children. Perhaps our ancestors live on in those monuments. We won’t know until we investigate. Thank you children. I can imagine going past Darkness was frightening, and I should’ve done it myself. But as Overseer, I cannot do such things. I am watching everyone else.”, Aquarius said, with a laugh. The brave children knew of what she spoke, having some idea of what duties the Overseer had to shoulder in her lifetime. She then hugged the children close, realizing they had to rush home at a moment’s notice.

“You three be careful now. It looks like Loki will be by your side as you go.”, Aquarius said as she noticed Loki’s sudden appearance. He had a tendency to do that with those he wanted to protect. Nodding, they took the advice of the gentle Overseer and left, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time they saw Placida. Something told them that so long as they had their imaginations to survive in that magical land they would be back.

Epilogue

Ran and Angie had been waiting for their children back home, concerned for where they had been. The three children knew they could tell their mothers the truth but not with their fathers.

“We can have a talk about where you were later. Right now all that matters is you three are home and safe.”, Ran said, embracing the children close to her. Angie too was relieved her twins were back in her arms, even though she had known where they had been. It wasn’t so dangerous to travel into Placida like it was in the past, but the unknown factor had always been frightening despite that. Simply put, she was glad to have them back and they were unharmed. She couldn’t wait to hear what they had seen and a part of her knew she could see what they had within her mind’s eye. Luckily, like her best friend Ran, her imagination had limitless possibilities, even though she was considered an “adult”.

Angie soon went home to enjoy dinner with her children and spouse, all sitting around the table laughing out loud. A similar situation was occurring in Ran’s house and it seemed despite the distance, the laughter could be heard from afar. On into the night, the families both enjoyed their dinners together. Finishing up the day with some rigorous games outside, they returned later as the sun set for a bit of television and quickly went to bed. The three children kept Placida close in their hearts, yearning to return, all the while knowing that they would continue coming back as long as they could. Nothing could stop their imaginations, and their imaginations would keep Placida thriving for eons to come.

The End