The Two Worlds by Alisha Howard Read Free Book Online Page B

weatherman would get on
TV to confirm the day would be a scorcher. The TV was playing
faintly downstairs as Grandma watched the news, and Nia, who
already finished her homework, was out at the mall with her best
friend, Bobbi. Sighing, I pushed aside my math textbook and pulled
out the Turgor papers. After staring at them for a few minutes, I
shook my head. No, you’ve got to finish this work! I scolded
myself. I gave myself a quick mental pep talk and then dove back
inside algebra. Later on that evening, I sat outside on the front
porch with Nia.
    “ How was the meeting?” she
asked, popping a large wad of chewing gum. The fireflies were out
tonight, and they seemed to pulse golden light in time with the
crickets, which were also making their presence known. I breathed
deeply and smiled. Times like these were nothing short of
Heaven.
    “ Meeting?” I asked, looking
at her. As usual, she was fashionably dressed and looking gorgeous.
Her face was so serene.
    “ Turgor.”
    “ Oh, good, I guess,” I
shrugged, looking away. “We’re working on basic spells so we can
figure out how to get the Death Walker. Rena keeps accidentally
turning her Evrode into a mint. I don’t think she’s very happy with
her.”
    Nia chuckled. “She’ll get the hang of
it.”
    “ Yeah, I know she will. How
about you? What do you do all day?”
    “ I have an advanced Creator
course that I’m in right now,” Nia explained, poking at a passing
bug with her big toe. “And once a week I volunteer for the High
Counsel. Doing paperwork and stuff.” She looked pleased with
herself.
    “ Why are you doing that?” I
asked, confused. “Is that a part of an assignment?”
    “ Nope,” Nia said, shaking
her head. “I want to be part of the Senior Counsel one day, so I’m
hoping that volunteering can open up doors for me. It looks good on
the resume, you know.”
    I shook my head. So Nia was basically
an overachiever on any planet.
    “ Before I go to bed, I’m
going to stop by the hospital and sit with Grandpa for awhile. You
want to go?” Nia nodded. We walked inside, let Grandma know where
we were going, and headed out.
    “ Hey Grandpa,” I greeted
softly. A dim, yellow light above his bed illuminated his face,
casting an eerie glow. The soft beep, beep from the machine hooked
up to him returned our greeting.
    “ How are you?” Nia
continued. There was no answer, but this didn’t stop us from
talking to Grandpa like he was still conscious. Ever since Grandma
had read that coma patients could still hear what was going on
around them, we had all taken time to make sure Grandpa was up to
date on our lives. Of course, now that Nia and I knew what was
really happening with Grandpa, it kind of changed things.
Nonetheless, I wasn’t able to stop my ritual of coming to see
Grandpa and neither was Nia, it seemed. We tossed our bags on the
floor near the door and took our usual spots on the hard sofa. The
sky was still light as the summer sun slowly descended. We were in
the longest days of the year and had plenty of time before it got
completely dark.
    “ I decided to read you one
of your stories,” I said, pulling out the stack of papers. I looked
over at Nia. “You mind?”
    “ Go ahead,” she said,
leaning back. “I can never get enough of Turgor.”
    I smirked, shuffling the papers before
I found a title that stood out to me. “ The Legend of Benads Gen,
Son of Felkne ,” I read out loud. I turned to Nia. “Ever heard
of him?” She shook her head, and I continued. “Once upon a time, in
the far lands of eastern Dent lived the powerful Felkne family, who
ruled their lands with justice and grace. They had many children,
all princes and princesses, who were well loved by the people. It
was a happy time, and their people prospered—great art and music
came out of this time, along with the modern Turgorian writing
system. However, this family did not rule for long. They were
attacked by a neighboring kingdom, and a great war