CHAPTER 21 - THE LAND OF ALWAYS SUMMER
It was a beautiful sunny day at the beach. Michaelah and Koji were both very tired from everything they had been through leading up to this point. So, they decided to lay down at the beach and have a nap. Thankfully, the sun never got too hot. After a couple of hours, they walked off the beach, past the dunes of grass and sand, onto the sidewalk of a street. Down the road, there was a boardwalk with all sorts of stands. Ordinary people walked around, humans like Michaelah. It looked just like home for the most part, but something was off. Well, for one, everyone was way too happy. And no one was paying for anything. They had walked up to an ice cream stand and at first asked for two cookies, thinking they would be cheaper than the ice cream. The man with the old timey mustache handed them the ice cream cones and didn’t ask for anything in return. Michaelah looked at her cookie and then at Koji, who was already finishing his. Funny how sweets never seemed to make the panda bear say he only eats bamboo. Michaelah asked the man with the curly mustache for two ice cream cones. He made scooped the ice cream, made the cones, handed them to her, and merely said, “Have a nice day!”
They continued walking down the boardwalk. Besides stands, there were also games and piers with rides like rollercoasters and ferris wheels. They finished eating their ice cream and ran into an arcade. Michaelah showed Koji all of the cool arcade games. No one seemed to notice that Koji was a talking panda. Either they didn’t notice, or they didn’t care.
Just like with the ice cream, they did not have to pay for the arcade games. Usually, Michaelah would have to lug around a bunch of quarters or tokens. After they played every game they wanted to, they hit the rides. The first one they went on was a rollercoaster that did five flips. Michaelah loved it but Koji vowed never to go on it again. He almost threw up his ice cream. After that, they went on the Ferris Wheel. Koji loved that ride. It reminded him of sitting in a really tall tree back at home. He loved the view.
From the top of the Ferris Wheel, they saw the entire island. They were on an island? Michaelah paled at the thought. Surrounded by beaches and hotels, the boardwalk was the unofficial center of the town. She wondered what this place was called. She felt too embarrassed to ask one of the ride attendants, so she simply asked them if their was an info center or customer service. And sure enough, on their way to said center, they didn’t even have to go inside because there was a huge sign above the house that said, “Welcome to the Land of Always Summer.”
Michaelah knew exactly what that meant, having been from a place with school and summer vacation. This was vacation land, a place like this in Pandamonium would mean paradise on earth. Michaelah explained to Koji all the things there were to do. After going on a couple more rides, they found the closest hotel. Both were given their own rooms, again, free of charge. Money did not exist in the Land of Always Summer.
The next day they got bagels for breakfast. The cafe even had a bagel made out of bamboo leaves and bread for Koji. He loved it. After spending some time on the beach, they went back to the boardwalk for more treats, games, and rides. It took them two weeks of the same routine until they had gone on all the rides, played all the games, and tried all the different snacks.
“It’s okay,” Michaelah assured Koji, “Because there is still so much more to do.”
The next day they played mini golf after the beach. The day after that they went to the aquarium. They day after that they went bowling. Thinking they had pretty much done it all, one of the people at the beach asked them if they liked the waterparks.
“The what?” they both said in return.
For an entire week, Michaelah and Koji spent as much time as they could in the two waterparks on the boardwalk. Each park consisted of several different slides. Some you slid down in tubes and some you slid down on mats. Some you just got on your back. There were replica pirate ships with water guns and hoses and giant buckets that spilled water on everyone every twenty minutes. They had so much fun going to both waterparks and comparing the differences. When they got too tired they went in the lazy river. A slow and level waterway with floats and tubes. There is a slight current that carries you along the water slowly.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
After another week of endless vacation, they were starting to miss the rides again, so they went back on all of them except the one rollercoaster that Koji vowed against. Michaelah enjoyed that ride by herself. Every so often they would find something new to do on the island or some new food to try. There was endless entertainment. For a whole week, Michaelah and Koji tried every single pool on the island, which of course meant that they had to spend the night at every single hotel on the island. It was so much fun not having to pay for anything.
They could honestly do this forever. There were enough choices in the candy stores alone to keep them entertained for a lifetime. Although it was just the two of them and everyone on the island were like shadow people, the amount of fun they were having was at such a high level, it completely made them think about anything else. Michaelah had once again forgotten about her home and her birthday.
One day, while they were sitting on the beach, Michaelah asked Koji how he came to find her in the basement of Gamer Central and saved her from Buster.
“Oh yea, I forgot about that. Crazy how it worked out. I had actually just gotten there when you walked away from Chaz’s player pod. Maeve wanted me to go check on you guys and they just let me in. I thought it was weird until people started asking to take pictures with me. They assumed I was part of the tournament, one of the mascots. I played along until I saw you, and well I followed you following Buster.”
“Wow, that is crazy. I’m glad you were there, and it all worked out.”
“Me too, Michaelah. You’re my best friend.”
Michaelah smiled. Again, something made her think of home, of her family, her dad, her mom, and her younger sister. They were probably worried about her after all this time. She wished she could bring them here with her and Koji. That would be perfect.
They spent more time in the Land of Always Summer, they went fishing and crabbing one day, and then jet-skiing another day. Koji hated the jetski. It seemed like every day there was something new to do. Then they would always come back to the beach.
On yet another perfect day, they sat on the beach together. At this point, they were beach pros, as in professional beachgoers. Michaelah had a pink blanket she picked up from a shop at the boardwalk, so she didn’t have to deal with the sand. Koji had a cute beige hat with a brim that went all the way around like he was on safari. They both wore sunglasses. Michaelah looked around the beach. The waves shined with the rays of the sun reflecting off its surface. There were few people out there with them. Most of them were like all the others, generic, non-specific people, but then there was one she could see clearly.
He had the feet of an old man, there were even warts. Gross. He hummed as he tapped his feet on the sand. His hum sounded so familiar. Michaelah got up and approached the old man. Koji followed him. She walked up and saw that it was none other than Alabaster the Wizard.
He was shocked to see them. “What are you two doing here? I thought you would be long gone. Home with your families.”
“Well,” Michaelah answered for both of them, “We got through Scary Territory but lost all the things you gave us in the process, even the map. Plus, we really like it here.”
“That’s understandable. I come here every summer, but I make sure to leave before it gets too late.”
“How do you know when it is too late?”
“When I start missing home and thinking about it.”
Michaelah had been thinking about home a lot lately. She had no idea how long it had been since she left. It felt like months, but she knew time moved differently in Pandamonium, just not how, or the extent.
“If you want, I can bring you home right now,” offered the wizard.
Koji looked at Michaelah, unsure of what to say, he left it to her. Michaelah looked back and forth at the panda and the wizard, with the ocean waves crashing behind them. It was so hard for her to decide. They had finally found the most fun place in Pandamonium, no danger, no drama. How could they leave? There was always more to do, and Koji had said he wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel one last time before they left.
One thought brought Michaelah back to reality. One thing from her past that she could not forget, nor could she ignore. It wasn’t just about missing home, and it wasn’t just about missing her family. Michaelah had a younger sister back home that looked up to her. She had a mother that cared deeply for her. And she had a father that would not stop looking for her. Michaelah had to go back because it was the right thing to do. Michaelah gave up a free vacation.
“Let’s go home,” she told Alabaster the wizard, and Koji shook his head proudly.