The Green Guardian

Chapter 2: Unbalanced Dimension

His mother crossed her arms. "Look what you're doing to your poor fiancée! The sweet thing can't even cook a pancake anymore!"

"But, Mamá, I thought you had no qualms about keeping her company," Mateo argued.

"No qualms? Oh, I have plenty of qualms, Mateo Waeo!"

"Please don't call me that."

His mother stamped her foot. "I'm not having my baby boy confront a basilisk. You're going to call the Union right now and call off the mission. That thing will petrify you!"

Mateo shook his head. "No, it won't, Mom. This basilisk is different."

"I don't care! Call the Union! Look at you, my son. You're exhausted. You have bags under your eyes."

Mateo rubbed his index fingers under each of his eyes. "I haven't been sleeping well," he admitted. "That's why I need to return to the wilderness."

"You will not!"

"You can't stop me, Mom. I'm not a child anymore. I promise I'll be careful. I've been trained to confront magical beings, remember?" Mateo pushed past Ms. Brook and came within reach of Maria. He got down on one knee and offered her his hands.

She hesitated but accepted them.

"Listen to me, Maria," Mateo said in a gentle voice. "After this mission, it will be just you and me. But I have to go. I have a feeling something exciting is going to happen." He rubbed tears from his fiancée's cheeks. "The boy and Guardian are counting on me to free them." For a second, he rested his palm on Maria's belly. He brushed it across her belly button.

Maria wrapped her fingers around his slightly shaking hand. "I just don't want you to get hurt," she admitted.

"I won't. Before you know it, we will be lounging on Maglin Beach. Now, I have to get going." Mateo gave her a quick kiss.

"Mateo!" Ms. Brook snapped, but he ignored her. He grabbed his suitcase and pushed himself to his feet. The young man picked up his keys from a counter and trekked down the painting-filled hallway. He opened the front door with precision.

The summer air smelled fresh, but barbecue, hay, and horse dung mixed in with the overall scent. Mateo was used to the unusual smells.

Across the street was a playground, as well as a few farms.

Children raced each other across the playground's monkey bars and took turns on the slides and swings. Lots of people were out on their morning walks. There was a gentle mix of pedestrians and equestrians. The whole neighborhood was shady.

Mateo trotted down the front steps. He lifted his hand and waved goodbye to his white and black house, including the window where his room was. He stood on a cobblestone path. Green grass surrounded it. His red Convertible was at the end of the path. Mateo took it to the shop just the other day, so it was slick and shiny. He spoke into his device, "All right, I'm on my way."

Maria and his mother appeared in the doorway behind him.

Ms. Brook shook her head. "Oi, I'm going to have to put that boy in a bubble." Like Maria, she knew she couldn't stop him, no matter how hard she tried.

Maria scoffed. "Men, right? I wish someone would just look after him."

Strangely, when she said that, a shadow swooped over their heads. It moved fast, so the women did not see it.

Mateo climbed into his car and started it up. He pulled out of the driveway and turned onto the street.

Maria and Ms. Brook kept a close eye on him. They were unaware that something strange was about to happen.

***

Euphorbia and Sam were trapped in another dimension and time. The dimension was space-like. Colorful stars and galaxies swooshed by Euphorbia's protective bubble, but the area was pitch black.

Sam was in stasis. His whole body was frozen. The wound on his arm was very much fresh.

Euphorbia, though, was not in stasis. After all, she was the one who had the power to time travel. Except, she was so weak from her illness. The Pebble Masters... Where were they? She did not know how much longer she could keep this up. Her ability to keep Sam alive was fading, but she felt a glimmer of hope. Messages from the Paperblank Forest told her so. It was time. She just had to hold on a little longer.

The weakened fairy rested in Sam's hair. She struggled to lift her head. Faded blue and green fairy dust bounced off her wings. Opening her mouth, she called for the Pebble Masters. "Pebble Masters, please. Please help us."

***

Euphorbia's message got across to Pinta Country. Every tree in the kingdom glowed up the same they did sixty years prior.

People stopped their daily activities so they could witness the phenomenon.

Maria and Ms. Brook exchanged confused looks with one another. "What's going on?" Maria finally asked.

Mateo was practically on the main road when the strange event hit his neighborhood. The shadow that swooped over Maria and his mom appeared over him, but he didn't see it. Instead, he got out of his car, device in hand, and looked up at the trees. He held it up to them. "The Guardian's calling out again," he observed. "Don't worry. I'm going to help you."

Dimensional readings on his device were high. They told him someone was calling from another dimension. The boy and Guardian had been trapped in time for sixty years; it was about time the Pinta Park Rangers did something. Without the Guardian, there was no hope of defeating the basilisk to free the Paperblank Forest. Mateo's mission was definitely on the more extreme side. Now it was even more crucial for him to reach the village.

"I won't let you down, Grandmother," he whispered under his breath.