The Way Home | ONC2021

Chapter 5

 "I am completely lost!" Zhandra whines. It had been ten while minutes since Aristotle had opened the relevant page for them. To say that the siblings were excited would be an understatement. 

 Now, ten minutes later, the girl gets off the bed and starts pacing the floor. She was feeling frustrated. Even after reading the words multiple times, she was not able to understand what they meant. She says them out loud without looking into the book:

 "Oath of warrior; heart of jade.
Steps of four, in total take.
Upon the path that leads astray,
Hearts untrue, with words they say. But when guardians of good intent, Walk the path they are meant.
With lessons learned, despite mistake. Find journey's end, a piece of cake."

 "Zhan, do we have to bake a cake for Gabe? Maybe, he will wake up if he eats cake." Alex offers optimistically. 

 Zhandra shakes her head. "I don't think that's right." She places her hand on the left side of her chest. "My heart is in the right place." She closes her eyes. "This book is supposed to show us a way to get Gabe home." All of a sudden, Zhandra opens her eyes. They shine bright. "Alex, I think I got it!"

 Alex, who is squatting on the bed, twiddling his thumbs, perks up instantly. "Yay! Tell me, Zhan."

 "Ok, so I think that we need to do four tasks to help Gabe. We need to make a promise to someone that we are willing to do these things. The book is also warning us that while doing these tasks, people may lie to us. So we need to be careful. And that if we are good kids, then we can complete these tasks easily!" Zhandra finishes explaining, smiling from cheek to cheek. 

 Alex claps. "Zhan, you are so smart!"

 Zhandra ruffles his hair and joins him on the bed. "Now, if I have figured this out correctly, I will be able to turn the page."

 After opening the book to page 1704, Aristotle had told them that they needed to figure out everything on their own from that point on. "You can only turn to the next page if you have understood the meaning behind the words on the current page." The book had informed before going silent. 

 Hesitantly, though full of hope, Zhandra's fingers creep towards the book to turn the page over, but alas, it refuses to turn over. 

 Zhandra's face falls. "I guess that wasn't the right answer." She mutters when she feels Alex gently tug at the hem of her shirt again. "What if we have to say it out loud for it to hear?" He enquires. 

 "Of course, how could I forget!" Zhandra exclaims and puts three of her center fingers up next to her ear. "I Zhandra," She looks at Alex, who mimics her actions. "I, Alex."

 "We take the oath to do our best to help Gabe return home."

 As soon as the words are out of her mouth, the page turns on its own. 

 The siblings high-five each other, celebrating their first victory before turning their attention to the heading of the page, which reads:

 "Show me how far you are willing to go.
Let me test your resolve, see if it holds. The first task is to bring me that which you love most."

 Zhandra turns to look at her brother. "I think it wants us to show it what we love most." 

 Alex shrugs. "What does resolve mean, Zhan?"

 "A strong determination to do something." The older answers. Then, "I think the book wants to see if we are determined to help Gabe."

 Alex bobs his head and tries to flip to the next page. As expected, the book refuses. "Zhan, what do I love most?" He asks innocently.