Chapter 1: The Light
The waves of the churning ocean rolled endlessly and crashed in the centuries-old Norwegian sea stacks. Fierce winds seemed to cause trees to sway back and forth violently, making them more fragile than tiny twigs in a bird's nest. The clouds almost seemed to conceal the blinding whiteness of the moon's rays. The ocean waves then brought about a ship full of armed soldiers bound to a small ledge of rigid rock just outside of Norway. This island was the Island of Secrets.
"Are you sure this was a good idea? I can't imagine what could happen that could jeopardize this whole operation," one of the lieutenants asked a general, who was rigid in stature yet gentle in stoicism. "Yes," the general replied. "We've come to see if the violet ibis really does exists." "But sir, the violet ibis is nothing but a myth. If we come to this island find nothing but shrubbery and trees, we'll be a joke," the lieutenant said.
"The violet ibis? A myth? Nonsense," the general insisted. "This flower is said to cure a multitude of many illnesses. If we can find it, we'll bring it back to Hardanger County. We'll take the flower directly to medical institutions all across town. Once they see the ibis's healing abilities, we'll change the world. Ain't that right, my dear Lesley?" The girl, Lesley, wearing a blue and gray fur-lined parka, silently nodded.
"General!" a soldier shouted. "We've just made port on the island!" "All right," the general said. Turning to his elite and armed forces, he said, "Gentlemen! We have gathered here for one sole purpose in this land. That purpose is to find the ibis and bring it back to civilization and cure the world of its troubles! Do I make myself clear?" "Yes sergeant!" every soldier replied.
Soon after, the soldiers all poured out of the ship in a net and orderly fashion. The general, meanwhile, took his daughter Lesley along and caught up with each soldier and began marching through the dense entanglement of trees and shrubs. "Search the forest!" the general cried. "Be on guard, but no harm is to come to the ibis! No exceptions! Understand?" "Aye sir!" each and every soldier replied.
Soon, the soldiers all spilt up and began to search each part of the forest in an effort to obtain the ibis. Lesley, in her part, yawned lazily. She did not want to meddle in such affairs like this. Instead of helping out the other soldiers, she insisted on walking through the woods alone. Surrounded by nature, she was able to find her inner self. She wanted to become one with the woods.
Suddenly, a beam of light had startled Lesley. Curiously, she walked toward the light. She kept walking and walking until she came across a clear part of the woods where, in the center, lay a stone pedestal containing a large and beautiful flower of white, purple, and gold. It seemed to glow within the moonlight of the night sky. "The ibis of the ancient legend!" she whispered. It must be it!"
Curiously, she edged closer to the flower and kneeled over it. She gently caressed the ibis within her gloved hands, stroking the soft petals. "I can't believe it," she whispered gently. "The violet ibis. It really does exist. I never knew the ibis could be so beautiful." She sat there for a minute, kneeling down and gently touching the ibis with her gloved hands.
That was when she noticed a drop of gold-laced nectar on her glove. She wondered if the nectar was edible, so she tasted it, licking her glove clean. The nectar tasted sweet, almost like peaches with a hint of honey. No sooner had she licked her glove clean that something extraordinary happened. After lapping up each drop of nectar, her hand began to tremble. Her hand started to glow. Lesley gasped in shock. Suddenly, she saw something before her. Was it a woman? A spirit? Was it…?
"My child," a female voice had said. "Wha…?" Lesley turned and looked around, but no one was there. "You finally found it," the voice said. "Who are you?" Lesley demanded "Show yourself!" "You have found the entity that empowers my land," the voice said breathily. "Now I must endow you as the keeper of the ibis." Lesley then saw two hands forming. They were reaching out for her! Lesley gasped. Then, bright light.
The light seemed to startle the other soldiers in turn. "What was that?" one soldier said. "It must be the ibis!" another soldier said. "Come on, men!" a soldier cried out. "We must be getting closer to the ibis!" In a rather large group, the soldiers all raced to find the source in which the light came from. They were searching half the forest for the source of the blinding light. Soon, they had reached the center of the woods, where Lesley had been.
"Was that where the ibis was?" one soldier said. The general hesitated. "The ibis, it's gone!" he said. "But how could it have disappeared?" The other soldiers began to search. That was when the general had realized that Lesley was missing. He searched everywhere for her, looking under trees, bushes, and stones. After a frantic search, he shouted her name in the sky: "LESLEY!"
And just like that, that was how the mystery of the ibis came to light. The general was so ashamed of Lesley's disappearance that he never ate in days. He refused to sleep, and he tried drinking whiskey to drown out his sorrows. But consuming large amounts of alcohol had only presented him with depression and senseless emotion. He had become so weak and undernourished that he had retired early from his service in the army. And after a few months, he had died from drunkenness and depression. And that was just the beginning; soon, the ibis's mystery had come to light.
