Kalina Shaw was no ordinary girl by any means. Although she looked
"normal" with her long, wavy, dark hair, and bright blue eyes, she had a
gift. A talent given to her by her mother, the goddess Fern, with power
over all the plants.
Kali's talent was to help plants grow quickly in any type of soil. All she
had to do was plant the seed, put her hands to the ground and envision it
growing. She had gardens upon gardens in her backyard with grapevines
twining around the fence. She lived with her mortal father Tony Shaw in a
nice little town called Whitepine in Montana. They never had to go to the
grocery store for fruit and vegetables because Kali could just grow them.
They even sold some at the fair and other events in the summer.
Over the years Kali gained more and more talent from her mother. Soon she was able to grow things (small things) without the seed. One day in class she was bored and started twirling her finger while daydreaming about the vines with huge leaves around her fence. All of the sudden she heard a screech and her eyes popped open. There on her desk was a three foot grapevine. Good thing the grapes haven't started growing yet! She thought. Too late! Grapes started blowing up like balloons. Everyone remembered her "problem" after that incident and tried to stay away from her. She didn't have very many friends at school. But she always found comfort in her plants and relief in growing things.
She was walking home from school one day and from behind a pine tree came her mother. She was wearing a gorgeous billowing green dress with real leaves growing from it.
"Mom!" yelled Kali and ran to hug her.
"Dearest Kalina! I've come to tell you something very important," said Fern sternly.
"What is it?" Kali asked startled, and stepped back from her mother.
"You know your gift has been developing very well. You have learned to grow many things with and without the seed. But the rest of the gods and goddesses and I on Olympus think that it is time for you to do something important with it. Do you understand?"
"Not really."
"You must begin using you gift to help people in this cruel world. I can see you are trying to hide it as if you wish it wasn't there. But it is and some things you just can't ignore dear."
"You want me to use my powers to help people. Use it for good not evil and be a hero like superman!" said Kali getting a little carried away.
"In a way yes, and I have an idea for where you can start. When you get home turn on the television to channel nine. I must go now but you should be hearing from me again soon."
"Bye mom! I love you."
"I love you too sweetheart" She slipped behind the pine again as she blew Kali a kiss. Kali sighed as she walked the rest of the way to her house. You could instantly tell which was hers. The Shaw's had the greenest grass and more trees than anyone on their street. All different types of flowers lined the driveway.
When she got inside she grabbed the remote and plopped down on the couch. What could her mom possibly want her to do? She turned on the TV and switched to channel nine. On the screen she saw a poor family sitting outside of a restaurant in the city. There was a mother and two little boys who looked as if they hadn't had a decent meal in months.
"She wants me to help a homeless and hungry family" said Kali aloud.
The camera zoomed out and focused in on a reporter who wasn't even talking about the family. He was explaining that the restaurant would be closing in a few days. The name that flashed above him was Dashanti's. Kali knew that it was on the corner of Willow Road and Classic Boulevard. At that minute the door slammed and her dad walked in, home from work.
"Hi dad, I got a visit from mom today."
"You did? What did she say?" asked Tony very surprised.
"She wants me to use my gift for good things and to help people. Like the homeless family who sort of live at Dashanti's," replied Kali.
"You know, that is a good idea. Your mother is very smart. I can help you load some bags of food into the car later."
"Okay, thanks dad!" exclaimed Kali.
And that was only the beginning. Fern had Kali doing wonderful things all around town. She gave food to many homeless and hungry families. She made people's yards, buildings and parks look a whole lot more inviting with added trees and bushes. She had her picture taken for newspapers and her father kept every one that was published. But after 3 years of this same stuff she got tired of it. Although she still loved helping people she just didn't get that feeling she did when she first started. The feeling that made her keep going and fulfill her mother's expectations. One of the times her mother visited her all she talked about were the great heroes of the past. Kali wanted to make her mother proud so she strived to become one of the greats and she dreamed that people would tell her story many generations after she was gone. She was in the 11th grade when she claimed her title and her much sought after dream of becoming a hero or heroine in her case.
Kali was very excited about her school trip to Mexico. She had worked hard to raise the money to go and the day had finally arrived. She was boarding the plane with her fellow classmates and teacher when she thought, This is my chance become a heroine and make my mother proud. I'm sure I will find adventure and someone who needs my help. Kali had hoped to go out searching as soon as they got there but everyone was exhausted so they crashed at a hotel for the night. Kali shared a room that night with her best friend Dawn. By the time Kali had woken up Dawn had eaten breakfast, showered and was ready to get on the bus and go explore. Kali groaned. The time zone change had been a slap in the face even though it was only a couple hours. "Kali hurry up! They might leave without us," Dawn said jumping up and down. Dawn was taller than Kali by about three inches and had short, bouncy, blond hair. "Don't worry. Mr. Serif wouldn't let them leave without us!" Kali assured her friend. "Oh really?" said Dawn as she walked to the window and looked down. She sighed and then gasped. "KALI!!!!!" Kali jumped out of bed, shocked to hear Dawn scream like that so early in the morning. Dawn was a very panicky and impatient person. She whimpered a lot when she was worried but rarely screamed. "What?!?" Kali asked, worried. She looked out the window and saw the bus pulling away from the curb and speeding off to their first destination. "Oh no! Kali, Kali, Kali w-what are we gonna do?" Dawn's hands shook as she spoke. Kali had learned to control her nervousness because whenever she got really nervous sprouts grew from her fingers. So Kali was a lot calmer than Dawn was at the moment. She replied "Um, well, we could pack up our things, get out that list Mr. Serif gave us of the places we were going and find a map." Dawn laughed out loud. "What's so funny?" asked Kali. "You are suggesting that we try to follow them on foot?" "Yeah. It'll be fun." "Fun?" said Dawn with a very worried look on her face. "Come on," urged Kali. The girls got their stuff together and found a map in the front lobby. By the time they figured out how to read the map and which direction to go an hour had passed. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean what if we get lost or we miraculously get there but our class isn't there or what if we get kidnapped or." "Dawn! Would you please stop worrying? We've been studying Mexico for the past few months and you and I have been taking Spanish for the past two years!! I have confidence we'll be okay." Dawn sighed, "Well what if.."
These two sure were an odd pair walking down a Mexican street arguing in English. They were just asking for trouble. But that isn't exactly what they ran into. BAM! CRASH!! "OWW" "GET OFF ME!!" "MY HAIR!" Kali had walked straight into a young girl and Dawn had walked into a young boy. They had fallen to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs. Kali stepping on the young girl's hair and Dawn falling right on top of Kali. The young boy was under the whole mess. Once they got all straightened out Kali noticed that the two were twins and about 13 or 14 years old. They sure didn't look Mexican! The girl had shoulder length light brown hair and the boy had dark brown hair. They were very pale and apparently didn't know a lot of Spanish.
"Sorry about that I wasn't looking where I was going," apologized Kali.
"You speak English? Wonderful!!" exclaimed the boy.
"No, it's our fault for running through the street like that. I'm Carly and this is my brother Danny," explained the girl.
"I'm Kali and this is my friend Dawn. We are on a school trip with our Spanish class and we kind of missed the bus."
"Oh, well, we wouldn't be much help to show you around or anything. We just moved here. Our dad got a job at the American Embassy here in Mexico City," Danny informed them. "We could take you there. I'm sure our dad could help you find what you are looking for."
"Yeah if only we could find our way back!" Carly scowled at Danny as if it were all his fault. "We're lost too. We've been wandering this city for hours now. We even went in circles because of someone's 'great' advice." She glared at Danny again. "Our parents are probably really worried," said Danny with a sigh. Dawn groaned and Kali hit her on the shoulder.
"We have a map here. Do you want us to help you get back?" Kali asked them. The twins looked at her with relief.
"That would be wonderful!" Danny said gratefully. "We couldn't find a single English speaking person wherever we looked."
"Do you know which street the Embassy is on?" asked Dawn. The twins looked at each other and shrugged simultaneously. "Okay, I'll take that as a no."
Kali sighed and said, "Do you remember if there was any specific kind of tree or flower in front of the Embassy?"
"How in the world is that going to help us?" asked Carly.
"Just answer the question. You'll see in a minute," Kali explained.
"Well there were some yellow and orange flowers but I don't know what they were called," said Carly.
"Oh! There was that cactus out front!" said Danny with enthusiasm.
"Perfect." Kali closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was a new part of her power she had discovered and was learning to use. She called it long-distance smelling. A year ago she could only name a plant by its smell. Then she had learned to smell plants from across the yard and name them. She wasn't sure how far her range went but she could at least try.
"What's she doing?" asked Danny as he stared at Kali with her eyes closed taking deep breaths.
"She's smelling the air," replied Dawn.
"Why?"
"To see if she can smell the cactus you are talking about." Dawn knew just as much about Kali's power as she did herself. Whenever Kali discovered something new about it she told Dawn right away so they could experiment to find out exactly what she could do.
Kali's nose sensed many cactuses, but which one was it? She couldn't smell color so she didn't know if any of the cactuses had yellow and orange flowers by them. However there was a cactus that had some tulips and one that had poppies. They were fairly close to each other, only a block apart. But how far away from her were they? Kali decided she had to take a guess.
"Quarter of a mile," said Kali aloud to Dawn and their new friends. "There are two cactuses about a quarter of a mile away from here that have some flowers next to them." The twins stared at her in awe. Kali sighed. Now she was going to have to explain to them about her gift. How long is this going to take? She thought.
"How did you do that?" asked Danny.
"She must be faking it!" accused Carly. Kali sighed again. She quickly explained about her mother and the gift she had inherited from Fern. Carly then made her prove her talent by growing something in the hard soil without a seed or water. When the foot high rose was coming up from the soil Carly only half believed her. "Grow something else," she demanded. Grapevines seemed to be Kali's specialty ever since the eighth grade. She walked over to the rail that blocked the sidewalk from the street and twirled her pointer finger over the top. A vine and leaves sprouted from her finger and twined around the rail. A couple minutes after the last end of the vine came out of her finger grapes sprang up all over the vine.
"Wow! Can we eat 'em?" asked Danny stepping closer to the grapes.
"Sure," said Kali. Danny grabbed a couple and stuffed them in his mouth.
"They're good!" he said with grape juice spilling from his mouth.
"That's cool," agreed Carly.
"Good you believe me now. Let's get going."
"Kali I drew a circle with a quarter mile radius, the center being where we are right now on this map of Mexico City," said Dawn handing Kali the map. Dawn was always better at math.
"Wonderful! I got a stronger scent from this direction," said Kali pointing east. Both twins were stuffing grapes in their mouths until there was nothing left. "Let's go." And they were off. Now the group was an even odder one than before, but at least they weren't arguing. The four tired teens had walked for about an hour and still hadn't found either cactus. They had, however, found a huge mountain and decided to go past it since it was on the edge of the circle Dawn had drawn on the map.
"Wow, I wish I had my camera," said Carly dreamily.
"Oh I have mine, would you like me to take your picture? I could send it to you once I get them developed," said Dawn digging in her backpack.
"Sure that would be great!" exclaimed Carly.
"Okay stand right there," said Dawn motioning to the base of the mountain. Click! "Okay now the two twins." Kali smiled as she stood behind Dawn while she took the pictures. The twins had their arms around each other, while smiling. Watching them made Kali wish she had a brother or sister. Danny and Carly did fight sometimes but you could tell that deep down they really loved each other.
Kali all of the sudden had the urge to look to the top of the mountain. She heard a rumble as a large rock slid down the side of the mountain. Kali quickly realized that in a few seconds in would be right on top of Danny and Carly, crushing them to death!
"NOOO!!" Kali screamed. Thoughts were racing through her mind. What could she do? At that moment she felt as if someone was guiding her in her actions. She held out her arms, palms facing the falling boulder. Grapevines, She thought. Strong, strong vines. Foot thick vines sprang from her hands and went straight towards the rock. By that time the twins and Dawn were watching the rock fall in terror. Kali's vines caught it in midair.
"Run! NOW!" Kali strained. Her face turned red with the strength she was drawing from herself to hold the boulder up. Danny and Carly's mouths were wide as they nodded and obeyed. The twins and Dawn were across the street in a matter of seconds. Kali gasped and let the boulder fall to the ground, releasing the vines from her hands. Kali's knees buckled and she fell to the ground feeling weaker than she had ever felt before.
"Kali! Are you alright?" yelled Dawn rushing to her side. Kali coughed and looked up.
"Yeah I'll be okay," Kali replied. She tried to stand up but just couldn't find the strength to do it.
"Kali, I, I don't know what to say. You saved our lives," said Carly bending down to hug her.
"Thanks Kali." Danny obviously didn't know what to say either or how to express how grateful he was. He bent down to hug her too.
"Dearest Kalina. I am so proud of you." Kali looked up again but this time into the lovely face of her mother.
"Mom, w-what are you doing here?" asked Kali. She made another attempt to stand up and all three of her friends helped her. Fern was wearing that familiar green dress with her long curly brown hair falling in layers around her shoulders.
"Kalina, what you have done today has shown real courage. You gave up trying to find you classmates to help these two find their way home. And when you were tired from walking you still found strength within yourself to save their lives. You have become a true heroine." Fern reached out and hugged her daughter warmly. Kali had tears in her eyes and tried to wipe them away but they wouldn't stop coming.
"Now I'm speechless. Mom, are you sure I can be considered a true heroine?" asked Kali.
"Oh I'm sure," replied Fern. Kali saw glimmers of all the gods and goddesses behind her mother and they were all smiling at her.
"Look dear," said Fern pointing behind the twins. "You were only a few yards away." Kali turned to see what she was talking about. There was the American Embassy with the cactus and flowers out front. There was a man standing out front showing a group of high school students the entrance.
"Dad!" chorused the twins.
"Hey look Kali, its Mr. Serif and our class!" exclaimed Dawn.
"Thanks mom," said Kali giving her mom another hug.
"Your welcome dear," said Fern with a smile. "I'll see you soon my little heroine."
That is how Kalina Shaw became a famous heroine. Her dream came true. Many generations later people are still telling her story. How she learned the strength that can come from inside herself when she truly believed that it would.
Over the years Kali gained more and more talent from her mother. Soon she was able to grow things (small things) without the seed. One day in class she was bored and started twirling her finger while daydreaming about the vines with huge leaves around her fence. All of the sudden she heard a screech and her eyes popped open. There on her desk was a three foot grapevine. Good thing the grapes haven't started growing yet! She thought. Too late! Grapes started blowing up like balloons. Everyone remembered her "problem" after that incident and tried to stay away from her. She didn't have very many friends at school. But she always found comfort in her plants and relief in growing things.
She was walking home from school one day and from behind a pine tree came her mother. She was wearing a gorgeous billowing green dress with real leaves growing from it.
"Mom!" yelled Kali and ran to hug her.
"Dearest Kalina! I've come to tell you something very important," said Fern sternly.
"What is it?" Kali asked startled, and stepped back from her mother.
"You know your gift has been developing very well. You have learned to grow many things with and without the seed. But the rest of the gods and goddesses and I on Olympus think that it is time for you to do something important with it. Do you understand?"
"Not really."
"You must begin using you gift to help people in this cruel world. I can see you are trying to hide it as if you wish it wasn't there. But it is and some things you just can't ignore dear."
"You want me to use my powers to help people. Use it for good not evil and be a hero like superman!" said Kali getting a little carried away.
"In a way yes, and I have an idea for where you can start. When you get home turn on the television to channel nine. I must go now but you should be hearing from me again soon."
"Bye mom! I love you."
"I love you too sweetheart" She slipped behind the pine again as she blew Kali a kiss. Kali sighed as she walked the rest of the way to her house. You could instantly tell which was hers. The Shaw's had the greenest grass and more trees than anyone on their street. All different types of flowers lined the driveway.
When she got inside she grabbed the remote and plopped down on the couch. What could her mom possibly want her to do? She turned on the TV and switched to channel nine. On the screen she saw a poor family sitting outside of a restaurant in the city. There was a mother and two little boys who looked as if they hadn't had a decent meal in months.
"She wants me to help a homeless and hungry family" said Kali aloud.
The camera zoomed out and focused in on a reporter who wasn't even talking about the family. He was explaining that the restaurant would be closing in a few days. The name that flashed above him was Dashanti's. Kali knew that it was on the corner of Willow Road and Classic Boulevard. At that minute the door slammed and her dad walked in, home from work.
"Hi dad, I got a visit from mom today."
"You did? What did she say?" asked Tony very surprised.
"She wants me to use my gift for good things and to help people. Like the homeless family who sort of live at Dashanti's," replied Kali.
"You know, that is a good idea. Your mother is very smart. I can help you load some bags of food into the car later."
"Okay, thanks dad!" exclaimed Kali.
And that was only the beginning. Fern had Kali doing wonderful things all around town. She gave food to many homeless and hungry families. She made people's yards, buildings and parks look a whole lot more inviting with added trees and bushes. She had her picture taken for newspapers and her father kept every one that was published. But after 3 years of this same stuff she got tired of it. Although she still loved helping people she just didn't get that feeling she did when she first started. The feeling that made her keep going and fulfill her mother's expectations. One of the times her mother visited her all she talked about were the great heroes of the past. Kali wanted to make her mother proud so she strived to become one of the greats and she dreamed that people would tell her story many generations after she was gone. She was in the 11th grade when she claimed her title and her much sought after dream of becoming a hero or heroine in her case.
Kali was very excited about her school trip to Mexico. She had worked hard to raise the money to go and the day had finally arrived. She was boarding the plane with her fellow classmates and teacher when she thought, This is my chance become a heroine and make my mother proud. I'm sure I will find adventure and someone who needs my help. Kali had hoped to go out searching as soon as they got there but everyone was exhausted so they crashed at a hotel for the night. Kali shared a room that night with her best friend Dawn. By the time Kali had woken up Dawn had eaten breakfast, showered and was ready to get on the bus and go explore. Kali groaned. The time zone change had been a slap in the face even though it was only a couple hours. "Kali hurry up! They might leave without us," Dawn said jumping up and down. Dawn was taller than Kali by about three inches and had short, bouncy, blond hair. "Don't worry. Mr. Serif wouldn't let them leave without us!" Kali assured her friend. "Oh really?" said Dawn as she walked to the window and looked down. She sighed and then gasped. "KALI!!!!!" Kali jumped out of bed, shocked to hear Dawn scream like that so early in the morning. Dawn was a very panicky and impatient person. She whimpered a lot when she was worried but rarely screamed. "What?!?" Kali asked, worried. She looked out the window and saw the bus pulling away from the curb and speeding off to their first destination. "Oh no! Kali, Kali, Kali w-what are we gonna do?" Dawn's hands shook as she spoke. Kali had learned to control her nervousness because whenever she got really nervous sprouts grew from her fingers. So Kali was a lot calmer than Dawn was at the moment. She replied "Um, well, we could pack up our things, get out that list Mr. Serif gave us of the places we were going and find a map." Dawn laughed out loud. "What's so funny?" asked Kali. "You are suggesting that we try to follow them on foot?" "Yeah. It'll be fun." "Fun?" said Dawn with a very worried look on her face. "Come on," urged Kali. The girls got their stuff together and found a map in the front lobby. By the time they figured out how to read the map and which direction to go an hour had passed. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean what if we get lost or we miraculously get there but our class isn't there or what if we get kidnapped or." "Dawn! Would you please stop worrying? We've been studying Mexico for the past few months and you and I have been taking Spanish for the past two years!! I have confidence we'll be okay." Dawn sighed, "Well what if.."
These two sure were an odd pair walking down a Mexican street arguing in English. They were just asking for trouble. But that isn't exactly what they ran into. BAM! CRASH!! "OWW" "GET OFF ME!!" "MY HAIR!" Kali had walked straight into a young girl and Dawn had walked into a young boy. They had fallen to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs. Kali stepping on the young girl's hair and Dawn falling right on top of Kali. The young boy was under the whole mess. Once they got all straightened out Kali noticed that the two were twins and about 13 or 14 years old. They sure didn't look Mexican! The girl had shoulder length light brown hair and the boy had dark brown hair. They were very pale and apparently didn't know a lot of Spanish.
"Sorry about that I wasn't looking where I was going," apologized Kali.
"You speak English? Wonderful!!" exclaimed the boy.
"No, it's our fault for running through the street like that. I'm Carly and this is my brother Danny," explained the girl.
"I'm Kali and this is my friend Dawn. We are on a school trip with our Spanish class and we kind of missed the bus."
"Oh, well, we wouldn't be much help to show you around or anything. We just moved here. Our dad got a job at the American Embassy here in Mexico City," Danny informed them. "We could take you there. I'm sure our dad could help you find what you are looking for."
"Yeah if only we could find our way back!" Carly scowled at Danny as if it were all his fault. "We're lost too. We've been wandering this city for hours now. We even went in circles because of someone's 'great' advice." She glared at Danny again. "Our parents are probably really worried," said Danny with a sigh. Dawn groaned and Kali hit her on the shoulder.
"We have a map here. Do you want us to help you get back?" Kali asked them. The twins looked at her with relief.
"That would be wonderful!" Danny said gratefully. "We couldn't find a single English speaking person wherever we looked."
"Do you know which street the Embassy is on?" asked Dawn. The twins looked at each other and shrugged simultaneously. "Okay, I'll take that as a no."
Kali sighed and said, "Do you remember if there was any specific kind of tree or flower in front of the Embassy?"
"How in the world is that going to help us?" asked Carly.
"Just answer the question. You'll see in a minute," Kali explained.
"Well there were some yellow and orange flowers but I don't know what they were called," said Carly.
"Oh! There was that cactus out front!" said Danny with enthusiasm.
"Perfect." Kali closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was a new part of her power she had discovered and was learning to use. She called it long-distance smelling. A year ago she could only name a plant by its smell. Then she had learned to smell plants from across the yard and name them. She wasn't sure how far her range went but she could at least try.
"What's she doing?" asked Danny as he stared at Kali with her eyes closed taking deep breaths.
"She's smelling the air," replied Dawn.
"Why?"
"To see if she can smell the cactus you are talking about." Dawn knew just as much about Kali's power as she did herself. Whenever Kali discovered something new about it she told Dawn right away so they could experiment to find out exactly what she could do.
Kali's nose sensed many cactuses, but which one was it? She couldn't smell color so she didn't know if any of the cactuses had yellow and orange flowers by them. However there was a cactus that had some tulips and one that had poppies. They were fairly close to each other, only a block apart. But how far away from her were they? Kali decided she had to take a guess.
"Quarter of a mile," said Kali aloud to Dawn and their new friends. "There are two cactuses about a quarter of a mile away from here that have some flowers next to them." The twins stared at her in awe. Kali sighed. Now she was going to have to explain to them about her gift. How long is this going to take? She thought.
"How did you do that?" asked Danny.
"She must be faking it!" accused Carly. Kali sighed again. She quickly explained about her mother and the gift she had inherited from Fern. Carly then made her prove her talent by growing something in the hard soil without a seed or water. When the foot high rose was coming up from the soil Carly only half believed her. "Grow something else," she demanded. Grapevines seemed to be Kali's specialty ever since the eighth grade. She walked over to the rail that blocked the sidewalk from the street and twirled her pointer finger over the top. A vine and leaves sprouted from her finger and twined around the rail. A couple minutes after the last end of the vine came out of her finger grapes sprang up all over the vine.
"Wow! Can we eat 'em?" asked Danny stepping closer to the grapes.
"Sure," said Kali. Danny grabbed a couple and stuffed them in his mouth.
"They're good!" he said with grape juice spilling from his mouth.
"That's cool," agreed Carly.
"Good you believe me now. Let's get going."
"Kali I drew a circle with a quarter mile radius, the center being where we are right now on this map of Mexico City," said Dawn handing Kali the map. Dawn was always better at math.
"Wonderful! I got a stronger scent from this direction," said Kali pointing east. Both twins were stuffing grapes in their mouths until there was nothing left. "Let's go." And they were off. Now the group was an even odder one than before, but at least they weren't arguing. The four tired teens had walked for about an hour and still hadn't found either cactus. They had, however, found a huge mountain and decided to go past it since it was on the edge of the circle Dawn had drawn on the map.
"Wow, I wish I had my camera," said Carly dreamily.
"Oh I have mine, would you like me to take your picture? I could send it to you once I get them developed," said Dawn digging in her backpack.
"Sure that would be great!" exclaimed Carly.
"Okay stand right there," said Dawn motioning to the base of the mountain. Click! "Okay now the two twins." Kali smiled as she stood behind Dawn while she took the pictures. The twins had their arms around each other, while smiling. Watching them made Kali wish she had a brother or sister. Danny and Carly did fight sometimes but you could tell that deep down they really loved each other.
Kali all of the sudden had the urge to look to the top of the mountain. She heard a rumble as a large rock slid down the side of the mountain. Kali quickly realized that in a few seconds in would be right on top of Danny and Carly, crushing them to death!
"NOOO!!" Kali screamed. Thoughts were racing through her mind. What could she do? At that moment she felt as if someone was guiding her in her actions. She held out her arms, palms facing the falling boulder. Grapevines, She thought. Strong, strong vines. Foot thick vines sprang from her hands and went straight towards the rock. By that time the twins and Dawn were watching the rock fall in terror. Kali's vines caught it in midair.
"Run! NOW!" Kali strained. Her face turned red with the strength she was drawing from herself to hold the boulder up. Danny and Carly's mouths were wide as they nodded and obeyed. The twins and Dawn were across the street in a matter of seconds. Kali gasped and let the boulder fall to the ground, releasing the vines from her hands. Kali's knees buckled and she fell to the ground feeling weaker than she had ever felt before.
"Kali! Are you alright?" yelled Dawn rushing to her side. Kali coughed and looked up.
"Yeah I'll be okay," Kali replied. She tried to stand up but just couldn't find the strength to do it.
"Kali, I, I don't know what to say. You saved our lives," said Carly bending down to hug her.
"Thanks Kali." Danny obviously didn't know what to say either or how to express how grateful he was. He bent down to hug her too.
"Dearest Kalina. I am so proud of you." Kali looked up again but this time into the lovely face of her mother.
"Mom, w-what are you doing here?" asked Kali. She made another attempt to stand up and all three of her friends helped her. Fern was wearing that familiar green dress with her long curly brown hair falling in layers around her shoulders.
"Kalina, what you have done today has shown real courage. You gave up trying to find you classmates to help these two find their way home. And when you were tired from walking you still found strength within yourself to save their lives. You have become a true heroine." Fern reached out and hugged her daughter warmly. Kali had tears in her eyes and tried to wipe them away but they wouldn't stop coming.
"Now I'm speechless. Mom, are you sure I can be considered a true heroine?" asked Kali.
"Oh I'm sure," replied Fern. Kali saw glimmers of all the gods and goddesses behind her mother and they were all smiling at her.
"Look dear," said Fern pointing behind the twins. "You were only a few yards away." Kali turned to see what she was talking about. There was the American Embassy with the cactus and flowers out front. There was a man standing out front showing a group of high school students the entrance.
"Dad!" chorused the twins.
"Hey look Kali, its Mr. Serif and our class!" exclaimed Dawn.
"Thanks mom," said Kali giving her mom another hug.
"Your welcome dear," said Fern with a smile. "I'll see you soon my little heroine."
That is how Kalina Shaw became a famous heroine. Her dream came true. Many generations later people are still telling her story. How she learned the strength that can come from inside herself when she truly believed that it would.