Wheeler walked around the corner just as Gaia voiced her approval of Emily coming to Hope Island
"Thank you, Gaia" he said
Gaia looked over at Wheeler and smiled warmly
"You don't know what it means to me to give her this chance to experience things she would never otherwise get the chance to do" Wheeler said
"I believe I do, Wheeler, the time you get with her is precious because there is so little of it."
After the conversation they went back inside and took seats to check the menu and get some food.
Linka was interested in the special menu that they had given Emily.
"Linka, do you want to see this?" Emily asked reffering to her menu
"Sure"
Emily passed the menu to Linka who was surprised to feel that there raised bumps on the page instead of letters.
"What is this?"
"It's called Braille, it allowes me to read with my fingers... instead of my eyes"
After the meal Wheeler went to his mother's house to ask her what he needed to ask... she was hesitant at first then agreed to alow Emily to go with Wheeler.
"Does she know about this trip?"
"Not yet, I didn't want to get her hopes up just to let her down" Wheeler sighed
"Wheeler... I... I'm sorry you get so little time with her... I want to chage that, I want you to have that quality time with Emily"
"Thanks mom"
Wheeler left his mother's house then joined up with the planeteers, Andrea and Emily
"Emily, I got a suprise for you"
"What is it?" Emily asked curiously
"Well, you know how I've been going and staying.. someplace special..."
"Yes, why?"
"I've arranged it so you can come along"
Linka looked to Gi, she wasn't sure this was a good idea
"Did Gaia approve of this?" Linka asked
"Yes, she did" Ma-Ti said from nearby
"Okay, it looks like you're coming to Hope Island with us" Gi smiled brightly placing her hands on Emily's shoulders
After a few minutes of getting things organized and ready to go they went to the Geo Cruser, which would be their first hurdle to getting her to the island
Wheeler guided Emily up into the plane and to a seat where he helped her buckle up.
"What is this?" she asked
"It's a plane?"
"It's not like any plane I've been in..." Emily said
"No... it isn't" Wheeler replied "but believe me, it's safe, you wouldn't be in it if it wasn't."
"I know"
Wheeler took the seat accross the isle from his sister as they began to take off.
The ride seemed so long for Emily, who was trying to imagine what could possibly happen on this island that she couldn't experience in New York, but one breath of the air on Hope Island let her know what was so special about this place. The air was so fresh she wanted to fill her lungs with it, and it smelled of exotic flowers and the mist off the ocean.
"Wheeler, I think I know why you wanted me to come here" she said
"There are a lot of reasons... first I want you to meet someone" Wheeler said guiding his sister into the Crystal Chamber.
Gaia turned to see Wheeler guide Emily in
"Welcome to Hope Island, Emily... I'm glad you could come. My name is Gaia"
"Thank you, Gaia" Emily said walking towards Gaia, using the sound of the Earth Spirit's voice to locate her in space
She reached her hand out and Gaia gently guided Emily's hand to her face so she could feel what she could not see.
Meanwhile Linka was thinking about how Wheeler seemed to soften around his sister, she seemed to take his focus away from anything else around him including Linka herself.
Linka had also noticed that ever since Ma-Ti and Emily met there was something different about Ma-Ti. It seemed he was thinking a lot about Emily. She wondered what was going on in Ma-Ti's mind.
After a while in the crystal chamber Wheeler guided his sister outside.
"Wheeler, I like her" Emily smiled
"I'm glad... she's helped me a lot"
"She isn't the only one"
"What do you mean?"
"I may be blind, but that doesn't mean I don't notice that you like Linka"
"She thinks I'm a jerk"
"But you're not a jerk"
"I know Emmy, but I... I always end up acting like a fool around her"
"Wheeler, I know you well enough to know that you can find a way to let her know how you feel about her." Emily said "sometimes you just have to remember to think before you open your mouth."
They sat in the common hut just resting and enjoying each other's company
"She loves birds... I don't know anythin about birds"
"Wheeler, you remember granny's old humming bird locket"
"How do you remember that, you've never seen it?"
"Mom described it to me, I don't know exactly what it looks like, but if you say she likes birds that might make a good gift"
"Yeah but that's a family heirloom, Emmy, I thought you wanted it"
"I don't want it, I have what I want. Besides maybe that could help her realize you're serious... just back off on the flirting a little... I know you bro, you're an agressive flirt and turn up the charm in a different way. You know her, you've seen what she likes and what drives her nuts, stick to what she likes and stay away from what drives her nuts and you may have a chance."
"Here I am getting dating advice from my little sister" Wheeler groaned playfully
"Wheeler..." suddenly something landed on Emily's shoulder
To Be Continued...