CHAPTER 1
Thoughts of Aqualor
Drew is sitting in the front seat of his mother’s car with the window wound down as she drives him home from school along the road by the sea. His eyes are closed. He draws in a deep breath and releases it slowly. The familiar salty sea air fills his nostrils. He loves the sea breeze, the warm sweet scent, the way it feels like feathers brushing across his cheeks, the calm and peaceful feeling it brings.
His eyes slowly open as his mom asks, “What do you think, Drew? Alexia asked you a question.”
His sister Alexia is in the backseat. She has been talking excitedly about a science project she wants to do for this year’s science assignment. Her teacher had discussed the concept of time and how it works in class, and Alexia decided she wanted to expand her science project to the concept of the possibility of time travel.
“I’ve been talking to you and you haven’t said anything,” Alexia pouts.
“I’m sorry, Lexi,” he turns to look at her and smiles. “I was in my own thoughts.”
“Yes, I can tell. Well, as I was saying,” she shifts in her seat, “I want to look at time and the possibility of time travel and…” She pauses to look at Drew, her brown almond-shaped eyes bright and curious. She has a small wrinkle in her brow as if she’s considering something, and her lips are slightly parted. Her hands are folded in her lap as she leans forward slightly, “Are you listening?”
“Yes,” Drew’s expression softens, his eyes twinkling. His lips curl into a gentle smile and he nods before turning back to continue staring out the window. His voice is kind and caring, carrying a warmth that reassures her.
Alexia’s bronzed cheeks flush a rosy hue and her eyes brighten with excitement. Her hands curl into fists in delight. She leans in closer still. The small wrinkle in her brow fades away and a soft smile graces her face.
“As I was saying, I want to look at time travel and wormholes, black holes, warp speed, and things like that…Oh and, also, how gravity and the distance from the sun affect time. I’ve been researching and thinking about this for quite a while now,” Alexia’s words are animated, spilling out of her mouth in a flurry of excitement and enthusiasm. Her voice bounces around the car like a wave of energy, its tones rising and falling like the tide.
As Alexia talks, her hands reach out to touch the car window, tracing shapes in the glass as if they are trying to bring the concepts she is discussing into reality. She hesitates then asks, “What do you think about that?”
“That sounds pretty cool, since I’m pretty sure whatwe did was time travel,” Drew’s face lights up with a warm, wide grin. He turns his head to fully meet her gaze again, his eyes gleaming with amusement. He smiles a half smile, with slight tension at the corners of his mouth.
It had been a year now since Chasqua, a beastly tyrant, had taken Drew through the portal from the island in the lake behind their home to a fantastical world called Aqualor. Since returning home, he and Alexia had scoured the island many times, looking for an opening back to Aqualor but had no luck finding it.
Maria sees the familiar lines of deep thought across her son’s forehead and decides to draw his attention back to their world. She is sure he’s thinking of his f
