Costumes, props, and equipment for each gift presentation were to be delivered backstage and marked with the contestant’s name.
Zadie found her space backstage and rolled her drum into position, placing her alternate music on a stand by the drum. The triplets deposited their own gifts of beaded rosebud bouquets and outfits in the space marked with their names.
Zadie went with them to Annie’s dressing room and watched as they slipped the precious blue silk dress into her backstage place.
“The angels will know,” Zadie told them.
“Yes, they’ll understand,” three voices spoke as one.
Shell Arena was filled to capacity with Birth Day students proudly anticipating their thirteenth Birth Day. Absolute quiet fell over the audience as Angel Vesta glided across the stage wearing a long iridescent dress, its rainbow colors glimmering with her every movement. Her long dark hair cascaded down her back in a straight line ending at her waist. Her smile lit up the room. She was an inspiration for every young girl in the room. Her musical voice needed no microphone.
“Every child comes into their world bearing unique gifts and talents. Today we celebrate your Birth Day and graduation with your presentation of these talents to God’s angels who watch over you. You have studied hard to grow and perfect your gift. Every gift is both given and received with love. Today, we offer thanks for our many blessings.” She paused and then continued. “I am especially thankful for the rescue of four of our students, Zadie, Opal, Amber, and Star.”
A mummer of approval swept through the audience while the four girls squirmed uncomfortably in their seats.
“Let us continue to pray for the safe return of our fellow students, Halo and Jet, and my assistant, Koze.” Her voice dropped slightly, and she paused for only a second before continuing.
“Happy Birth Day to all of you. Blessed be your gifts.” The great velvet curtain lifted as she glided off the stage.
The entire student population as well as professors, teachers, and housemothers attended the afternoon presentations. They clapped, encouraged, and celebrated their classmates’ joy as the gifts were presented. Individual talent events were scheduled after dinner. Excitement mounted as the evening presenters were announced.
Zadie was surprised to learn she and the triplets were still scheduled for individual presentations. “I’m too nervous to eat anything. Can you believe we still might have a chance to audition for angel status?” The triplets nodded in agreement.
“Do you want to go backstage now and start getting ready for our presentation?”
The three girls nodded yes in unison and left their arena seats to find their backstage place.
~ ~ ~
The sisters inspected each other, smoothed their dresses, and walked onto the stage carrying their gifts of beaded rosebud bouquets.
“The rosebuds are our gifts. We wear them on our dresses and shoes,” Star began the presentation.
Amber stepped up and added, “Our rosebuds represent a life ready to blossom.”
“We offer these rosebuds as a symbol of our talent,” Opal said as they each lifted the bouquets above their heads and recited in unison, “We are like the rosebuds, ready to bloom wherever we are placed.”
They watched the bouquets float upward and disappear into the clouds as the students clapped in approval.
Musical presentations were scheduled at the end of the evening. Instrumentals preceded vocal gifts.
Zadie stood backstage, cracking her knuckles, shifting her weight from one foot to another, waiting, anxious, yet dreading to hear her name.
“Angels, if you can hear me, now would be a good time to send me a signal. Please help Jet and Halo. Please accept my gift,” she whispered before hearing her name called.
“Zadie, presenting a water drum solo, entitled “Song of the Waves.”
She rolled her drum onto the stage. The purple water-filled column supported a big pink shell drumhead. Its scalloped edges glowed with iridescent hues under the stage lights. She used a combination of fan-shaped wires, sticks, and padded rods to create the eerie, comforting sounds typical of her music.
The music began with soft sounds of water rippling as a stone skipped across the surface then waves cresting, breaking, and ebbing back to the sea. Her wires and sticks found perfect tones within the shell, deep and mysterious at its center, high and tinny near its thin, ruffled edges.
She couldn’t smile, not tonight with her brother and best friend missing. She lost herself in the music, refusing to make eye contact with the audience for fear of seeing disapproval in their faces. She set her jaw, lips clenched in a straight line as she threw herself into the emotion of a thunderstorm at sea for the finale. She lifted the sticks in the air, crossed them, and bowed to a silent audience.
Horrified, she wanted to run off the stage. Then something odd happened. First, a clap then more applause as, row by row, students stood, whistling and yelling their approval. She couldn’t believe it. They liked her music.
“Thank you, angels,” she whispered. Tears blurred her eyes as she watched the sheets of her music float skyward.
~ ~ ~
Annie’s brows came together in a frown. She grabbed Zadie by the arm as she rolled her drum off the stage.
“You tricked me. You kept this song secret. Don’t get any ideas about messing with my song. I’m still the best. They won’t even hear your silly drum when I sing.” She flipped her straight blond hair over her shoulder. “I don’t care if Jet is missing. I’ll still report him. If you think you can beat me, you’re wrong,” she hissed, her icy-blue eyes focusing on Zadie with pure malice.
“I’ve got to change into my beautiful gown, courtesy of the three babbling idiot sisters.” She rolled her eyes and headed backstage toward the door marked with her name.
Zadie stood in the back of the orchestra pit, waiting, drumsticks in hands, ready to play the opening notes of “Annie’s Song.”
A voice announced, “Annie, singing her own composition, ‘Annie’s Song.’” She made a grand entrance in a swish of sparkling blue silk and jewelry.
Zadie started a drumroll, building to a fast crescendo then stopped abruptly, an introduction for Annie’s first note. Nothing happened.
She waited then lifted her sticks to start again when Annie screamed. Someone backstage yelled for help, and cries of panic swept through the crowd. Zadie clasped the drumsticks to her chest, shocked by the sight of Annie onstage, pulling at the neck of her gown with both hands. Her face was red as the sun.
Two attendants rushed onstage as she fell to the floor, gasping and tugging at the neckline of her dress. Another person cut away the collar, sliding the shell trim away from her neck to expose bright-red welts around her swollen face and neck. A robot team brought a stretcher and laid her on it.
Annie thrashed violently on the stretcher, pointing an accusing finger at Zadie. She couldn’t speak, but her eyes flashed in hate and anger as they carried her off the stage.
~ ~ ~
“Don’t go in there.” Jet tapped the words into his wrist link, waved his arms, and tried to get Halo to stop and get out of the cavern.
“I thought you wanted to go back to White Feathers.” She scowled, backing away from the cavern entrance.
“I do, but we need to talk,” he tapped. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the beach and the ABC.
“What are you afraid of?” She knew he couldn’t hear her, but she wanted to scream at him anyway.
“We can’t leave him. I know about this place. I need to tell you and Dr. Leaf something before we start back.” Jet tapped quickly, his expression taut and worried.
“Does the stream lead back to your cave?”
Surprise registered on his face. “You know about my cave?”
“I followed you there one day. I went back again on the morning of the parade.” She paused to make a point and asked, “Why did you break the rules?”
Jet sank to the sand and pulled her down to sit beside him. “I didn’t realize I was breaking a rule when I fell into the cave. I thought it was within the boundary of the Star Points.”
“But you broke rules when you took the shells and brought them back to Amber, Opal, and Star. You stayed out after suns down, didn’t you? That’s why you kept your paintings a secret, isn’t it?”
He nodded then turned his head away from her.
She knew she’d hurt him by saying the wrong thing again.
She got up and walked to the ABC where Koze lay. They needed to get him back to White Feathers. After inspecting his head, arms, boots, belt, even his ears trying to find a button, switch, anything to activate his system, she still had nothing.
“I’m sorry. Everything’s my fault. Annie wanted the sparkling shells and starfish for her gown. She wanted me to give them to the triplets so they could make the jewelry to match it. I thought if I gave her the shells, she’d keep my secret. I didn’t know she wanted Zadie’s music, too.” Jet paused then continued. “She was blackmailing all of them. I ruined everything. I should have reported my actions to Angel Vesta. I know now Annie was the one who sabotaged Zadie’s team raft. Koze and I found the pieces of it and the severed leather strips the day we went with the medics to rescue Zadie and the triplets. We found her knife strapped to the yellow pole on her paddleboard.” Jet tapped the words carefully into the link, holding it so she could read every word. She understood how badly he hurt.
“It’s okay.” She stepped out of the airboat and patted Jet on the shoulder. Midas lay in the sand beside the boat, making whining sounds until Dr. Leaf finally caught up with them.
“How do we get back?” she asked.
“Behind the rocks is a cavern. A stream separates the cavern from my cave. The cavern floods with the incoming tide. We have to cross the stream before suns down.”
Jet sat in the sand, tapping the story of how he found the spotted berries, the jungle, and the slippery things that swam in the muddy banks of the stream. Midas cuddled next to her, easing his head under her hand.
~ ~ ~
“We need to go before the water starts to rise.” Jet helped Dr. Leaf into the ABC.
She took the remaining spotted berries and crawled into a space behind the seats where Koze lay. Midas paced back and forth, knowing he couldn’t fit in the vehicle with them.
“We can ride until we get to the cavern then we’ll have to deflate it as much as possible and use it as a stretcher for Koze,” Jet tapped.
They flew the ABC to the place where the boulders overlapped then partially deflated it in order to make a stretcher for Koze. She and Dr. Leaf took the front corners, leaving Jet to carry the back by himself. They squeezed through the opening by tilting Koze as far as they could on the make-do stretcher. She was surprised by Dr. Leaf’s ability to handle his part of the weight. He was strong for his size and height. Maybe rescuing animals wasn’t as easy as she thought.
Midas led the way, his barks echoing against the dark cavern walls. The path slanted downward, curving and twisting around rock formations, their sharp points a threat to the inflatable airboat. The path grew darker, wetter, and wider as the stretcher grew heavier. They used the toes of their shoes to guide them while holding tight to the stretcher with both hands.
Light sifted through narrow overhead gaps, casting scary shadows on rocky walls. Suddenly a grove of leafless bushes, planted in perfect rows loomed directly in front of them. The stale, musky smell of the tunnel gave way to the aroma of yeasty spotted berries. She and Jet watched an excited Dr. Leaf nearly drop his side of the airboat in awe of the treasure trove of spotted berries. Then he carefully put down his side of the stretcher and ran, yanking up bushes by the roots.
“Wait, stop. We can’t carry them all back,” she yelled.
“There are enough berries here to supply TLC for years.” Dr. Leaf couldn’t hide his excitement.
“If we take two bushes now, we can mark the trail and come back. There isn’t room on the stretcher for more,” she explained, putting two of the bushes on the stretcher with Koze. The other bushes filled the front area of the ABC. It was a good thing Koze didn’t weigh much, and she hoped they didn’t have much farther to carry the stretcher. What if the spotted berry branches puncture the ABC’s exterior? If it is completely deflated, they might not be able to inflate it again.
Her foot slipped when she waded ankle-deep into an icy stream. Jet grabbed her arm and showed her how to walk slowly, sliding her feet instead of lifting them. The fast-moving stream was rising fast. In no time at all, they were knee-deep in the fast-moving stream. The ABC threatened to float out to sea with the current, and they fought the tide every inch of the way.
Midas swam to her side and closed his massive jaws over the solid plastic back section of the vehicle. Together, they shared the job of keeping Koze’s head dry as they fought against the increasing strength of the current. Jet and Dr. Leaf pulled the solid parts of the front, holding it as high as they could. The stream was icy cold, freezing hands as well as feet. Water flowed across Koze’s limp form. Suddenly, one of the precious spotted berry bushes floated out into the unknown darkness. Dr. Leaf cried out but didn’t let go.
She could see the blue glow of the shells outlining black-sand banks clearly now. She saw Midas swim around to the front of the ABC, relieving Dr. Leaf by gripping the steering mechanism in his mouth while swimming toward shore. Dr. Leaf moved to the back to help her keep Koze dry and stable on the stretcher, and Jet stayed near the front to steady Koze’s head. She flexed an arm or finger occasionally trying to keep them from getting numb as they waded the last few feet to shore.
She saw Jet anchor the ABC on the beach and out of the icy stream when Midas suddenly started barking, leaped in front of Jet, knocking him to the ground.
Midas growled, pounced, and then yelped in pain. He crouched again and attacked a long and slimy snake with his teeth, slung it up and down, beating it against the ground until it stopped moving.
“It’s a snake. Midas is hurt,” she screamed, running to the spot where Midas lay panting in the mire. “The snake bit him. Jet, Dr. Leaf, do something, please help him.” Blood oozed from two small punctures below his right eye. His massive face already starting to swell.
“Put him on the ABC,” Dr. Leaf ordered. Jet was already trying to make room on the stretcher for both Midas and Koze.
They lifted Midas’ head and his front legs while Dr. Leaf slid part of the makeshift stretcher under his body. She placed the one remaining spotted berry bush under Koze’s gloved hands.
“We can’t stop. The river is still rising,” Jet alerted them.
They took their places, dragging the overloaded stretcher through the mire.
~ ~ ~
Annie was still shaking her finger at Zadie and trying to speak as the emergency medical team lifted her onto a stretcher and rolled her away. Students sat in stunned silence as they watched the beautiful blond singer, her face marred with red streaks as she strained to scream at someone offstage.
Zadie dropped her drumsticks, scanned the audience until she found the faces of her three friends, gasping in disbelief and ran toward the door marked Exit.
Zadie sat on the steps, her hands shaking while she reviewed the scene in her mind. What had happened to Annie? Why couldn’t she sing? What would happen now? Would Annie tell Angel Vesta about Jet when she can talk again?
Zadie was frightened for Jet. She was sure he’d be turned back or maybe something worse. They would be separated. She didn’t even know how to find Jet to warn him. She cushioned her head on her knees and begged, “Please, angels, wherever you are, please help Jet.”
Angel Vesta called for an intermission, giving the students a chance to stand up, speculate, and get rid of energy. She would check on Annie later, after the last gift presentation. Everybody needed a break, a chance to calm down. The remaining presenters needed to be at their best when they offered their gifts.
Angel Vesta toured the backstage rooms, offering encouragement, calming anxious students, and wishing them all a happy Birth Day as she made her way to the exit.
“Zadie. Is that you?” Angel Vesta asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Zadie murmured, her hands trembling and her heartbeat out of control.
“Your drum solo was excellent. It was a new composition, wasn’t it?” She searched Zadie’s face with her eyes.
“Yes. Yes, ma’am.” She focused on the pink marble steps to avoid Angel Vesta’s piercing eyes.
“Your friends are worried about you. I’m glad you are feeling better.” Angel Vesta floated up to the step where Zadie sat, touched her arm then smiled and gave her an encouraging nod.
“I’ll check on Annie myself later. You’ll want to return to your seat and join your friends.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Zadie wondered if Angel Vesta already knew about Jet. There was something about the way she touched her arm.
Lights played across the stage. One hundred students walking single file entered the stage, their long robes reflecting rainbow hues as they found their places on the tiered stands. They marked time with perfect steps as background for their opening song, a lively march. Zadie hugged the edges of the heavy velvet curtain behind the stage, listening to joyful voices deliver a concert twelve years in the making. Every voice was a complement to the others, every member part of a team. They had each other. They would fly together, make their music in other worlds. They would not be alone, like her.
The sisters had each other, too.
Zadie stayed behind the curtains through performances of dueling pianos, the reedy trills of an oboe and clarinet duet, and finally an angelic solo recital played on a golden harp.
Somewhere out there, Jet needed her and she didn’t know how to help him. Where would she go? How long will it be before Annie told Angel Vesta her story?