Chapter 3
The Journey to Baja
Sam was so reluctant to accept his new clothing; he
had become very familiar with his overalls and old cap.
Jane just laughed.
"Oh, honey, you are so set in your ways!" Jane stated.
Peter was glad to have new clothing, even new clothing
made by a handful of rabbits.
As the turtle was on his last step of grooming, Peter
watched as grasshoppers brushed and cleaned the turtle's
teeth. Soapy bubbles were splashing everywhere. Oh what fun
it was for Peter! A place where he finally belonged; and a
place he could really call home. The look of joy on his
mother's face meant so much to Peter.
Then a loud horn blew. It was time to load up and
leave. Back onboard, the Carrot-Tops were offered a fresh
hot bath. Jane fixed Peter's bath first. As she made it of
warm milk and bubbles, the bubbles began to sing to him as
they floated in the air.
Jane watched as her son had the time of his life
playing with the bubbles. Peter had so much fun that he
didn't want to get out of the tub. After a long time of
trying to get him out, Jane took her bath, and then Sam
followed shortly after. After the family was all tidied up,
they were laced in the finest garments of gold silk and
Egyptian fabrics.
"Supper is ready," one of the mice called out to the
family.
But where could supper be? The inside of the turtle
did not seem big enough for rooms and dining. But on the
contrary, with the press of some golden symbols, the turtle
turned into a mystical palace. The family was instructed to
walk down a bright, colorful hallway, where the paintings
on the walls began to talk and say "Hi" to them as they
passed by. As Peter looked around in amazement, he laughed
as two pictures of old ladies gossiped about the new
arrivals; they pointed and stared.
As they came into the main dining area, a loud voice
sounded from the line of servants. "I am Victor Caercio. I
will be your main servant." But Victor was nothing more
than a bossy cat who thought he was the best chef in Baja.
With his Italian accent, he proceeded to tell the Carrot-
Tops they were dining on the finest of everything.
Jane laughed and told Victor, "This is too fancy."
"Nonsense, my queen," said Victor. "You will get the
best of the best."
Jane smiled and let Victor do his job. With the snap
of his paws, he ordered the servants around. But, oh, what
a sight to see! They were twirling like a well-organized
team, one got the forks and spoons, another tied the
napkins, and another poured their drinks. What more could a
family want than to be pampered like kings and queens?
The night's meal was a rack of lamb roasted on red
scalloped potatoes, milk from the finest cow, and warm
dinner rolls with mouthwatering honey butter. As the
Carrot-Tops ate, a big screen suddenly appeared on the
wall. It took up the entire dinning area wall space.
"What is that, Father?" Peter asked inquisitively.
"Oh, they are the scenes of Baja," Sam answered.
The entire family watched the screen as images of Baja
were shown. There were temples of the elders covered in
gold and silver with code writing going up and down the
sides. The temples were so tall that they touched the
heavenly sky. Then there were flying pelicans that took
citizens about their daily work and play.
Peter was especially amazed when he saw a pelican
taking kids to school. The pelican was built like a large
vessel that held about 2,000 citizens. It was a gorgeous
bird with a tail long like a whip. A long strand of hair
protruded from the bird's head with colors of the rainbow,
and like all creation in Baja, it had symbols of code going
around its legs.
The huge bird had golden straps that ran across its
nose, and some type of tag that hung from its tail. The
kids on the pelican seemed to be having fun. Peter began to
daydream of the way he would have fun once he get there,
but no one was happier than Sam.
His orange hair began to stick up as if he had seen a
ghost. He walked in front of the screen and began to slowly
touch the images with his fingers. He stepped back in time
Sam broke down in tears.
Jane and Peter ran to his side telling him that it was
okay, and they were home now. Victor the cat ordered the
wait staff of mice to bring a chair. Quickly, they ran and
picked Sam up off the floor. He had fallen to his knees as
he reminisced about all the things he had lost. He clenched
his fists, and vowed to regain all of his losses and the
respect of the citizens of Baja. The wait staff of mice and
other animals slowly began to clap, one by one, until the
clapping could be heard loudly.
"My Lord, this is what we have been waiting for, for
you to come back and save us," proclaim Victor.
The Carrot-Tops regained their composure, and began to
eat their dinner again, but their eyes were fixed on the
magical screen. Peter continually watched the screen as the
food missed his mouth. The scenes he watched were of the
land and the people of Baja. How friendly and happy they
were. He watched as the kids slid down a long dinosaur's
tail and had lots of fun. The land of Baja was clearly a
fairy tale -- trees talked and walked, and children had
rocks for pets and took them for walks.
"I want a pet rock, Mother!" Peter shouted with
excitement.
"I will think about it," said Jane with a smile on her
face.
Baja was so unforgettable -- waterfalls that changed
colors, rivers and streams made out of milk and chocolate,
rabbits and animals that walked, talked and lived like
people. It was the one and only place Peter wanted to be.
"How much longer before we reach Baja?" Peter asked.
Jane replied, "One more day, son, and we're home."
Sam told Peter that Baja was a big place that was
constantly growing, and the more it grew, the longer it
took to reach home. He turned to Jane and noticed she was
very sad. He asked what was wrong, and she said she hadn't
seen her parents in years. She wondered what they would
think, and if they would accept her and her family.
Sam comforted Jane and said, "We will deal with one
thing at a time. Everything will be all right."
As dinner was over, Victor the cat called to the wait
staff to bring forth Miguel. He was introduced as the
architect of Baja. With the stroke of his paintbrush and
pencil, he could make anything come to life. The Carrot-
Tops began to clap for Miguel. Gracefully, he accepted and
began to draw on the walls. He drew a small tiny dragon
with big black eyes. He graced the dragon with blue and
white skin, and his long tail had white fluffy fur at the
&n
bsp; end. His ears pointed up to the ceiling. Peter was so
excited to see the magic of the pencil. When Miguel was
finishing drawing the dragon, it came to life and jumped
into Peter's hands.
Oh, how excited Peter was! "Can I keep it, Mother?" he
asked.
"Yes, you can. But remember, it is your responsibility
to take care of it," Jane replied.
Peter couldn't thank Miguel enough. Miguel was so
pleased and happy to serve the boy prince.
"I shall name it Dingo," said Peter, and Dingo ran
into Peter's hand. Before long, they were on the floor
playing. Dingo licked Peter with his purple and polka-dot
tongue and began to wag his thick dragon tail. It was like
Christmas morning to Peter.
Then Miguel came and sat by Jane with his pencil and
paper. He drew a large bouquet of singing flowers, and when
the last petal was drawn, the flowers came to life. The
bouquet popped off the artist's canvas and into Jane's
hands.
"What lovely flowers!" she said.
The minute Jane touched the flowers, they began to
grow. That was Jane's gift -- a green thumb for all things
in the garden. After the flowers grew to about four feet,
they began to sing the sweetest melody and put Jane to
sleep. She was at peace in a deep dream world.
Miguel then moved on to Sam. Sam said he didn't want
anything, but Miguel knew when not to listen. Suddenly,
Miguel began to draw, and it seemed to take forever. When
he was finally done, he motioned Sam to come over and see
his new gift.
As Sam came closer, he began to sigh. A beautiful
piano caught his eye. The piano was made out of tortoise
shell with hieroglyphic symbols on it. It also had jade and
gold, and there was no other piano like it in the entire
realm. Sam was excited and began to play. The keys were cut
ivory and the legs looked like lion's claws. Sam played the
sweetest melody as everyone gathered around. Jane woke up
to the beautiful melody, and walked over to her husband as
he played his heart out.
"You never sounded better," Jane replied.
All the passengers of the ride listened intently as
Sam played for hours. His music was so hypnotizing, and the
sounds rolled off the keys like sap from a tree. When Sam
was done, the entire room began to clap. Even the turtle
that was transporting the family was impressed.
But, when Sam turned around, Miguel was gone. He
didn't have a chance to thank him. Victor the cat told Sam
Miguel's job was done and when his work was finished, he
liked to move on.
Now it was time for bed, and Victor showed Sam and his
family back to their rooms. These were rooms Miguel had
made for them before he left. First stop was Peter's room.
The room was huge with big oval mirrors that covered the
walls.
Peter ran and looked into one of the mirrors. He could
see different images. Some were scary, like a figure on a
dark hill. Peter tried to make out the face of the figure,
but a hat was hiding it. Peter watched in amazement as the
image in the mirror came closer. Sam ran over to the mirror
and threw a piece of cloth over it.
Sam told Peter, "Don't ever stare into the mirror for
long or it will capture your soul. You will become a ghost,
like what the living on Earth call a 'dead soul'."
Sam warned Peter that some mirrors were dangerous to
look in, and if he got caught staring too long, he would
truly be dead. Sam then ordered Victor to remove the mirror
and cover the rest of them. Victor had the servants remodel
the room in a flash. The only thing Peter could see was the
view outside as the turtle ride took them to their
destination.
Peter's room had toys everywhere, from stuffed animals
to robots, but what he liked most was that he had his
friend Dingo with him. The room was painted in sugar paint
in all different designs and colors. The walls were sweet
to eat, or at least Dingo thought so, and he began chewing
on the edges of the wall.
"Time for bed," Peter's parents said.
He jumped into bed with Dingo. The bed was huge -- it
almost swallowed them up. The sheets were soft, and the
pillows were huge, including some that were body length.
After his night prayers, Peter was fast asleep in no time.
He'd had a long day.
Now it was time for Sam and Jane to go to bed. Like
Peter's room, theirs was huge, but it had no mirrors. It
was made up for royalty. It took 100 little mice to pull
the covers back and fluff their pillows. They put glasses
of warm milk by the Carrot-Tops' bedside and left, one by
one. The mice had looks of joy and determination in serving
their king and queen well.
On the side of Sam's bed lay a golden chest filled
with gold coins and precious gems. The glitter of the
diamonds from the light caught his eye. He went toward the
box and opened it. He ignored all the diamonds and gold and
reached for a book that lay in the bottom of the chest.
As he grabbed hold of it, it opened, and there on the
pages lay three passports to Baja, his, Jane's, and
Peter's. Sam was amazed to see the details in the
passports; everything was perfect, from their orange hair
to their clothing. It was as if someone or something was
expecting them in Baja.
The news had spread of their return, so Sam didn't
want to let his guard down. In the back of his mind, he
feared that someone would try to hurt Peter or worse,
kidnap him. After all, there had not been a miracle child
in 10 years, and only a handful of gifted children made it
without being cursed for life.
As Sam began to think about the image his son had seen
in the mirror, he became very scared. Sam was not taking
any chances. He immediately called for Victor the cat by
shaking the bell that was left on the side of their bed.
When Victor arrived in his nightgown and long stocking cap
hold a floating light, Sam asked him to have guards posted
at Peter's door.
"Very well," Victor said. He then brought Sam a deck
of royal cards. On them were different types of warriors.
"Choose one, two or three," Victor said to Sam, and so he
did. Sam walked with Victor to the hall so that Jane would
not wake up and become worried.
In the hallway, Sam shuffled the cards, and as he
shuffled in a fast motion, he could see the movements of
the warriors. There was a knight that was armored from head
to toe; he held a long silver sword. Then there was a
barbarian who was not only big in size but very powerful.
The last choice was a wizard dressed all in black that
disappeared and then reappeared on the card.
These were the three Sam chose to protect his son. One
by one, Sam said a spell, "Amenta, Labasa, Carmy," and the
individual warriors popped out of the cards. Sam needed not
say anything, they already knew their job. The three
warriors stood by Peter's bedroom door at attention. They
didn't move or blink, as they were steadfast in their
protection of the boy prince.
"You've still got it!" declared Victor.
Sam just let out a big laugh and told Victor good
night. As Victor went away, Sam glanced over his shoulder
to see if the warriors were still at attention at Peter's
door, and they were. They didn't move an inch or blink.
There was no way anyone could get in that room.
Sam went to bed and had many nightmares. It was like
whatever he dreamed came true. Sam dreamed of being kicked
out of Baja for good and being turned down by the elders.
Then his dreams switched and he saw himself and his family
being hanged to death and then burned.
He awoke in a panic and ran to Peter's room.
Everything was still safe; the warriors were still standing
guard. Sam took a deep breath and began to relax, as he
walked back to the room. He sat on the side of the bed,
nervous about arriving in Baja the next day.
"What will people say? How will they treat us?" Sam
talked out loud to himself.
All the commotion woke Jane up, and now both of them
were up and worrying.
Then a loud voice echoed from the walls of the turtle.
"I believe in you, Sam," the voice said.
Sam jumped up from the side of the bed. "Who are you?"
he asked.
"It is I, the turtle; are you enjoying your ride?"
Sam was a little startled, but went on to answer the
turtle anyway. Sam explained that he was very afraid of
returning to Baja and that he and his family were at risk
of disappointing the elders. The turtle comforted Sam and
Jane telling them not to worry, and that everything would
be okay.
"Besides," he told them, "I will always be on your
side."
Sam and Jane went over and kissed the turtle walls as
if they were kissing him. Then the two of them went off to
sleep. There were no more nightmares, and everyone was fast
asleep.
A giant alarm clock went off, waking up everyone on
the ride. The clock was so huge, the bang made the entire
ride shake back and forth. It had a big giant face and the
hands were made of diamonds. "Wake up, wake up!" the clock
shouted.
The servants jumped up, rushing to get breakfast ready
for their royal family. Jane and Sam jumped out of bed to
see what was going on. As Jane ran out of the room, and
into Peter's room, she was startled by the three watchers.
She ran back screaming through the hallway, and Sam came
out to meet her.
"It's okay, honey," Sam said to Jane. "They are just
here to protect Peter."
Jane's heart was beating so fast that she could not
say or do anything but nod her head. The three protectors
bowed down to Jane to show honor and respect. Sam explained
to Jane why he requested protection for Peter. Immediately,
Jane became worried. Sam assured her that everything was
going to be all right; even though he didn't believe it
himself.