Journey to Rainbow Island (9 page)

The pink light continued to flow, accelerating in speed and pouring into the tunnel, for several minutes. Yu-ning's arms started to tire from the power of the light flowing through her pink crystal heart. Eventually, much to her relief, Julian joined her on the platform, supporting her arms so she could continue to hold the pink heart aloft. Yu-ning smiled gratefully at Julian. As quickly as the beam materialized, it ceased—the pink light beam disappeared in a bright flash, and the light waterfall from above stopped flowing—as if some divine faucet from above had been turned off.

A minute later, however, came a new sensation: a low rumble, like distant thunder. The rumble grew louder and was followed by a rush of wind that raced down the length of the millrace, out from under the large dark opening where the watercourse emerged from under the foundation of the
tower. The noise grew, as did the breeze, which carried the scent of water and damp earth.

“The water!” Yu-ning exclaimed, an idea popping into her head. She walked to the center of the platform, where there was a large wooden handle with a lever at the top. She guessed that squeezing the handle and pulling down on the lever would engage the pulley system and allow the platform to rise—if water was available to power the water wheel. She began fiddling with the handle to figure out how to disengage it, but it wouldn't budge.

“What is that sound?” said a middle-aged woman standing toward the front of the crowd, which had inched closer to get a better look at the platform and water wheel.

“Well, it sounds like water from far away,” added the elderly gentleman who had been hit by the whirlicon. “But that's impossible! The water source has been blocked for years, ever since the avalanche.”

“Avalanche? What do you mean?” asked Yu-ning.

“More than two decades ago,” the elderly man said. “The water dried up after an avalanche covered the spring that powered this particular sky conveyor. There's a narrow canyon about a mile outside the city, with high rock walls on either side. The avalanche brought a ton of debris down on the waterway, and ever since then, the spring has been blocked.”

As he finished his explanation, Yu-ning felt a fine mist of water on her face, carried by an ever-increasing rush of air from the direction of the loud rumbling. “I think the water is back!” yelled Yu-ning over the now-deafening roar. A wall of water exploded from the entrance where the watercourse exited the tunnel under the tower's foundation. With the first wall of water came a great rush of mud, rocks, tree roots, and
other debris, picked up along the way as the water headed toward the platform—presumably from outside the city.

Yu-ning and Julian hit the deck of the platform, covering their heads to protect them from large objects. People standing just off the platform also fell flat on the ground, covering their heads for protection. The water rushed past them, and after what seemed like an eternity to Yu-ning, the water slowed, and debris was no longer hitting her body. Soaked to the bone, she opened her eyes, seeing that the water had turned clear and free of debris and was subsiding now, back into the channel of the millrace.

As the rush of water decreased and the roar of the initial flood diminished, a new sound was noticeable. It was the
thwack, thwack, thwack
of the water buckets as the old mill wheel creaked to life. As the water made contact with the water buckets, it began to push against the wheel, which creaked, gave way, and began to move. And as dirt and debris was cleared from the mill wheel, it began to turn faster and faster.

“How did you do that?” exclaimed Julian, his eyes wide with wonder.

“I held up my pink heart necklace, and the water just started flowing,” answered Yu-ning. “I had faith that it could happen—and it did. I believed!”

Julian was dumbstruck and speechless. The people gathered in the atrium just to the side of the sky conveyor were very quiet, trying to understand what had just happened. Then the crowd around the platform parted, and up walked the main sentry, holding the large scroll in his hand.

“We can't have all these people within the tower, you—” he stopped in midsentence and dropped his scroll, staring
in disbelief at the water wheel, which was turning strongly now, full of water. “How—how did you do that?” he said to Yu-ning.

She smiled at him and simply said, “Faith!”

The sentry quickly regained his composure, picked up the scroll, and said, “You are a strange little girl, full of surprises.” He looked hard at Yu-ning, and then back at the water wheel, which was now turning rapidly, water gushing out of the buckets as it made its revolutions. The sentry's demeanor softened, as he was clearly impressed by Yu-ning's ability to bring the mill wheel back to life. “I never thought I'd see the day when that old mill would once again dance with water. But still, there are rules here in the tower, and I have a job to do. The main rule is that only those who have been granted written permission can be here. The rest of you will need to leave.”

Disappointment registered on many faces, but Yu-ning had an idea. “Sir, could you start reading off the names on your scroll, please?”

As the sentry began reading the names, voices in the crowd started shouting out, “That's me!” or “I'm here.” In fact, the first thirty names the sentry read were all present in the crowd. He paused, began to speak the next name, but simply shook his head, rolled up his scroll, and said, “All right, you are all allowed to enter. But if you plan to ride the conveyor, let me warn you that it has not worked in more than twenty years, and neither I nor the keeper of the tower can guarantee your safety.” With that, he gave a respectful nod toward Yu-ning and started to walk away, shaking his head.

“Sir, can you please wait? I can't seem to move the control lever—it is rusty or stuck. Can you help us?”

“It's been so many years, little girl, since I have worked on a pulley,” said the sentry, his tone now sympathetic. “But if it is anything like the smaller pulleys on the other side of the tower, it has a small compartment in the floor, and inside is a jar of oil. Try oiling the handle.”

Sure enough, Yu-ning could see the outline of a small square compartment next to the lever on the floor of the platform. She pried loose a small ring lying flush with the wooden planks, grabbed hold of it, and gave a tug. The compartment popped open in a puff of dust; inside were a few hand tools wrapped in an oily rag and a small jar, which she removed. After opening the lid of the jar, she poured a small amount of musky-smelling oil onto the handle and base of the lever.

She gave the handle another squeeze, and to her delight, there was a satisfying
click
as the handle engaged, allowing her to lower the lever toward the ground. The platform gave a sudden lurch upward half a foot—with dust rising from underneath in brown puffs. She quickly reengaged the handle, and the platform dropped down to the floor again, releasing a second, even larger dust cloud, causing many in the crowd to cough and cover their eyes.

“Who is coming with me? Come to the top with me, everyone!” said Yu-ning in a loud voice, so the entire crowd could hear her. “You have all made it this far. Are all of you courageous enough to continue on? There are only more gifts and blessings, and you only need to trust and believe. And if you like, you can return with me to Rainbow Island.”

Everyone was standing to the side of the platform, but the entire crowd moved closer to Yu-ning. She looked around, marveling at all the people she had inspired. From the elderly man who had been hit by the whirlicon to Julian,
the homeless teenage boy seeking alms, they were all here. Silence fell as the crowd paused, uncertain what was being asked of them. An energy of skepticism began to circulate, and Yu-ning felt it strongly. “Come on, everyone,” she said coaxingly. “What are you waiting for? Get on! We came all this way; do not give up now!”

“There's something mysterious about this platform,” one man said. “It's too risky.” With that, he turned on his heel and strode out of the tower. As he walked away, Yu-ning noticed many other people coming and going in the tower atrium. They were heading in the direction of the other tower sky conveyors, oblivious to the lights pouring down through the center of the tower.

Another man spoke up. “I'm not sure about this. I'm not sure about any of this.”

A woman responded, “The little girl is right, we have come all this way. My life is miserable in the city, and all I do is rush, my lungs full of smoke, my days grey. What is there to lose?”

“Yes, come on, everyone, you only need to believe and have faith. And then, you can travel with me to my home. It is full of color and love—not like this grey city you live in,” Yu-ning said.

“Like we're going to listen to a little girl,” a young man shouted from the back of the crowd. “She's making fools out of us,” he said as he turned and walked away, back toward the main gate of the tower.

Julian stepped forward. “Every word she speaks is true. I have seen her magic and I have been healed by her love. And if you don't believe me, many of you saw her heal the old man over there.” Julian looked at Yu-ning and said, “Yu-ning,
I want to go to Rainbow Island. I want to know love and color.” Yu-ning squeezed Julian's arm, delighted by his change of heart.

The elderly man stepped forward. “You all saw what happened to me—I shouldn't be alive. And now I stand here and I have never felt more alive. I am eighty-three years old, and I feel like I did when I was eighteen, riding with the Empress's cavalry across the countryside!”

Yu-ning nodded at Julian gratefully and continued, “What you believe becomes your reality. If you do not believe or have faith—if you only believe in darkness—then that will be your reality. Choose to believe and we can all travel to the top floor!”

“I believe you,” said a mother holding the hand of her five-year-old daughter. “There has to be a better life for my daughter than in this city of misery. I want to travel to your island, little girl. The light you have shown us has given me sensations I have never experienced before.”

“It's joy,” said Yu-ning, smiling sweetly, her eyes beaming with love.

The elderly man and the mother impacted many people. They were moving forward one by one, pressing through the crowd, causing more and more people to come forward.

“Me too, I want to be on the top of the world!” said a postman who was still carrying his mail satchel. Several dozen people now stepped onto the platform, which was jammed with people. There seemed to be no more room.

“Come on, everyone,” said Yu-ning. “You only need to believe! We can reach the top in no time,” she said fervently. “Don't lose this sacred opportunity. This is your chance to reach the top!”

This final plea reached more and more people. They rushed forward onto the platform as those on board smiled warmly and patted them on the arms and shoulders, congratulating them. Everyone was feeling the vibration of excitement, nervousness, and expectation. And then something strange happened: the platform seemed to be expanding, growing to accommodate anyone who wanted to climb aboard.

Yu-ning felt the platform expanding and looked wide-eyed at those around her. “Yes, everyone. If you believe in your heart that you can ride to the top, then the platform will make room for you!” This exclamation caused a few last-minute passengers to rush onto the platform, which expanded once again to accommodate them. As she realized that no one else in the crowd was willing to come with them, Yu-ning knew it was time. She grabbed the handle on the control lever, squeezed it, heard a click, and lowered the lever. As she did, the platform again lurched upward several feet, causing many on board to yell out in alarm. Yu-ning reengaged the handle, and the platform stopped moving upward.

Just then, a young man in his early twenties came running toward the platform and leapt upward, grabbing the edge of the platform with one hand. Women on board shrieked, worried the platform would begin to rise with the man dangling below it. A boy and a woman next to the railing grabbed the man's arms and helped him climb aboard. The man was shaken, but a smile of joy lit up his face.

In the commotion, the platform began to sway as it lifted off the ground. “Easy, everyone. It's like being on a boat—we need to remain steady, and not rock one way or another. Take a deep breath, and here we go!”

Y
U-NING SLOWLY DISENGAGED
the locking mechanism on the platform, which jolted into motion once again. This time, however, the passengers remained calm and steady, and the platform began to move smoothly skyward.

Yu-ning looked out at the faces of those below—those who chose to stay behind. Some were weeping, knowing instantly once the platform left that they had made a mistake. Others were still scoffing dismissively, as if to convince one another that they were the only sensible people. A hushed silence fell over the platform. Everyone was breathless, not knowing what to expect next. They watched the faces of those below and saw bitterness, confusion, and sadness. Their attention was drawn back to Yu-ning.