In the huge hall of the spacecraft stood a tall and graceful woman. Stars and galaxies circled around her. By the movement of her hands she controlled their trajectory. Sometimes frowning, she collected some of them in her palms and seemed to fashion them again. Satisfied with the result, she then sent them back into orbit with a smile. Her beautiful face was filled with inspiration, and her eyes glowed.

        Suddenly, two children rushed into the room. The girl, sobbing loudly, ran up to the woman and held tightly on to her. With a catch in her voice she cried, “Mom, mommy, it’s gone, we just can’t find it! … What will happen now?”
     The woman knelt down and wiped the tears, which were rolling incessantly down the face of the girl, and gently asked, “What is gone, Anita, dear?”
     But the girl just cried even harder, buried in the shoulder of her mother.

        The boy, standing quietly nearby, answered for his sister, “We seem to have lost Papa’s gift, his magic spinning top…”
     Abruptly the expression on the woman’s face grew very serious, and she asked with a hidden alarm in her voice, “How did it happen, son?”
     “I don’t know for sure, Mom,” he answered sincerely, then took a deep breath and explained, “We played at father’s table. The one with the Universe on it. I spun the top, and Anita came up with a new fairy tale world. The energy born of the spinning top picked up her fantasy and wove it into the canvas of time!” The boy’s eyes shone with admiration. “We saw how this world gradually took shape. Harmonic and beautiful! It was filled with secrets and wonders, riddles and adventures. Good always triumphed over evil there, and fate united hearts in love. It was a world of true joy and happiness! But suddenly a strange shadow appeared, hovering over the spinner. There was a quiet hiss, like a warning, and then… The top seemed to fall into the table…”

A few hours later, after calming the children down and putting them to bed, Karina sat with her husband in a small shelter, completely isolated from the outside world, and had a sad conversation.
     “Do you really see no other way out, Andrei?” she asked with bitterness in her voice.
     “Only a very strong wizard could get on our ship unnoticed, dear, and affect the top. The thirst for power driving such a person can lead to terrible consequences…” He paused for a while, then continued, “When I created the artifact for our children, I suspected that something like this could happen. Thus, if anyone of power tries to steal it, then it will immediately teleport away.”
     “But where? What place could be safe for it?”

        “It will move to a planet with only the bare minimum of magic on it. Where? That I cannot know. I can only hope that the lack of magic will prove an insurmountable obstacle for a thief like that.” He took her hands in his, gazing into her eyes. “And our children, I believe, will eventually find a spinning top and bring it home.”
     As she realised what he had just told her, her eyes widened in shock. “No! You are going to send them to Earth! How could you?” Sobbing, she yanked her hands back and turned away from him. “It is so remote from our world, full of restrictions, sufferings and dangers! Anything can happen to them!! Just imagine it, Andrei!”
     “Our children are old enough,” her husband responded quietly but firmly. “It’s time for them to start learning how to overcome the trials themselves. And,” pleading with her to understand, “our most devoted spirits will also fly with them. In the meantime, we will deal with whoever is hiding on our ship – and find out what their intentions are. The children will be much safer on the planet where I sent them, I think, than near us for the moment,” he finished.

        Shaking her head, the woman whispered hopelessly, “There is almost no magic… They cannot protect themselves…”
     “But it will also prevent our enemies from finding them. And if such a need really should arise, then the true strength of their spirit will certainly manifest itself! I have no doubt that they will be able to penetrate all the barriers of the planet if that happens… I believe in them, Karina,” he added in a soft but confident tone, gently touching her shoulders. “Everything will be fine.”
     She turned her head to look at him again. Despair, fear, hope and love mingled in her wet eyes. “Let it be as you decided, my husband,” Karina finally answered.

Andrei and Karina kissed their sleeping children. Then the father put his right hand on his son’s chest and closed his eyes. Brow furrowed in concentration he stood there for a while, then slowly withdrew his hand from the boy’s chest. A bright, glowing sphere followed it up, emerging from within the sleeping child. Opening his eyes, Andrei touched the sphere with his other hand and withdrew a small tendril of energy from it, which he placed in his breast pocket. Then, breathing a word of command to the sphere, he sent it on its way.

        Walking over to their daughter’s bed, he did the same for her…
     “No one will guess anything, my dear,” he said quietly, turning to face his wife. “Our children will seem to be peacefully sleeping here, while their souls will be on Earth. If something unexpected happens, we can always feel it and take them back, thanks to those small threads of soullight which we will carry unceasingly around our hearts.”
     “But you sent them to different places on the planet, and at different times…”
     He shook his head. “It was a necessary precaution, Karina. I cannot be sure that the enemy will be fooled. What if they will discover that it is only the shells of the children which rests here?”
     “Then it will be harder for our enemies to find them, now.” she concluded, still worried. “But how will they find and get to know each other? They will not remember anything of their life before Earth, dear?”
     He gazed down at the children for a moment, before answering. “Their souls are closely connected and that will direct their destinies to meet with each other. Be calm, my love. It is fated: their roads will cross…”

Attribution
Story by Elena Voroniouk © 2019, all rights reserved.
Photography (in order of appearance):
Woman Surrounded by Stars by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Sad Girl by Ria Sopala from Pixabay
The Spinning Top by Pranav from Flickr
Planetfall! by Larisa Koshkina from Pixabay
The Children Jonny Lindner from Pixabay
The Sending Gerd Altmann from Pixabay