Down | Tyrus

VIII

Buffy's grandpa is one of the most intelligent people any of us know. Although quiet, whenever we want to know something about the past, he's the best source to learn it. History is his specialty. Ever since he passed on his clockkeeping duty to his son and daughter in-law, he's dived into studying all about the past, and whenever he is unable to learn something, he always finds a way. He knows more stories of the past than I could even imagine in a lifetime, which makes him the perfect person to go to to ask about our discovery. 

"Land?" he huffs. "How do you kids know about that?"

He rocks back and forth in his rocking chair while I and my three friends sit on the end of his bed, trying to come up with an answer. Buffy glances to me, but both of us know we can't admit that we snuck into the pilot's office. Then they'd surly get better security, and we wouldn't be able to get in the again in the future. Also, we'd probably be arrested. 

"Uh, we saw it in a library book," Buffy says, which isn't entirely a lie. 

Grandpa Driscoll nods and sucks in a breath before starting his explanation. "Well, I suppose I should start from the beginning. A very long time ago, the world wasn't all water. There used to be land. It grew plants, and there were animals that lived there. People used to live there as well, or so I was told. There were also huge pieces of ice in the water. They were like islands of their own. But then the air started to get warmer, and the ice melted, and the water started to rise. Soon, all the land was lost underneath the blue, and humans had to find a way to live without it, so we built our cities."

"Is that where the metals come from?" I wonder. "I know we only have so much. Is that why?"

"Yes," Grandpa Driscoll confirms. "We used to find those metals in the land. We used to find many things in the land."

"Why has no one told us about it before?" Andi asks. 

"Because when the cities were built, those leading the people decided it would be better for the future generations if they didn't know about it. They wouldn't wonder what they're missing or if things could have been different. I suspect it was their way of ensuring there wouldn't be dissent. If nobody knew of a better life, then they could not blame their leaders for taking it from them. But of course that's just my assumption. I wasn't there."

"So then how do you know about it?" Buffy questions. 

"Because I was like you when I was a boy," he says. "I was curious and wanted to learn, and I wouldn't stop until I understood every little part of a story. My own grandfather was the last generation to live on land, although only for a part of his childhood. Those younger couldn't remember ever living there, and those older were sworn to silence. To speak of it was criminal, and most of the literature referencing the land was destroyed. I'm surprised you found one in the library. But my grandfather—Buffy, your great great grandfather—wasn't afraid of being punished. He believed history was meant to be told. Thank goodness for him."

"He sounds wonderful," Buffy says. "I'm sad I never had the chance to know him."

"All you need to know is already in you," Grandpa Driscoll responds. "He's in your bones. His strength and passion, I see that everyday in you."

"Thanks, Grandpa," Buffy says. 

"You're welcome. Now, I hope you will all keep secret what I've shared with you, because I'm not supposed to know this."

"We'll keep it secret," Buffy assures him. "Thanks, again."

Buffy stands up, which makes us all get up after her. Like a line of ducks, we leave the room and wind around the corner to go into Buffy's. Andi's the last in and seals the door tight behind her. We all reconvene in a circle on the floor, in the middle of which Buffy lays down the paper from the bottle again. It's starting to look more and more weathered each day, with wrinkles down every edge now. 

"Okay," she says, "so let's review what we know. We know that there is land somewhere."

"And since these are directions," I say, pointing to the words, "it has to be some kind of map. So this green spot is where the land is."

"This is a really bad map," Jonah mumbles. "Just some directions and scribbled lines doesn't tell us where the land is."

That's what we still haven't figured out yet: what the connected dot drawings are on the page. There are three separate ones, but none make sense. One looks like a diamond with a bent stick coming out of it. Another is like a box with three tails. And the last is too bizarre to even try to describe. 

"Wait, Jonah," Andi says leaning in over the paper. "If this is a map, then these drawings aren't just scribbles. I can't believe I didn't see it sooner."

"See what?" Buffy says. 

"I think they're constellations."

That makes sense. With the ground being ocean and the clouds constantly changing, the only constant used to create maps of the earth is the stars. But I don't know anything about how to read those maps or where any of the stars are in the sky, because that's only something that those running the city need to know. The only maps I read are the ones of the city, which use streets and houses to show where things are.

"Do you know which ones?" I ask. 

Andi shakes her head. "I don't know much about the stars, and I don't know anything about star mapping. My dad just has a constellation chart, because he's into astrology."

"Do you think we could see it?" I ask. "Then we might be able to match the constellations with the ones on the chart and figure out where the land is."

"That's what I was thinking," Andi agrees.

A/N: Okay, so bear with me on some of this, because I did research stuff about stars, but I might have gotten some stuff wrong, so if you notice that, just take it as a change the way my storybook world functions. That's the beauty of writing a fictional world. I can pretty much make any laws I want, so I like that. Anyway, I love you all. Have a good day!