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The Blue Star of Peace
In the dark deep
blue waters of the Pacific Ocean there exist nine beautiful
islands. As a major group in a great archipelago these
islands are truly magical paradises. They are surrounded
by tranquil turquoise-blue crystal waters and, always,
a gentle breeze whispers over the islands' lush tropical
forests and gorgeous valleys with their many waterfalls.
The long opaque-white waters rush down to the black lava
rocks below and flow into round cobalt pools. Always hovering
over the falls is a rainbow, while the colorful birds
sing in higher octaves in harmony with the deeper sounds
of the splashing misty waters.
Light rain descends from the
top of the plump rainforest canopy to the flaming patches
of magnificent flowerbeds. The red gingers, plumerias,
bird of paradise and all the flowers of the tropics
blossom year round in full splendor. They cover the
landscape with all conceivable colors, as would an imaginary
artist with brush strokes paint repeatedly the rusty
looking terrain of the islands. Above the majestic ocean
extends, like an endless blue tent, the sky and pillow-like
clouds gather over the greenish-red mountains. The beauty
of these islands is a mirror of the gentleness of its
native peoples who are noted, even to the farthest corners
of the earth, for their kindness and friendliness.
Most of these islands
are very popular tourist destinations and are beloved
places to visit. But nobody has ever heard about the
Ninth Island or the smaller islands nearby, the Scorched
Dragon Isle of Fire, and the Isle of the Whispering
Winds. All belong to the same mystical island group.
However, the Ninth Island is even more beautiful and
peaceful than the others. Its shores are framed with
blue coral lagoons of unimaginable beauty, and the sweet
fragrance of the tropical flowers always lingers in
the air. The tall trade wind palms murmur quietly with
ever-lasting whooshing sounds, a translucent singsong
that reminds one of the music of heavenly harps.
The Ninth Island is the
birthplace of magical creatures, who are:
Pupulala the snail.
She is a very old lady who wears a pair of glasses with
mysterious powers that she received as a gift from the
handsome pearl shell man Uhimomi.
Aerobeak, a clumsy but lovable parrot is another
mystical resident of the island.
Kaimi the gecko wizard fiercely guards the secrets
of the Ninth Island, and he is good friend to all.
TentUlla is a native of Tahiti, and a very kind
and gentle octopus.
Kekoa the shark is a descendant of the legendary
shark gods. His name means 'the brave one" in the
Hawaiian language. He is not as vicious as everybody
thinks. Even though he is a loyal guardian he often
shows his short temper to strangers.
Because the Ninth Island offers
little opportunity for employment, these mysterious
creatures had to move to some of the other eight islands
and so now they are living secretly among us.
They have to disguise their own appearance, because
this is one of the most important laws of the Ninth
Island. This supreme law never permits the inhabitants
to reveal their own identities to outsiders. They can
be seen in their real self only by the other natives
or by a true friend from the outside world. They are
mostly decent souls with hopes and dreams like every
one of us.
Some of them are hard working, like Pupulala, who is
employed in the City Hall. Aerobeak is known on the
other islands as Squeaky Manu, because he had to apply
for social security, and he had to make up a human name.
He has taken on odd jobs, but he is really an artist
who hopes to exhibit his work soon in one of the ritzy
galleries of the dazzling cities of the other islands.
Anyway that is what he tells
all his friends such as Theodore, a soft-spoken
immigrant from Greece. Theodore is not native to the
Ninth Island; he is a Greek land turtle. But because
he came from another legendary island in the Mediterranean,
he was welcomed as a new friend. He enjoys chatting
with his distant relatives, the mystical green sea turtles.
Sometimes he meets with his good buddy the sea tortoise,
Tattatou. Disguised as shipyard workers, they
visit the bars of the other islands to reminisce over
a couple of margaritas.
Even when it seems that the
Ninth Island is such a perfect place, an ancient spell
was cast on this isle in distant times. The earth was
just a newborn planet in that epoch and it was a mysterious
place where strange, mighty powers ruled the land.
But not all the natives of
the Ninth Island are good - spirited. From the black
hole of the horrendous forces that swirled around the
Ninth Island in long forgotten times, evil characters
emerged and they lived on. They are dangerous and they
try to keep the spell on the island, because it gives
strength to their dark powers.
They welcome a bad character, like Fufurissimo
the brown tree snake from Guam. He is a vicious descendant
of the legendary dragon snakes.
Some inhabitants look or act
nasty, such as DiliBully
known also as Don Armadillo from Mexico just because
he wants to kid around. His ancestors were powerful
Aztec wizards, but he plays a clown role and so DiliBully
is more or less just a harmless fool. But the eternal
fight between good and evil keeps its spell on the Ninth
Island. In this power struggle, humans play an important
role, and they are going to decide finally the fate
of the island and its inhabitants.
This is a very complicated
story; told by the wise and noble dolphin man, Merton,
who is a proud inhabitant of the island, to all his
new friends. He is a gracious wizard of the mystical
Ninth Island, and he is usually called respectfully
'The Messenger' by everybody. It seems that he still
has contact with the distant past to the ancestral home
of the Ninth Island. But the inhabitants do not like
to speak about this to strangers, because this is their
most treasured secret. Some centuries ago, a mortal
man discovered this well-guarded secret, and he had
written the legend on parchment because he wanted to
take this incredible knowledge with him back to his
home. Unfortunately, his ship arrived in a terrible
tempest, and it sank to the bottom of the lagoon. Which
is now known as The Lagoon of the Mystery Ship. PuffRuff,
the puffer fish, also a native of the Ninth Island,
faithfully guards this ship that rests, broken, in its
watery dark grave.
Merton often plays in the
shallow clear waters of the lagoon in the moonlight
flooded nights and tells stories to his new friends
Theodore and Neffy,
the Cuckoo bird, who came from a mysterious valley in
the Swiss alps to teach goodness to people in far away
places. Neffy herself is a creature with powers that
reach far beyond those of a common bird. For now she
is quite happy with her new job on a big ship.
The nights are stunning on
the Ninth Island. Peace, like a warm comfortable blanket,
spreads over the tropical landscape. The ragged mountain
peaks stretch to the sky, like the backbones of very
old and honorable dragons. The royal palms stand guard
along the white sand-covered shores and they calmly
rock their wiry heads in accord with the soothing rhythms
of the friendly winds.
On one of these beautiful
nights, Merton pointed out the summer sky to Theodore
and Neffy; it looked like billions of brilliant eyes
peeking through the holes of a dark sheet. They could
see a very bright blue star.
"That is our ancestral
home", whispered Merton in his raspy guttural voice
that mimicked a Spanish castanet. We named it the Blue
Star of Peace. The Ninth Island broke away from it before
the time of memory and landed on the earth's surface.
After new volcanic islands emerged from the ocean, our
mystical, dream-like Ninth Island became a part of this
beautiful archipelago".
"But nobody on earth
can see it", answered Theodore.
"You are right, my friend",
nodded Merton, "nobody can see it with human eyes,
just we are able to do so, we the magical creatures".
"But what about the spell?"
Neffy asked him. "Is it always going to stay upon
the island and its inhabitants, and why and who cast
this spell? More than that, why were we banished to
live in these mystical bodies?"
"I can just tell you
how long the spell is going to last", replied Merton
after a long pause. "Until this, our host planet,
is free of war and violence against fellow men, we are
banished here, like mystical castaways and we cannot
go home to our Blue Star of Peace. Most of us are the
last guardians of the lost Peace of the Universe. Our
task is to teach the humans how to be good, how to save
their fragile environment, how to rescue their own planet,
how to honor all creatures great and small, how to live
in peace, how to forgive and how to get rid of inhumanity,
how to reach out to each other in goodwill and break
the chain of hatred in their very own hearts. When all
this is reached the peaceful times, which the Australian
Aborigines describe as the "dream era", will
return and a new chance will dawn for all human beings
to turn their own planet into the Blue Star of Peace".
"I wonder, if that will
ever occur", said Theodore very quietly.
"We can only hope",
replied Merton and then he jumped with a big splash
into the smooth velvety water of the lagoon and swam
swiftly towards the visible silvery caps of the long
waves of the open ocean.
The Ninth Island is
still hiding its mystery. Is it ever going to be discovered?
No one knows for sure. But when clumsy Aerobeak goes
on a ride on the Islands with his old beaten-up bike,
just about anything can happen.
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