Jazzy & Robo

JAZZY & ROBO 3

Before the end of the school year, we were invited to Corbin's family home for a month at the end of May and could stay longer if we wanted to explore more.

We could claim it was a class project if it went too long. Dad could say he was exploding a new area for sales for his family's companies. Mom said she could just put her retirement paperwork in.

They explained their home was hidden from public sight.

Before we left, we all were inspected for any metals in our bodies and equipment we were taking with us.

We all had what they called BMID (Bio-Mechanical Implanted Device) installed under our forearms. We were shown them, and no one ever noticed them until you activated them by rubbing a certain spot on your arm that activated them.

We were told everyone had to have one inserted by about six years old where they lived.

It didn't hurt; we forgot about them being there after a day.

On the day, our driver with an eight-passenger van arrived at 5 am, and we were soon traveling on a major highway for 2 hours. He left the highway onto county roads for miles until those quit, too. Then, he followed a shale rocky path used a hundred years earlier on cattle drives northward.

Everyone watched as they finally ended against a tall mesa made of an extinct volcano in the middle of the desert they were in.

They cleaned the sand blown against a disguised doorway, opened it, drove into the concealed entrance into a large tunnel, and closed it quickly.

About 500 yards through the tunnel, the driver pushed an opener on the sun visor, and a doorway opened in the middle of one of the tunnel bends.

He drove into the forking tunnel, and as soon as they cleared the doorway, it closed automatically.

The tunnel changed into a blow hole, flattened to about twenty feet tall. They drove through it briefly until it opened into a chamber.

As they entered the chamber, everyone saw the walls glowed greenish, and there was some type of growth on the walls.

The driver parked the van, and everyone retrieved their backpacks and large suitcases from the back. He said he was going to visit his family for about four hours and then would start back home. He quickly ran off down the smaller blowhole.

He rushed off, saying he had to return to study for a test tomorrow afternoon late.

We all walked down the smaller blowhole, and as we did, the glow changed to a muted orange color.

We all walked as pairs and quickly started holding hands, which seemed a new normal. After about fifteen minutes, we entered another chamber.

Across the other side of the chamber was a transparent glass wall with a huge closed doorway.

Behind this was a large shimmering surface that looked like a flexing picture window. The glow intensified until it looked like a midday scene, but the daylight was the same orange we had seen as we walked into this area.

We seated ourselves as families on two matching benches facing each other.

Jazzy's mom spoke up first, "Though that doorway is where our home is.

You're looking at one of the portals scattered across the earth's surface, but this is the only one fixed to our home world. We will be in another world in another part of the galaxy when we walk through it.

We talked about telling you before we had you here, but we have been dropping you hints, and your training disks have added more information.

You all now have choices.

Ask us to take you home and then leave you alone forever.

Another is to ask more questions, which you may already have answers in your subconscious, and then choose to stay or go.

Another is to come home with us and see what our world is like

Robo's dad spoke up, smiling, "We don't think you know that there was a large amount of extra information from your training programs that we picked up on.

As a family, we quietly talked about how extra info bleed in. We are all excited about going forward.

Also, we will see where Robo will spend a lot of his time in the future, especially after they get married.

Are we correct in the story Jazzy gave Robo last Christmas, which we all read is about your home world? "The three nodded happily.

"We all want to go see everything we picked up on. It sounds great."

I was expecting a big deal going from one world to another, but after the doorway was opened, we walked across the area between worlds, only being told to watch our step for the slight difference between worlds.

After crossing, we looked around until we were called to breakfast, which was laid out on a table under a huge tree.

We all felt a nagging feeling in our brains until we heard, "Welcome new friends! It's nice to meet the Boone family finally.

Jazzy always cried because she had to leave you behind, mostly Robo! "Her Pledged One."

"I'm Marb, the guardian tree for the portal. Just call me Mar.

I've sent a message out that you were here, and a wagon is on its way.

So eat up before they get here and spread dust all over your food. "

"Can I send you likenesses to the other trees, and can we call you by your normal name? So they'll know you, and you'll know when someone wishes to speak to you?"

We quickly agreed.

All during breakfast, we asked Mar questions about everything that came to mind. I think some of them amused her.

As we relaxed, we watched everything go by. IE: the twin suns, birds, clouds, and animals walking across the ground.

Mar said your ride will be here in about fifteen minutes.

We cleaned up, depositing the trash into an opening in a root sticking out of the ground, and were thanked for the feeding.

When the twin oxen-drawn wagon pulled up beside us, the three people exploded off of it.

Jazzy held up her hand and said, "Let me introduce you before you hug us all to death. These are the Burks, members of our family.

She walked up to a youngish man and introduced him as Uncle Toby. Beside him was an equally young woman, whom she introduced as Aunt Beth. And that little monkey is our cousin Job.

Then she introduced each of us."

When she finished the introductions, they asked if she had finished. When she nodded, the rounds of hugs started.

We all clambered up into the elongated wagon, which they said was used mainly for moving milled timber, but they put seats in it for today.

The wagon ride through the new planet's landscapes, birds, and animals was amazing, and we saw even more as we traveled. All the Burks and Corbins pointed out things we needed to see, even knowing a lot from the book.

After the first half hour, we went through a village. Many shops we passed sold goods that appeared to be not from the Old West origin. In some ways, it may be more like medieval England, as the story we all read had stated.

After riding about another hour from the village, we went up an extended, gradual grade. On the left side was a giant circle of ten trees.

Each had at least two, if not three, stories.

The largest, which was at least 100 feet across with four stories, was named Brian.

They explained this was a special school for the best and the neediest students within a day and a half ride. They were on a trip to the sea this week.

We stopped and were given a tour of the different areas, classrooms, and play areas.

We also got the first look inside of the trees. They told us about the school and answered questions about everything there.

Brian told us the history of the school.

Late in 1864, a small private school sat between West Texas and Eastern New Mexico borders towards the end of the Civil War and was being spied upon by different riders from the far hillsides.

The head of the school, parents, and staff decided they were Jayhawkers. They wanted to escape before they attacked them.

The school undercover had prepared to escape the area.

They took two Conestoga wagons and loaded them about a foot and a half deep with books, other training aids, and everything else they would need to start a new school and a life, plus take care of the needs of everyone.

They started in the middle of the night with:

The two wagons with fourteen oxen.

Twelve outriders with sixteen horses.

Six teachers and their families with their belongings on their backs.

Thirty-five students and their families had their belongings on their backs, too.

Most older students and everyone else were armed with what they had.

Following them were a pack of three females, two males, and a litter of Bluetick Coonhounds puppies. A new breed of dog at the time.

A group of our explorers found them traveling west, and their sentries saw a gang of Jayhawkers riding toward them.

Our explorers joined the school to fight with them as reinforcements. They arrived just in time.

Our people were all armed with bows, arrows, and other non-metal arms.

There were only four injuries and one death with the combined force.

The Jayhawkers died to a man.

In a camp meeting after the battle, everyone from the school was invited to move to a permanent new home.

As they were invited, they were informed about the metal restrictions and that horses wouldn't survive in the lands where the people who fought with them for their lives and freedom lived.

Two Indian outriders said, "We'll take our and Jayhawker's horses North to our people because they don't have many. It would help our people."

Two girls stood up and said, "Hank Redbird, Nick Deepfisher: you're not going anywhere without us.

You two have been sparking us for over three years, and in about a year, we planned for you to marry us.

I was planning on dying my blond hair black and with our tans plus wearing Indian clothes no one would know or care.

Tina and I have native names and speak your language, so we always knew what was happening.

One of our sentries said, "Your people are about two and a quarter days from here, and where we are going is about three days with the wagons.

From the back walked slowly three sickly-looking young men.

"You all know we are dying of really bad cases of consumption/TB, but we could take all the horses north to our people and then die with them as heroes. Plus, you four could have the lives you wanted and planned.

And no more discussion about what is going to happen! "

One of our explorers said, "I will go, help them, and return. There is no discussion here either.

Your people know me."

FYI, something in the water cured the three sickly men, and they lived long, productive lives.

Before you make any decisions, "When you get to our home, there is no coming back here. This is to protect you, us, and our way of life.

After passing the portal, and as they traveled, they saw where the school is today and fell in love with the area.

I was the largest tree in the world because of a family who lived in me before they moved to be with the rest of their family.

When school started, I started growing wider and adding stories. Other trees joined me because they wanted to be part of the school.

Everything went well until students wanted to move out on their own.

They would go out exploring and come back with where they wanted to move.

Three or four "New" families would move out, helping build each home site. All but one family wanted a tree at their new home site. This way, they were never out of touch.

When we talk about our world, we don't talk about the settlers from the skies who settled halfway across the globe from us.

We both are happy with our lives and ways of life.

There are communications with them when it is needed.

We were so grateful that we had both the training and upgraded our abilities to hear thoughts and messages.

We loved the school and everything we learned.

After we finished, we continued up the slope to the peak.

Looking down the hill, we saw a broad landscape bordered by about sixty-foot-tall cliff sides, which seemed to have farm-style buildings seemingly built into the cliff sides.

Halfway down were three trees growing in a huge semi-circle facing downhill with a vast delta in front of them going down to a river flowing out and into the cliff sides.

We stopped and looked at the trees for a while until we drove down the path, around the front of them in a circular path in front.

Jazzy gasped and yelled, "Robo, our house is almost finished!" as she cried and grabbed me, I just held her and stared, thinking, "Our house?"

She finally got herself under control and said, "Robo, the house on the left is ours for when we get married in four and a half months.

Then I gasped along with my parents.

The Corbins and Burks laughed at my family's surprise.

Jazzy's mom softly said," The tree on the right is the Boones, and in the center is ours.

Why don't we walk through each of the trees? Jazzy's and Robo's should be first as it is unfinished.

Jazzy was the guide of our tree, "His name is Eric," she said.

It was an updated tree, as in the story.

It is being grown with three bedrooms upstairs for our expanding family, it said, which caused both of us to blush and the parents to chuckle.

I loved the first family tree I had ever seen. It was better than I had imagined from the book Jazzy gave us.

Then we walked over to my parent's house. They introduced us to "Jenny".

It had the same floor plan until we saw it was completely furnished and had an extra doorway.

Dilating the doorway, we saw a stubby wide tree, "Jo," with huge windows on three sides.

The back side had a bathroom, storage areas, and storage closets.

There were tables for my mother's artwork and areas for my father's crafts and writing.

My parents were shocked that there was an area where they could work on their crafts together.

They both wanted to know how to get funds for supplies to fill the shop area.

Frank said, "Each backpack and suitcase has items that will sell quickly at high prices here. Plus, your artwork and crafts are unique here and will sell quickly for good prices.

It was hard to get my Mom and Dad away from "their "combined studio."

Finally, we went to the Corbin's tree.

As the door dilated open, we heard," Welcome, Boones. I've been waiting for over fourteen years to meet you finally!

"I'm Abby. The Corbins tree since before Jazzy was just a growing nugget in her mother." We all heard.

The two trees you've toured are mine and Brian's saplings. I'm sure they introduced him to you. He fertilized my buds for me.

Looking at the Corbin's three-story house was great.

They had personalized it and reflected their likes. There were items from New Mexico and other places they had been.

Mom asked about the mural on the main living area. They told us they had seen one similar and fell in love with it, but this one was about here.

I finally asked, "How did her samplings find enough food to grow such big and complicated trees so fast?"

Abby answered," Friends of the Corbins and people around us bring us supplies. They are stored in a covered pit, and we can all excess them. All waste is used efficiently.

We will share the extras when we finish growing, especially since we are in the middle of the fiefdom.

We heard the voices of the samplings saying, "Mom!"

"Okay, Brian and I sent roots toward each other, and we connected. We are in constant connection with each other. He has extra food with everyone at the school, but if he needs it, he can take as much as they need back to the school.

We know it is unusual, but it makes us happy." Abby answered.

Then added," Happy now that they know our secret?"

"Yes, now that it's out in the open." We heard muttered.

Another question that is confusing us is different from the other story.

Abby started to answer the question when we heard Brian tell us he was there, too. Would you allow me to answer for my family? We all said yes.

The story you read had no portals or family/grouped trees. The story takes place about six thousand miles from here.

Five hundred years ago, almost a large group of 12 extended families of explorers came through the opening in space.

The guardian tree for that area let all of them land, knocked them out carefully, and had two families of Macs strip them of all items not allowed here.

The tree and the Macs explained "Here and Now" to them. All but three wanted to stay and settle after being shown around.

They traveled across the countryside to where the Macs showed them a valley similar to this but hundreds of times bigger.

This is the way this world was formed. It was a two-day walk after they made rope harnesses for their oxen.

They loved the valley but missed talking to the trees and asking questions.

They made the first village in that part of the globe, and the Macs brought saplings to the town. Everyone prospered.

The three who didn't want to stay were watched but were allowed to live their everyday lives. They got mated and were very happy to be "stuck" here.

NOTE: They had a flock of kids between them.

In a few years, they wanted a higher education school. I, Brian, was the first tree that helped start it.

The Macs and other people asked Saplings if they wanted to be part of the school.

Many found they didn't want to be part of the school but wanted to travel with the explorers.

As people spread out, saplings went with them; some saw places they wanted to be planted, and others became planted as part of the new villages.

After that story was written, more saplings and humans bonded here in this fiefdom.

Until it was unusual not to have multiple trees and humans living together, and the Macs started living around them, too.

The Boones loved their new home and quickly planned to go back and liquidate everything, retire, and return.

Kevin told his family he had been offered a job in a primitive jungle area of South America. Could they deposit his quarterly payment from his shares in the family company? Cody had also accepted a job there. They would be working for three weeks to put everything in order.

Cody went to her school and put in her retirement paperwork. She cleared out all of her items and left.

Jazzy and Robo attended one more set of college classes before their first wedding.

It was well attended, and everyone contributed to the charities they were requested to.

Both sets of parents and all the grandparents attended.

The next day, they all went home or on their honeymoon.

At the doorway, just after the wedding, a big truck backed up almost to the portal, and two wagons were loaded with supplies and personal items. A third wagon carried everyone homeward.

After they arrived at the three homes and all the items were unloaded, they met at the Corbin's home.

The first thing they discussed was the new Mrs. & Mr. Boone and their honeymoon destinations. They had a list of 18 easy places they could use a portal to visit. We all have visited and loved the home planet of Nessy, the planet where the Aztecs moved to and where magical creatures live and their planet and escape from into different areas. The other planets required unique makeup and clothing.

Why don't you talk it over till your second wedding three days from now?

They spent most of their time in their home getting used to it, but on the second day, a man knocked on their doors and asked them to meet with four others. They were all seated at the centrally located picnic table.

After they were seated, the one who asked them to meet said," I know you are getting married for the second time in one day. Congratulations. I know from your families you are going on honeymoons through different ports. Have fun!

When you return, I hope you have considered our offer to work for many different planets, checking on other planet's needs and problems. To work with the planet leaders for needed help or reforms if possible.