The Adventures of Tim and Janik. The magic chest

“Do the new humans have butterflies and roaches in their heads?” Janik asked.

“These are thoughts. Butterflies are good thoughts, cockroaches are bad. If you do not clean your head in time, cockroaches can eat all the butterflies. You have to clean your mind,” Appak replied, reassembling her head. “And how do you clean your thoughts?”

“We just don’t think anything we don’t want to,” Tim said.

“It must be very difficult. After all, bad thoughts are so clingy,” said the girl sympathetically. “We’ll go to my place to meet my family. On the way I can tell you why we are waiting for the saviors. Akzhol!” called Appak. A huge purple dog came running from the forest.

“Look, it’s Foggy!” Janik was happy.

“No, his name is Akzhol,” said the girl and went to her dog.

The dog had no reaction to the boys, and they realized that it was not Foggy, but a similar dog. The brothers became a little sad, because they missed their four-legged friend very much.

Akzhol laid down so that the children could climb on his back. When everyone was comfortable, the dog got up and headed for The Valley of Happiness, increasing its pace with each step. The small yellow bird chirped merrily on Appak`s shoulder.

“Is this your bird?” asked Janik. He was very fond of animals and birds.

“Yes, this is my best friend, Allowie. He’s so cute and smart.”

“Who came up with such a strange name?” Tim laughed.

“My dad gave him to me. And he picked the name.”

“Looks like our mountains in Almaty,” Tim concluded, looking at the landscape around. He looked at Appak and smiled. “Maybe you can show us around sometime, we can go for a walk, sushi-pizza, or whatever you do for fun here?”

“If you save us, of course, there will be a reason to celebrate,” the girl replied.

“Yeah,” Tim said thoughtfully, “if we could save at least ourselves.”

The dog carried the children along the trail to the mountains. After wandering a little among the tall pines, they came to an edge of a cliff. From here, they had a charming view of The Valley of Happiness. Down in the valley in the vast ocean of grass the children saw hundreds of white yurts3 for as far as the eye could see. The blue sky mirrored the yurts with snow-white clouds. Tim and Janik saw people going about their business, children running around and heard laughter. Akzhol started down on a serpentine road. Many locals were riding past them on huge purple dogs.

“The valley is so beautiful!” said Appak softly.

“And how is the new version of humanity fundamentally different from us?” asked Tim.

“The Valley was built by regular people. The world can be like this, without evil, without envy, without violence. This world,” Appak gestured at the Valley, “does exist. Everyone here creates their own beautiful reality and is careful so that it doesn’t interfere with the beautiful reality of the others.”

“It’s impossible for everyone to be the same and equally happy. There will always be poor, rich and dissatisfied,” replied Tim.

“Not everyone here is the same. Everyone is different. Some people don’t need riches. They are happy with what they have. But they know for sure, that no one will try to take away the little they have. The people of the Valley know that everything you need, you can create on your own, if you only work on yourself. Taking away from the others means giving up your own development, it is primitive. To be able to improve is the true happiness.”

Appak patted the dog`s neck, and Akzhol stopped near one of the yurts. The children jumped off.

“There’s my school,” said the girl, pointing to the largest yurt nearby.

“Cool, I’d go to a school like that!” said Janik with energy. “But tell me, what were you doing on that cliff? You were whispering something.”

“I was thanking the Universe. Expressing my gratitude for the life, health, my family, for sending us the saviors.”

“But you didn’t know we were coming yet, did you?” Tim was confused.

“I did know. I thanked the Universe and waited.”

“Does it work like that?” asked Janik.

“Didn’t you learn how to be grateful at school?”

“To be grateful for something that hasn’t happened yet?” Tim asked. “No, we didn’t.”

“How strange,” now Appak was surprised, “In The Valley of Happiness, the lesson of gratitude is considered the most important and the most useful in life.”

The girl led the two brothers to her house. Only when they were right in from of the house, the newcomers noticed that yurts were in fact two-storey and only different from the modern houses in their round shape. Appak`s family came out to greet them. Transparent white curtains fluttered in the wind when the door opened. The father and sons were dressed in embroidered linen shirts. The mother was wearing a straight-cut dress made of softest and finest felt and chunky silver jewelry. Appak had four brothers. The oldest looked over 20, and even the youngest seemed much older than Tim. A few steps away from them stood a tall, thin man. The boys had seen him before with their grandmother. He had a very long hooked nose.

“Dad, Mom, meet our saviors!” announced Appak.

Tim could only sigh.

“It is a great honor to welcome you at our home. We’ve been waiting for you for a long time. I am the Head of The Valley of Happiness, my name is Danai. This is my wife, Shadi. Our sons: Tair, Tasnim, Tauman and Talip. Appak is the youngest child.”

Each brother shook Tim and Janik`s hands and introduced themselves.

“Tim, your savior,” Tim said sarcastically, genuinely wondering who or what he could save these grown men from.

“And this is my assistant Agzam,” Danai gestured at the long-nosed man. Agzam nodded.

“So you’re alive?” Janik asked. “We thought you died in the trunk.”

“I returned home,” Agzam answered, nodding again.

“You demanded that our grandmother must send us here?” asked Tim with annoyance.

“The valley has been waiting for you for many years,” Agzam explained with no emotion. “Before that, your father could have helped us, but Yenisaya was afraid for her son and hid him. He still doesn’t know who he is.”

“And who is he?” the young guests were intrigued.

“You must have seen your grandmother’s Golden man pendant,” said Danai. “The Golden man was the founder of The Valley of Happiness. He lived two and a half thousand years ago near Almaty City. You are the descendants of the Prince whose military dress of pure gold is now kept in the state vault. You must have seen a copy of it in the Museum. And we follow his ideas and traditions. For hundreds of years, the inhabitants of the Valley have preserved and passed on his wisdom from generation to generation. While the people here are safe, you live your lives. But in case of trouble, the Valley summons you.”

“And if we don’t want to save anyone?” Tim asked.

“You won’t be able to live in peace. And now you can’t go home until you destroy The King of Fear.”

“Many years ago, your grandmother single-handedly saved the Valley from the enemies,” Appak`s mother said softly. “And now the Valley is expecting the same heroic act from you.”

“It’s all because of Grandma! Now I know why she came to visit,” muttered Tim. “She decided to sacrifice us after all.”

“Your grandmother would never sacrifice you. But this is the destiny of your family.”

The guests were invited into the house. In the middle of the yurt was a dining room flooded with light from a round window in the ceiling. A long table was right beneath the window. The Head of the Valley sat in the place of honor, his wife to his right, then Appak, then the four brothers by seniority.

The guests were seated to his left, so was Agzam. The variety of dishes made Tim and Janik forget everything. They were really hungry after their journey. Danai began to tell the guests what was expected from them.

“People in the Valley are the same as you. We have learned to live in harmony and receive energy from Space. But there are neighboring lands whose residents couldn’t or didn’t want to change. One of them is The Mountain of Fears, under the rule of The King of Fear. Each year he has fewer and fewer subjects, and his power is fading. Before it’s too late for him, he wants to attack The Valley of Happiness to destroy it. If there is a war, some people won’t be able to go back to their lives and some will join his side. We have intelligence that The King of Fear is preparing to attack with an army of thousands.

“But you are so advanced, strong, can’t you defeat his army?” Tim asked with a mouthful of pie.

“We could only kill The King of Fear, but not the ordinary people.”

“But you have to defend yourself, don’t you?” Tim liked the idea of saving someone from an army of thousands less and less.

“People that live in the Valley of Happiness are on a different level. For us to kill a person means to kill a whole Universe. To kill a part of ourselves. Who needs spirituality if it will get someone hurt?”

“So you need someone primitive to kill everyone for you?” Tim`s indignation knew no bounds.

“No, you only need to kill The King of Fear.”

“Oh, well, that’s much easier!” Tim finished eating and was ready to take his leave.

“You are not primitive at all,” Shadi said gently. “You are the descendants of the great dynasty. You have all the necessary qualities in your genes. They just need to be activated.”

“No one from the Valley can enter the Kingdom of Fear. Our energy is too different. Although we live relatively close to it, we barely have contact with anyone from there,” Danai continued. “You need to get into the Kingdom.”

“And then?” asked Janik.

“And then find the Sword of Light.”

“How do we find it?”

“The sword responds to your energy. Only if your energy is in key with the Sword will you be able to control it. What you’re showing now doesn’t match The Sword of Light. You need to work on yourselves.” The head of the Valley picked up a remote from the table and pointed it at a TV on the wall. The Sword of Light appeared on the screen.

“This is the sword I saw Grandma hide!” cried Janik. “And you didn’t believe me. It’s the same sword!”

The sword was very beautiful, with a decorated golden hilt.

“Yenisaya doesn’t have the real sword, what you saw was but a hologram. The King of Fear hid the real Sword of Light in his castle. This sword is the only thing that can destroy him. You have to get there.”

“And what if we fail?” asked Tim.

“You won’t. We will do everything in our power to make sure that you succeed.”

“And what if we don’t want to go there and fight?” Tim became very serious.

“You are here to help us, and until the enemy is destroyed, you won’t be able to return home. We only have one day to prepare you. We’ll start early in the morning, but we better have some rest now.”

“One day?” Tim and Janik looked at each other. Never in their lives could they have imagined getting into such a mess.

Appak led the boys upstairs, to the guest-room.

“I feel like I was watching a fantastic movie and suddenly found myself on the other side of the screen,” complained Janik as they went up the stairs. “There are no such things as kings of fear and valleys of happiness in the world!”

Appak led them to a spacious but cozy bedroom with two separate beds. The window showed a fabulous view of the Valley. Planets were floating across the sunset-red sky.

“Why do you say there’s no such things?” the girl objected. “We exist, as do you, and all this beautiful world. There are some clean clothes in the closet for you. Good night.” Appak with Allowie on her shoulder closed the door behind her.

“And planets don’t fly between the Sun and the Earth,” Janik added as she left.

Early in the morning, the eldest of Danai`s sons woke Tim and Janik up. In the closet the boys found a bunch of clothes that fit them. They put on fashionable jeans and t-shirts, spent some time in front of the mirror, then went down to have breakfast. Agzam was already eating sandwiches and discussing something with the owners of the house. After a hearty meal, everyone except Shadi went to the hall where the head of the family kept the swords. Sabres, epees and swords were mounted on long stands. Tim and Janik had never seen real swords before, and they were very impressed with their host`s collection. They felt awkward when everyone else picked up their weapons and began swinging them expertly. Even Appak showed off her personal sword.

“Those are for grown-ups. But look here, these are not sharp. I used these swords to teach my sons when they were younger,” said Danai.

“Will the Sword of Light be the grown-up size?” asked Janik.

“The Sword of Light can be any size for the person it chooses.”

Janik picked up one of the swords and did a little flourish with it.

“Try moving it in a figure-eight pattern,” Appak`s father suggested. “If you can, then it suits you.”

Tim was eyeing one of the swords, but would not dare pick it up.

“What’s the matter?” asked Danai, as the others went out into the garden.

“You see, I’m not cut out for swordsmanship,” Tim said in a serious tone, “the thing is, I’ve always been clumsy like a rhinoceros. And The King of Fear must be defeated by someone very smart, and my mother always says that I’m growing up, but not getting any smarter.”

Danai affectionately looked at Tim.

“Your mother loves you very much, but sometimes she is wrong. What we think about ourselves and what others say about us is not always true. Sometimes, for some reason, we may get false ideas about who we really are. Such affirmations prevent people from winning. You must learn to notice the wrong beliefs and change them to the good ones that will help you become a better person. Instead of ‘I’m clumsy,’ you say ‘I’m strong and agile.’ And so it will be. Trust me. Take the sword.”

Tim obeyed. It seemed like a voice inside him was laughing and shouting angrily: “Don’t touch the sword, rhino, drop the sword!” But the boy did not want to offend Danai, so he went into the garden with everyone.

For several hours, the Head of the Valley trained the children in the garden. At first, Tim felt self-conscious, but then he saw that no one was taking the class seriously, everyone was laughing and playing. This made him forget about the awkwardness. The brothers simply repeated the moves. After that, Danai paired them with his sons. Only Appak, who was bragging and showing off her excellent sword skills, made the guests feel embarrassed, so they would try even harder.

After dinner, Danai sent his children to study in the library, and took Tim and Janik to another interesting room. They went to the basement, down a long, narrow corridor, and into a large room filled with dozens of floor-to-ceiling mirrors. The brothers saw hundreds of their own reflections. However, these reflections did not behave normally. Instead of repeating every movement, they did whatever they wanted.

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Примечания

1

Golden Man – a Saka warrior in golden armor, found in the Issyk kurgan, in south-eastern Kazakhstan in 1969. Is considered one of the symbols of modern Kazakhstan.

2

jerboa – a hopping desert rodent;

3

Yurt – a portable round house made from wooden frame and felt. Used by Turckic and Mongolian nomads.