The Disappearance of Emily: Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic Series Book 2 by Elizabeth Pantley (best books under 200 pages .txt) 📗

I poured myself a fresh cup of cookie-free tea and settled in to read through the book.

Chapter One started with another map. This one showed the crescent-shaped island of Destiny Falls and the opposite-shaped island of Gladstone pushed together to form one larger island. It was labeled in the corner: United States Naval Observatory, Circa 1800.

That seemed very odd. I Googled How many years does it take for an island to divide? That brought no matches, so I changed the word from island to continent. There were more matches, and I couldn’t find an exact answer, except that it seemed to take millions of years for the movement of tectonic plates that could separate a land mass.

The book somewhat answered my question in the next section, when it referred to ‘The Great Divide’:

It has always been assumed that Destiny Falls and Gladstone were at one time joined as one larger island because of the precisely matching coastlines. A Naval Observatory map discovered in the early 1900s appeared to confirm this. The map showed a date stamp of ‘Circa 1800,’ but it was unclear if the map was found then or created at that time. There was no background information to clarify when The Great Divide of the two islands occurred.

The last chapter was labeled The Myths. Here’s where it got really interesting.

Over the years, many myths have surrounded the island of Gladstone. Most often, they have to do with magical lakes, though what magic they have isn’t always clear. The most intriguing myth is one of a lake that functions much like a fountain of youth, providing a person with the power to remain ageless.

The island is protected in ways that prevent travelers from reaching it, though many try. It is rumored that some of those who try, actually do reach the island. However, once they arrive, they find a normal town that functions like any port community.

The town -of Gladstone is said to be surrounded by forested lands and mountains. Additional myths exist that tell of adventurers who are lost in the mountains while searching for the magical lakes.

Those who have traveled successfully to Gladstone and returned home hoard their secrets about what they’d seen and experienced. It’s rumored that danger befalls those who tell of it.

I knew about the concept of magical lakes after my experience at Twin Falls Lake, so the myth could easily be based on reality. Well, the distorted reality of this place. The fountain of youth would explain why people would want to travel there, even though terrible things could happen, according to Olivia, and now this book as well.

This book was frustratingly short and assumed the reader knew the basic history of the islands and the myths already. I would need to visit the historical book room again. Ahh! First, I’d go to the Observer office. I could look through more old papers. Perhaps I could locate a directory of past issues or topics to see if Gladstone was mentioned. Maybe I could find something that expanded on the details of Gladstone, the myths, and The Great Divide.

I was feeling tired from spending the morning sorting files on the floor and then sitting here studying the book. I decided that a short yoga session would revive me, then I’d head to the Observer. It felt rude to leave my teacup and cookie mess here for someone else to clean up, but the magical tea cart fairy seemed to always have that covered.

I changed into yoga pants and a tee, grabbed a towel, and went into my yoga room. As always, I glanced in the oval mirror as I passed. A tingle of joy zapped through my body as I saw that I was looking into Luna’s apartment! It appeared I was looking through the makeup mirror on her bedroom dresser. She had her back to me and was holding a watering can. She watered the plants and left the room, likely to water the other plants throughout the house.

There was no way was I going to just stand here and watch her walk away again! I zipped out to my bedroom and grabbed my cell phone and sent her a text.

LUNA!!!!!

HAYDEN!!!! LOL

I typed a note to her and then hoped with all my heart that the DF Satellite would not block it, as it had before. I had to be careful. I did not want to be responsible for Luna being sucked into Destiny Falls and forced to leave her entire family behind.

Don’t freak out. I will explain.

Follow these directions exactly.

Huh? What are you

talking about?!

Go look in the makeup mirror on your dresser.

If the room looks wavy or you see a flash of

light, immediately hit the floor and crawl

out of the room. I know that sounds weird.

You have to trust me.

Is this like a riddle or something?

I don’t get it.

No! Not a riddle. Go look in the mirror —but get out of there if things look wavy or there’s a bright light.

Seriously Hayden. You’re scaring me.

Have you been abducted by aliens?

No aliens! But it’s very strange.

Don’t freak out. I’ll explain.

Yeah. You already said that.

Are you going?

Ooookay. I’m going.

I stared into the mirror as if I could make my friend appear by sheer willpower. A minute later, she entered the bedroom. I saw her creeping up to the mirror like she expected it to pop like a jack-in-the-box. She stepped up close and I gave her my biggest smile and waved with both arms.

I could hear no sound, but it was clear that Luna was screaming. She turned around and ran out of the bedroom. I dialed her, but the call failed. I texted her, but got not no reply.

I sat at my computer and composed a note to explain to Luna what she was seeing. I