When she opened the box a red balloon floated up in front of her eyes. Rachel blinked a few times to make sure her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. It was real a red balloon, there floating in her attic. It was the strangest thing she’d ever imagined. She sat there watching it float around her body almost as if it was travelling in circles around her. It reminded her of the balloon she’d seen in her dream the night before. The dream that sparked this whole expedition in the first place.

Rachel knew it was a sign. A symbol. An answer to her prayers.

Then, the balloon floated to the ceiling and popped loudly. Then, she heard something hit the floor and start rolling. It sounded like a small pebble or something. She looked down on the floor to see what it was and then she spotted it. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Inside the balloon was the flower knob itself. It had fallen to the floor and that was what was making the rolling noise. She watched it as it spiraled to a stop on the wooden floor of the attic. Luckily for her it didn’t fall in between the large cracks in the floors. It was a sign, a miracle from above that the flower knob was magically back in her hands again. She picked it up and screwed it back onto the kaleidoscope where it belonged.

“Rachel, get out of here now!” her father yelled. “Time’s up! You have to get out.”

Rachel quickly stood up and started down the attic steps. She couldn’t believe that she had found what she was looking for just in the nick of time. She had no idea how she did it, or what had just happened with the balloon, but she didn’t want to question it. She knew it was a miracle and she knew it was just another sign that she was meant to be with Benji.

She clutched the kaleidoscope, ran down the stairs of her house and out the front door.

“Don’t come back! You’ve done enough to our family!” her father said as he slammed the door behind her.

With the kaleidoscope in her hand, she knew she had everything she needed now to save Benji. She stood there, on her front lawn, and put the kaleidoscope to her eye. She couldn’t wait to see what would happened when she peered through. She started turning the kaleidoscope and it went from black to multicolored diamond shapes. She knew this was it. It was only a matter of moments before she would have all the answers she needed in order to find the Red Amulet.

Chapter 15

Rachel couldn’t believe her eyes. It was her and Benji from long ago, from another lifetime walking through Paris, under the Eifel Tower. Just the two of them strolling hand in hand and kissing each other frequently. She was laughing and touching his face, batting her eyelashes and flirting with him. She walked in her character shoes with a long old fashioned dress and carried a pink parasol with white lace trim. It was a scene from another era. It reminded her of an old fashioned movie from the early 1900’s. She couldn’t believe it was her.

Then she saw another scene from the past where she and Benji were in Venice, riding together on a gondola through the canals. There was a man who was piloting their gondola wearing a white and red striped shirt with a top hat. It looked as if he were singing a love song as she and Benji kissed under the romantic bridges in the sunset of the night. Benji held her hands as they kissed and when they stopped kissing, they gazed into each other’s eyes longingly as if they were the only two people in the entire world.

Next, she saw Benji down on one knee proposing to her and opening up a small black velvet box and inside the box, instead of a diamond ring, Benji pulled out a small pendant, red in color and said, “This is the Red Amulet. Guard it with your life because you have mine now. I love you. Will you marry me?”

Rachel could see herself jumping into Benji’s arms as they were whisked away by horse and carriage to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. There, the two wed at the altar in a small ceremony. She wore a beautiful white dress with flowers along the neckline and he wore a tuxedo with tails and a top hat. They went up into the pulpit and there, Benji took off the Red Amulet and hid it behind the altar where nobody would find it.

“It will be safe here,” Benji said. “If you ever need it, you will know where to find it.”

Rachel saw herself smile at Benji as the two hid the amulet and left the church kissing and hugging to begin their married life together.

Then, the kaleidoscope went black again. She shook it to see more of the story but it remained dark. There was no more to see.

Rachel knew where she had to go. She had to go to New York City and find the amulet in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. She prayed it was still there, where Benji hid it. It had to be.

She leapt into the air and began to fly north towards the big city. She hadn’t been in the city since that time she got the fake ID with her friends from Bedford. Wow, that felt like ages to her now. She couldn’t believe how much had happened to her and how much her life had changed since that night long ago. It was as if she were a completely different person now. Well, she was.

She flew quickly, not stopping anywhere and not letting anything distract her. She knew that she had found the answers she needed now, all she had to do was get there. She wished she could fly faster, but her wings were young and she couldn’t go more than 75 miles per hour. She knew this journey would take almost two hours if she was lucky. Her mind was spinning, thinking about what she’d just seen in the kaleidoscope. It all felt so real to her and brought back so many hidden memories of her and Benji’s life together in the past. She knew their love was a forever type of love and that no matter what they’d always be together. That was, if she could save him from this horrible tragedy that happened to him.

Her adrenaline was racing as she soared through the sky. She’d flown so much over the past two days that she was surprised her young wings could sustain it. She was shocked actually. She didn’t know how strong she was or how much she could accomplish if she put her mind to it.

As she approached Manhattan she could see the Statue of Liberty in all her glory, she could also see the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building in the distance. She knew she was close now; she could feel it in her bones. She flew up the west side of Manhattan up the Hudson River and was blown away, once again by the beauty beneath her. The sights and sounds below her were astonishing. It was like everything she’d ever seen in the movies and read in books but magnified. She felt alive again. She felt the energy and life of the city pulse through her veins and she felt like she had the power and strength to do anything. To conquer anything. It was a good feeling to have, especially now that she was only minutes away from reuniting with the Red Amulet.

She turned east and headed into midtown. She passed Radio City Music Hall and knew that while it was still early, in just weeks the holiday spirit would be starting to infuse the air and the people below her. As she headed towards St. Patrick’s Cathedral she passed Rockefeller Center. The tree would soon be there, under scaffolding, ready to be lit. The ice rink would be in full swing as skaters spun in circles below and the sound of holiday music filled the air.

It was Rachel’s favorite time of year. She had so many great memories of Christmas and the entire holiday season that it made her long for her days back in Pennsylvania before this madness happened. She missed her simple life of celebrating Christmas with her family and extended family. She missed them dearly but knew she couldn’t go back. Not now. Not ever. She had a new life now and she would have to start making new traditions of her own. She couldn’t go back she could only move forward.

She looked down for a spot to land and decided not to land on the street below. It was way too crowded with tourists and she knew it would draw attention to the fact that she dropped from the sky. She saw the two turrets that flanked the church and headed towards one of them. She flew quickly as she fell out of the clouds so as not to draw attention to herself. She landed on one of the turrets and then sat there a few minutes to catch her breath. She heard some screams down below of people that saw her land. She hid in hopes that she wouldn’t get caught.

“Up there. Get her!” a voice shouted from below.

The sounds of sirens began and quickly filled the air. There were flashing blue, white and red police lights that started to light up the ground below and after a few minutes, Rachel saw a chopper coming with a bright search light which was shining up the ground and the church around her.

She knew she had to think fast before they caught her. She quickly scaled the peaks of the church and jumped into the bell tower. She knew she would be safe there until the lights went away. She hid under the bell for what felt like an hour before the search lights died down and the ground below became quiet again. She then came out of her hiding spot, scaled down the side of the cathedral and walked in through the entrance.

She was surprised to see the entire church was packed. Ever pew had a person in it, and was full of people shoulder to shoulder. There was barely room to stand, let alone find a seat to sit down. Rachel could wait anymore. She had to find the Red Amulet. Time was ticking and she couldn’t just watch this service and let time go by without saving Benji.

She quickly pushed by throngs of onlookers and elbowed her way down the center isle of the church. People were letting out shrieks and gasps as she blew past them in a hurry. She didn’t care though; she continued to knock people out of the way.

Then, she spotted it. The pulpit from the vision in the kaleidoscope where Benji hid the Red Amulet. She’d finally found it after days of searching. She was now only steps away from it. Her heart started pounding out of her chest and her head started spinning. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on it again. Finally.

When she looked ahead of her at the remaining thousands of people still in between her and the pulpit she felt a pit in her stomach. If only she could fly up and grab it, she thought. But she knew that could get her killed and she couldn’t risk it.

She continued pushing and nudging her way past the flocks of humanity that had come to see the church service, knocking down small children and even a few of the candles that were lit on the sides of each pew.

Screams let out again, this time so loud that it interrupted the service and the priest even stopped his sermon to see what the commotion was below him.