Chapter List

he wheel creaked and turned slightly to the left. Jessica put both her hands on the huge wooden wheel, one on each side, to see if she could turn it any further. The instant her other hand touched the wheel, the entire helm assembly began to brighten. First it was a pale gray color, but as it became brighter, the light began to shift to various shades of gold and white.

“Wow!” Shannon said as the light from the helm bathed the entire quarterdeck of the ship in a warm orange glow. Tiny flames flickered to life in the lanterns all around the railings of the ship, from stern to bow, and the entire deck began to brighten.

Ranko ran to the back of the ship and looked over the railing and out into the water. She could see the reflection of light from inside the great cabin streaming through the framework of the aft windows and cast across the rippling water. The light was bright enough she could see the faded green of her athletic jersey and the deep red color of her hair clearly reflected from the surface of the lake.

“It’s lighting up from inside too!” Ranko said, turning around to face the others and pointing back at the water. “The whole ship is lighting up!”

“What did she do?” Shannon exclaimed, looking around. “What’s happening?!”

Snowy white sails began to fall from the sky making a great clattering racket. One by one they momentarily fluttered before catching the breeze with a deep rustling sound followed by a hollow thump. Each had an enormous painting of a crimson shield with a gold sword device at its center. The huge main sail unrolled almost to the deck of the ship before falling into place against the mainmast. It caught the wind and the deck of the ship lurched forward, causing all the girls to stumble, except for Jessica, who was still holding the helm.

“Find something to hold on to!” Alanna shouted. “Quick!”

Cici and Shannon both ran to one side of the quarterdeck and steadied themselves on the riggings. Alanna hurried back a few steps and braced herself against the back railing near where Ranko was standing.

“We’re making sail,” Talitha said, staring up at the topsails some 50 feet above where she was standing. “This is wonderful,” she whispered.

The ship lurched forward again and Ranko looked down at the promenade. She blinked, confused. The promenade was moving! Then she realized what was happening. It wasn’t the promenade that was moving. It was the ship!

“We’re moving! We’re moving!” Ranko shouted. The other girls all looked at her in total shock.

Talitha looked up at the sails, confused. They were all full, but there was no wind.

“Jessie! You made the boat go!” Cici shouted.

“Hoshi! Let go of that wheel! We have to stop!” Shannon shouted, waving one hand to try and get Jessica’s attention.

“No!” Ranko said. “Whatever you do, make sure you steer this thing! Another few yards and we’re going to hit the arboretum! Go left! Left!”

“Port,” Talitha corrected.

“Port!” Ranko shouted, pointing towards the ship’s bow. “What the Professor said! Port! Left! Over there! That way!”

“Where is the wind coming from?” Alanna shouted, noticing nobody’s clothes were being buffeted at all. Not her own windbreaker or slacks, not Talitha’s dress, or Jessica’s jacket or even Ranko’s loose football jersey or jeans.

“But I don’t know how to drive yet! How do I go port!?” Jessica shouted as she began to pull and tug at the wheel. The ship was beginning to pick up speed, and all the girls looked towards the bow. It seemed so far away. They could see the exterior lights of the arboretum ahead. Then there was a snapping and crashing sound!

“We hit it! We hit the arboretum!” Shannon shrieked.

“Nope,” Ranko said, looking down at the promenade platform. “But we just made a mess of that gangway!” Then Ranko glanced back towards the bow. The lights of the arboretum’s main building were starting to move to the right.

“This thing is too big and slow!” Ranko said. “We’ll never turn in time! Miss Shannon! You’re the tallest! Go up front and watch where we’re going.”

“The faster we go, the faster we’ll turn,” Talitha pointed out.

“Then go faster!” Ranko shouted. Shannon carefully shuffled towards the front of the ship, holding on to the railings every step of the way.

“How do I go faster, Ranko-chan?” Jessica shouted back, holding on to the ship’s helm as if she were at the edge of a cliff. “I don’t know how to go faster!”

Ranko watched the lights ahead. Talitha was right. The ship was gliding a little faster now, and the lights of the building seemed to be moving to the right of the ship’s bow a little faster too. Just then, the deck tilted to one side as the vessel’s hull rolled in the water.

“Whoa!” Ranko said, stumbling over to the railing again. “Hold on!” The front half of the vessel lifted a little and then settled back. Shannon could hear the lake splash as the mighty bow of the ship guided out to open water. Shannon held on tightly to the railing as she watched the corner of the arboretum building slide past the starboard edge of the ship’s hull. They were picking up speed.

“We’re sailing!” Alanna shouted. “Where are we going?”

“It’s turning by itself!” Jessica said. “It’s turning again!” The helm leaned to port once more and the bow of the majestic vessel turned gracefully. The girls began to feel the breeze against their faces. They were moving much faster now.

“I don’t believe this,” Ranko said. “We just stole our historical exhibit!”

“We did not!” Cici shouted, frowning, and straightening the little beret on her head again. She was holding the glowing Lantern with both arms now, and the long sleeves of her shirt formed a screen over some of the colors of light. The ones that were visible made Cici’s gray jeans look green, yellow and orange.

“Maybe its enchanted like that Lantern!” Jessica exclaimed.

“Yeah, I’m sure the museum people will love that story!” Ranko said sarcastically, pretending to imitate someone. “Oh it’s no problem! It’s a magical ship! We just turned on the lights and it sailed away!”

“It stole itself!” Shannon shouted. “How were we supposed to know Hoshi could make the wheel light up like that?”

“Hey, does anyone know where we’re going?” Alanna shouted.

“I can’t see anything Alanna-sama!” Jessica said, now holding on to the wheel more for balance than to steer.

The deck rolled slowly from one side to the other as a wind none of them could hear or feel buffeted the emblazoned sails. It was inky dark in every direction except for the stars above.

“I can’t even see the Community Center any more,” Ranko said quietly.

The ship sailed on, further into the night.

Continue to Chapter Three