The Calls

By: Jason Ajello

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Martin is an eleven-year-old boy who lives in the village of WestWend with his mother, Sarah.   When Martin was born, his mother hid him away in order to protect him from his father, who most, including Sarah, believed had murdered Martin's twin brother shortly after he was born. Martin’s father was actually the prince of the nearby kingdom of Tafferyn.  After he abandoned Martin and Sarah, he too went into hiding and his disappearance has been surrounded in mystery in the neighboring lands.  Sarah, in fear for her son, and heartbroken over the loss of her other child, has lived in secrecy for years hoping to protect Martin and to avoid the reach of his long-lost father.
At times, Martin has felt disconnected with the world around him, but he has never been aware that he once had a brother. Despite his feelings of isolation, Martin has always felt a strange and mysterious connection that he could not explain or understand.  Soon after Martin turned eleven years old, from time to time, he heard a voice in his head. The only words that Martin could decipher were “please…rescue.” 

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One night, when Martin fell asleep, he had a dream in which he saw a mysterious figure that he could not identify. The figure ominously called out to Martin: “Please rescue me. I am in the caves of Hebra Peak.”
 “Wait, who are you, and why do you need to be rescued?”, said Martin. The mysterious figure disappeared and Martin was left with questions about who he had seen in his dream and whether the figure was somehow related to the voice that he had been hearing in his head. When Martin awoke, he approached his mother about the dream.
“Mom, I’ve been hearing voices in my head recently. Last night, I dreamed of a mysterious figure that told me to go to the caves of Hebra Peak to rescue it,” said Martin. 
“Martin, there is something I’ve been meaning to tell you," said Martin’s mother.
“What is it, Mom?”
“Before you were born, I fell in love with the Prince of Tafferyn who was a kind and charming man. Our love was forbidden since I was not from Taffernyn and, as a royal, his future wife had

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One night, when Martin fell asleep, he had a dream in which he saw a mysterious figure that he could not identify. The figure ominously called out to Martin: “Please rescue me. I am in the caves of Hebra Peak.”
 “Wait, who are you, and why do you need to be rescued?”, said Martin. The mysterious figure disappeared and Martin was left with questions about who he had seen in his dream and whether the figure was somehow related to the voice that he had been hearing in his head. When Martin awoke, he approached his mother about the dream.
“Mom, I’ve been hearing voices in my head recently. Last night, I dreamed of a mysterious figure that told me to go to the caves of Hebra Peak to rescue it,” said Martin. 
“Martin, there is something I’ve been meaning to tell you," said Martin’s mother.
“What is it, Mom?”
“Before you were born, I fell in love with the Prince of Tafferyn who was a kind and charming man. Our love was forbidden since I was not from Taffernyn and, as a royal, his future wife had

already been chosen by his parents.  The Prince loved me dearly, but when it was learned that I was to have his child, he understood that our love was forbidden and that it could not last. I don’t know how to tell you this, Martin, but, your father, the prince of Taffernyn, took your twin brother, Jake, and went into hiding after you were both born. Since that time, we have lived in hiding and I have believed that your brother may have been murdered since our love was forbidden by the royals of Tafferyn. The kingdom of Tafferyn starts around the Hebra Mountains. If the mysterious figure said that it was located in the caves of Hebra Peak, there is a chance that it could be your brother. After all these years, my son, your brother, could be alive!”
Martin was briefly stunned, saddened and filled with purpose all at once. 
“I can’t believe that I had a brother and that he may have been killed or imprisoned by my father.  If my father was the prince of Tafferyn, where is he now? It may be my destiny to find my brother, if he is still alive, and to meet my father.”
Martin’s mother was torn by Martin’s

acceptance of this challenge.
On one hand, she was excited to learn that Martin’s twin brother may still be alive, but she was also terrified by the possibility of Martin venturing out on his own to find the brother and father he had never known. 
“You have my permission to go, but you must stay safe. There are many dangers that you can face in the Hebra Mountains. Take this pendant, it holds a power that can help you succeed on your journey. You must only open it once you reach your destination,” said Sarah reluctantly.
That night, Martin had another dream in which the mysterious figure appeared to him yet again. This time, however, Martin could see that the mysterious figure resembled a young boy who called out again to Martin the words, “please…rescue,” and told Martin where he could find the entrance to the elaborate cave system where he was being hidden. Martin awoke from his dream state and was determined to find his brother. Armed with this information and with the pendant from his mother, Martin set out on

his adventure to Hebra Peak in the early morning hours. Darkness and an eerie chill surrounded him all throughout his journey, but somehow the pendant around his neck seemed to be guiding him through the shadows and closer to Hebra Peak. When Martin arrived at the base of the mountain, he realized that it would be too difficult for him to climb on his own, so he sought out help from a strange looking man that he saw in the village located at the base of the mountain. The man, hunched over and leaning on a crooked stick that seemed to be holding him up like a cane, asked Martin whether he needed any help getting to Hebra Peak.
Martin noticed that the old man had some climbing gear and asked if he could borrow it.
“You’re going to have to pay for that! Why don’t you pay with the pendant?”
said the man. 
“Sorry, I can’t do that. I can pay with these two coins. That's all I have,” Martin replied.
“That is not nearly enough, but don’t worry, trust the strength of that pendant around your neck, it will guide you.”

As Martin climbed up the mountain, he felt like he was being pulled by something. He looked down at his pendant and realized that it was glowing on his chest and illuminating a path before him.  Martin followed the path through a labyrinth of winding turns until he arrived at the entrance to a cave at the top of Hebra Peak.
When Martin went inside the cave, he realized there were guards watching his every move and that in order for him to find his brother, he would need to somehow get by the guards. As he thought about how he would overcome this obstacle, he realized that the pendant on his chest was now shining even more brightly throughout the entire cave. In the distance, he could even see a mysterious figure that he slowly began to recognize as the light shined upon him. The figure was actually a young boy who looked like Martin and who was also wearing a pendant. Before he could get to him, however, the guards approached and Martin was worried that he would not be able to reach the boy.
When one of the guards spotted Martin

and asked him why he was there, a second guard responded, “Don’t you see the pendant that this boy is wearing? It has brightened our entire cave and looks just like the pendant that Prince Jake wears. Let him through to Prince Jake and to see the King.”
As Martin listened to these words, he was filled with pride and excitement, but he was still worried about meeting his long-lost brother and father. When the guards took him to his brother, Martin could see that the young man also wore a pendant that was shining directly back at Martin. When the two brothers were face-to-face, Martin asked, “Jake, is that you?”
“Yes, Martin. It’s me, Jake.” 
The two brothers embraced as the guards stood by and made way for the King. When the King arrived and saw that Martin was wearing a glowing pendant around his neck, he too immediately realized that Martin was his long-lost son and he began to cry tears of joy. The King wrapped his arms around both of his boys and asked them to open their pendants. At that time, Martin remembered his mother's instructions to

only open the pendant when he found his brother. The brothers both opened the pendants and each found a picture of their mother and father together a long time ago. At that time, Martin realized that the pendant, and the love that it represented, had been leading him to his brother and father and that they were both alive and well.

Martin, Jake, and King David set out immediately to descend Hebra Peak and to reunite with Sarah. During their journey, Martin and Jake’s pendants continued to shine and lead them toward a blissful reunion with their mother. When they arrived in the village of WestWend, they found Sarah waiting outside of her tiny cabin