The Adventures of Tim and Janik. The magic chest. Aliyah Meirbek
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