• Petra’s thoughts got even sharper as the plane started its descent. Once under the clouds, I could see the tops of all of the houses and buildings that lined the streets. Along with the lush green grass that covered the open spaces. The water surrounding the land sparkled from the sun making it almost impossible to look at. My mind began spinning as I took all of this in, and I began to remember the images that I had seen when I was a little boy. The same images that my eldest sister Sarah, had told me didn’t exist and that I would never see them. It made me wonder if I was actually seeing all of this, or if I was just dreaming. I pinched myself to make sure that it was true. Just as I was beginning to remember everything from when I was younger, the Sealand woman interrupted my thoughts.
    “My name is Wanda, and I am so glad to finally meet you guys. Since we can see a lot from up here, I am going to explain what all of it is right now. Over on your left, is the city of Wellington. Wellington is the capital of Sealand, and it’s where I have lived for my entire life. From here you can see all of the different houses that line the streets. Those tall buildings just a little bit over are called skyscrapers. People work in those buildings during the day. The body of water next to Wellington is the Cook Strait. The white things in the water over there are called boats. They run on fuel, just like our aircraft, except that they are able to move around on the water. Straight in front of us is the airport and runway where we will be landing in just a couple of minutes. The aircraft that we are flying in is called a helicopter, and the aircraft down on the runway is called an airplane. We use these mostly to fly to faraway places but sometimes to get to a place faster than we would in a car. The black strips that you can see in between the grassy spaces are called roads, and the different coloured moving things on them are called cars. These vehicles use fuel and gas as well, but they run on the ground. Now, are there any questions?”
    The three of us just sat there, staring out the windows and taking in everything that soon we would be used to. It was all so overwhelming that none of us knew what to say or ask. A couple of minutes later Wanda started to talk to us again.
    “Until we find you a house, you can stay with my husband and me. I think our house will be big enough, and I sure do miss having children in the house all the time. In about a week’s time, I will go back to Waknuk and pick up your friends, Michael and Rachel. By then, hopefully we’ll have some things sorted out. Okay, we’re going to land on the runway now.”
    “Thank you so much for doing all of this for us. It means a lot to me for you to be helping us out so many ways even though we hardly know each other. I will find some way to repay you for all of the kindness and generosity that you are showing us.” I replied.
    Wanda replied to this by saying: “Oh you’re very welcome. I’m sure you would do the same thing for another person in the same situation.”
    Just then, the helicopter started to bump up and down, then all of a sudden it was smooth and we were rolling along the runway. Finally, a couple of minutes later, we came to a stop. As soon as the helicopter stopped, it was totally silent except for the chatter that was filling our minds from all of the people waiting outside. The helicopters door opened and we all stood up and filed out one by one. As I stepped out into the sunlight, I looked out across the sea of people standing there, looking up at us. The buzzing in my mind got even louder because there were so many conversations going on at once. The crowd began to part as Wanda led us towards the airport. Everyone’s eyes followed us as we entered the building.
    “What are all of these people doing here Wanda?” Rosalind questioned.
    “They’re here to greet you, especially Petra because she’s such a good communicator. In enough time, you will know all of their names, plus many more.”

    “Welcome home! And who do we have here? Are these the children that you went to save?” A man asked as he went and kissed Wanda.
    “Yes, they are. Rosalind, Petra, David, this is my husband Andrew. Honey, I have invited them to stay with us until we can find them there own house. Is that okay with you?” Wanda explained to him.
    “Of course it is. I am so pleased to be able to house such amazingly talented children. I can’t wait to hear about your travels and your old home. But, first let’s get you settled into some rooms. I’m afraid that you two girls are going to have to share a room. I hope that won’t be too much of a problem for you.” Andrew replied.
    “No, that’s perfectly fine with us.” Rosalind answered politely.
    “Good. Then it’s settled. Follow me and I’ll show you to your rooms. Wanda, why don’t you go and have a nap, you look so tired.” Andrew suggested.
    “You’re right, I am very tired. I think I’ll sleep until lunch.” Wanda replied.
    Andrew took us upstairs to our bedrooms. When he opened the door to the girls’ new room, it took my breath away. The bedroom was about the size of two of the rooms at my old house put together. Petra and Rosalind stepped cautiously into the room, eyes wide with awe. Andrew and I left the girls alone and went to my room. The room was just a little bit smaller than the girls’, but I didn’t mind considering that I would be the only one staying in it.
    “Enjoy! I’ll call you down for lunch in about 20 minutes,” Andrew told us. I had gone into the girls’ room so that I would not have to be alone during this exciting time.
    “Thank you so much!” Petra exclaimed loudly.

    The week passed by very quickly with us visiting all of the sites in the city. We got to experience everything that we had missed while living in Waknuk. I didn’t miss Waknuk at all until Wanda announced that she would be leaving the next day to go and fetch Rachel and Michael. I wished that I could join her, but I knew that I could never leave behind Rosalind and Petra, and the helicopter just wasn’t big enough for all of us. So, the next day we reluctantly said goodbye to Wanda. Petra then communicated to Michael that she was now on her way to get them, and that she would be there within a couple of days.
    That day, Andrew took us to a realty agent and helped us to pick out a couple of houses that we were interested in. All of the houses that we picked were big enough for five people to live in because we all wanted to live together. After finishing there, we went and visited some more touristy places. One of the places that we saw was a beautiful church that made me think of my father. I was more mad than sad to think of my father, because it was his fault that I had had to run away. It made me angry, that I had never experienced any of these amazing new things before. I thought to myself that I would never go to church again just to spite my father.

    The night, Rosalind and I were both so excited about Michael and Rachel coming soon that neither of us could fall asleep.
    “David, I’m so excited tonight that I can’t fall asleep. Can I come over to your room?” Rosalind asked me.
    “Sure, come on over,” I replied.
    I could hear her soft footsteps on the floorboards in the hallway. Then the door opened very quietly, and Rosalind slipped in wearing a white nightgown. She shut the door, moved quickly across the room, and lay down next to me on my bed.
    “David, that church today made me think of something that my mother told me about a week before we left. She was telling me how I should settle down with a boy soon. She said that she married my dad at this age and that it would be good for me to follow that example as well. That got me thinking about you and how much I love you. I want to follow her example so that I will still have something to remember about them,” Rosalind told me as she started to cry.
    “Rosalind, I will do anything for you if it will make you happy. I{f getting married will help you to stay happy and remember your parents, then let’s get married—but, let’s wait until Michael and Rachel get here, because they will most definitely want to be a part of it. Okay?” I asked her.
    “Oh, thank you David! I love you so much! I don’t want to tell anybody until Wanda returns with Michael and Rachel,” Rosalind exclaimed.
    For the next couple of minutes, we were both silent. Then I put my mouth to her ear and whispered, “Sweet dreams.” She didn’t say anything back, but I saw a smile form on her face, and that was enough to give me sweet dreams that night.
    Rosalind and I spent almost every minute together for the next couple of days. It was so much that Petra asked us one day if we were in love with each other. We told her that we were, but didn’t tell her about our plans to get married. We were still waiting for news from Wanda, Michael, or Rachel about where they were and how long it would be until they got here. Then, one day, it was announced that they were to arrive the following afternoon. Rosalind and Petra began to get their room ready for Rachel to join in and I got mine ready for Michael.

    The next afternoon, Andrew, Rosalind, Petra, and I all went to the airport to wait for them. We were the first ones there, so we would be very close to the helicopter when it landed. We were all very excited to see our friends again. We had missed them a lot, especially Rachel because we hadn’t seen her in almost three weeks. All of a sudden somebody pointed up and started yelling. I looked up to see the helicopter starting to descend. The helicopter was very loud and so I had to cover my ears. Five minutes later, it was sitting right in front of us, motor off, and the door began to open. Wanda was the first one out of the helicopter, then Michael and then Rachel. I turned my attention to them and didn’t even notice that anyone else was getting off of the helicopter. Then, the whole crowd got quiet and so I turned my attention to the helicopter. There, standing in the doorway, was my mother and Uncle Axel. I was so surprised to see them that I didn’t know what to do until Petra showed me.
    “Mommy! Uncle Axel!” Petra yelled. Then she started to run towards them. On her way, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me over to the helicopter. She ran straight into our mother’s arms with me following right behind. My mother hugged us both closely and then started to cry with joy because she was finally with us again. Petra and I both then moved over to Uncle Axel who looked happy to finally be out of Waknuk and also to see us again and know that we were safe. Our whole group walked towards Andrew and Wanda’s house, where we would have more room to say hello to everyone.

    Wanda and Andrew’s house was very crowded with everyone staying there, but we made it work. That night after the arrival of Michael, Rachel, my mother, and Uncle Axel, Rosalind and I made our big announcement. Everyone was very excited to hear about it. We all talked about it and decided that we would get married in three days’ time at the church that we had visited while Wanda was gone. Mother said that she would take Rosalind out to buy and dress the next day, and Uncle Axel would take me to get a suit. We stayed up late that night, talking and catching up on everything that had been happening over the past couple of weeks.

    I was standing at the front of the church in my black suit, with Michael right behind me. Petra and my mother were standing across from me with huge smiles on their faces. I looked out over the sea of faces that filled up the seats in the church. Then the music started to play, and Uncle Axel appeared at the door. A few seconds later, Rosalind joined him. The dress that my mother had helped her pick out was stunning and she looked gorgeous wearing it. They started to walk down the aisle towards me. I smiled at Rosalind, and she smiled back at me. Through that smile, I knew that all of this was worth it and that I was doing the right thing by marrying her. When they got to the front, Uncle Axel came and stood next to Michael, and I took Rosalind’s hand as she took her place next to me. We said our vows, and then the preacher told us that we were now husband and wife and that I could kiss her. I pulled her close and then put my mouth to hers and everything felt so right. I didn’t think of anything except for her. Then we pulled away and I became aware of the clapping that was coming from the audience. Rosalind and I grabbed each others hands and headed down the aisle. About halfway down, we started to run. We made it to the car just as a whole crowd of people came out the door. We waved goodbye and then the car left. I leaned over and kissed Rosalind, and then I said “I love you Mrs. Rosalind Strorm.”