We stopped in front of the gate with a big NO ENTRY sign.

“Can you climb?”

I nodded. “I have strong arms.”

“Good.”

Over the gate we climbed. Lilly crouched in front, making sure not to trip any alarms that would alert security. I trailed.

We shared a glider that sailed onto the glassy surface of the ocean. My mouth was dry as a desert. I gulped air when we passed the prohibition sign. Lilly pointed to the trail of slimy fluid and I followed it with my eyes to the edge of the city pipelines.

I whispered, “Is that slime coming from all those factories?”

She did not answer.

The sheets of rain made it harder to see in the darkness. In the distance, I could make out a small floating vessel. As we came closer to the light, there was a silhouette. An old man.

“Who goes there?” the old man bellowed in a husky voice. Lilly hung her arms in the air as we approached. I followed. My unsteady nerves made the glider rock uncontrollably. It was perspiration, not the drizzle, that was dripping from my brow when the old man blasted a shot in our direction.

“That was a warning shot!” The old man croaked again.

Lilly identified herself to the old guard. The laughter struggling out of the old man’s chest, sounded like a creak from my unoiled cabinet door. We both hopped onto his vessel.

Underneath the light, I saw the old man’s long, curved pipe protruding from his grey, stubby beard. He had an old sailor’s hat tilted atop his head. He swung his rifle to the back of his dungarees. Lilly introduced the old man as Timmy. We shook hands.

“So where are you headed, kids?” Timmy asked.

Lily took out the large map from her backpack and spread it in front of us. There was an island which had a circle and coordinates written on it.

“Oh, I see, to Gem Island. I bet that’s a one way trip.”

“Of course, unless you’ll be staying Ol Tim,” Lily said.

“Lets sail away,” Timmy declared.

The winds howled and the sea became rough and wild as we sailed. Wave after wave, smashed the old vessel and broke whatever was not bolted down. The boat rocked wildly, and my entrails stirred inside my belly. The boat creaked and threatened to tip over. Thunder bolts stabbed the sky and old Timmy was bawling with joy.

“Is that all you got?” He shouted to the clouds as he almost choked from laughter.

The sea began to quiet down, and the storm started becoming a drizzle. As the fog cleared on the horizon, a huge wave appeared. I held Lilly close as we braced ourselves.

As we got closer, I saw it was an outline of a mountain. A green mountain. Lilly began whooping and jumping and screaming and prancing and dancing. I noticed a slight grin on Timmy’s face. She hugged me, almost crushing the breath out of my lungs.

There was dry ground. “Trees!” I said.

“A forest,” said Lilly.

Timmy stopped in front of the rocks.

Lilly gave Timmy a bag of gold coins and said that she had something else tucked away safely at a rendezvous to say thank you. We said our final goodbyes. Lilly asked Timmy if he was staying but declined and said that he was too old to start again.

“Besides,” he said, “the sea is my true home, kids. I just hope you find whatever it is that you’re looking for. Pleasure sailing with you.” He tipped his hat.

We stepped on the soft ground, with the forest to our backs and watched Timmy sail away as we waved to him. He sailed until his boat became a dot on the horizon.

As we entered the forest, side by side, there were a lot of fruits hanging on the trees. Lily took off her backpack and spread the map on the ground.

“Lily, where exactly are we headed?”

“It’s a hidden asylum. We’re almost there.”

We heard the crackle of branches nearby.

“What’s that sound?” I asked.

And sure enough, a troop of armed men, carrying rifles stood in front of us. They were chiselled like statues, and wore matching camouflage gear. They asked us to identify ourselves. We told them our names. Lily showed them her map, and they looked at each other. They ordered one of them to take us to our destination into the forest.

After hours of walking, we came across a building camouflaged between the greenery. It was a fortress. The big steel gates opened. The guard told them to take us to a Dr Newman. He was wheeled out to us by a beautiful lady.

As we introduced ourselves, Dr Newman took us on a tour of the asylum. There were people, young and old in the libraries, museums, labs, others growing beautiful fragrant indoor flowers among the many activities. As we went outside, there were more inhabitants running around in green fields, playing sports, chasing butterflies, working a beautiful garden.

“We welcome you to New Hope Asylum, I hope you enjoy your stay.”