Ride the Universe

By Mark Rues

”A young boy goes on a journey through the solar system searching for the spirit of his sister, discovers the basics of science and spirituality with the help of a mystic teacher and a super-powered cat….[with an] element of the classic YA SF novel, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle….Fasten your seatbelt!” - Chanticleer Book Reviews

Love and Death have a story to tell.

In the Missouri-Kansas border of 1962, Teddy's older sister died on a family outing. Eleven-year-old Teddy DeXue misses his late sister with all his heart.

Teddy’s dreams begin to show him otherworldly Moonlight, which lights a shadowed path to reunite him with his sister. Wanting desperately to believe, Teddy begins to find allies to guide him. He has a vision of a legendary ancient Chinese man, Fu Hsi, who encourages him to believe there is more to death than death itself.

Suddenly, things align when Teddy's best friend, Tem, shows him ancient Egyptian crystals that flash strange lights of blues, greens, and reds. The boys believe the crystals may hold powers to the mysteries of life.

Fu Hsi teaches the boys, through dreams, the way of the ancients; how life transforms under the powers of the crystals.

With a lunar-powered car, a supernatural cat, and his childhood pal in tow, Teddy is confronted with the science and spirituality of light. They have to decide if they should test Fu Hsi's wisdom. But whatever they decide, that Moonlight beckons Teddy to find Jean. If he can make his way through the cosmos and unlock the crystals’ remarkable energies, he might just hold his sister one last time.

Will Teddy finally find the answers he seeks, or will he return to Earth heartbroken?

Fans of Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson, and When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore will enjoy Teddy’s dazzling metaphysical journey to find his beloved sister before she’s lost to him forever.

“This book gave me major Bridge to Terabithia vibes.” - Renee, Goodreads

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tsunami Press
• Release date: Nov 20, 2020
• ISBN: 9781733500012

Book preview

1

Who's There?

Teddy shielded his eyes and shifted from side to side. With one long exhalation he felt time stretching. The ball slowed. He watched the fat part of the bat strike its blow. As the ball sailed into the afternoon's blue sky, the Moon rose above the horizon.

He ran like the wind, dove and caught the ball just a red seam away from landing on the tips of the close-cut green grass. Rolling over, he caught a glimpse of July's full Moon.

He rose from the earth and tipped his cap, knowing his new friend had granted him a lifetime catch.

The stands exploded with cheers. Teddy's catch had won the 1963 summer Little League Championship. But he didn't hear the cheering; the luminous Moon had captured his gaze.

Tem, his best friend, hoisted a surprised Teddy high.

His teammates encircled him, jumping skyward and chanting, Teddy! Teddy! Teddy!

Teddy emerged from one of his favorite reveries as the late-August sun bore down on all living things along the Kansas–Missouri border. In the cool comfort of his air-conditioned bedroom, he couldn't relive winning the championship too many times. But that had happened a month ago and time had moved on.

He was inspired by the memory, and he could still feel that lustrous moonlight shining. The July Moon that night had helped him see exactly where the ball and bat had met, giving him a jump on the catch; but he knew he couldn't share this knowledge with anyone. Who would believe him anyway? How could moonlight have helped him see in broad daylight? But it had, and he knew it.

Seeing things that others didn't had been happening to Teddy for a while. Without fear, he was determined to unlock the secret of his seeing. He loved mysteries.

The cool air drifted over his body, and he sank a little more into the softness of his bed. How had time slowed down? How had he seen the bat hit the ball? How had he made the catch? It had to have been the light of the full Moon.

Since that day the Moon's brilliance had faded and nothing but everyday moonlight shone now. But that bright light of the Moon had shone once, and it had fueled Teddy's delight in being alive.

He was also puzzled by how time had begun to move on that day and kept moving. One moment Teddy had been enthralled by the Moon, and in the next Tem was raising him high. Time had unfolded as a series of moments, but what had strung together all those moments?

Teddy glanced at his mitt, a gift from Jean. A truth pulled him out of his reverie. That ever-present thought, now sitting on his chest, roused him from his bed: Jean's not here.

Before Jean's death, he hadn't seen with the light of the Moon nor thought about time.

He sat down in his favorite chair and gazed out the window into the rising Kansas City heat. His eyes welled up. With his sister's laugh and smile beyond reach, he felt empty. With Jean's death had come the realization that all living things die. More mysteriously, he had found himself still living, but seeing differently. Thinking about time acted as a balm.

Teddy picked up his mitt and felt Jean's presence. Maybe she still lived in some way.

Since the day of the catch, Teddy had decided life was best lived breathing in the rising sun, the surging ocean, the twinkling Stars, the rustling trees, the buzzing bees. If he held all of this in his heart and hands he thought that maybe, just maybe, he could figure out the beginning of time, the beginning of how everything came to be.

Perhaps the Moon held time, strung the moments together. Balanced on his toes and the chair's back legs, Teddy rocked. Did the Moon create and hold time like some pulsing ancient rock? Did the Moon hold the secret to life?

He jumped to his feet. Could the Moon help him find Jean?

He cracked the window and crawled back into bed. The cicadas sang their early-evening lullaby.

Knowing that the Moon, and time, would be there tomorrow excited him. Teddy loved the thought of tomorrow. Yesterday and today were something he knew and remembered, but tomorrow, dreamlike, came riding in through some slit in the sky. To Teddy, the possibility that moonlight held a new way of seeing was irresistible.

As he drifted into the beginnings of sleep, he exhaled one last breath. Should I ask the Moon to find Jean?

Teddy woke to the wind blowing birdsongs through the window, and the last remnants of his dream floated off. As the crisp morning air mingled with his breath, the Sun peeped in through the window. Just before his dream drifted away completely, he caught it and pulled it back. Fu Hsi. That's whom he was dreaming about. He had to find Fu Hsi.

He dressed fast, and down the stairs he flew. A hurried breakfast of orange juice and cereal and he was off out the door to meet Tem at the movies. A weekly movie was part of their summer entertainment, and they still had a month before school started. The Sun warmed his body and cast shadows playfully on his path. The wind rustled the solid oak trees, announcing good fortune; the scent of summer surrounded him.

As he walked the sunlit street, kicking every rock in sight, he heard Fu Hsi's command echo: I am Fu Hsi. Don't miss my movie.

Fu Hsi had first appeared to Teddy a month after Jean's death, when her loss had darkened his days. He would walk past his baseball mitt and ride his bike to nowhere. One day he gave in to his heart and walked into his sister's room. He longed to see her again and talk to her.

He had stepped through the door and seen an image of a Chinese man dressed in robes perched high atop a mountain, just past Jean's nightstand. Teddy had blinked, and the image disappeared. But in the time between two breaths, Teddy felt lighter, more alive.

Within a few days he was experiencing a renewed desire to play baseball.

Through the fall and winter and spring and summer, he continued to see fleeting images of this Chinese man in his dreams, and sometimes in the distance as a flash on the horizon.

Teddy rounded the corner and stopped dead; on the marquee was an announcement for Fu Hsi's Traveling Show. He walked up slowly and read the poster.

EXPERIENCE THE POWER OF FU HSI

THE LEGEND

STARRING YUL BRYNNER

Teddy felt light-headed. How was this possible?

Chapter 2

Fu Hsi

Tem ran up to Teddy's side. Ready for the show? he asked. My dad read the review and wants to see it, too.

Teddy couldn't grasp what was happening, but managed a question: Why does your dad want to see it?

"You know he's interested in ancient history. He told me that Fu Hsi lived in China's ancient past and was famous for writing something called The Book of Changes."

Teddy's eyes widened. Ancient past? The Book of Changes? A door had opened.

Tem wondered what his friend was thinking, but he knew how easily Teddy could get lost in his thoughts. Want to go in?

Teddy nodded.

Teddy and Tem had been friends from the first grade, and now as eleven-year-olds they shared everything. Tem would do anything for his friend, but he was still smarting, just a little, after the game. Tem had imagined that he would win the championship, but when Teddy had caught that last out, Tem had dropped his disappointment and celebrated Teddy's speed and the long arm that had won Teddy the centerfield position.

Both boys were lanky, with Tem a little more muscular than Teddy; but in coloring they were opposites. Black hair fell over Tem's prominent eyebrows and bright dark eyes; Teddy's blue eyes, brown hair, and light round face were day to Tem's night.

The boys paid their twenty-five cents and sank into the big squeaky chairs. Teddy thought he saw Fu Hsi wave to him from the screen, but decided it must have been the dimming lights playing against the parting curtains.

Singing, gongs, bells and flutes lit up Teddy's senses. In the time it took for the curtains to part, the sounds had transported him to an unknown land. In the distance in the movie landscape, something moved against the reflecting light. A single note rang out and cut through his body. Laughter, as though ricocheting off the blue sky, grew closer. The laughter was so familiar. It couldn't be Fu Hsi.

This is a movie, Teddy mumbled to himself.

He saw the faint outline of a man tumbling down a hill; smoke rose and then cleared to reveal a smiling bearded face bouncing up and down behind an ox-drawn cart.

Whoa! Fu Hsi bellowed on the screen, and the ox stopped, turned its head and snorted.

Teddy gazed into Fu Hsi's eyes. Fu Hsi winked.

Tem, did you see that? Teddy whispered.

See what?

Fu Hsi winked. He just stopped and winked.

No, he's riding in the cart, he hasn't stopped.

Teddy slapped his hands to his face. It was Fu Hsi from his dreams. How could he be in the movie? How could he see Teddy? Teddy's thoughts raced, and his heart pounded out of sync.

Fu Hsi struck the ox, and the bellowing animal raised its head. Its hoofs kicked up dust as the cart rumbled along the winding road.

Teddy looked at the back of Fu Hsi's clothes. Lines, circles and triangles, all making various patterns that looked like planets and Stars, faded out of sight as the cart topped a hill and descended out of sight. Teddy's feet began to tap; he wanted to run after the old man. He heard the sound of bells, and a faint high then low humming noise. Smoke drifted in the air.

The scene cut to a valley, where Fu Hsi was setting up his traveling show. As dusk settled in, he unfurled his banner of odd symbols, and then lit the lamps. More carts creaked along the road and families gathered. Their chatter and laughter filled the night air. A light breeze swayed the treetops, and Stars began to twinkle between the branches. The show began with a red plumed falcon soaring through the sky and lighting on Fu Hsi's shoulder.

Good evening to you all, young and old, those who are frail and those of good health, Fu Hsi said. I know you have all come for some entertainment, and I will not disappoint you. Say hello to Horus the falcon. He will be my assistant tonight. Fu Hsi smiled.

The people laughed and settled in for the show. Teddy wished he could be as close as they were, just a few feet away from Fu Hsi.

Dressed in a dark blue robe and a yellow tasseled hat over his jet-black hair, Fu Hsi commanded attention. Though Teddy couldn't see the color of his eyes, they had a piercing quality, as though a surreal light was shining out of them. Fu Hsi's movements were smooth and rhythmic; he seemed to bounce along the ground rather than walk.

Teddy leaned forward, resting his elbows on the seat in front of him, his chin on his folded hands. He felt those same movements when his lean body ran to center field after a well-struck ball. At those times Teddy moved like the ball, sailing along as though his body had become the wind.

Horus the falcon darted from Fu Hsi's shoulder and disappeared into the night sky. Fu Hsi called the audience's attention to a glass of water in his hand. He asked a young girl who was dressed in red to step up and taste the water. She looked at her mother for encouragement and received an approving smile.

The girl giggled as Fu Hsi held the glass in the palm of his hand and presented it to her. Her sip lit up her face. Your water tastes so good. Where did you get it? she cried out.

Ah, special water, Fu Hsi said, almost in a whisper. It tasted like water?

Oh, yes, very good water, came the reply, sharp as the falcon's talons.

Now watch very carefully, instructed Fu Hsi.

He lifted the glass of water and began to drink slowly, the fire of the lamps illuminating the glass. As the last drop of water passed his lips, a light darted through the glass and pressed against the bottom, growing brighter and brighter. In a flash, the glass floated away from his hand, carried by the brilliant light, and came to rest in mid-air over the red-dressed girl.

Tem's eyes widened. It reminded him of other lights that flashed.

Laughter and applause rang out as the girl jumped high, reaching for the glass. After her third jump, the glass tumbled into her hands and the light entered her eyes; a smile as wide as the world filled her face.

Fu Hsi bowed to the clapping throng as the night wind swirled.

More magic! cried a little boy, reaching out to Fu Hsi from his mother's lap.

Fu Hsi winked at the boy. Blue light shone from his eye, danced in the air and darted off, circulating high overhead. The little boy inhaled delight, raising his hands to his face and burying his head in his mother's breasts.

Everyone's hats began to wave in a single direction, along with the campfires. A high wind blew the hats into the air and held them aloft before they began circling the audience. Everyone reached for the hats, which moved quickly, tantalizingly, out of reach.

Teddy reached up for a hat. Tem did the same thing. They looked at each other and laughed.

On screen, shouts broke out and circulated with the hats.

Look above, a man in the audience called out, it's the falcon circling.

Horus the falcon had returned, floating on the wind, soaring around and around.

"No, the Stars are circling," said another man.

No, it's the falcon flying around, said yet another.

People shouted out their awe of the Stars, and Horus the falcon, and the transforming night sky. Around and around went the circling of the falcon and the Stars.

A young man cocked his head at a slight rumbling sound. Did anyone hear that?

Is it the wind? another questioned.

No, it's the sound within the wind, someone answered.

What do you mean? an old man bellowed.

It's the voice of the wind.

No, it's just the wind, the old man said.

Finally, a young boy asked, Fu Hsi, is the voice of the wind moving the Stars?

Ah, the voice of the wind—

A rainbow of lightning, followed by a tremendous clap of thunder, cut short Fu Hsi's answer. The wind rushed upwards, taking all of the hats beyond sight into the dark of the night sky.

I hear the thunder in the wind, a woman called out.

I hear it, too, said her daughter.

At that moment, the wind and thunder ceased. The hats fell back toward earth, humming, onto people's heads. The blue light melted into the darkness as applause spread through the night.

Mesmerized, Teddy gazed at the screen. He barely moved. How does Fu Hsi work his magic? he whispered.

I don't know, Tem said, but I wish I was there. Tem had also seen those gorgeous colors of light before, but he had never told anyone, not even Teddy.

I've seen Fu Hsi before in my dreams, and sometimes in the distance, Teddy whispered. I think I can see him in the movie; but when I look right at him I can't see him. All I see is the actor playing Fu Hsi. Teddy let out the barest of breaths.

What do you mean?

I'll tell you more after the movie. Teddy pointed to the screen. Look at that.

Fu Hsi was raising his hands. Something reflecting the light of a crescent Moon shone far off in the starlit night. Fear overtook the children in the crowd, and they huddled close to their parents. Silence hung in the air; the shimmering filled everyone's gaze.

Teddy held his breath.

I see and smell water, a little boy said to his father.

No, it can't be, the father said. This is a valley. There's never been a lake here.

A whoosh and a splash silenced the conversations. Horus the falcon circled overhead with a fish in his talons. Water dripped over the enchanted throng, and the falcon suddenly swooped down.

Unbelievable, shouted a young woman.

Let's go to the lake, the little boy yelled, but his feet wouldn't move.

None of the people could move their feet. They were all firmly planted in the earth up to their ankles. Stunned faces looked down and around. They gazed out into the distance, expecting to see the shimmering lake, but instead the outline of a vast mountain appeared.

Oh my, an old woman said, this can't… Her words failed, and she fainted to the ground.

A little girl turned to her father. Daddy, what's happening?

I don't know, he said. Never in my life have I seen such sights.

Who else can see the mountain? a young man asked.

I can, I can! rang the response of the crowd.

Half the sky is missing, and the mountain is huge, thundered an old man.

The falcon returned, flying just out of reach of the crowd, and they could all see what looked like white trim on his wings.

It's snow, a woman shouted.

Teddy shook his head and whispered to Tem. Fu Hsi is so powerful. I'd love to have his power to change things.

Tem shook his head, too, but for a different reason. But things can't really change into something else, Teddy.

Horus the falcon landed on Fu Hsi's shoulder. Fu Hsi called to anyone who wished to touch the snow to come forward. Their feet now free of the earth, the crowd clambered around this wizard of a man and the powerful bird, their eyes reflecting snow in summer.

Fu Hsi dropped his hands, and there was a deafening thud.

The Stars returned to their rightful place, the mountain disappeared, and the lake was no more. The falcon shrugged off the snow onto Fu Hsi's shoulders and took off into the starry sky.

Truth is magic! roared Fu Hsi. Let the Stars, Sun and Moon guide your lives. We will meet again. Then he disappeared with the ox cart and the falcon.

The people wandered away, asking each other whether Fu Hsi had flown into the heavens or sunk into the earth. They left feeling excited and astonished, wondering: What is magic? What is truth?

Teddy rubbed his eyes and leaned back in the seat. Had the Fu Hsi of his dreams really winked at him from the movie? What a crazy question. But the Fu Hsi on the screen had definitely pierced him with his parting words.

Teddy remembered his thought before falling asleep last night. He closed his eyes, made a decision to follow Fu Hsi's advice, and sent a silent request: Dear Moon; help