A Promise Broken

By Jo-Marie

Imagine being a very tiny being in a world of giants where your town is built into the side of a cliff. What would happen if earthquake tremors rocked your town?

Rumbling begins. A hole opens down below. Homes sink into the cliff. The ground is swallowing Cliff City!

Ayden tries to keep moving along the wall, but the very ground hes standing on is collapsing. He knows he cant leap to safety, but Jeffy is still in his arms. In a desperate attempt to save Jeffy, he yells to Tony who is ahead of him. As Tony turns, Ayden flings Jeffy. Tony reaches and grabs Jeffy, pulling him tightly to his chest. Just as Jeffy is safe, the ground under Ayden gives way. He plummets downward! Bev and Tony scream, but cant stop his descent. Ayden closes his eyes and falls into blackness.

Will Cliff City survive?

What will happen to Tunnel Town? Can their passageways withstand the shaking?

What about Maple Community? What damage will the tremors do to the town inside the tree?

Will Adis World survive?

A Promise Broken is the third book in the Adis World series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 14, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512721546

Jo-Marie

Jo-Marie is a full-time author for the Adi’s World book series. Her first two books, Adi’s World and Living the Secret, are now in print. The final book of her first series should be in print later this year. Jo-Marie lives in Goodyear, Arizona. She is married and the mother of two great adult sons. She taught elementary school for twenty-four years in Illinois and Arizona, retiring in June of 2014. She is now an indie author, currently working with Westbow Press. She is also the owner of her own business, Jo’s Journey, LLC. Jo-Marie loves visiting schools and book stores to do presentations about writing, being an author, and, of course, her own books. Jo-Marie began writing her first book at the urging of her former fifth-grade students, whom she always told that they had to live their dreams. One class challenged her to write Adi’s World, which had been Jo’s dream for over thirty years. You can learn more about Jo-Marie and her books through her website: www.josjourney.com You can follow JosJourneyBooks on Twitter, Google Plus, and Facebook.

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A PROMISE

BROKEN

Jo-Marie

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Copyright © 2016 Jo-Marie.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2155-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2156-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2154-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015919582

WestBow Press rev. date: 1/14/2016

CONTENTS

Map of Maple Community

Map of Root Tunnel System

Prologue: Adi’s World

Prologue: Living the Secret

Part 1: Maple Community

Day 1 – Groundshake!

Day 2 – Problem?

Day 3 – Collapse!

Day 4 – Must Find a Way

Day 5 – Dealing with Disaster

Part 2: Liff City

Day 1 – Groundshake!

Day 2 – Big Problem

Day 3 – Falling!

Day 4 – Must Find a Way

Day 5 – What Next?

Part 3: Unnel Town

Day 1 – Groundshake!

Day 2 – Small Tremor

Day 3 – Cave-In!

Day 4 – Must Find a Way

Day 5 – What Next?

Part 4: Aple Community Reunion, Changes & Promises

A Weka Later: Remembering

Sharing

More Changes

Can It Be Saved?

Problems Arise

You Promised!

Imagine being small enough to live inside of a tree.

How would your life change if you left

your safe environment?

What if disaster suddenly hit your world?

What would you do?

How would you survive?

Who would you count on?

Who would you believe in?

Would you believe the promises made by a

special person in your life?

What if a special promise is broken?

To the Lord. Thank you for bringing the third part of my dream to reality. May the story within these pages show Your love. May my continued writing be the journey you want for me. Let the characters in this book take the readers on their own personal journey to find You; the one they can always count on who loves them perfectly. Let the story reach readers who might otherwise not hear about Your love.

To the real Ayden and Jayden. I hope you enjoy the continuing story you inspired. I know you are different from these characters, but I hope my love for you shows through Lea’s love for them. I am so very proud of both of you.

To Mo. You taught me to believe in myself, to reach for my dreams, and to work hard. Those lessons made this series a reality. Your continued support keeps me going.

To all my friends and family who critiqued this book. You are a huge part of this book’s success. A big thank you to all my content editors: Peggy, Ashley, Jerry, Jamie, & Lindsay. I appreciate how tough you are on me.

To Greg and Joann. Thank you for being my line editors. Your willingness to again do such detailed work gives this book a professional look. I truly appreciate all you do.

To Greg. Thanks for the idea of reorganizing this storyline. I really like this better. I’m glad you are willing to make this journey with me.

A FEW THINGS EVERY READER SHOULD KNOW

Adi’s World exists in a forest. Maple Community, Oakville, and Cedar Colony are tree communities. Entire villages exist within their trunks and branches. About 100 families live in each tree community. They use wood products from their tree and nearby deciduous trees for all of their building and personal needs.

The inhabitants of Tunnel Town created a village underground, hooking their main entryway to an int (ant) colony. There are about thirty families living in this village. Much of what they build is made from mud, reinforced with materials found in the neighboring forest.

The villagers of Cliff City live above the ground. They built their city within an indentation in a rock wall. There are forty-four homes in this city. Their homes are built in three rows with four homes stacked in each column.

The characters are very tiny beings, but not magical. They act like we do. As they get older, they learn to trust the help of a special guide who becomes a very close friend.

Their language is similar to ours, except for a few words:

Book three, A Promise Broken, is very different from the first two books in the series. Adi’s world expands to include not only Maple Community and Lee’s home, but also Cliff City and Tunnel Town. The book is divided into parts with each part happening in a different location. If the action changes from one place to another, subheadings are added. If there is a time jump, * * * * * are inserted.

The leadership skills the kids have learned in the first two books are really needed now!

Enjoy your continued visit to this tiny world.

Jo-Marie

CHARACTERS

The Bough Family

Ralph & May with Bendo & Adi

Aunt Kate – Dad’s sister who lives in Cedar Colony

The Fern Family

Brandon & Rebecca with Arnie, Becka, & Junior

The Branch Family

Joe & Kara with Paul & Addy

The Limb Family

Mark & Lea with Ayden & Jayden

Uncle Lee Cord & Phil Cord

The Poplar Family

Craig Poplar (Teacher)

Grandpa & Grandma Poplar (in Oakville)

Roger & Shannon with Shay, Ray, Todd, & Rodney

The Stone Family (in Cliff City)

Fred (Mayor) & Gary - brothers

The Burrows Family (in Tunnel Town)

Colin & Greg - brothers

The Twig Family (in Maple Community)

Ben & Barb with Jerry

The Piper Family (in Maple Community)

Olson & Kate with Jenna

Phillip & Della Leaf

Doc Leaf

Mayor John Maple

Secondary Characters

The Ash Family (Maple Community)

Ms. Martha Ash (Principal) & her brother Kevin Ash

The Vein Family (Cedar Colony)

Joe & Mary with Art (adult son)

The Turner Brothers

Peter – Manager of Tunnel Station in Maple Community

Jeff – Manager of Tunnel Station in Oakville

Tunnel Town:

Richard Woods (Engineer), Doc Twig

Peter & Julie Channel & their sons: Max, Petey, & Jules

Cliff City:

Tony & Bev Rock

Jeffy & his dad

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TREE PICTURE LEGEND

Tree Trunk

#1 = The Business Section of Maple Community

(Mayor’s Office, All Shops, Town Library, etc.)

Branch A

#2 = Adi’s Home

Branch B

#3 = notch where Michael sits

#4 = Adi’s School

#5 = School Playground

#6 = notch where Adi & Addy sat for lunch

#7 = Crack in branch

#8 – Adi’s Sap Collecting Station

#9 = Temporary classroom

Branch C

#10 = Upper Branch School (high school)

& Soko Field

Branch D

#11 = Arnie’s Home

#12 = Twins’ Home

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PROLOGUE: ADI’S WORLD

Book One

Half a Year Ago

A di Bough faces a huge challenge. Living in Maple Community, a town inside a Sugar Maple Tree, her life is peaceful.

Suddenly, a crack opens in the bottom of Branch B, near her school. If the crack opens more, her school will fall out!

The adults are stumped. Their plan closes the school, which is unacceptable to Adi and her friends.

It’s up to Adi and her classmates, with the help of a very supportive friend, to solve the problem. Will Adi become the leader needed to save her town?

PROLOGUE: LIVING THE SECRET

Book Two

A Few Monaths Ago

L ife changes for Ayden and Jayden (friends of Adi). They hate living inside the tree, so they jump out!

They quickly learn that they’re not as prepared as they think they are. Can they survive the new dangers?

The twins discover that a huge secret has been kept from them, which changes everything. (Actually, there’s more than one secret.)

Ayden and Jayden must change from being the ones who cause the problems, to the being the ones who solve them. Will they?

PART 1:

MAPLE COMMUNITY

DAY 1 –

GROUNDSHAKE!

A di stands on the top rung of her ladder, which is precariously perched on the highest step of her former school’s front steps. "If I can just reach a little farther, I can get these leaf crumbles off this sign. Adi stretches her arm. The ladder wobbles. Just a little bit more, and I… Noooo!" Adi tumbles to the ground.

Ow! Adi sits up. Classy move. She shakes the crumbles out of her hair, dusts off her pants, and stands. I’m glad no one’s around to see my clumsy stunt.

I wouldn’t exactly say that no one’s around, Arnie calls.

To hide her embarrassment, Adi spins toward her friend and bows.

Encore? Arnie asks.

No thanks, Adi rubs her right elbow. One fall is enough. Your broom is over there. She points to the front wall of Basic School. Didn’t we graduate from this place? Yet here we are, back again. Who nominated you for this cleaning crew? My dad volunteered me.

Arnie picks up the fallen ladder and leans it against the wall. My dad saw Mr. Poplar at Mark’s Rentals a few days ago. So I’m here preparing the schoolyard for our town’s first warm time picnic. He grabs his broom. It’ll be great seeing everyone. So many families have been traveling lately, our tree felt empty this monath.

Did your family go anywhere? Adi asks.

Not yet, Arnie replies. Before our promotion, my folks went to some conference for about a weka. It was when that big storm hit. I got stuck watching Brandon and Becka. Didn’t you have the chance to travel at that time?

I could have gone to Cedar Colony to help Aunt Kate, Dad’s sister, who just had a baby. Mom came home two days before our promotion ceremony. Adi says. Since I stayed home, Mom spent a longer time helping Aunt Kate.

Cedar Colony, Arnie shakes his head. That confuses me.

What do you mean? Adi asks.

Well, a cedar tree isn’t deciduous. It’s coniferous. Right? Arnie begins sweeping.

Yeah, Adi agrees. So?

So how can a colony be inside a coniferous tree? Arnie pauses and looks at Adi. They’re not hollow.

Cedar Colony isn’t inside a cedar tree. Adi laughs at Arnie’s confused look. It’s actually in another maple. Many of the people who live there used to live here in our tree. About ten years ago, they decided that Maple was too crowded. Since they were raised in a maple, they didn’t want to live in a different kind of tree. But they also didn’t want their new home to be called Maple Two or Junior Maple, which is what they were jokingly called at first. They named their town after a huge cedar tree that grows right next to their maple.

Mystery solved. Arnie starts sweeping again. Wasn’t your dad at some meetings during that same big storm?

Yeah, you’re right. Dad went to a seminar of some kind, something to do with his job. He goes a couple of times a year. I was stuck with my big brother, Bendo, in charge. Adi grimaces. He gets quite the kingly attitude when he’s the boss. Somehow I end up with most of the chores. I hope you’re a nicer older brother. Adi shakes her head at Arnie’s smirk. Right after graduation, our whole family made a trip to Cedar Colony to see the baby. Now that the new root tunnels go to Oakville, it’s much easier traveling to Cedar. I wanted to stop and check out Oakville, but Dad didn’t have much time off from work.

Maybe you can come to Oakville with us, Arnie suggests. We’re going for three wekas and will return two days before school starts. We’re staying with my grandparents, Dad’s folks. They have lots of room and love having company.

I’d love to go with you,Adi smiles shyly. I can ask my parents when they come to the picnic. The duo finishes sweeping the steps and moves on to the next job.

Two horus later the area is cleaned. Jerry and Jenna, classmates of Adi and Arnie, arrive. Their job is to decorate. Adi helps Jenna place containers of leaf garland in the areas where it will be hung. Arnie helps Jerry set up the ladder in the first spot.

Families will start bringing food in an horu, Adi says to Arnie. Our job is done. Let’s go relax for a while. We’ve earned it. The friends head to their favorite spot at the back of the school playground.

Whenever we sit in this spot, I remember the day we met, less than a year ago, Arnie shivers.

How do you remember me? As a horribly mean brat, or your life saver? Adi asks.

Both, Arnie takes her hand. Sitting next to you that first morning, I saw so much pain on your face and tears in your eyes. I didn’t know if you wanted a hug, or if you wanted to hit me.

A little of both, she answers. But it had nothing to do with you. You got the brunt of my emotions. My closest friend, Addy, had just died. We always sat together. When Mr. Poplar told you to sit in her desk, I wanted to hurt him. I know it wasn’t polite, but I didn’t care. He was killing her all over again!

I know, Arnie answers. You were sending out such anger, I thought our wooden desks were going to burst into flames. I tried smiling at you once; but after the look you zinged at me, I just kept my head down.

Sorry about that, Adi says. I’m glad you kept trying. Of course, it was your continued trying that almost got you killed.

Arnie nods his head, remembering. That day I learned to never ignore warning signs. Falling through a crack in a branch is not fun. One moment I was walking after you, the next my legs were swinging in the air. I can still feel the sudden drop and the pain of catching the branch edge with my armpits.

I heard you scream and then saw only the top half of you still in the branch. Adi shivers. I didn’t know if I should jump over you and run for help, or try to lift you myself.

I’m glad you did it yourself, Arnie tells her. That determined look in your eyes gave me the courage to hang on. I felt a special strength flowing through you and into me. I think that was the moment… Arnie looks down.

Adi quickly changes the subject. I was so scared that I was actually glad to hear the twins’ voices. Part of me wanted them to disappear; because they’d been so mean, but the other part was glad they were there.

Of course we now know they were nearby because they reopened the crack. I still can’t believe they jumped out! They were a big part of our lives, and suddenly they were gone. Arnie smiles. And I had just learned how to tell them apart.

I actually miss Ayden and Jayden. I’d been in school with them since our first year. Yeah, they were often a pain, but I’m not happy that they left. I wonder what they’re doing now. I hope they survived their jump from this high branch, Adi wipes a tear. It’s so odd how no one talks about them now. My parents change the subject whenever I bring up their names. It’s like there’s some huge secret I’m not allowed to know. She stands and turns toward the tip of the branch. They cracked open the bottom of this branch and leaped from our tree a few monaths ago. I know they really wanted to get out of here, but it’s a shame they left just before their dad came home.

His story is amazing! Arnie stands behind Adi. Imagine getting so seriously hurt that you lose your memory. Not knowing who you are has to be scary.

Suddenly the branch moves. Not the usual shaking caused by outside wind, but a strong vibration underneath them. Adi and Arnie fall. The lights go out. Arnie grabs Adi’s hand.

Soon the vibrations stop. An eerie calmness follows. Moments later the lights turn on again.

What was that? Arnie asks.

"I don’t know, but I’m