Storm and Armas Kippura's Rocket Journey To Earth

By Harri Salomaa

This book is meant for every reader with a childlike heart, no matter the age. It consists of two tales.

It’s a story about four boys who each turn 14. They are all given a large amount of responsibility, well beyond what boys of that age would normally be given.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jul 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9781528927260

Harri Salomaa

Harri Salomaa is a sculptor from Finland. Harri graduated from the University of Applied Sciences of Satakunta. This book started as a dream, which he continuously had for over two months. Then he decided to bind those dreams together as a story. This is his first novel. He's finished his short story to be published in the future.

Book preview

About the Author

Harri Salomaa is a sculptor from Finland. Harri graduated from the University of Applied Sciences of Satakunta. This book started as a dream, which he continuously had for over two months. Then he decided to bind those dreams together as a story. This is his first novel. He's finished his short story to be published in the future.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my friend Karhu, because without you this book would not exist.

Copyright Information ©

Harri Salomaa 2023

The right of Harri Salomaa to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781528921978 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781528927253 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781528927260 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2023

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Storm

Alt had hardly ever rained so heavily in water and sleet when there was a knock on the castle door at midnight.

Enilia woke up dissatisfied, knowing that Helle wouldn’t bother to open the door. She swiped some red on her cheeks, put a tiara on her head, wrapped her long mink cape around her and descended slowly down the stairs with dignity, but not before she looked at her ageless face in the mirror with satisfaction. No one knows Enilia’s age and no one remembers the time before her either.

Enilia turned the big key in the lock and with the help of a fancy mechanism, the big door opened eerily slow and silent. The heavy door had been forged from copper by gnomes.

Despite the raging weather, however, Enilia did not let the newcomer in. There had been these violent winds before, she thought from the safety of her warm mink cloak.

Enilia stared at the newcomer for a long time, an umbrella held above her by a servant standing behind her. She recognised the face of her daughter through the veil. She peered at the bundle in her daughter’s arms and shuddered.

Enilia: What’s its name?

Thunder rumbled right on top of the castle, making the windows rattle.

Enilia: Let’s call him Storm, she said at last.

The woman standing at the door turned on her heels and disappeared into the rain. All that was left was the clop of the horses’ hooves and then that too was gone. Enilia thanked the ranger for the warm mink cloak. So cunning and witty were the forest minks that it took three whole years to make the cloak. However, the minks decided to take revenge on behalf of their comrades and attacked Enilia’s harvest, for they knew how to become vegetarians when necessary.

Some of the minks were going to attack the chickens because of their delicious eggs. Admittedly, they did not know that they were Brenda’s special breed. Each of them had plump, sharp claws and a beak that split chestnuts clean in half and they were not afraid of anything; they attacked the minks in formation. Minks thought for a moment they faced an equal opponent, but then the roosters stepped in. After that, mink fur was flying and they fled in horror and humiliated back to the other minks.

You don’t tell about this to others! one was shouting. Even the foxes had gotten a beating from the angry chickens.

Everything that grew on Enilia’s land tasted much sweeter than other plants grown in different fields for some odd miracle. The corn was so sweet that sweet desserts were conjured up in the Royal Restaurant Palace.

The minks first hit the sweet corn crop. Nothing was left of the valuable crop.

They then struck the seeds of the previous winter’s pine cones. The squirrels were furious.

What are we now going to eat in the winter? The squirrels tightened their ranks and although smaller than the minks in the forest, they attacked the minks with their sharp teeth, fearlessly and won the surprise war.

However, Enilia was most upset by the loss of the coveted pumpkin harvest. Musk, Hokkaido and spaghetti pumpkin harvest Enilia’s crop were unparalleled. All the Kings were already queuing up in the morning so that they would not miss the rare treat.

The most extraordinary delicacy of the Duchesses was the Hokkaido pumpkin with wasabi topping. The kids were eagerly waiting for the spaghetti pumpkin and what ruckus they created that fall. The smell of the delicious musk pumpkin was always so intoxicating that it spread throughout the market. A queue had accumulated on the loading dock right from the morning, as the extra pumpkins were sold on the pier steamed and wrapped in newspaper.

Meanwhile, the minks had destroyed almost everything, tearing the radishes when Enilia decided to intervene in their plans. With her back straight and her hands tucked away, she approached the minks.

Enilia: I have forbidden people from hunting you and was threatened with expulsion.

Hundreds of minks gathered around Enilia, teeth showing. However, Enilia could not fear anything.

Leader mink: Ha, is that all? He snorted contemptuously.

Enilia had heard of a witch named Aasa.

Enilia: (with a straight face ) Shall I ask Aasa to come here?

All but one mink escaped screaming into the woods. Now the leader’s voice began to tremble.

Leader mink: You keep away from us and we keep our teeth away from your harvest.

Enilia: Then it’s agreed.

Leader mink: Then it’s agreed.

One thing the minks never touched was a crop of catnip. The Royal Cats relaxed after hearing this, which is why Enilia punished the Kings and doubled the harvest price. Someone has to pay, she figured.

Otherwise, no one would’ve been able to rest for a year because of the Cats mewling. The Royals sighed deeply and cursed the day they had gotten their lazy and fat Cats. Enilia gently knocked on Helle’s door and Helle opened the door while yawning like a crocodile, even though she had just worked with Samo. Enilia offered her the bundle.

Enilia: You will get double the salary.

Helle: Triple.

Enilia grit her teeth after losing again.

Enilia: Okay, she said and handed the bundle to Helle.

Helle walked into the kitchen and turned on the gaslight to see better. She had never seen something as beautiful before in her life. The son must have inherited the almond-shaped eyes from his mother and yes, they were a shade or rare light blue. The boy did not know how strong—and at the same time feared—guardian he had gained. Helle didn’t understand why people feared her. She also didn’t realise there were Romani in white people’s clothes hiding among the staff.

Enilia admired for a moment the fine-looking mechanism of the door. Then she walked into the freezing cold dormitory, immediately fell asleep, the air coming out in white puffs and snored like a lumberjack. She wanted to sleep in the cold, but on the other hand, wanted to wake up to a warm hall. The servant was to bring man-length and heavy logs early in the morning, one at a time, to a massive fireplace.

A Jump Seven Years Forward

The giant of time leapt and Storm turned seven years old. Helle opened the door of the kitchen and noticed Esmeralda slipping into her hole. Hanging from Storm’s door was a bracelet made out of wild strawberries. Helle vividly remembered that this had been the case every year on the seventh day of July.

Esmeralda and Helle (Flashback)

Esmeralda was the only one to remember the night Storm had arrived at the castle. She made a bracelet out of wild strawberries every birthday and hung it on his door.

Helle decided to bake a cake to thank Esmeralda. She put the ingredients into a thimble using the knife’s tip, mixed them with a toothpick and lifted it into the oven. Cake was raised and after obtaining a beautiful colour, Helle overturned it onto a maple leaf and sprinkled a few sprinkles on top of it.

Then Helle took the warm cake to the mouth of the hole, from where it disappeared immediately. Not long after, there was a happy burp from inside the hole, though Esmeralda was a lady. Helle didn’t care about the celebrations of mortals. Instead, she could organise a great feast, for example, in honour of the arrival of the swallows.

Helle had at one time completed her English studies and definitely wanted to go to London. She did not care about her parent’s money but had saved some while working in her grandmother’s a la carte kitchen. At the same time, she learned the secrets of French cuisine.

Upon entering the harbour, the ship looked huge beside the pier. Oh, that feeling of freedom when the ship left the port! Helle didn’t know yet that a thief with light fingers would steal her wallet and purse.

First, Helle had to do the dishes in the kitchen. The good side of it was that the Roma’s in the kitchen left the door open for her in the evenings so that she could eat in the kitchen.

At the same time, she became acquainted with Esmeralda the mouse, who had once left Spain in a three-mast schooner to France and continued her journey from there on a Bermudian schooner to London.

Helle brought food for her too and they got along great with each other.

For some reason, some travellers nodded to her. They sensed her power, though she knew nothing of it yet.

Helle let Esme, as she called Esmeralda, travel in the folds of her skirt hem. Esme had no passport. They arrived at the harbour and Helle landed in the hustle and bustle of London.

Penniless, Helle immediately started looking for a job. She walked along the streets of London and finally found a job notice for a dishwasher position. Still, the restaurant was already closed for the day. And she was so hungry she didn’t notice how fancy the place was. It was the royal restaurant Palace.

The night arrived and the temperature dropped. Helle went to the alley around the corner to warm up beside the campfire with some homeless people and fell asleep while sitting up against the wall.

In the morning, Helle woke up and went to wash her face at a nearby fountain.

There was already a long queue at the side door of the restaurant. She joined the line, lifted the collars of her long coat so no one could see her dirty clothes.

There was a situation in the restaurant with a French princess.

Waiter: Do any of you speak French?

Helle raised her hand and the waitress greeted her. Soon Helle was translating into French, which was her mother tongue.

Princess: A scandal, this is a scandal, you hear?

The princess’s ice cream lacked sprinkles and that was all it took.

Helle: I apologise for the confusion. We will soon bring a house speciality to you and you only and of course, on the house.

Now, the frugal lady’s ears became perked. For free, she pondered sharply.

She also found her manners after the special treatment she received.

Princess (importantly): That’s what I deserve; it’s clear as day. Even to ordinary people.

Waiter: What do we owe you? he asked Helle.

Helle: The job of the dishwasher.

Waiter: Then it’s yours. You can start right away.

For exactly one day, Helle listened to the barking of the snarky chef and how he humiliated the cooks before she decided to do something about it.

Helle followed the chef home and now knew the address. Grandpa Castle had once taught her to open any lock. At midnight, she opened the man’s door with a flashlight in her hand and polished his shoes shiny and slippery. The shoes sighed deeply.

Restaurant Manager (shouts in a panic): Good Lord! The chef has broken his ankle! What do we do now? The royals are coming in an hour!

The pots cleaned themselves before Helle had time to tell her what she wanted. She wiped hair on her forehead and gathered the last remnants of courage.

Helle: I am a chef. I master French cuisine.

Everyone’s mouths dropped open.

Restaurant Manager (laughs): Oh, then we have a decent dishwasher as a chef to the royals!

Helle dropped the washing cloth and walked through the back door into the alley. The apron flew in an arc into the campfire. No one will humiliate her! The restaurant manager ran after her in distress.

Restaurant Manager: Would you at least look at the menu, he begged.

Helle (growls): Boy, no one is quizzing me about food. Boring, I’ll just wing it.

Restaurant Manager: Everyone’s job is on the line here. Without a chef, the restaurant will be closed and the royals will disappear.

Helle: If and when I become a chef—

Restaurant Manager: Become a Chef!

Helle: Yes, a chef. So then the portions are made using intuition and the food always tastes a little different. Customers won’t get bored and no one cannot copy the recipes. I will show everyone how to do them.

After a while, Helle arrived in the kitchen cool as a cucumber. She spoke in a low and calming voice, making the staff relax. Admittedly, the restaurant manager could not relax at all. He had a throbbing vein on his forehead and sweat dripping from his temples.

The dining hall began to fill with Royals speaking loudly, they knew their importance. Then something strange happened. The hall fell silent because the food was not quite the same as what they were used to. The restaurant manager was about to faint. Customers were so satisfied they left tips for the first time in their lives.

At the end of the working day, Helle announced that she would train everyone interested in French cuisine so that the same could no longer happen. The cleaning boy’s hand rose the highest.

Helle: "It takes a lot of work;