This has been an eventful year for me. A couple of months ago, I found a unicorn. People are after it, and one day I was with it, and we got seen. I mounted the unicorn, and he bolted into his own land, the Land of Mythology and Beliefs, and then he started talking to me. He says his name is The Unicorn, but he didn’t tell me whether he is a he or a she, so I just call The Unicorn a he. Our life together has been most eventful. Just today I was on dry ground searching for the bridge that will take us back home. I suggested that we try looking for it where the world ends. The world here is flat. The Unicorn took me to a cliff, the farthest piece of land stretching out into the sea. I wanted to go farther, so The Unicorn and I boarded a Daring Ship that will take us to the end of the world. I had asked to come along, and I didn’t listen to The Unicorn when he tried to tell me that it wasn’t such a good idea. I really should have listened. Now we are stuck on board a ship in the middle of no where, and have been made prisoners.
Let me explain. The Unicorn has some magical powers that everyone here on board the Daring Ship has been talking about, and I have no idea what they are. As soon as the rocky shore of the land had disappeared over the horizon, they took The Unicorn and I below deck, and locked us in a big box, like a horse stall, which is being guarded by seven sentries. The Unicorn and I are not permitted to speak, so I cannot ask The Unicorn anything. I sure hope the feed us soon. I’m getting awful hungry. It is very boring sitting here in this box. I glance up at The Unicorn. He is standing ready and alert, pawing the ground. But there is no true ground beneath our feet. There is just vast ocean. Water, water, water! The Unicorn looks like he could tear the whole ship apart if he wanted to, and he looks like he wants to. But I am glad that he is thinking before acting. I do not think I could swim back to shore in the freezing water. I think The Unicorn can sense my doubts. I sigh. Our captors will probably want to keep The Unicorn alive and well. But what about me? I am nothing to them. They can use The Unicorn’s magical powers, but I am just another mouth to feed. I worry.
The whole reason I even boarded this ship was so that we could find the bridge. How am I going to be able to even see the bridge before toppling off the edge of the world? Is it even there? How can we get off this ship if we see the bridge, if the bridge is even there at all? And what will I do once we get back to my world, if we get back to my world. What would happen if we don’t?
The Unicorn lowers his head, and nudges me with his nose. Then, he begins lifting his legs, one after the other. Then he lifts his tail! He is trying to say something to me. I pull a red pen out of my pocket, and write on the wall of the box nearest me this one word:
What?
The Unicorn rolls his eyes at me. He’s just started doing that today, and already it’s getting kind of annoying. He paws the ground one, two, three, four, five times. He turns his head to look at me. His ears come up from their sideways position. They twitch as if to say, “So?“. I shrug. I haven’t known what to make of his odd behavior all day. He sighs a sort of horsey sigh, and takes the pen I am holding right out of my hands. He mouths it for a moment, then drops it on the ground. Red ink dribbles out of the pen onto the bottom of our crate. I glare at The Unicorn for a moment before picking up the pen. It is ruined! At least I saved most of the ink. But I am not done being angry at The Unicorn! When I look at him again, he’s poking his white horn into the inky mess, trying to clean it up, I suppose. I scowl. What’s done is done. But at least it seems he is sorry for breaking my pen. When I look at him again, he is still rubbing his horn in the ink. I roll my eyes. The end of his beautiful horn is red now. I push his head away from the puddle of ink. Where the head goes, that horn has got to follow. The Unicorn looks at me for a moment, as if silently scolding me for interrupting him. Then he goes right back to the puddle of ink. He’s dragging his horn through the puddle, then spreading it around on the floor where there is no ink. He is just spreading it around. A few moments later, he steps back, and flicks his ears at me.
He has written something on the floor of our box in the red ink. The shapes and symbols he has written seem familiar to me, and I know what the numbers are that he has written. This is what it looks like:
♦4 ♥3 ♠1 ♠2 ♣6 ♦1 ♦3 ♠2
I didn’t know that The Unicorn could write! But what does the writing mean? Is it a code, an English code? Why was The Unicorn pawing the ground, and lifting his hooves and lifting his tail? Does that have anything to do with this mysterious writing? Or is it the writing of the Land of Mythology and Beliefs? I look at The Unicorn. There is more to him than meets the eye. I point to the word written on the wall, “what?“, than at the writing on the floor.
The Unicorn rolls his eyes at me for the third time today. He puts his front hoof on the writing, then then paws five times. When I still do not understand, he lips the word I wrote on the wall, snuffles at the “a“, and turns to me, sticking his tongue out.
All right. I must admit, The Unicorn has been acting less like a horse, now that we have boarded the ship. What’s with that?
The Unicorn rolls his eyes at me again! Then he snuffles at the “a” on the wall, then the “h“, then at the “t“, and licks the “w“.
Since when have unicorns started putting the abc’s in order? This day is just getting weirder and weirder. First I ride a unicorn into a new land, then board a Daring Ship, and then get taken prisoner. And now my unicorn is writing secret codes to me!
The Unicorn looks at me expectantly. I am sorry to disappoint him, but I have no idea what the writing means. But it must be really important, important enough for him to have broken my pen so that he could write it.
I hear some people loudly arguing on the other side of the box. One man is saying, “Feed the girl!” I’m all for that opinion, seeing that “the girl” is me.
“No,” says a gruffer voice. “We do not need her, she cannot help us.”
“But,” pleads the other voice, “she may be the only thing on this entire earth that can keep that unicorn from going mad and tearing apart this whole ship! I bet we would be floating in the ocean right now if it weren’t for the girl!”
“I do not believe in old legends!” roars the man. “But if the legends are true, and if the unicorn can get out of that box and damage the ship, then I suppose we would need the girl alive. But she is not going to benefit us enough in my opinion just sitting in that box. She must work!”
“Oh!” cries another voice, one I haven’t heard before. “Once we get back to shore, we can fetch a handsome price for the girl and the unicorn. But while she is here, she must do something more than sitting in a box. And the unicorn must go with her, so that it doesn’t worry about her and try to find her.”
“That is a good idea,” another man agrees. “Let’s go find the Captain!”
Oh no! What is going to happen now?
It is morning. Today I start my work on this ship. Yesterday we got fed, The Unicorn and I, I mean. One of the crew, named Jabez, is in charge of us. He is explaining all that I must do. After a night in the cramped box, I am glad to stretch my legs.
We have been on the ship for a week now. I have gotten used to the sway of the boat. But I am not used to the work that I must do on the ship. Just today I found out that Jabez is only four years older than I am. I don’t know why they brought him along on this ship. He can’t do anything helpful except keep an eye on me all day, which I do not appreciate. So far there have been no storms. Our trip has been pretty easy. It is like the calm before the storm.
The wind is howling. The waves are as tall as a houses! The ship is rocking like mad. And it is only getting worse. This is my first real storm. Everyone here on this Daring Ship is yelling about some stupid god with a wacky name letting all the winds out of some big bag. Can’t this ‘god’ see I’m in enough trouble already, being a prisoner and all? The Unicorn looks very worried. He is pacing around in circles in our big box. I glance at the floor. The writing is still on it. It has not been worn away by The Unicorn’s hooves.
The wind has been blowing us for days! The crew no longer has control. They say we will have to just sit back and ride this one out. We are being blown farther and farther from land, toward the end of the world. I hope I can get back to my world, and live to tell this tale.
Land has been spotted! I have no idea how land can be out here, though. We are in the middle of nowhere! And there are people, or something big on the land. I caught a glimpse of what is over there. To me it looks like big, fat women with wings. When I saw them, their mouths were wide open, as if they were singing.
We are nearing the land! Everyone is excited, but puzzled. How are these people, or whatever they are, surviving on that tiny island? What are they eating? I am on deck right now. Everyone is eager to meet these new people, and I guess Jabez is so distracted by all the goings on that he forgot to lock us up in that box. The Unicorn looks suspicious, like someone is trying to steal his favorite Christmas presents. I learned my lesson long ago, so now I watch The Unicorn and heed his warnings. I hope, anyways. I am being very cautious and careful as we approach this new land. I can feel something in the air, more than the excitement and tension on the ship. You know how you can feel sound waves sometimes? It feels exactly like that. Now we are closer, and I can hear something, too. It sounds like – singing? It sounds like it’s coming from the island. I do not like it. I can feel something in the air now, something besides what I was feeling before. This I can sense. Everything is crying, “DANGER, DANGER, DANGER!” This is not good.
We are almost to the island. The singing is louder. Whoever is at the wheel of this ship is aiming it sharply at the island, so sharply that I am afraid we will crash into its rocky shores. Everyone is leaning over the side of the ship, even The Unicorn! That’s odd. Oh no! Everyone’s jumping overboard, and swimming toward the island. Have they all gone mad? The water is cold, and still quite deep. The Unicorn looks like he is about to join the others thrashing about in the water. Don’t these seamen know how to swim properly?
I can clearly see that we are angled toward the rocky shore at such an angle that we are sure to crash, and soon. Why hasn’t anyone turned the ship? One glance toward the wheel, and I know that the person supposed to steer this ship is not in his place. I rush toward the wheel, and turn it with all of my might away from the the treacherous shore. Within moments, it would have been too late.
A whole lot of the crew jumped overboard. The captain himself did so. But The Unicorn is still here. With the captain gone, everyone does not know what to do. The Unicorn decides just then to start giving orders. After a good fight, the Unicorn is made captain. We are no longer prisoners! But what will happen? Will we find the bridge, or will we sail right off the edge of the world?
I must stay awake. I must watch for the bridge. It has been weeks now since we were prisoners. Now it seems that the world revolves around us. The Unicorn is captain, so he’s like, super busy. I have to look for the bridge that will take us back home, and I spend like half the day just looking. It gets really boring at times. And I always have to be on the lookout because the ship is not allowed to move when I am not watching, so that we will not sail off the end of the world. Every minute I’m in the this new land, I become more grateful that at home you don’t have to worry about sailing off the edge of the world.
It seems that in this new life every waking moment is spent learning about the Land of Mythology and Beliefs, even when I’m on deck looking for the bridge. The Unicorn and Jabez are teaching me. I’m learning a lot. There are whole herds of unicorns, and they all have magical powers. They all have the spiraling horn, and that horn does stuff besides writing secret codes. It can make dirty water drinkable, and can make a poisoned person well again. But they only allow themselves to be caught by a youthful, sweet girl.
Wait a minute! I can see something off in the distance! What is it? It looks like a bridge. Could it be the bridge? But of course, what other bridge would be floating at the edge of the world? As we come closer and closer, I can see that it really is a bridge. “Bridge ho!” I shout. “Bridge ho!”
The Unicorn comes galloping up to the deck. “Where do you see it?” he demands.
I point. “It’s really close.”
“Anchor the ship!” The Unicorn orders to the crew that has begun to gather around us. “Stop the ship!”
“But we have to get closer!” I try to tell him, but he just ignores me.
When the boat is securely anchored, The Unicorn herds me down below deck. He marches right into the box that we were put in when we were prisoners. He paws at the code writing on the floor of the box, and paws the ground five times. Then he begins saying the abc’s. “A, b, c, d, e, f.” At “f” he pauses and looks at me. He paws at the diamond on the floor. Then he continues on. “G, h, i, j, k, l.” He pauses again and this time paws at the heart in the code on the floor. I think I’m starting to get it now. He finishes speaking and pawing some more, and finally I understand. You divide the alphabet into five parts. The first four parts will have exactly six letters in them, but the last part will only have four letters in it. Each part is given a symbol. The next part is a bit trickier. Let me give an example. The word written on the floor of the box is “distract“. The “d” is in the first part of the alphabet. That part is given the symbol of a diamond. “D” is the fourth letter in that part, so the number “4” was written on the floor of the box next to the symbol. It is an interesting code.
As soon as I figure out how the secret code works, The Unicorn takes me to the deck, ordering the Daring Ship’s crew to pull in the anchor and wait for further instructions. “Prepare to jump,” The Unicorn commands me. I prepare. “Where exactly is the bridge?”
“It’s over there, to starboard,” I tell him, pointing to the bridge. It looks like it’s floating on the waves, or something. “It’s just three yards away.”
“Get closer, men!” The Unicorn calls to the crew. “Just a little bit, not too much. You heard the girl!”
“We’re almost there,” I tell him excitedly. I wait for a minute more, then shout, “Stop the ship!”
The Unicorn repeats my order to the men. “Is it within jumping distance, Miniature Girl?”
I nod to him. “It is only four feet away. We are pratically touching it. You could certainly jump, but what about me?”
“That is the least of out problems,” The Unicorn tells me. “Do not let that short distance keep you from your home. Think, Miniature Girl.”
I do try to think, but my mind will not think properly. “What should we do?” I cry desperately. “Can I jump up on your back, and you then jump?”
“Never!” The Unicorn protests. “The solution is quite clear. You will swim across, I will jump to you. Your plan is hopeless. How should I know exactly where the bridge is if I can’t see it? How could I jump you there?”
“You have a point,” I admit. “But what if the current is too strong and I fall off the edge of the world?”
“Tie a rope around yourself,” The Unicorn suggested.
Suddenly something catches my eye. “Um, what is that?” I ask nervously.
The Unicorn turns around in a full circle. “What is what? Stay focused, Miniature Girl! For such a miniature girl, you really have a small brain! Are all humans from your world like this?”
I ignore the last question. “But it was there! I saw a shiny tail.”
The Unicorn is instantly alert. His eyes are rimmed in white. He looks – afraid? “Was it long?” he asks, his voice shaking.
“Yes,” I tell him. “Very long.”
“Did it have sails?”
“Sails?” What is he talking about?
“No! Scales.”
“Yes,” I reply. I am beginning to get sort of nervous. The Unicorn bends his neck and looks behind him. He snaps at the air with his teeth. What has got The Unicorn all bent out of shape?
“Anything else? Quickly, now. Our lives may depend upon it.” His eyes are even larger than saucers.
“It was really shiny,” I recall, hoping that that tiny piece of information can help.
The Unicorn all of a sudden comes to life. “Men, row this ship away from here as fast as you can. Which way? Oh, bother, what’s it called? Well, not starboard.” He turns toward me. “Jump!” he orders. “Head to the bridge as fast as you can. Now!”
I hesitate. “Are you coming?”
“That depends,” he replies. “Now move it, before the sea serpent gets us!”
But even as he speaks, a slimy, greenish-blue sea serpent rises out of the sea. I can see its head. It has bloodthirsty, black eyes. I cannot even tell if they have a pupils or not. But that’s not what matters right now. Right now the most important thing is to head for cover, because the sea serpent’s eyes are glaring straight at me.
At the instant I am about to run, The Unicorn’s words echo in mind, “Head to the bridge as fast as you can. Now!” So I do. I jump overboard into the freezing cold ocean, hoping that I will live to tell this tale. But I need to focus right now on the present. The bridge is right in front of me. I grasp the end, and pull myself up. I am safe. But what of The Unicorn? I hear a frightened whinny, and turn just in time to see the boat being splintered to pieces from bow to stern by the sea serpent, who has his massive body wrapped tight around the middle of the boat, like a boa constrictor. And he’s squeezing with all of his might. “Hurry!” I shout. “Over here!” But I know it is useless, as I call into the wind. I know it will all be over pretty soon. I feel the urge to run home, across the bridge, eager to go wherever it will take me. Anywhere but here.
I close my eyes, and grip the rail on the side of the bridge. I cannot bear to see the sight that is taking place. I feel the bridge wobble, and try not to see the sea serpent in my mind, come to finish me off, to put it kindly. I wait for a few minutes before opening my eyes, dreading what I will see. But the sight surprises me. Instead of seeing the sea serpent’s eyes staring at me, its mouth open, ready to kill me, I see The Unicorn. He shakes himself off, like a dog after a bath. “You’re alive?” I cry.
“What does it look like?” The Unicorn grumbles. “Don’t ask me unnecessary questions.”
I laugh, and run to hug him. He wraps his long neck around me in a unicorn hug. “And you know what’s down there?” I ask him, gesturing toward the end of the bridge jutting off the edge of the world. I don’t even wait for him to answer. “Down there is a new future for us, a place where we can be together.”
But The Unicorn is shaking his head. “I am sorry, Miniature Girl. I cannot stay in your world for long. People want unicorns in both worlds, your world and mine. But I will be better off in my own world. I will return with you, though, for I still have something I need to do in your world. And one more thing, Miniature Girl. I overheard you one day calling me a “he“. I’m a she, really. I just wanted you to know that.” The corners of The Unicorn’s mouth turn up, and she winks at me.
The adventure is not over yet for Minny and The Unicorn. Read The Unicorn Puzzle, part three, The Unicorn Returns, to be posted soon. What will happen once they step foot into Minny’s world? Why does The Unicorn (a girl) want to go back to Minny’s world, besides to escape from the treacherous sea serpent? What does she need to do there? Find out in The Unicorn Puzzle, part three, The Unicorn Returns.
Also, read The Unicorn Puzzle, part one, Minny Had a Unicorn, to see how the adventure began.
If you have enjoyed reading this story, you may also like to read Tilda’s Babyshower Blues, another story by Min Sullivan.
