last place we look.â
Their parents looked at each other, amazed. Never in their wildest dreams did they imagine Oliver and Celia actually wanting to go exploring with them.
âDonât get the wrong idea,â said Celia. âThis isnât going to be a regular thing. Itâs just this once.â
âSo that we can all stay together, like a normal family,â said Oliver.
âEven though normal families never have to escape from mobs of goat herders and bloodthirsty pirates in Djibouti,â said Celia. She scowled at Oliver before he could laugh.
âDjibouti.â The professor chuckled under his breath.
Celia sighed. âAnd when this is over, we want our own TVs in each of our rooms,â she said.
âBig ones,â added Oliver.
âWith flat screens.â
Their parents grinned at each other from ear to ear. Their mother reached over and hit a button on the intercom to the pilot.
âCaptain,â she said. âTake us north. Weâre going to the Svalbard archipelago.â
âThatâs near the North Pole?â asked Celia.
Her mother nodded.
âDid you know that in the North Pole, every direction is south?â their father asked. âIsnât that amazing! When youâre at the North Pole, everywhere is below you!â
âGreat.â Celia groaned. âNowhere to go but down.â
Dr. Navel ignored her. He patted her on the head and went with their mother to look over maps.
âHow will we find this Atlantis place when we get there?â Qui squished into the seat next to Celia.
âOur parents will figure that out.â Oliver shrugged.
âTheyâve never figured any of this stuff out before.â Celia shook her head. âWhy would they start now?â
âSo what do you think we should do, if youâre such a great explorer?â Oliver asked.
âI didnât say Iâm a great explorer,â said Celia. âI just said that weâll probably figure this out before Mom and Dad do, because thatâs, like, what always happens.â
âMaybe something different will happen this time,â Oliver said. âMaybe theyâll save the day and we can just relax.â
âMom said
we
have to finish this prophecy before we can go home,â said Celia. âNot her. Us.â
âCan I help?â asked Corey.
âYeah, could you explain the prophecy to us and tell us what to do?â said Oliver. Corey scratched his head but didnât answer. Oliver looked at Qui.
âHow would I know?â she said.
âYou were in our visions in the Amazon,â said Celia. âYou helped guide us.â
âThose were your visions,â Qui said, shaking her head. âIâm not psychic or magic or anything,â she explained. âItâs like on your TV. I was just the antenna on the television set, not the show. I helped you pick up the broadcast signal. Iâm just a kid like you.â
âNot really like us,â said Oliver.
âI know that that one line from the prophecy,
the greatest explorers shall be the least,
is about us,â said Celia. âWeâre the least.â
âThe least what?â asked Oliver.
âThe least whatever. The least old. The least interested. The least adventurous.â
Qui and Corey nodded. No one would disagree with that.
âThat also means that weâre the greatest,â said Oliver.
âSo Santa is and is not Santa, and you are and are not the greatest,â Corey repeated.
âI guess so,â said Celia.
There was a long silence as they considered that possibility. They listened to the loud drone of the airplane engines with wrinkled brows and pursed lips.
Oliver finally broke the quiet with an idea that had just occurred to him.
âHey, maybe when weâre in the Arctic weâll get to ride dogsleds.â Oliver smiled.
Riding on dogsleds across the Svalbard archipelago
Curtis Richards
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