Chapter eighteen
The Tollen's all reunite as one big family
The Tollen's golden mansion was bustling with personalities ranging from dignitaries, royalties, ministers, CEOs of big organizations and conglomerates, superstars in the movie and music industry, writers, and news media journalists, just to mention a few.
The dinner party had brought full life to the gold mansion belonging to the Tollen's family in Zinatano city. Pete's personality in Zinatano city was so popular for his philanthropic gestures and desire to render aid to the widows and orphans in Zinatano.
Things had really changed for the Tollen's family on this good day. Mrs. Tollen's heart was filled with excessive joy, and Mary was just too proud to know that these three wealthy individuals so talked about in Zinatano were her family after all. They sat in that special room where Charley, Pete, and Jenny had been waiting in expectation of their mother and sister Mary. Charley had sent the driver to pick both of them up in the golden Hummer jeep from the town Mary was now living in up north of Zinatano.
Upon the arrival of Mrs. Tollen and Mary, the receptionist led them up the stairs into the room. Pete offered his mother and sister a place to sit after asking them to come into the room. Charley, Pete, and Jenny burst into tears when they saw their mother and sister sitting with them again. The room was full of silence, except for the sound of people crying and sobbing. Charley stood up and moved forward to hug their mother; Pete and Jenny followed suit. With Mary, they all held themselves together with a force of love and unity.
Mrs. Tollen then decided to make a comment. "Hmm... you kids! Look at you, all grown adults! It's been over thirty years since you left my care and protection. I cried every day in my heart because of the three of you. We searched the whole land, your father and I, before he passed away in that ghastly bus accident that killed him. 'Oh my God, you're all alive!' And you said you were in the land of what?" Jenny answered, "Mom, in the land of gold. Yes, that place Papa told us about when he was trying to get a new job. He had met his friend Mr. Pantane from the old gas factory where Papa used to work. He had told us about some young boys who had been talking about the land of gold and some missing persons from Kalkulta city. Do you remember, Mom?
That was over thirty-five years ago." Jenny stopped, and Pete added, "Mom, I knew about the land of gold long before Papa knew or heard about that place! My friends in school talked about the land of gold, especially my friend Pauline. She told me stories about this place she had heard from her grandmother and mom, and they were all true. We, as a matter of fact, all of us, Charley, Jenny, and I, saw the land of gold with our own eyes." Charley then said, "Mom, we had planned on several occasions to go and find the land on our own. The three of us would hide this secret from you and Papa, so you never had an idea about our intentions. We kept it a big secret and swore never to disclose it to anyone, not even our friends at school.
You know, Mom? We wanted to become rich and be in a position to care for you and Papa. That had been the reason we ventured into that land. We are truly sorry, Mom, because we never knew what was in store for us after we entered that place." They all returned to their chairs and sat down. Charley ordered food, snacks, and drinks while they waited. Mrs. Tollen said, "Your father never gave up for one day in his attempt to search and find the three of you." She then turned to the police officer who had been sitting in the room without uttering a comment. "Oh, Mr. Officer, you would bear witness to this fact. Your current DPO and others previously had done all they could to assist Mr. Tollen because of his position before he retired from the police force in Zinatano city.
In fact, I recall that they had issued a search warrant and a cover letter to permit a deep search into Kalkulta city." The officer responded, "Oh, yes, Mom, you are absolutely right. However, I am quite new to the case about the three missing Tollen's children since they went missing in Zinatano city about thirty-five years ago. However, I had heard of the case back in Kalkulta when I just joined the police force as a young officer. Indeed, back in Kalkulta, we had several cases of missing people who were never found to date, and these missing people cases were always associated with some land of gold. The police headquarters back in Kalkulta had carried out several investigations into the matter, but at some point, officers began missing in several departments within our headquarters. It was imperative that this rampant case of missing individuals be closed indefinitely. As a matter of fact, it was really mentioned in the police force about the cases affiliated with the land of gold. When I came across Pete and his brother and sister, I was compelled to render them my assistance, especially because of what I had noticed about these three individuals."
There was something unusual about them as they stood above me while I sat eating and talking to them at the restaurant that fateful day. I had noticed a kind of glow or luminous rays of gold seemed to be all around the three Tollens, but I was not able to fathom this phenomenon, and it was very unusual to me. So I never mentioned it to anyone. However, after I had taken them to the hotel where I lodged them by the next day, when I had to finish reporting the matter to my superiors at the headquarters and personally informing the DPO about their story, I met another unexplained scenario. So many gold bars had mysteriously piled up in their hotel room.
It was then it dawned on me that these three individuals had indeed been somewhere no one has been or ever seen. At this point, the DPO insisted on twenty-four-hour protection be given to the three Tollen's children. From my knowledge, I am aware that these gold bars have kept on appearing since Charley, Pete, and Jenny stepped outside of the land of gold until today. The officer sat still, staring at Mrs. Tollen, then concluded, "I am one of the proud officers to have come from Kalkulta today just because of my meeting with these three amazing personalities. I may have never seen the land of gold, but from the information I have obtained from these three personalities, I can feel like someone who had been there. Look, this gold mansion represents the tip of the iceberg, comparing and considering what is obtainable from inside that land." Mrs. Tollen replied, "Well, Mr. Officer, this is a clear indication that there is nothing impossible with the creator.
I would never have recognized these three if not for the fact that I am meeting them in my own house or property. They are adults and completely changed from my three young children who went missing thirty-plus years ago. Coming to even think that my children had gone missing in that land of gold was the last thought to have crossed my mind. To me, all these painful years of having to live with the thoughts of my missing children, the land of gold was a fictitious and unreal place to me.
But here I am today sitting with my Charley, Pete, and Jenny, knowing very well that they found the land of gold and not only that, but they entered that place and came out alive eventually. If Mr. Tollen was here today to have seen this day, I am certain he would have been the proud father of these three amazing Tollens. Here I am sitting with my three children again; it's just an unbelievable eventuality for me." She then turned and looked at Mary, saying, "Mary dear, these are your three siblings I had told you about after your Papa died in that accident." They all burst into tears again, crying together. Pete stood up and said, "Come on, everyone, these tears are no longer tears of sorrow but joy." As he was speaking, the receptionist came in with four waitresses carrying assorted food, snacks, and drinks, which they set in front of everyone on the table.
Charley said, "Come on, everyone, let's eat, enjoy, and please remember we have guests waiting downstairs to attend to." The receptionist left the room with the waitresses, shutting the door behind them. Pete took the responsibility of serving his mother and sister Mary. As they ate and continued talking, Mary decided to ask, "Please, you three heroes of the land of gold, kindly tell me how you got into that place and how you escaped." Charley, Pete, and Jenny started laughing. Pete offered to tell the whole tale to Mary and their mother while they all ate. Mrs. Tollen added, "Pete, you know Mary is your lookalike, and she always reminded me of you, my dear son." Pete continued his tale about their ordeals in the land of gold, saying, "So, Mom, after we had left the house that fateful day, we had walked far and deep into the forest around the mountains along the path leading to Kalkulta city. Then we came across a very old range of walls that seemed to be surrounding the land of gold.
At first, we could not see the land of gold until we came across a warning sign that had the message saying, 'Danger zone, don't enter, please.' We assumed this was just a threat, so we decided to enter the path with these old walls on each side. Charley had gone to study the golden paintings on the walls a distance from the huge golden gates with massive statues on them. While Jenny and I decided to approach these big gates made of solid and pure gold, at this point, we could clearly see into the land of gold. It glowed so bright, coupled with all the golden statues and paintings of different strange and dangerous creatures, the land was calling for us.
A few minutes after we had entered the gates, Jenny and I heard Charley calling for help while he kept screaming at the same time. Jenny and I decided to return quickly outside the gates to help Charley, but when we had crossed the bridge leading to where he had strayed into, we saw a majority of these painted creatures on the walls and statues had all come alive, and they were heading directly towards Jenny and me. From where we had been standing, we could see how Charley had been attacked and killed by these evil creatures; suddenly after he died, his body had metamorphosed into a statue similar to the one we had met in the land of gold.
So I quickly told Jenny we should run back into the gates and have it shut behind us before the creatures would reach us. We ran so fast while these strange-looking snakes, crocodiles, and very ugly-looking creatures came after us, quickly shutting the gates behind us. Jenny and I decided to sit on some steps in front of a veranda. Here we cried and kept contemplating what we could do to escape from these creatures.
While we talked and argued, I noticed some holes in those old ranges of walls surrounding the land of gold. As anticipated, some of these creatures were slipping in through these holes into the land of gold and coming towards us. I quickly noticed arrows of black, red, blue, yellow, and other colored indicators on the different entrances with passages or corridors leading into several chambers of gold built around the land of gold. These entrances had pathways, passages, and corridors that interlinked each golden chamber in their multitudes within the land of gold. We chose to follow an arrow indicator painted black leading into a golden chamber. This entrance had a passage or corridor with excess golden obstacles littered all over the golden tiles on the floor. In most cases, while running through these corridors, we would have to jump, push, or dodge some of these obstacles on our way.
As we kept running through these paths provided by the entrances, we discovered we had been going deep into the land of gold without even knowing. Likewise, we had several of these evil creatures following behind us on a number of occasions. Jenny decided to chip ina little comment, saying, "Mom, we met a gentleman who Pete had touched his statue, he came back alive from his statue form and became a guide to me and Pete. He told us so many secrets about the land before he committed suicide. His name was Pauli, but Pete and I called him Uncle Pauli. On many occasions, he would discourage Pete and me from making any attempt of escaping out of the land of gold.
Uncle Pauli had been brought into the land alongside his mother and father when he was only fourteen years old. Fifty years later, he died after being attacked by the creatures in the land of gold. We met him after Pete and I had spent about eleven years. He had remained a statue for two hundred years before Pete had touched him and he came back alive. This experience had given us the courage that we needed to escape and even save Charley, who had been killed by the creatures of the land. And he, Charley, was also turned into a statue." Jenny ended her story.
The room was filled with a remarkable silence, as no one would say a word. They had all been shocked by the mysterious and almost unbelievable stories Pete and Jenny had told them about their ordeal in the land of gold. Mrs. Tollen stood up after their meal and said, "Well, today I know there is a God who created all things, and I can see his power working in the lives of all he had created. Who would ever believe the three of you would enter into that hell of a place, and today here you are talking to me again after all these long, painful years? Indeed, not how we start matters, but how we finish the race and journey of life." The officer sitting commented.
Then Charley insisted that the discussion be postponed for another day, since they had a lot of guests downstairs to attend to as the dinner party continued. Mrs. Tolen and Mary had been taken to a room where they could rest if needed. While Charley, Pete, and Jenny went downstairs to meet their guests who had come from different places within Zinatano, the dinner party was graced by very wealthy people from various walks of life. Mary left her mom resting in her golden room to go downstairs and join Charley, Pete, and Jenny, who were busy answering one question after another from their
guests. The gold mansion was indeed a piece of beauty to behold; every room was illuminated by golden rays reflected from the lightning lamps around the mansion. Mary gradually found her way to where her brother Pete was busy talking with some guests at a round table; she excused her way through and sat next to Pete. "Hi Mary," Pete said, "you're welcome. Please meet my good friends Dr. Jeremat, Dr. Zeus, Mr. Calclus, Mr. Matrus, Mrs. Kitanak, young Laprose the scientist," and then he continued his discussion.
Mary later made her interlude after touching Pete and asking, "Hey Pete, can you please tell me how these gold bars you talked about appear in your room?" Pete explained, "Well, after we escaped from the land of gold, the officer we had met to assist us because nobody wanted to give us any aid. Not anyone we asked for directions would give us an answer; many people thought the three of us had gone insane. Actually, we never knew how we really looked except for the reflection of golden rays emanating from our image which would often cast on those gold walls that served as mirrors in the land of gold. In connection with this, the officer later affirmed to us that he noticed we glowed or illuminated golden rays from our bodies; this reminds me of what happened every time we killed those creatures in the land.
Their golden color disappeared, leaving them bare to decompose like regular animals. Also, the leaves we used in the land for healing, found in the garden of herbs, were all golden. We never experienced day or night there! Mary, it was always gold, gold, gold everywhere, and we just had to get used to that kind of life. Jenny was always strong and brave; she was my strength in the land of gold and gave me the courage to make the move that allowed us to escape. Several times we attempted but would fail because of those ugly, evil creatures that were all out to kill us. Well, the gold bars are formed overnight while we are all asleep, and from what we had learned about the land of gold before entering that place.
We would be the richest men in the world if we succeeded in escaping outside after entering. And this was why many statues of people we saw there are of those who came to find their riches, wealth, fame, or power. Uncle Pauli told us that some people are allowed into the land and also to go out at their will; however, the gods of the land had chosen these groups of people around the world as their agents. They initiate them and empower them with gold to become very rich, and then they would in turn cast spells on families who were destined or selected to enter into the land and also come out. These families are neither aware of this arrangement by God, nor are they aware that they were destined to be tested and see if they could persevere and finally learn the secrets of the land before they would escape outside.
The gods of the land never want these chosen families or their children to escape once they have been lured to enter the land. Often, poverty, suffering, hardship, or life's challenges lead them to quest for the land of gold. It is believed that even in Zinatano, such people once existed, who have been initiated into the cult and secret of the land and are living here in Zinatano to this day. And I want to believe that such persons would likely be responsible for our desire, the three of us, to enter the land after we found those old walls. I can only tell you one thing, Mary: these gold bars, all of them, are ours.
They belong to the Tolen generations to come into this world; we are now the richest people in Zinatano city and possibly the whole world. Soon, the whole world would hear about us and how we used our philanthropic gestures to help the poor, widows, and orphans. 'Oh Pete, how I wished papa was alive to see this day,' Mary said. She continued, 'Now we are all professionals and likewise very rich and famous, so I would like to work with you on all your projects here in Zinatano and elsewhere.' Then she hugged Pete and gave him a peck on his cheek. His round table friends all burst into laughter and said, 'Dr. Pete, you should think about getting married soon, you know?'