Dorothy grew fond of each man. She found all three of them handsome in his own unique way. Icarus was powerful, muscular and with tumbling golden hair. Icarus shaved his bushy beard off and looked much younger and more handsome. Dorothy loved his golden mane. Stannum was laid back, although quick and sharp eyed. He could see for miles. She loved his eyes. Star Corn was clever and had the knowledge of the land. She loved his laughter.
Each night, Dorothy found herself drawn to one man in particular: Star Corn one night. Stannum another night. Icarus another. Icarus was authoritive but at the same time he was gentle with her. Stannum was a soldier and a knight. Yet he was romantic also. Star Corn was wild but sweet natured.
Dorothy was overcome by fatigue and sickness. She missed her aunt Emerald, but soon did not miss Kansas very much. The new world was her home, whatever and whereever this place is.
"What do you call this land? Is it earth?" she asked while thy ate meat from a bone.
"This is the land of the red path," Star Corn said, which she knew.
"It's inner land between Olympia." Stannum replied, being confusing as ever.
"We're in Olympus, Dorothy." Icarus said. "You might call it something else. Nod land. Fairyland. But this has always been Olympus. It's a continent."
"Atlantis or Olympus?" she asked.
"Olympus," Stannum replied.
"Atlantis was destroyed," answered Icarus.
She'd heard of Olympus, the dwelling of gods, heroic people and magical beings. Thi place never featured on the maps. It was never mentioned at school. Her teachers said Olympus didn't exist.
She had tons of questions. It poured out from her heart and her mouth, and she noticed that she could talk to these men now. Before, long ago, she didn't trust any of them. Being with each man closely made her feel trusting of them. They were her protectors and not her jailors. They made sure she was never harmed by anything. When she passed out in the sweltering heat, they cared for her.
They soon arrived to a beautiful oasis nirvana with orchards, apples of red, green, gold and blue colours. Pretty women in flowing white dresses were everywhere carrying baskets of fruits, plants, stalks, weeds, vegetables, flowers, mushrooms, shells, nuts, beans, rice and sticks. There were palaces of pastel pink and blue shades riding from the luscious green woods. Behind the forested city was a green hill with a tumbling waterfall, spraying foam and rainbows.
"This must be Olympia red?" Icarus said but he wasn't sure.
"No, Icarus. Olympia red was back there with all the monkey statues," Star Corn reminded him.
"This is Olympia green!" Stannum told them all. "It says there!"
He pointed at a shining green rock with golden letters:
Ολυμπία πράσινος
Translated as "Olympia Green".
A woman in a green, white and pink gown of sparkling gems appeared on top of the white veined steps. Her hair was a soft caramel colour with tiny green gemstones. Her skin was brown. Her eyes were green.
"Hello and welcome to Olympia Green," she smiled sweetly. "I'm the witch of the East. My name is princess Calliope. You will find fresh cold drinks and food inside the villa if you want some.All of you deserve a rest. The beautiful wolf can come too.We love animals here."
The place was beautiful and friendly. No one made fun of her here. It was full of gorgeous women and men, not just playing musical instruments. They worked also, making things, cutting wood, sawing, hammering, smithing, grooming horses and feeding countless birds and animals.
Everyone seemed too busy to wonder about her and her friends.
She told princess Calliope about her journey and how she wanted to see her aunt again.
"I have the thing for you," Callioppe went over to one of the pretty girls, spoke to her, and the girl fluttered up the stairs like a fairy. In moments she returned with a velvet pink cushion with tassels. She gave the cushion to Calliope. Calliope put the cushion in front of Dorothy. On top of the cushion was a pair of fantastic looking shoes, covered in jewels and flowers.
"Put these shoes on, and they'll help you," Calliope said.
Dorothy pulled off her boots and realised how her feet hurt so much. Then she slipped on the new shoes and they felt soft and comfortable. Her head spun. Her vision wobbled. It felt like being on an airplane. She grabbed onto something to stop herself falling. The men (Icarus, Star Corn and Stannum) helped her on a chair and gave her some drink.
"She's passing out and it's time that she's transported home by the crystal shoes," Calliope said.
"But we've not had a chance to say goodbye to her!" Star Corn said and the others agreed.
Their voices trailed off, and Dorothy opened her eyes to see a round window with a jade disk. The round window was a bcycle wheel, turning and turning in the breeze. The jade disk was a green frisbee, that got stuck in the wheel. Dorothy sat up. She looked around her, and found just emptiness. No palace. No Calliope or her friends. Everyone was gone. Totem was gone. She saw the rubble of houses that was once her old neighbourhood. There had been another tornado and she arrived here, strangely enough just as the tornado went away.
There were upturned cars and trucks. A plane whizzed by. It was kansas.
She was home. But a part of her was sad. She made herself another home somewhere else. She was barefooted and missing time.
"There she is! Dorothy!" cried aunt Emerald and others who were looking for her.
Dorothy had been missing for weeks. She vanished when the tornado hit the town, and weeks later another tornado hit the same town but this time Dorothy was returned. It had to have all been a dream. Was it?
A trip to the doctors a month later confirmed that what happeend to her wasn't a dream. It was real. She'd spent weeks in Olympia. She touched her belly and hoped for the future,wishing that no one would be horrible. Aunt Emerald was a great person and Uncle Henry will be returning home soon. They wouldn't frown upon her for getting with child with a man not identified in this world. She wondered who her unborn child's father was out of her three mysterious handsome friends. Was it Icarus the king? Stannum the knight? Star Corn of the land? Would she ever see them again?
A rainbow formed in the sky. It answered her question because the colour green of the rainbow was strongest colour of all. It was the way the three men could say hello to her from Olympus.
The End
This story was written by me and it's loosely based on the "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" adventures by L. Frank Baum.
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