Chapter 2 The Spirit of the Blue Bird When Dina opened her eyes, she knew right away that it was late, because her mom was rattling with the dishes, placing them on the table for dinner. It was probably around seven in the evening. Dina sat up, took off a soft blanket. Nicklis was gone, and it suddenly made her sad. She thought he was here, next to her all this time, but apparently not… She could hear Igor’s happy voice from the kitchen. He was telling Olga all he learned while attending a conference today. It was about all the different kinds of orchids. From his exclamations Dina learned…

Chapter 8 The Power of a Song Orlina had just finished her classes and walked outside, squinting in the sun. She cheerfully greeted her brother and friends and froze, because behind them stood Larenon, tall and strong. “What’re you doing here? I thought, I saw you being kicked out of here first thing in the morning,” said Orlina in a strict voice. “I wanted to see someone, so needed to return,” answered Larenon in a rather calm tone. Now he surely did not look as impudent as last time in the classroom. “Whom?” asked Orlina. “Nicklis,” explained Larenon. “But I would not like to talk to him here, only outside…