The Chronicles of Ether Drive

  Chapter 3 On the living room carpet, Sirocco, who was usually so bursting with energy, lay like a marathon runner who had just crossed the finish line. “You know, Aeolus, my stomach thinks someone slit my throat and it’s screaming for help, but I don’t even have the strength to eat.” “How come, shorty? Where have you guys been putting up flyers?” Mistral asked. “Eveeeerywhere! Miss Remi is on every single pole... double-time.” “What do you mean? How am I double-time?” Remi whispered, as if terrified the humans might hear her. “On one side, the missing successful writer, and on the other, the found purebred Angora cat...” “Mon Dieu! Somebody pinch me!” Mistral felt utterly drained himself, even though he hadn’t left the house. After the humans left to post the flyers, the fur-balls left at home tried to take advantage of the writer’s cell phone, but... it was dead. Now, another “Mission Impossible” was needed to charge the phone’s battery without the grownups noticing, and without...

   Chapter 2 “Ma chérie, my conscience is nagging me...” “Why, Mistral? Because you didn’t become friends with me back when I was still a woman?” “That too, but if my stomach hadn’t been so loud, if I hadn’t asked for food, if...” Sirocco, the little ginger, looked at the two cats who were bigger than him, and since “loylity” was something he was learning more and more each day, he timidly began to apologize. “Yeah, but if I hadn’t played with that ‘bizz-bizz’ thing in the yard, if it hadn’t gotten stuck up in that ‘mayonnaise’ tree...” “Japanese, kiddo, Japanese. The elegance of a Japanese cherry tree has absolutely nothing to do with mayonnaise, Sirocco.” “But someone would have thought that necklace, collar, or whatever it is, has magical powers,” Aeolus sighed from under the silk fringes of Mistral’s pillow. “We checked that day. The original is in the Cairo museum, under strict guard.” “Something doesn’t add up here. It’s impossible for it to be a replica in Cairo, under....

 Chapter 1   Cats Can’t Be Tamed Either The morning of June 22nd was far from ordinary for the House of the Winds, and by no means was it quiet. Anemo came downstairs groggy, disheveled, and at an unusually early hour for a writer who mostly worked through the night. First on the list was his daily coffee—pink salt and whipped cream—but as he passed through the kitchen on his way to the press, he noticed that alongside his two cats' bowls, three little animals were now lined up instead of two. Next to Mistral and Sirocco stood a white cat, a Turkish Angora (most likely), with piercing blue eyes. “Are you still here, kitty? I feel bad for you, but I promise I’ll find your family. Let me take a photo! I’m sure your people are looking for you!” he said. Then, grabbing his phone, he addressed the toms, waving his free hand as if directing traffic.  “Come on, boys, let me get a photo of 'The Duchess' so I can post it in the groups... maybe we’ll find her home.” “Quel idio...

  EPILOGUE: The Summer Solstice More than a month had passed since the Great Collective Grounding, and Anemo had succeeded in publishing The Chronicles of Ether Drive. He had even held several book-signing sessions with children who had become, overnight, fervent fans of the writer and the furry inhabitants of the House of Winds. The evening I am speaking of was no ordinary one; it was the night of the summer solstice, June 21st. The light of the longest day of the year did not yield easily; it refused to make way for the dark, instead dissolving imperceptibly into a violet evening, seemingly woven with magic. In Anemo’s living room, everyone close to him had gathered: Fleur with her curly tuft of hair, Noel alongside Gill and Jim, Aura and Simoon, Remi Storm, and, of course, Mr. Arbalest—officially known as Archibald Peter Stone. They were all prepared to watch the pilot episode of the animated series already streaming on Netmix.  The furry residents occupied a place of honor...

Chapter 20 The Great Grounding  Aeolus had vanished from among the white geraniums, but not entirely. He hadn't fled from the TIIIIII that was shattering the garden. He wasn't afraid of big words. He had gone on a mission... Agent 003.5. Half the size of James Bond. Twice as brave. With a license to press red buttons. He couldn't leave Anemo prisoner to that dreadful microphone, with all its feedback and his implausible, rambling, and... elucubrant speech. A prisoner of the burning spotlights. The audience held its breath. Daisy Queen had dropped her fan. Remi was biting her lips. Anemo wanted the earth to swallow him up, microphone and all, but he couldn't stop spouting "pearls." So, Aeolus said to himself: “Enough.” He slipped under Arbaest ‘s table. He sped past Daisy’s heels. He turned down the side aisle, past the green, black, and brown bins. There, hugging the wall of the house, the gray cabinet awaited him. “ESB Meter + Garden Circuits,” it read. The s...

 Chapter 19  Wednesday At exactly 5:00 PM, Aura’s house and garden were perfectly prepared for the "great televised event." The garden in particular, where the event was to take place, had been transformed into a small corner of paradise. The touch of Mrs. Gale—the neighborhood’s own Goddess Durga—was visible everywhere: from the elegant garden tables covered in fine, off-white washed linen, to the warm light emanating from rustic lanterns. The technical crew had blended into the landscape, becoming practically invisible, while the background music—a discreet guitar—recalled the hostess's love for fado. In a corner, under the blooming branches of a purple lilac bush, on a matching velvet cushion, Mistral and Sirocco—their fur freshly brushed, wearing starched white silk bow ties—were commentating alongside the omnipresent but eternally camouflaged Aeolus. He was just two steps away, tucked inside the wheelbarrow filled with trailing white geraniums, a true delight for the...

 Chapter 18 The Collar of the Two Skies “I’m so glad to see you, Dad! I can’t wait for you to tell me everything. Did you meet Noel? Your friend is as full of life as ever!” “Well said, son! Come, take your coffee, or better yet, let’s make one for him too and head over to Noel’s!” “Through the yard or the front door?” Anemo asked while preparing another mug of his “mummy-waking” potion. “Through the front door, like the civilized people we are, son. I can’t wait to see the look on his face!” Silence settled over Anemo’s kitchen, interrupted only by the buzz of a stray fly and Sirocco’s hurried breathing. The khaki backpack, left “to be tempted” by the table leg, was now their great challenge. “Now is the moment!” Mistral muttered, positioning himself strategically on the tiles. “Kiddo, show us what you fished out of the Professor’s ‘cave.’ But be careful, it’s an arfefact, not a chew toy!” Sirocco didn't hesitate. With a determined tug, he pulled out the Collar of the Two Skies. T...