Once upon a time, there was a brother and sister named Brady and Everly.
Their family was on vacation in the mountains, staying in a cabin surrounded by tall pines and winding trails.
And one afternoon, while their parents sat on the porch reading Brady and Everly decided to explore.
Brady said to Everly, come on, let's see what's out there.
And Everly said, we're not supposed to go too far.
But Brady grinned.
Well, we'll just go far enough to find something cool.
So the two of them set off down a narrow path that dipped into the forest.
Sunlight spilled through the branches, and Everly picked up a stick and swished it through the tall grass as they walked.
And after a while, the trees started to open up.
And they both stopped in their tracks when they saw a lake.
And the lake was quiet and round like a giant silver coin resting in the earth.
And the first thing they noticed was something sitting alongside the shoreline.
And as they walked closer, they realized it was an old wooden rowboat.
It was half hidden in the weeds, and it looked like it had been sitting there for a long time.
Whoa, Brady said.
Check out that boat.
It's just sitting there.
Maybe it belongs to someone, Everly whispered.
Brady grinned and said well, let's see if it works.
As he walked up to the rowboat and he gave it a push.
And, to their surprise, it floated pretty easily and it was rocking back and forth on the water as if it had been waiting just for them.
Let's go out, Brady said as he climbed in.
Everly hesitated, but then carefully climbed in the boat, balancing as it swayed back and forth, and together they both took the oars and started paddling out into the lake.
As the ripples spread across the smooth surface of the water, it was so peaceful until brady leaned over the edge and froze everly.
He whispered, look.
And so she leaned over beside him, and then she saw it too.
There was a strange glow far below, at the very bottom of the lake.
It wasn't a trick of the sunlight.
It was something else.
Something shining from deep down where no light should be.
What is that?
She asked.
Brady sat there quietly for a moment.
And then he said, I don't know, but I'm going to go find out.
And Everly said, wait, what?
You're going to swim down there?
Don't do it.
You'll drown.
I won't drown, Brady said.
You know I'm a good swimmer.
Everly grabbed his arm.
Brady, please.
It's too deep.
It's too scary.
But Brady had already kicked off his shoes and was standing at the water's edge.
Stay here, he said.
I'll be right back.
Brady, wait.
But he had already taken a deep breath and dove headfirst off the boat into the lake.
Everly looked over the edge of the boat as he disappeared beneath the surface and the water rippled as she watched Brady go deeper and get closer to whatever was glowing down at the bottom of that lake.
And as Brady swam deeper, his lungs started to ache and his ears were starting to pop.
But the light was getting closer as he swam deeper.
And when he finally reached the bottom, he couldn't believe what he found.
And when he reached out to touch it, he suddenly realized what it was.
And it was the last thing he ever expected to find in a place like this, and so brady grabbed it and started swimming to the surface as fast as he could, until he burst out of the water gasping for air, everly leaned over the rowboat as she nearly tipped it over, trying to grab his arm.
Are you okay?
She cried.
Did you find it?
What was glowing down there?
Brady was gasping and coughing.
He had never held his breath for that long before.
And when he could finally breathe again, he slowly opened his fist.
And there dripping with water, gleaming in the sunlight, were two of the most beautiful rings they had ever seen.
Everly said, Are those what I think they are?
But before Brady could answer, both kids turned their heads toward the shore because they noticed there was a tall figure standing there still watching them.
Uh brady, i don't think we're alone.
Both kids grabbed an oar and they started slowly rowing back to the shore.
They both wanted out of that boat, but They weren't sure if they wanted to meet whoever or whatever was waiting for them back on the shore.
And as soon as they reached land, the figure stepped out from behind the tree.
He looked ragged and strange, like he had wandered straight out of another world.
His trench coat was long and patched and his eyes darted quickly between Brady Everly and the rings in Brady's hand.
Hey there, the man said with a crooked grin.
Have either of you kids seen two golden sparkly rings anywhere around here?
I lost them just earlier today when I was out here last week.
Brady blinked.
Wait, so was it earlier today or was it last week?
Uh, it was, uh...
Both.
Yeah, it was earlier today, but it feels like I've been looking for it all week.
Yeah, yeah, that's what it is.
Brady and Everly looked at each other.
They didn't trust this guy one bit, and they both knew exactly what to do.
They ran.
Hey, the man shouted, his voice echoing through the trees you better get back here, i'm gonna get you little thieves.
Those rings are mine.
The sound of his footsteps pounded after them as everly and brady sprinted down the trail with their hearts racing, but the further they ran, the quieter the shouts in the footsteps became.
And finally, they found what looked like an old abandoned cabin in the woods.
They slammed the door and leaned against it, gasping for breath.
Everly's hands were shaking.
What do we do now?
What if he finds us in here?
Brady tightened his grip on the rings.
I don't think he will, but even if he does.
Then they heard a creaking sound coming from inside the cabin.
And they quickly turned and they saw a note.
Someone had written something on a piece of paper and placed it right on the windowsill.
So Brady went and picked it up and opened it and read it out loud.
It said, the rings aren't toys, they're invitations?
What?
Everly said.
Who wrote that?
And how do they know about the rings?
Wait, Brady said.
It says something else at the bottom here.
It says, try them on and let the fun begin?
So Everly and Brady looked at each other and they both put on the rings.
And they were surprised to find that they both fit them perfectly.
Wow, I didn't realize these would fit so well, said Everly.
It's like they're made for our hands.
And then Brady took his ring off and noticed there was some kind of inscription on his ring.
Hey, Everly, my ring says something on it.
And he walked back to the window where there was some sunlight, and he saw his name Brady, etched perfectly on the inside of the ring.
What?
My ring has my name on it, Brady said.
And then Everly took hers off and saw that her name was also engraved on hers.
Whoa, I don't know what's going on here, but this afternoon has been weird enough.
Let's go home, Everly said.
So they started walking back to the cabin.
And when they were about halfway there, they heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind.
They turned to look and they saw the same strange figure that had been chasing them through the woods just a few minutes earlier.
This is the part where you two kids give me those rings.
And then just as he reached out to grab Everly's arm, Brady reached out and said, stop.
And just like that, The man froze in his tracks as stiff as a statue as the kids ran back to their cabin.
But when they finally got home, it was late.
The sun had already set and it was almost pitch black outside.
They couldn't even see where anything was.
It's too dark, Everly said.
We need light.
And then instantly, the back and front porch lights turned on so they could see exactly where to go.
Huh, Everly said.
That was weird.
But when they got to the front door, it was locked.
They couldn't get in.
Brady said, oh, man, what are we going to do now?
This door needs to unlock or we're going to be stuck out here all night.
And just like that, the door unlocked by itself.
It just opened right up for him.
Brady and Everly looked at each other and started to realize an interesting pattern.
Anytime they said or wanted anything, all they had to do was say it, and it would happen.
Because these weren't just a couple of shiny rings that happened to fit their fingers perfectly.
When they wore these rings, they could command anything, and it would happen.
But that's a story for another day.
Thank you.
