**Cindy sits bolt upright with a start.
Early morning light filters through the white curtains, and Cindy
blinks at it through sleep-blurred eyes. With a groan she falls back
onto her mat**
LIBBY: (whispering) You awake too, girl?
CINDY: (rubbing her head) Ya. Between Carl snoring, Sheen talking in his sleep, and the three of them giggling upstairs, I might as well have not gone to sleep at all.
**The sound of muffled speech outside draws nearer, and Cindy flips over and covers her head with her pillow**
CINDY: No…Go away…
**April bursts through the door and stomps into the room**
APRIL: Time to wake up, everyone! Up! Up! Wake up!
CINDY: (sitting up, grouchily) Do you have to be so loud?
**Sheen pulls himself up and wipes his eyes. His hair is sticking up even more than usual**
SHEEN: Huh? Who the…
APRIL: Aurora wants to leave as soon as possible. Everyone else is already awake. We need to get moving. Somebody wake up Carl, and then get ready to go.
LIBBY: (yawning) You heard her, Sheen. Wake up Carl.
**Grumbling, Sheen rolls out of bed and stumbles over to Carl’s cot**
SHEEN: Yo, Carl! Wake up! HELLO!!!
**He shakes him, but Carl only snores louder**
SHEEN: OK, you asked for it!
**Sheen takes a few steps back, and then takes a running jump right onto Carl. Carl’s eyes snap open and he begins to screech**
CARL: (freaking out) AHHH! MOMMY! Help! Help! They got me again! They got me! They….
SHEEN: Chill out, dude. It’s just me.
CARL: (in a whiny voice) That wasn’t very nice! You really scared me.
CINDY: (looking around) Hey April…where’s Jimmy?
APRIL: He is already awake. I believe he is back on the Desperado preparing for our departure.
CINDY: Oh…
**As April heads back outside, a large suitcase crashes down the stairs and comes to a rest at the foot of Carl’s bed**
SHEEN: What the…
**Future Libby comes rushing down the stairs, her arms laden with countless bags and suitcases**
FUTURE LIBBY: Oh no! That bag had my third set of hair ties in it! I can’t lose those!
**Aurora follows behind her, looking rather exasperated**
AURORA: Libby, there is no way that you need fourteen suitcases. This is ridiculous! No woman needs to bring THAT many things with her!
FUTURE LIBBY: But what about all my outfits and shoes? And my jewelry? And what about my favorite books…and my favorite paintings? Girl, how can I go anywhere without my meditation candles or my pressed chrysanthemums? They bring good luck! And did I mention my shoes?
AURORA: Shoes, yes. But not EVERY single pair of shoes you own! You must have four bags filled with nothing but shoes! We’re going to war, Libby, not a Hollywood premiere. You need to pack a bit lighter.
**With a sigh Future Libby gathers up her bags and returns to her room**
AURORA: (trailing after her) I’m not letting you leave until you have three suitcases or less, you got it? Three!
**Sun-Hi bursts through the door, carrying a tray of rice, vegetables, and various other foods**
SUN-HI: (smiling) Time for breakfast!
**She sets it out on the table, and as the kids eat, a dejected looking Future Libby reappears in the stairwell, this time carrying three bags. Aurora breezes past her, grabbing one of the bags on the way**
AURORA: Let’s hurry it up, you guys. I…
**Aurora’s wrist communicator begins to blink, and April’s voice sounds from the other end**
APRIL: Aurora, I am on the ship. Last night we received a communication from the Gorlock High Council. You must come listen to this…it is very important.
AURORA: Uh-oh. Guys, forget breakfast. We’re leaving now.
**Carl shoves several more fistfuls of food into his mouth before being forcibly tugged away by the others. They scramble out of the house and head towards the ship, Aurora in the lead. Future Libby casts a lingering glance behind her as Shangri Llama slowly slips away behind them**
FUTURE LIBBY: (sadly) I wonder where all the monks are? I thought they’d at least say goodbye!
CINDY: (pointing ahead) Uhh…does that answer your question?
**Future Libby peers ahead into the clearing where the Desperado is waiting. The entire population of Shangri Llama has gathered around the ship**
FUTURE LIBBY: Chen-Yu! Sun-Hi! Mei! Quan! You’re all here!
CHEN-YU: Surely you did not think that we would allow you to leave without properly seeing you off?
**He gives a deep bow, and Libby returns it gracefully. April sticks her head out of the ship and yells to Aurora**
APRIL: Are you coming or what? We need to hurry!
CHEN-YU: Young alien woman! Please, join us outside. We cannot let you leave without first giving you all an important gift.
APRIL: A gift? What sort of a gift?
CHEN-YU: Please, come down and join us. I promise, this won’t take long.
**April reluctantly walks down the rampway, and Jimmy follows from behind a moment later**
MEI: If the three of you would please come forward…
**Aurora, Future Libby, and April step forward, and Jimmy joins the other kids. Aurora crosses her arms and taps her foot impatiently as April fiddles with her helmet. Only Future Libby seems interested in what the monks have to say**
CHEN-YU: We have come to give you the most valuable gift of all…the gift of knowledge.
CINDY: Haha! “Gift of knowledge”? You’re kidding, right? That’s got to be the corniest thing I’ve heard in awhile.
CHEN-YU: Not just any knowledge. This kind of knowledge is something we all crave, but are rarely given…knowledge of the future.
AURORA: What…are you gonna give us a fortune teller or something?
**April and Aurora both laugh at this, but stop a moment later when a white, hooded figure steps out from behind the other monks. A large silver pendant hangs around her neck, and she holds a strange, twisted staff in one hand. A glowing orange stone rests atop the staff**
CHEN-YU: This is Tuyen, the dreamer for our people. Her powers of foresight are unrivaled, even among all the generations of seers who came before her. She dwells in solitude in the high mountains, but last night she came to us with news that she had had a dream…a very important dream.
**Tuyen pulls back her spotless white hood, revealing a countenance of terrible beauty. The women stare at her in dazzled silence. Her long dark hair is fastened in a tight bun, with several strands hanging free around her face. Her bizarre, vacant orange eyes stare absently into space, the colors changing constantly like dancing flame. When she speaks, her voice seems to echo in their minds, and it is only after watching her for several moments that they realize she is blind**
TUYEN: Three dreams, three women, three futures.
**Tuyen edges up to Aurora and touches a lock of her hair**
TUYEN: (running her fingers through her ponytail) I will begin with you, child.
**Tuyen leans forward and wraps her arms around Aurora, bringing her face to within inches of hers. Aurora tenses up as the other woman leans against her**
AURORA: Umm…what is she doing?!
CHEN-YU: Shh! She is looking into your heart. She cannot see in the conventional sense, but she has other abilities that make up for it. Now please, do not speak.
**Tuyen’s orange eyes blaze like flame as she stares fixedly into Aurora’s green ones. At last she relaxes her grip on the other woman and rests her head on her shoulder**
TUYEN: I can barely hear your heart, Aurora. It speaks very softly, for you have not listened to it in a long, long time.
AURORA: What are you talking about, and how do you know my name?
TUYEN: (playing with Aurora’s hair) I know everything about you…about your past...and about your future.
AURORA: (edging away) You’re…you’re going to tell me my future?
TUYEN: No, child. That cannot be done. But I can give you some insight that might help you. When I dreamed of you, I saw in your hand a knife blade. Like the knife, you are sharp…cold…alluring. You must be very careful in the coming days, or you will destroy yourself and everyone you care about with this knife. You have an important destiny, Aurora, but you must not let yourself to be blinded by the past. Only when you face your past will you be able to see your future. Your gift is intelligence…use it well, but don’t let it use you.
**Tuyen releases Aurora and moves onto Future Libby. She takes Future Libby’s hands in her own and gazes down at them**
TUYEN: Dear heart, when I dreamed of you, I saw an ember. You are like that ember…you are the warmth that keeps the fires burning. You will very soon recover something that you have lost, but when the time comes, you must not allow yourself to feel any fear. To feel fear would mean the destruction of all you care about. Only by remaining steadfast in the face of terror will be able to save the people you love. Your gift is stability…but be careful, for it is the rigid tree that first snaps in the wind.
**Tuyen approaches April last, and takes her face in her hands**
TUYEN: Sister, fate is not kind to you. When I dreamed of you, I saw you sinking into a black pool. You will soon lose something that is very dear to you, but you must not allow this loss to destroy you. Only by struggling with all your might will you be able to save yourself. Your gift is strength, and you will need all of it in the coming days.
**Tuyen steps backward, her orange eyes once again vacant, focused on nothing**
TUYEN: I sincerely wish all of you the best of luck. I hope to see you again, Libby. Perhaps I will return to Shangri Llama in the future.
**She pulls her hood over her eyes, and without saying another word, turns and walks away. She grows smaller and smaller, until she is nothing but a shadow amongst the trees leading into the mountains**
CHEN-YU: You had best be going now.
Peace to you, my brothers and sisters, and may you all find what you
seek on your journey.
