The Lost City of Poompol Vuh

CHAPTER ONE

TIME TO TRAVEL

Rain God texted on his Blackberry Pearl to find out the weather in Galapagos Island, while Wind God blew balloons to strengthen his already powerful lungs. They were all huddled together, their eyes glued onto a twelve year old Mexican girl who strutted about in her school in New York. Everyone in heaven could hear her voice clearly- she was bragging to her classmates about how she had visited Egypt and Siberia with her parents on an expedition. That girl, whose name was Marissa Durante, went on and on about reasons why she was better than the rest of her classmates. After listening to that uncomfortable conversation, the gods looked at each other and made a unanimous decision to teach Marissa a lesson.
Meanwhile, down on Earth, Marissa had just received some extremely exciting news. Her parents had told her that they were travelling to Ganitos, an island just off the coast of Haiti, almost in the center of the Bermuda triangle. Since Marissa’s parents were archeologists, they were planning to study some famous landmarks in Ganitos such as the Temple of the 1000 Gems and the Temple of Poompol Vuh. Marissa packed all her clothes and made sure that her iPod, Nikon camera, and cell phone were in her bag. Then, they were off the day after.
Southwest Airlines was luxurious. However, travelling in the island was another story. The only mode of transportation available for moving through the narrow trails was on donkeys. The terrain was dotted with poison oak and Venus fly traps that sprung out of the ground like dirty weeds. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Marissa and her family finally reached the tiny village of Allokee, half way to their final destination.
Allokee was an old but charming little village. As soon as the family’s parade entered the village, peddlers began to greet them by showing off the unique goods they sold. Dirty, care-free children darted through the streets wearing vividly colored ponchos and brightly painted hats. They waved and stared at Marissa. She simply tossed her head and inched closer to her mom not wanting to be near the dirty “things.” They passed through the village until they reached an adobe covered inn. It looked like an old-fashioned Mexican cottage. Marissa stepped inside and was welcomed by a calming aroma of fresh meat stew. The aroma reminded her of days in her grandma’s home in Cancun.
For dinner, Marissa’s family dined at a damp, rowdy tavern, where they ordered fire-roasted cod served with papaya dressing, and a fresh loaf of bread with a platter of refreshing dips. For dessert, they gobbled coconut flan with pineapple puree. Marissa was in pure paradise. Just as she was about to use the restroom, Marissa heard an old man mumbling to a group of tourists. Immediately, Marissa sat back down and honed her ears. “There is such a thing as the Lost City of Poompol Vuh. It is an actual city that disappeared in 1999B.C. for some unknown reason. Four of my friends went looking for it, and only one of them returned. The one who returned lost his speech forever. None of their bodies were found. They disappeared somewhere near this village, I believe. I would advise not to go looking for it. You do not want to lose your life as well.” Marissa’s dainty ears pricked up and she moved a little closer to the old man. Unfortunately, he had switched to another topic. After hearing this new piece of information, Marissa decided that she was going to look for the lost city herself, but not the next morning-tonight.
 
CHAPTER TWO

POOMPOL VUH

In Poompol Vuh, Queen Laliandra hid her face in her fluffy, vibrant orange pillows which were wet with tears. Her doting parents had just passed away in an encounter with cannibals in Lakura Beach. Queen Laliandra missed her parents terribly and realized that she had the hefty job of ruling the entire kingdom by herself now. Overcome by her sudden responsibility, Queen Laliandra decided that she would run away from her kingdom. She stuffed her favorite warm cloak in a shoulder bag, climbed out of the window, down a drain pipe, and into the dark forest next to her castle. The next morning, the servants came in to greet the queen and found her bed empty. After the search party came back empty handed, the kingdom collapsed into a sea of grief and sorrow not knowing who would rule the kingdom.
In the neighboring kingdom of Lountitza, King Lombre was studying one of his many maps as he stretched across his enormous bed. King Lombre was in the mood to expand his kingdom and was looking for lands to annex. His calculations showed that the City of Poompol Vuh, a neighboring kingdom that had lost their queen, had the most land to the west of river Matzelic. “Watch out Poompol Vuh,” King Lombre bellowed with a wicked gleam in his eye, “because the Lombre team is heading your way.”
Wind brushed against her cool cheeks, and leaves and fresh ferns tickled her bare legs. Marissa was strolling around in the dark forest, carrying nothing but a bag of OREOS and a flashlight. She was on her way to the Temple of Poompol Vuh. Marissa had sneakily tip-toed out of the inn without her parents knowing. Munching on an OREO, she drearily trudged through the wilderness, until she reached the Temple of Poompol Vuh. The gigantic silhouette loomed over her. Breathing rapidly, Marissa tiptoed into the colossal tower and was confounded with eerie silence. Suddenly, there were heavy drumbeats echoing in the walls around her, a group of altos were singing, and she was thrown down by an invisible force.
When Marissa woke up, a swarm of mosquitoes buzzed around her hoping for a drop of fresh blood. She slapped them away and got up silently, her heart pounding against her chest like a drum. Marissa realized that she was not in Ganitos anymore and found herself taller than she used to be, with chocolate colored hair instead of her usual black. She was dressed in royal robes which were in shades of red, gold, white, and blue. Around her waist, dangled a turquoise belt studded with black Majorca pearls, and her wrists were adorned with gold bracelets. Marissa looked stunningly gorgeous. However, this overwhelming change to her body did not make Marissa feel any better. “HELP!” Marissa shrieked with pure shock.
 
CHAPTER THREE

WELCOME HOME

Marissa heard a chorus of voices shouting “Welcome home Queen Laliandra!” She turned around and found herself face to face with two guards dressed in silver armor. Still utterly confused, Marissa stared at them, her eyes as wide as dinner saucers. Woken from her daze, Marissa shook herself with disbelief and allowed herself to be helped up.
“At your service, Queen Laliandra,” one of the guards mumbled. Marissa simply nodded. Although she was shocked at how she had become a queen, she was secretly happy about it and was visualizing how stunned her classmates would be to hear this.
As the two carried her, Marissa observed the landscape around her. It was dry and cracked. All of the plants were wilted and the only river was partially dried up. Diligent farmers tried to turn over the depressing soil with no avail. Sweat had drenched up their brows. For the first time in her life, something touched Marissa’s cold heart. Marissa was trapped in a tornado of confusion and shock. “What on earth am I doing here?” she thought. However, looking at the hopeful faces of the people around, a spark ignited within her and twelve year old Marissa solemnly made a decision that she would take over the throne as Queen Laliandra, and she would help the people of Poompol Vuh.
“You know, Queen Laliandra, we are glad to have you back . There is a war and famine going on here in Poompol Vuh. Prince Alejandros, your cousin has been ruling our kingdom since you disappeared. The country is in a state of great peril.
“OK, then,” Queen Laliandra replied hotly, “I will think of something to do.”
Back in the royal castle, the queen was welcomed by a large group of admirers who were joyous to have her back. Prince Alejandros was only happy to hand over his throne to Queen Laliandra. The Queen spent the rest of the evening with her set of advisors catching up on events she had missed during her absence.
A few weeks passed before Guard Uslu received news that enemies were planning an attack on Poompol Vuh. Queen Laliandra instructed Guard Uslu and Guard Aju to inform citizens of an impending war, provide men with arms and ammunition, and instruct the women and children to stay safe. As the queen of this land, Laliandra also had many animal friends here. The King of the Army of Red Ants was one of them. The stinging red ants were led by King Questozal, a large red spider. She had a bright idea to set off red ants on the enemies bright and early tomorrow.  

CHAPTER FOUR

ANT WARRIORS

Morning dawned creating a slight chill in Queen Laliandra’s bones. After a soothing breakfast of warm , sugar porridge, Queen Laliandra set off to the Ant Temple of Kalamazat. Once she reached her destination, the queen climbed up all of the one hundred and fifty steps until she reached the platform at the top, her chest heaving. A delicate, red web was strung across the two pillars one on each end of the platform. Spiders were lazing on the web, bustling around their beautiful, stringy home. When her thick heel smacked the foot of the marble platform all the spiders stopped what they were doing to turn and stare at her. A giant red arthropod, started to crawl towards her. Spiders scrambled about like leaves in a violent gust of wind as their king made his way through. He looked amused, but his face grew solemn when he saw the queen.
“Queen Laliandra, we meet again. Greetings. What brings you to our humble abode?” he questioned.
“Greetings, King Questozal. I have come to ask you for a favor. We understand that Lountitza is planning to attack us. Can I get your army’s support to lead the war against King Lombre?” The spider king nodded and scurried off on all eight legs to assemble his vast army of spiders and ants.
“Out of the way, child,” King Questozal demanded in a mellow voice.
“What?” Queen Laliandra questioned meekly.
He sighed. “Make a run for it,” he ordered his troops, “I do not want to waste any more of our time waiting.” The ants began to slowly march forward, surrounding the queen. Her face grew pale with horror and disgust as the ants crawled around her bare ankles. Suddenly they surged forward like a tsunami knocking her backward.
After the ants were set off, Queen Laliandra rushed to the castle where her troops were waiting. She gave the colonels the signal, and the troops streamed out of the castle gates. After hours of fighting, the battle was called to an end for that day. Neither army had made any headway. Disappointed, the queen ordered more troops to be ready for the battle tomorrow.
The next morning, the Queen and her three battalions were off to the war field again.
 
CHAPTER FIVE

STINKY BOMBS

Meanwhile, while everyone was at war, Cook Nala was in the kitchen making a filling for bombs. Nala opened her trusty cookbook and flipped through the pages until she reached an extremely yellow crinkled page. Her long, dirty fingernails searched the words for BOMB FILLING. “Ah ha!” she exclaimed with triumph. Searching through the pantry, Cook found all the necessary ingredients: rotten eggs, durian, old fish, and fresh dung from the elephants and owls from the courtyard, and rat urine mixed with liquor and oil, which was supposed to highly flammable and toxic. Cautiously, she scooped the stinky mixture using a ladle and dropped it into hollowed out coconut shells.
The guards hurled the bombs at the enemies with all their might. However, much to their disappointment, the bombs did not explode. Cook’s new recipe did not work. They just let off a stench-probably the worst stench in the world. Stinks of rotten eggs, urine, and dung filled the air. The absurd, disgusting stench did not stop the enemies. They charged forward and began attacking the fort. Queen Laliandra ran past the castle, leaving her army without help. She knew it was the wrong action to take, but she could not help it. “I am such a failure!” the queen thought to herself. She flung herself on the ground and wept, almost creating a river. “I wish I could summon spirits,” Queen Laliandra sobbed. 

CHAPTER SIX

SUMMONING SPIRITS

“We can help,” a grainy voice replied out of nowhere.
“Who…Who…Who is that?” Queen Laliandra questioned croakily.
A ghost-like head appeared out of nowhere. “I am the war goddess,” she murmured, “I will help you in one condition. You must build a temple of peace and promise me that you will not get into a war unless it is the last resort for peace.” Queen Laliandra nodded her head solemnly. War Goddess let out a low whistle. Other gods appeared out of thin air: Water God, Harvest Goddess, and Tornado God. With the instructions from the Queen, Tornado God started his funnel towards the enemies’ path and soon was sucking them up like ice cream. Harvest Goddess planted a wide field of corn before Poompol Vuh’s army. Then, Water God created a flood which drowned many people from Lountitza’s army. The corn that Harvest Goddess had planted absorbed the water so that Poompol Vuh’s army would not be harmed. Queen Laliandra had saved Poompol Vuh by summoning spirits. Lountitza’s weakened army fought until they finally surrendered. A defeated King Lombre rode towards Queen Laliandra on his noble steed with his head bent shamefully. King Lombre decided to make peace with the kingdom of Poompol Vuh. She also expressed her desire to construct the Temple of Peace. King Lombre was touched to hear this and they decided to build the temple together as a monument to honor the brave soldiers of Poompol Vuh and Lountitza.
The residents of Poompol Vuh cheered, and they carried Queen Laliandra to the castle dining hall. However, Queen Laliandra still had something at the back of her mind that was troubling her. She excused herself from the castle and dashed to the forest where she summoned the spirits again for the last time.
“What else, my child?” asked War Goddess with a smile as she appeared out of thin air.
The Queen hesitatingly replied, “We still have a famine in our kingdom. Winning the war does not solve that problem.” War Goddess nodded sympathetically and she let out another low whistle. Water God and Harvest Goddess appeared. They nodded to War Goddess and disappeared. In a few seconds, the queen could hear water rushing, and she could see the plants growing from the now fertile soil. The famine was over. Queen Laliandra thanked the spirits from the bottom of her heart and dashed back to palace, her heart as light as a lone feather swooping through the air.
 
CHAPTER SEVEN

VICTORY!

Dinner that night was a feast for the entire city of Poompol Vuh. Everyone wolfed down fresh roast beaver with tomato and corn salsa and lemon flavored duck with baked Portobello mushrooms dipped in hot sauce. That night, before she went to bed, Queen Laliandra reflected back on how the Spider King and all the citizens and guards helped her even after she had abandoned her kingdom and put the people in peril.
The City of Poompol Vuh was not “lost” anymore. The people of the legendary city had lost their glory and happiness to the wars and famine. Thanks to Queen Laliandra, the city regained its peace and prosperity.
A sudden light woke Marissa with a jolt. She found herself lying on a mattress with a thin sheet of cloth that protected her from the cold. This was nothing like what she slept in last night. Marissa peeked out of the window of the inn and realized she was back in Ganitos, with her parents. She could not help but feel a tingling sense of pure joy and happiness. However, Marissa realized that it was still dark. Had not even a minute passed since she disappeared inside the temple? She decided not to tell her parents about her heart-stopping experience. It was her adventure and her adventure alone. This was the start for a new beginning for a more humble and kinder Marissa. 
EPILOGUE

Every day, before their journey to Ganitos, Marissa’s parents prayed to the gods requesting them to help Marissa become a better person. Her lack of humility embarrassed them especially as she was growing older. The gods knew that they had to teach her a lesson soon. Seeing her interest in Poompol Vuh, they decided to take her back in time to teach her respect and responsibility. After her life-changing adventure, Marissa was nicer to classmates at school and stopped bragging about herself. To her utmost surprise, she found out that more people wanted to be friends with her.
The City of Poompol Vuh was not “lost” anymore. The people of the legendary city had lost their glory and happiness to the wars and famine. Thanks to Marissa as Queen Laliandra, the city regained its peace and prosperity.

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MARISSA WAS MEAN
SHE HAD TO BE TAUGHT A LESSON
BY THE GODS THEMSELVES

Twelve year-old Marissa Durante is mean, stuck-up and bossy. When the gods decide to teach her a lesson, a whirlwind adventure begins to unfold. A time-travelling scheme takes Marissa to an ancient land in a time of peril. Author Sandhya Iyer weaves together a tale of greedy kings, war, resourcefulness, and courage that will captivate readers of all ages.

“An edge of the seat thriller with a lesson to learn.”
-- New York Times
“Iyer weaves an interesting tale of time travel filled with magic & mystery”
-- Time for Kids
“A masterpiece….readers will not be disappointed with this twisted tale”
-- San Jose Mercury News

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sandhya Iyer resides in San Jose, California, with her two doting parents and mischievous younger brother. Two of her books, Arienta and the Doom of Sliash and The Zaberwockie Conclusion, have won major awards- The Certificate of Merit! Her hobbies include reading, listening to music on 106.5, and playing with friends. Her favorite subjects at school are reading, writing, and social studies. She goes to J.F.S. Elementary and is in Mrs. Swenor’s 5th/6th combo class. She aspires to be a world famous children’s author.

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DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to my wonderful parents for always being there for me and taking time to encourage me on this book.