Breathless: The Adventures of A Gymnast (Marci Book 1) Read online

  French accent.

  "Yeah, I guess so," she responded stoically

  so he wouldn’t notice her embarrassment.

  "That is good," he added. "The world needs

  more people like you. If even half of what I heard

  is true then you are one very special girl."

  Marci began to smile as her eyes welled with

  tears. The young man's compliment brought a flood

  of emotions. They reminded her of her own words

  in reference to the spider.

  "Thank you," she said and then fell silent.

  The train roared like a lion as it raced towards

  the city of Andernach. The kids, still soiled from

  their recent adventures, took the opportunity to

  change their clothes and freshen up before" meeting

  their uncle. When they arrived in Andernach

  an hour later, their uncle met them at the depot with

  a smile and a hug.

  "I called the station. They said the train was

  delayed in Wellmich for two hours. I hope it wasn’t

  too much of an inconvenience. Did you have a nice

  trip?" he asked, unaware of their adventures.

  The children looked at one another for a moment.

  Then they came to a silent agreement.

  "It was fine,” they said, not wanting to concern him.

  “Everything went just as planned.”

  "I'm so relieved. When I heard you were

  traveling by yourselves, I was a little concerned you

  might have some trouble, you know, with the language

  and all" said their uncle as he helped with

  their luggage.

  As Marci stepped off the train her uncle noticed that

  her ankle was wrapped with a small towel.

  "Did you hurt your ankle?" asked her uncle.

  "Yeah, it's no big deal," replied the little girl.

  "I twisted it while saving the world from the forces

  of darkness."

  Her uncle chuckled, "Thanks a lot." He said

  while carrying her luggage to the car. "I knew you

  could do it!"

  After her ankle had healed, it turned out to

  be a wonderful vacation at Uncle Wiesner's. Marci

  and her cousin Inga picked up where they left off

  last summer, exploring caves, watching movies,

  and getting into all kinds of kid's trouble. Marci

  didn't speak much German, at least not very well.

  So when they were caught doing things like climbing

  trees, she left all the explaining up to Inga.

  "They think I'm your lawyer," Inga sometimes

  joked.

  Even though there were many days filled

  with laughter and play, Marci still felt like something

  was wrong. It was the same type of feeling

  her mother would get when either of the children

  got hurt. As Marci continued to ignore this "sixth

  sense," their vacation came to an end. Regrettably,

  Craig and his sister had to return home.

  Marci had an uneasy and nervous feeling in

  her stomach when she entered the front door. It was

  much like the feeling she gets in the bottom of her

  stomach just before a competition. Gingerly climbing

  the stairs, she took a deep breath. When she

  finally reached her bedroom, she opened the door

  a crack and peeked inside. She discovered what she

  had long anticipated but never' wanted to admit.

  The spider cage, which sat beside her bed, was

  empty .Wolfee, her friend, had gone. How she escaped

  was not known. Where did she go? Marci

  could only guess.