Malcolm X was a tiny Time Traveler with a bright blue clock on his coat. Tick-tock, tick-tock! The clock could open little doors to yesterday, tomorrow, and very silly days in between.
One morning, Malcolm X stepped into the Illusion Chamber. It was a round room with shiny walls. The walls showed pictures that moved. A yellow duck danced. A purple cloud wore boots. A red apple said, “Hello!”
“Hello, apple,” said Malcolm X.
Beside him floated Guardian Spirit. Guardian Spirit was small, soft, and silver. It had kind moon eyes and a warm, gentle voice.
“Stay close,” said Guardian Spirit. “The Chamber is mixed up today.”
Then the room went whoosh!
All the colors flew away. Red zoomed up. Blue zipped down. Green hid behind a sparkly door. The Illusion Chamber became gray. Even the dancing duck was gray.
“Oh no,” said Malcolm X. “We must bring back the colors.”
A big shadow covered the floor.
Flap. Flap. Flap.
A Dragon came through a cloud door. The Dragon was huge, but his nose was tiny. He sneezed, “Achoo!” Little gray puffballs popped out.
“I did not mean to take the colors,” said the Dragon sadly. “I was playing color catch. I caught them all in my big bubble. Now the bubble is stuck!”
Malcolm X looked at the bubble. It hung near the ceiling. Inside were red, blue, yellow, and green lights. They bumped softly against the clear round wall.
“We can help,” said Malcolm X.
Guardian Spirit nodded. “We need a time jump. We need the moment before the bubble got stuck.”
Malcolm X held his blue clock. “Ready?”
“Ready,” whispered Guardian Spirit.
Tick-tock! Ding!
They jumped back one tiny minute.
The Dragon was there, laughing as he blew the bubble. “Bigger! Bigger!” he cried.
“Dragon!” called Malcolm X. “Stop at small.”
The Dragon blinked. “Small?”
“Small bubbles are easy,” said Guardian Spirit. “Big bubbles can get stuck.”
The Dragon took a slow breath. He blew one little bubble. Pop! A red light came out. He blew another. Pop! A blue light came out.
Soon, pop-pop-pop, all the colors were free.
Red painted the apple red again. Blue painted the cloud blue. Green painted the duck’s hat green. Yellow made the floor glow like sunshine.
The Illusion Chamber was bright once more.
The Dragon clapped his claws. “You fixed it!”
Then he gave Malcolm X a small treasure box. Inside was a rainbow button with seven tiny colors.
“For your Time Traveler coat,” said the Dragon.
Malcolm X smiled. Guardian Spirit gave a happy twirl.
“Now you can remember,” said Guardian Spirit, “to go slowly when something feels too big.”
Malcolm X pinned on the rainbow button. His blue clock went tick-tock, tick-tock.
The duck danced. The apple giggled. The Dragon made tiny bubbles only.
And Malcolm X, the brave little Time Traveler, waved goodbye to the bright Illusion Chamber.
“See you in another minute!” he said.
Tick-tock! Ding!