Chapter 14
“What?” Galen was shocked. “Why are we here? I thought we were going someplace where we might find someone who could help.”
“We are.”
“You can’t even go in there.” Thaddeus pointed out.
“We’re not going in. I want you to show me where you crossed the boundary.”
“I told you I don’t know where that was.”
“Let’s see if we can find it.”
Galen told Thaddeus to lead the way and he did reluctantly. He really didn’t think this was going to help but there wasn’t much else to do.
He led Galen around the town until he saw the road he came in on. They went until they saw the little home of the man who took Thaddeus to town on his cart. The old man was sitting outside in a chair drinking something out of a glass.
“Hey, you’re back.” The old man said. “Do you need another cart ride?”
“Not today.” Thaddeus said with a smile and a wave.
A few seconds later they were back in the woods where it all started.
“I don’t remember exactly where I crossed over. There was a little house nearby where an old woman lived. If I can find that then maybe we can figure out at least near where it was.”
At first Thaddeus tried to retrace his steps. He went in the general area he felt like he came from but there was no point. It was impossible to figure out where he went that day.
They wandered about for a long time. Thaddeus occasionally thought something looked familiar but he was never sure. They came to the meadow and he knew he was close. It was a little easier from there. He knew about where the path was and started away near where the path was in his side of the world.
The little house where the old woman lived came into view suddenly. It had an even more displeasing look during the day. The wood was dark and looked wet with bugs all over. Thaddeus shivered at the sight.
“So this is the place.” Galen said. “Let’s go up and see if anybody’s home.”
“What do you think this is going to do?” Thaddeus asked.
“I think it might help you.”
“How? If magic can’t help I doubt anything else will.”
“Well I’ve been thinking.” Galen said. “I just have a feeling that the place we come in is somehow important to all this. Now let’s get in there.”
He went up to the wood and knocked. No one answered. He poked his head in the big hole where a door should have been. “Excuse me, oh, hello.” He gestured for Thaddeus to come over. Galen went on in.
Thaddeus followed. The house was very unpleasant in the daylight. It looked slimy and uncared for.
The frizzled woman sat in a chair in the half of the house that had been dark before. There was nothing there but the chair. She looked them over wearily.
“So you came back.” She said.
“Yes.” Thaddeus answered.
“Yes, hello.” Galen said. “Thaddeus here came through a boundary of sorts near here. Do you happen to know anything about this? Does this happen a lot?”
The woman stared at them for a while before answering. “A boundary? Nothing is in these woods except me. I’ve lived here alone for years.”
Galen nodded. “So you don’t know of anything like that?”
“All alone I’ve been here. I needed help. I needed someone to come here and help me. I needed it real bad.” She pointed a dirty finger at Thaddeus. “And then he came here and my needs were filled. I had someone to help me out around here. Well I got over it. I don’t need anyone anymore. People are trouble, every one of them. I can’t believe I ever wanted help. You,” she growled at Thaddeus, “can leave and never come back.”
Galen frowned and turned to Thaddeus. He was gone.
It was dark out. One second Thaddeus was standing in a nasty little house and the next he was in darkness. It took a second for him to be fully aware of the difference. It happened so suddenly.
He called to Galen. No one answered. The house was gone and so was the woman and Galen. Thaddeus didn’t know where he was and at first he was afraid that something sinister happened. He walked around in the darkness trying to figure out where he was.
His feet hit something hard. He couldn’t see it. He bent down and touched it with his hands. Wood. The wood walkway! Could he be? No, nothing happened. But what if it was?
Thaddeus’s heart pumped very fast. He slowly got up and followed the path. It led out into the meadow. He could hear the water.
He turned the other way. He came to the end of the wood and a dirt path started. He ran through the darkness. He kept telling himself that it was impossible. There was no way that he got back.
Eventually the forest ended and he stood in an empty parking lot. Lights from houses could be seen. He did it, somehow he made it back.
Thaddeus Minnow kept running. He ran to the road and looked for someone who could help. A minimart was in a little shopping center nearby. He went to it.
“Can I use your phone?” He asked the man behind the counter of the mini mart. The man showed him to the phone.
Twenty minutes later Mr. and Mrs. Minnow pulled up to the minimart and jumped out of the car. Thaddeus ran out and they embraced each other in a big hug. He was back. He was safe.
As the days went on Thaddeus appeared on the local news. He was gone for several days and everyone was really worried. The news of the boy who vanished left the spotlight when a new even more unbelievable story came up. A girl who had been missing since she was three suddenly turned up a hundred miles away. Thaddeus recognized Yew on the T.V.
Months later the two of them got together to talk. Mr. and Mrs. Minnow drove Thaddeus out there so they could meet.
“So how did you get back?” Thaddeus asked.
Yew, now known by her real name Sara, shrugged. “I don’t know. I was yelling at the king and queen to let me go and they finally said that they wished they had never found me. That’s when I suddenly appeared here. How about you?”
“I don’t know. I was just standing somewhere and Galen was talking to an old woman. He’s one of us, you know. He’s from here.”
“I wonder if he’s ever going to make it back.” Sara said.
“No idea, I hope so.”
“So what now?” She asked. “Should we tell people?”
“I told my family but that’s it.”
“Yeah,” Sara said, “I don’t think I’ll tell anyone else either.”
That night Thaddeus thanked his parents for not giving up and promised that he would never wander away again, at least not to a different side of the world.
Chapter 15
The lab was silent except for the occasional sound of beans flowing through a bag and the turning of a page. It was a quiet night, like many others before it. The beans moved once more and the scientist sighed. None of his books had any reasons behind the subtle movement of small fish. Maybe it really didn’t matter.
The front door opened and a man stood in the doorway. He breathed deeply, taking in a smell he hadn’t known for a long time. His footsteps echoed throughout the lab. He picked up a couple books and pages that had fallen to the floor and placed them neatly on a table.
The scientist listened intently. “Hello.” He called.
“Hello.” A friendly voice responded.
The scientist got up and moved the best he could to the edge of the loft. “Galen? What are you doing here?”
“I think we need to talk.” Galen said, smiling as he sat down.
The bean bag scientist dropped to the floor and got up with great difficulty. He made his way over to a chair and collapsed into it. His printed on eyes studied Galen.
“It’s been a long time.” The scientist said. “I wondered if you would ever come back.”
“It’s funny how a few days with someone can change your whole perspective.” Galen said. “Or maybe it?
??s the few days doing something different.”
“Where is the boy?”
“Thaddeus? He’s home now, I hope.”
“Oh,” the scientist cried. “He did it! But how?”
Galen stared off into the distance. “It’s strange how things can happen sometimes. Magic has little effect on the mind. Did you know that? I didn’t. The mind creates the magic.” He folded his arms and shivered. “It’s a powerful thing. It can solve problems and create them. It can also bring people closer together, sometimes without anyone realizing it’s happened.”
“But what of the boy?” The scientist persisted.
“You really needed someone to help you didn’t you? When you turned in to this I mean.”
“Well yes, I couldn’t do research like this without help.”
“Much like how a king and queen need an heir, or how an old woman needs a helper. Sometimes we ask the world for something, and you know what? Sometimes it listens and grants us what we ask for.”
“That’s all very good.” The scientist said. “But how did Thaddeus get back? I need to know for my research. If we can isolate the cause then every child who can get over will be able to get back.”
“Do you still need me?” Galen asked.
“I suppose not. I have learned to manage pretty well since you left. The only thing I need from you is to tell me what happened to Thaddeus.”
Galen nodded slowly. “And after I tell you, you won’t need me ever again?”
“Like I said,” the scientist said exasperatedly, “all I need is to find out how to get people back.”
“I’ll write it down for you.” Galen said, picking up a pencil and paper from the table. “Here you go, the answer to everything.” He handed the paper to the scientist.
The scientist took it between both his bean bag arms. “Oh, this is great. I knew you would be able to figure it out.” He put the paper on his lap. “This really is all I ever nee—” Only two words were on the paper.
“Look up.” The scientist read curiously. He looked up at Galen.
He was gone.
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