River and people always liked to go see the original covered bridge the town was named after."
"That's what we crossed to get here?" Maryann asked.
"Nope. That was closed before I was born because it was startin' to fall apart and wasn't safe. Anyway, everyone wanted the new concrete bridge so more people could come into town. No one really did, but that was the idea." He paused for a moment. "But then two big events happened. First, the Rock River was dammed upstream for a power plant or a drinking water reservoir or something. And two, the interstate was built. That almost killed our little town. There was no river and no reason come here. The interstate ensured everyone would drive by without even knowing Bridgetown was here. We were metaphorically off the map."
The waitress brought their orders out and Albert continued his story through some pretty decent hamburgers and geniune malts.
"As people moved away, the mayor took it particularly hard. He thought it was personal. So he decided to save his little town. If the world could do without Bridgetown, Bridgetown could do without the world."
"What did he do?" Maryann asked after Albert paused for what seemed like a long time.
"I don't know," he said finally. "But one day Rock River was flowing again like it had never done otherwise and the bridge across it was gone like it had never been built. Main Street east just dead-ends into the woods like it's always done, and the rest of the roads in town loop back around to Main Street. The only way in or out of town has always been across the bridge."
"That must have really upset people," Maryann said. "What happened?"
"Well, we were mighty puzzled for quite a while. A few people were foolish enough to try to swim across Rock River, but even when it's not flooded it's a deep, fast stream. They were washed away by the currents." He shook his head and lowered it momentarily. "Never found the bodies but we're pretty sure they drowned."
"Wait, so you've been here since what, 1957 or so?" Nora asked.
"Hey, good guess. How did you know?"
"The fashions. How is that possible?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Things stopped changing here, somehow. No one was getting older. No one was dying. The shelves in the general store restocked themselves each night with the same stuff that was in them before. Same thing happens here in the diner and every home. Clothes don't wear out. Nothing runs out, nothing runs down. Same thing, pretty much, day after day after day. I've been nineteen years old for nearly seventy years," he said, sucking down his milkshake.
"That's horrible," Maryann said.
"Yeah, well, most people don't know exactly what's going on. That's why they ignore your strange clothes. They don't realize how much time has passed or that they can't leave."
"Why do you?" Isabella asked quickly.
He sighed. "Because the mayor is my dad. I think whatever he did to cut us off didn't affect me so much. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I'm his son, maybe he did that deliberately, or maybe it was an accident. The minister knew something funny was going on; he ended up trying to swim across. So maybe it's better most people don't know."
"But you know what a credit card is," Nora said. "That wasn't invented in the '50s."
"Television," he said.
They stared at him for a minute.
"Look, I don't exactly understand this, but Bridgetown is kind of stuck right where it was on a nice summer day in 1957. Everything that worked then works now. So we had television. Not many, because they're expensive, but my dad could afford one. The minister could too, now that I think about it. One thing that did change was the television broadcasts."
"But we don't get cell phone signals," Nora protested.
"If this place is stuck in time," Isabella said, "we wouldn't. They weren't invented yet. This sounds like some sort of very large scale and powerful enchantment." She looked at Albert.
"Magic is as good an explanation as any," he said in reply to her unanswered question. "I would have started with calling this place cursed but I didn't want you to think I was crazy."
"So there must have been some conditions to get Bridgetown back to a better time which is why the river started flowing again. Magic like that must be very precise or there will be odd side-effects."
"Which means if TV worked then," Maryann said, "there's a loophole that allows it to keep working. Even though technically all the, oh, what's it called, free broadcasts, have been discontinued. In theory they should all need those scrambler box things or cable or a dish to get anything at all."
"But why not just continue the same old shows?" Leah asked.
Isabella and Maryann shrugged in tandem. "I don't know," Isabella said. "I'm guessing those people who were rich enough to afford TVs are probably the ones with the most awareness of the situation?"
"Yeah, although it's not that clear-cut. Some of them talk about shows they've watched and it's not real to them, not even the news. Other people don't have television and they seem to know something is off. I don't know." He fidgeted with the straw. "I'll pay for the check and then we should go to the park and finish talking, alright?"
Slightly confused, they agreed to this and soon they found themselves in a nice but empty city park.
"Where is everyone?" Maryann asked.
"At work, or at school. It's Monday, you know," he replied. "I work at the motel. Day in and day out and no one ever comes by. Well, no, that's not true."
"Obviously," Nora said acidly.
He pushed his glasses up his nose again. "Every few years the bridge reappears. I don't know why or how. And before you ask, yes, I know people who tried to cross it. They can't. They physically cannot step off the bridge to the west side. But that doesn't mean people can't come here, and sometimes they do."
"Do they leave again?" Isabella asked quickly.
He grimaced. "If you leave before the bridge disappears."
"How long is that?"
"About twenty-four hours."
"Well, hell!" Nora snapped. "Why didn't you tell us that to begin with? We need to get out of here!"
"You've got hours to go," he said mildly, "and the river may not recede before then anyway."
"And then what happens?" she demanded.
He looked at each of them in turn. "I know what, but I don't know why."
"Nora, let me ask some questions," Isabella said, cutting off her friend's angry tirade. "How do you know there's a twenty-four hour time limit?"
"I just do. It's not like I timed someone entering and leaving. I just know."
"Has anyone come and gone in that time?"
"Sure. Some people are lucky enough to just be able to turn right back around."
"And everyone else?"
Albert looked a little uncomfortable. "You need to understand that the bridge only seems to reappear under bad circumstances. Most people don't even realize they've crossed a bridge because the weather is so bad. Or they blow out tires on their cars. Or they come in late. So they end up in the same situation you do; they can't get back because the bridge is out. Sometimes it's broken and sometimes it's flooded but either way it's impassable. A few have tried to forge the river and their car got swept right downstream."
"And the others?" Isabella prompted.
"I tried to get them to leave. But I didn't meet all of them. Most thought I was crazy."
"Well, the whole story does sound crazy," Maryann said.
"No, no," he said, distressed, "I told you the whole story because I thought you'd understand it."
Nora opened her mouth, but Isabella gave her a stern glance which she took to mean that she shouldn't interrupt.
He continued, obilivious to their silent cues. "Most people I just told that they should leave as quick as they could. Some I tried to tell why; I tried to explain the town was cursed and they laughed at me." He sighed. "And then after the twenty-four hours, they disappeared."
"Are you sure they didn't leave?"
Maryann asked.
"No, they disappeared," he said. "They were standing in the lobby trying to pay their bill and then they just faded away. Their luggage, their car, everything. And it wasn't quick. They panicked as they started to get kind of transparent and then fainter and fainter. They were screaming and begging for help..." His voice trailed off. "I'm sure it only took a couple of minutes, but it seemed like forever."
"Everything resets," Isabella commented soberly.
"Maybe those people just reappeared on the other side of the river," Maryann said.
"Maybe," Albert said doubtfully.
"But probably not," Nora sighed. "Well, I have no intention of just fading away, so let's go take a look at the river."
They drove back to the bridge and the water was in fact higher than before. As they stared forlornly at the water, the four of them knew it was much too deep to swim or try to ford with the van. It was clear they would be washed downstream.
"And of course without the phone I can't figure out when the river is supposed to crest," Isabella sighed. "Then again, this river isn't supposed to flow at all, so I guess that doesn't matter."
"I was afraid of this," Albert said.
"What are our options?" Nora asked the group.
There were several minutes of silence. "Well, I can try to find a place to open a door into a spirit realm," Isabella said finally. "But that's dangerous because I don't know where we'll find another way out of the spirit realm."
"Let's see if you can find a way in first," Leah said, "and then we can worry about getting out."
Albert looked confused. "You ladies clearly know some