Chapter 13
I awoke the next morning refreshed and not knowing what the day would bring. As soon as I opened my eyes, I could smell the wonderful aromas from the bakery below. As I was coming to my senses, Olivia came bounding into the room.
“Good morning! It’s time for breakfast!” she cried. “My mum always has something yummy and warm to eat.”
She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the stairs. P and Zack groggily arose and followed us to the top of the stairs. Olivia let go of my hand, when she saw P, and grabbed his hand as he came closer.
P and Olivia bounded down the stairs to the bakery. Zack and I followed a little more slowly but were drawn to the sweet smells emanating from the oven and counter. We had slept later than I usually would, and Olivia’s mum had already baked a large number of goodies. As we approached the bottom floor, I saw Olivia’s mother speaking to a young blonde lady who was leaning on the counter.
The lady’s flaxen hair was cut in a wavy bob that came just below her ears. It was combed away from her face in a way that resembled a silky bird’s wing. I remembered seeing a photograph of our mom with a similar haircut when she was a young girl, and she said her hair was feathered. Funny, it did resemble feathers. The lady’s flower-covered dress had puffy short sleeves and came down to the middle of her calves.
The lady spoke to Olivia’s mother. “Do you think I’m making the right choice? I do love him, but I am afraid of the responsibility. I will be royalty. I will always have to be on my best behavior and answer to the Queen. I can’t tell you how hard I’ve thought about this. I thought I could do it the moment I said yes, but I think I’m getting cold feet. I drove out here to get one of your delicious scones and to get some advice, like you used to give Ginny and me when we were young.”
Olivia’s mom looked thoughtfully at her. “Oh Diana, you have always been a very smart and capable girl. I’m sure you’ve made the right decision. You can do anything you set your mind too.”
Olivia turned to P and we listened behind him. “Oh, that’s Miss Diana. She’s friends with my aunt Ginny. My mum knows her from when she was a kid. Ginny is my favorite aunt. Well, she’s my only aunt, and she’s so much fun! Diana is getting married to a prince, just like in the fairy tales. She’ll be a princess. It’s so exciting! Mum was invited to the wedding but she is baking for another wedding today.”
I looked at Zack. “That’s Princess Diana!”
P heard me talking. “Who’s Princess Diana?”
“Mom used to tell me stories about when she was young. She and her friends woke up really early one morning to see Diana marry Prince Charles. It was a beautiful wedding Mom and her friends all wanted to be princesses. She actually taped it on that VCR thing that she keeps in the basement. She let me watch part of it. She was a beautiful bride.”
“Is she Prince William and Prince Harry’s mother? I remember hearing the news people talking about her during the last royal wedding with William and Kate.”
I nodded. “Yes, that’s her. She seems so young and innocent here. She did many good things for the less fortunate while she was princess.”
The young lady spoke to Olivia’s mum again. “Maybe I just need one of your scones for comfort and reassurance, then I’ll feel better!”
Olivia’s mother handed the pretty lady a fresh steaming scone. As Diana bit into it, she seemed to relax a little and a pleasing smile came over her face.
“This may make everything better.”
The two ladies laughed and spoke quietly for a few more minutes, then Diana took a deep breath.
“Okay, I guess I can do it. No, I KNOW I can do it!” She reached over and gave Olivia’s mum a great big hug. “Thanks so much. I so wish you could come to the wedding, but I know how important this bakery is to you. I had better leave now or I will be late for the festivities. Tata!”
Diana turned and walked out the door. She was gone only a few minutes when she breezed back in through the door.
“My car won’t start! Now I really will be late and definitely off to a bad start with the Queen! Oh, why did I have to have cold feet? Charles would come to get me, but I don’t want to see him before the wedding. It is bad luck. I can’t call a taxi because it will be all over the news, and I don’t want anyone else in the family to know that I travelled all the way out here. They just wouldn’t understand….. Oh, I feel faint.”
Diana had to marry Charles. Too many things in the future depended on it. Olivia’s mom’s bakery van was too full of pastries and cookies for anyone else to sit. I though a moment. Then I remembered that we knew someone who had a car. I fished around in my pocket and pulled out Eleanor’s business card.
“Here,” I handed it to Olivia’s mum. “Call this number, she may be able to help.”
We could hear her on the phone in the back room explaining who she was and what she needed. She hung up and walked back to us.
“Okay, Diana, she will be here in about twenty minutes. She promised not to say a word to anyone.”
We waited as patiently as we could until we saw Eleanor pull up to the curb in front of the bakery. She parked the little yellow bug, jumped out of the car and raced into the bakery.
“Hi kids!” she exclaimed. Then turned towards Olivia’s mom and her friend and curtsied. “Hallo Lady Diana, so nice to meet you.”
We all laughed to see the sight, then Zack spoke up. “We had better leave now or we won’t make it in time!”
We started towards the car, but Eleanor turned to me and Zack. “I’m sorry kids, but I can’t drive you. My test starts in twenty minutes and I wouldn’t make it back in time. I have to run down the street a block to my university.” She frowned. “And I don’t know if Diana is in a state to drive safely.”
Diana fanned her face and looked rather pale.
“That’s okay Eleanor,” Zack broke in. “I can drive. I got my license before we started our adventure, er um, vacation.” He tried to hide the fact that we were travelling through time.
“Good enough for me.” added Diana. “To the car!”
We dashed out to the car. Zack actually remembered that the steering wheel was on the opposite side of the car. As he was opening the door on that side, Eleanor was letting us in on the other side. Suddenly an “Ugh” came from the driver’s side.
“I don’t fit!” exclaimed Zack. “The seat is too close to the wheel and I can’t seem to pull it back.”
“Oh, I forgot. It’s stuck. Aunt Ellie and I are both short enough that we fit just fine. I’m sorry.” Eleanor apologized.
“That’s okay,” Zack replied, “Emma will just have to drive. Her legs are shorter and she will fit just fine, too.”
My eyes grew wide. “What? Zack, you know I can’t drive yet. I just have my learner’s license.”
“You can drive with an adult in the car, and I think Lady Diana counts for that. Besides, you were doing a great job that day I saw you practicing in front of the house.”
I felt my cheeks get hot. I didn’t realized he had been watching me. I felt embarrassed, then my heart started to beat fast and my palms started to sweat. They were all depending on me to get Diana to her wedding. I couldn’t say no.
I slipped behind the wheel, and of course fit perfectly. The other’s piled into the back seat and Diana sat on the passenger side. We all pulled our seatbelts on, except for Zack who sat on the beltless hump in the middle of the backseat, letting the two younger ones be safe. I released the parking brake then stepped onto the gas and we were off.
Squeeallll … I hit the gas a little too hard as we moved out into traffic leaving faint tire marks on the concrete behind us. Each passenger was forced backward from the force. I swallowed awkwardly, then regained a little confidence to keep the car going. Thing were going smoothly for a few moments. We were on a one way street which made things easier. I followed Diana’s directions, turning left at the next road and remembering to stay on the left side. Cars passed by me on the right and I began to develop a
little faith in myself.
Things were going well until Diana told me to turn right at the last minute. I got a little flustered and turned the wheel too quickly, driving onto the right side of the road instead of the left, straight into oncoming traffic.
Olivia screamed from the back seat. Diana grabbed onto the dashboard in front of her and said a prayer. Zack yelled “left, Emma, left,” and P just covered his eyes.
I swung the wheel hard to the left as I saw headlights and hoods coming at me. The car lurched into the left lane, but I had over compensated and we were heading straight for the building on that side of the street. Olivia screamed again. I turned the wheel, somewhat more gently this time, and the car bounced from the left to the right, positioned itself in the center of the lane and kept moving, as if nothing had happened.
Olivia stopped screaming. P uncovered his eyes. Zack took an audible deep breath as if he had been holding it and Diana loosened her grip on the dashboard. My heart seemed to regain its rhythm and no longer felt like it had stopped.
We continued to travel on down the road. Diana had opened her mouth to apologize for the late directions last time, when she yelled, “Stopppp!”
I slammed on the brakes. A bright red octagonal stop sign seemed to come out of nowhere. Of course I usually looked for them on the right side of the road, not the left. Three of my passengers heads all nodded forward then bobbed back again. Zack’s head ended up right next to my left shoulder, since he did not have a strap to stop him. Luckily, he grabbed onto both front seats and stopped himself from getting any closer to the windshield.
I let the car rest in front of the stop sign, put my face in my hands and sobbed. Diana touched me gently on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, dear. I forgot you had just learned to drive. I should have been a tad quicker with my directions. Please don’t cry.” She patted my back as she spoke. “My head is just elsewhere today.”
“I can’t do anything right! I can’t even drive a car!” I began to sob louder and I felt like I couldn’t control it.
At this point, cars were backing up behind be and I heard many high pitched English horns beeping at me.
Zack stuck his head between the seats. “I’m sorry I made you drive. It’s not really fair to throw you out there on the London streets. It’s a little different than driving in Ohio. But remember that we love you and believe in you. You can do it!” He patted me on the head in a big-brotherly way and smiled kindly.
I picked my head up and wiped the tears out of my eyes, then somehow pulled myself together and started to drive again. What was that “we love you” comment? Could Zack have some feelings for me? No, he probably just meant that like a big brother, as usual. I tossed that thought to the back of my head, to ponder on later, and drove on.
I had regained a little confidence, and as we continued on, we passed older, more beautiful buildings. We were entering a part of town with much more history. The remainder of the trip went well, until I drove up to a street that was blocked off by a barrier.
“Oh dear!” Diana proclaimed. “They must have blocked off the roads already. Drive around it! We’re almost there. Go! Go!”
I took a deep breath and drove onto the empty sidewalk, around the barriers. I had just pulled the car back onto the road when I heard a blaring weeoo-weeoo-weeoo from a car behind me. I looked into the rearview mirror to see a police car with flashing lights. The driver was waving his hand to get me to pull over.
Diana turned her head and looked behind her, then looked down at the watch on her wrist. “No, don’t pull over! I’m sorry, I know it’s wrong but I need to be at the palace NOW!” Keep driving! I’ll take care of it when we get there….and step on it!”
I drove a little faster to put some space between us and the police car, remembering to stay on the correct side of the road. Luckily we didn’t have far to go. Finally, we came to a huge light brown, rectangular shaped brick building inside a fence. Two guards stood in front of a grand rod iron gate.
“Here!” yelled Diana.
I pulled the yellow car right up in front of the gate. The police car whirred around the corner as we stopped. Diana jumped out as two guards dressed in bright red jackets and tall furry black hats ran toward us. Diana walked closer to them and waved them down. The men seemed to recognize her, and did not come any closer to the car. The taller of the two guards waved his hand at the policeman and shook his head as if to say “don’t worry I’ve got this.” The policeman threw his arms up in the air and got back into the car.
Diana spoke softly to the guards then turned back again to us. “Thank you so much! I made it in time.” She began to run off down the sidewalk. “Oh, and please do come to the wedding this afternoon. The guard will take you to the church if you want. Just follow him.”
She pointed at the shorter guard, waved goodbye to the four of us, then scurried off after the taller guard. The remaining guard nodded his head in silence, briskly waved his hand from right to left in front of him, and turned to walk down the sidewalk. We followed. It seemed like forever as we strolled down the sidewalk, occasionally cutting over to other streets as we went.
“Are we there yet?” asked P. “My legs are starting to get tired.”
Olivia giggled, but the guard never turned back to speak a word to us. Finally we approached a grand church constructed of beige-colored bricks. A massive crowd stood on the grounds in front of the entrance to the cathedral. Zack grabbed my hand and I in turn grabbed P, who grabbed Olivia, as we wound our way through the throng. The church’s large entrance door sat behind a row of beige columns. Another row of columns sat atop the bottom row and guarded a balcony overlooking the square below. I saw two peaked towers on both sides of the church framing a huge dome that resided at the center. It was beautiful yet ominous.
We walked up a short flight of stairs at the front of the church and walked behind the column barrier. At the main entrance door, the guard finally turned to speak to us. “Follow me closely. Lady Diana has instructed me to seat you in one of the secret balconies so you can see the service. You cannot make a sound though, and no one is to know you are there.”
He put his finger to his lips, turned and walked on. We followed so closely behind that when the guard paused in front of a brown wooden door, Zack stop
ped so abruptly that I ran into him. P then ran into me and Olivia ran into P. The short line of people looked like an accordion being compressed to make its music.
The guard opened the door and exposed a narrow spiral staircase and we carefully climbed to the top. At the top of the stairs, we saw a very small circular room that overlooked the church below. We ran to the ornately carved railing at the far side of the room and looked over the side. The site below was picturesque and I felt like I had been transported even further back in time.
Our tiny balcony was positioned so we could see people entering from the main door in the back of the church, but also had a clear view of the altar at the front of the church. Rows of elaborately carved dark wood pews sat atop an intricately tiled floor. The main aisle between the pews seemed to go on forever to reach the altar. It was still early, and we watched people cleaning and making last minute improvements to the decorations.
Time went on and we waited. I sat next to the balcony so I wouldn’t miss a thing. Olivia would come up to me every few minutes to see if anything was going on. Zack and P were bored out of their heads. I could hear faint whispers from the back of the room.
“I spy something red.” P said as quietly as a mouse.
Zack answered, “Is it that picture on the wall?”
“No.” P replied.
They kept going but I tuned them out. I got excited when more people began to enter below. Women wore beautiful dresses and men wore sharp tailored suits. I enjoyed watching the people and imagining that I was also “dressed to the nines” and sitting in the royal crowd. Olivia sat next to me as I watched.
Finally the room became full and all the pews were crowded w
ith elegantly dressed guests. Music started from the ancient organ and the royal court began to be seated. Zack and P came to sit next to us just as the Queen was proceeding down the aisle. By the time the royal family was seated at the very front of the church, a quiet rumble arose from the crowd. The archbishop and clergy readied at the back of the church and the guests knew that the “soon to be princess” was not far behind.
We stood as the crowd stood and turned for the grand entrance. There she stood. Her crisp white veil covered her face and cascaded down her back. We could see the ruffled puffy white sleeves of her dress sticking out underneath the veil. Her dress ballooned out at the bottom, like the dresses we saw at the plantation, before it touched the floor. The music became louder and she began to walk down the aisle. “Oohs” and “aahs” arose from the crowd. She was a beautiful bride.
We watched Diana walk down the aisle, with young girls dressed in pretty tea length white dresses following close behind. Her long lacy train trailed behind her as she walked. She finally approached the altar at the front and took her position beside her prince. They exchanged vows and I felt myself get teary eyed as the wedding came to an end. I was entranced by the romance of it all and envied the bride a little bit for finding it. I watched her friends and family members dabbing at their tears with handkerchiefs. Then I thought about my family and how much I missed them.
Zack touched my hand, “Hey, are you okay?” He had knelt down next to me and I had not noticed.
“Oh…yes,” I replied and I felt a tear trickle down my cheek. “I guess I just cry at weddings… and I think I am beginning to get very homesick.”
Zack reached up and swept the tear off my cheek. “I know. Not the wedding part, but the homesick part. I’m tired of travelling through time. I just want to go home, too.”
I sniffled. “I’m sorry I’m so emotional. I’m glad you and P are here with me. We’ll get through this together.”
Zack moved closer to me and grabbed my hand. He squeezed it for a few seconds in silence before he spoke. “I couldn’t ask for two better friends to be stuck going through time with, and…” He paused and looked at the floor when he spoke. “I’m kind of glad that I got the chance to spend so much time with you.”
He was quiet for a moment after that, then bent towards me, took my face in his hand and kissed me. Not a quick kiss on the forehead but a soft gentle kiss on my lips, and I kissed him back. I sat there dazed, still feeling the kiss, even after Zack rolled back onto his heels and away from me again. I think we were both a little stunned and didn’t realize P had walked up next to us.
P interrupted sheepishly, “Um, Emma… Zack, the guard is here. He says we need to leave before anyone sees us. He left the beetle in an alley behind the church. We need to get going.”
Zack grabbed my hand, as he stood up from his kneeling position, and pulled me up. I arose and followed him.
P and Olivia were at my heels as we followed the guard back down the twirling staircase. He led us out a side door and to the car.
“Oh, thank you!” I said and held out my hand to the guard. He shook it quickly, nodded his head then turned on his heels.
Zack turned to me and waved his hand toward the driver’s side door. “After you, my chauffeur.”
P and Olivia giggled as they crawled into the backseat. Zack sat in the passenger side seat.
“Okay guys,” I spoke as I pulled myself into the car. “Now, how do we get home?”
“Oh, I can help you,” spoke Olivia. “My mum and I take the bus here all the time. I remember the way back. Just follow my directions!”
I drove cautiously as Olivia told me where to turn or go straight. She was careful to give me plenty of warning before I had to change my course. We made it back to the bakery in one piece.
Olivia leaned over the seat to talk to me. “So Emma, do you have a little more confidence in yourself now. We are so proud of you!”
“Oh Olivia, you are wise beyond your years.” Zack spoke as he patted her on the head.
We all laughed as we got out of the car. It was getting late and we could see Olivia’s mum cleaning the counters in the bakery. Olivia was so anxious to tell her mum about the wedding, and even the adventurous trip to the wedding. She started to run inside, but stopped and turned around to the car.
“I think it may be time for you to go home.” She stated bluntly to P.
“Why do you say that?” P asked her. “We are clearly not in danger right now, and every time the book has taken us out of a time period, someone was chasing us or shooting at us!”
“I don’t know,” replied Olivia, “It may just be the excitement from the wedding but I have a feeling. Do you guys feel like you’ve learned something? P told me the girl that travelled before you had to discover something personal about herself before she could get home. Now, I would say that Zack and Emma have learned something about themselves. What do you think you’ve learned, P?”
P thought hard for a few minutes, then imparted his eight year old wisdom on us. “Well I think I’ve learned a great deal. Each time we get sent to a different period in history we come out knowing something new. We see things that we may have missed before or just have not understood, whether it’s about that certain period of time or about ourselves. Hmmm. What if we think about what the book has told us just before it sends us through the mist each time? I wonder if the messages on the pages could be clues to what we need to know. Can you guys remember the words that we saw?”
“That’s a great idea P! The words that appeared on the paper gave us advice about the places we would go, but usually urged us to gain some kind of understanding from the places we were leaving. ” Zack spoke excitedly. “Let’s try to remember what we read.”
Olivia was awed by our conversation, but very interested. “I’ll go inside and get some paper so you can write them down.” She was in and out in a flash and handed a spiral bound notebook to me. “It’s for my schoolwork. Please use it!”
“Okay,” Zack began. “First we went to Egypt when they were building the pyramids. I remember the book talking about believing in truth and leaving behind the gold that we saw. I think it meant to believe in ourselves but also to have confidence and accept the challenge that it laid before us.”
I added, “I think it also meant to avoid things that could hurt us, like riches, and things that could overwhelm us, like sadness or even just feeling sorry for ourselves.”
I jotted down “Believe” on Olivia’s paper.
“Wow,” spoke P. “That little paragraph held that much meaning. Let me see if I can remember what we read when we went to medieval England. What was that word… oh, “Trust.” Doesn’t that mean that you can rely on someone? We met Sir Phillip and he helped us like a friend, even though he did not know us well. He trusted us and we trusted him.”
Zack rolled his eyes and added sarcastically, “Oh yeah, I remember Sir Phillip.”
I blushed a little as I spoke. “The book also said that it’s important to remember old friends but also to make new ones. I think we can count Olivia as a new friend.”
Olivia giggled.
I continued, “And, P, remember how sad we were to leave our old friends behind when we moved out to the country, but we met Zack.”
P watched me as I wrote down the word “Trust” and gave Zack an appreciative toothy smile.
Zack blushed a little this time, but his face returned to a normal shade as he continued on. “Next, we went to Italy and met Leonardo Da Vinci. I’m pretty sure the word that time was “Imagine”. It made me think of all of the inventions Leonardo created and I wished I could have a brilliant mind like him.”
I chimed in, “I think the message was for us to open our minds more and to be creative. Not only in an artistic way but to create ways to help others. Which I think we did, especially when we were in the plantation south. I would like to give myself credit for that one.”
Zack rolled his eyes again, “Yes… creative
but dangerous. I’m still upset about that one.”
Olivia sat and stared at us as we talked, taking in every detail of our adventures. I could see her eyes get wide as she heard about the perils we encountered and the people we met.
“My turn!” P exclaimed excitedly and added for Olivia’s benefit. “That time I got to help Mr. Da Vinci paint the Sistine Chapel.” He paused to make sure she was impressed and got the response he wanted. “Next we wound up in France during the Revolution. That was super scary. Zack was mistaken for a revolutionary and was imprisoned and almost hanged!”
Olivia’s mouth dropped open, but she remained speechless.
“Yes, P, but you guys rescued me and I’m al1 right now.” Zack tried to change the subject. “I seem to remember the main word being “Faith”. I remember being very scared, but I had faith that you guys would save me, and believe me I prayed a good bit too. I think the message is that, even though we are faced with challenges we need to keep on going, and not give up. We need to overcome our fear.”
I remembered dreading that Zack would have his head cut off and I shivered. I regained my composure and though about the next place we visited. “We met Paul Revere next, and got to participate in a part of the American Revolution. The word this time was “Courage,” which I had very little of before we started this adventure. I can honestly say that I have more now, but I think that there is more to that passage then just bravery when we’re in danger. We need to have the courage to try new things, and improve ourselves, as we learn from our experiences.”
Zack nodded as he took in my interpretation. He smiled. “You’re right. I know I have done things that I never imagined I would be doing. Some of those thing were very hazardous, but necessary.”
“Yeah!” said P. “Like when you and I were slaves on a plantation and we almost got shot.”
“Do you remember when the book saved us that time? It was just in time. What was the word that appeared?” Zack thought for a moment. “Oh yes, it was “Freedom”. That book definitely intended to encourage us to appreciate the freedoms that we have. I have never had to live like a slave and I am very thankful for my liberties. We also need to make sure that we never treat another human being like that ever again.”
The four of us were silent for a few moments as Zack’s words sunk in. This enchanted book was trying to get us to be better people. We just needed to listen to what it said.
“Oh wow!” P shouted a little louder than he meant to, because he was so excited. “I didn’t realize how educational each of our trips was. I feel like I’ve already grown up a lot since we’ve left home.” He thought a moment then grew quiet as the excitement faded. “It seems like we’ve been gone a very long time.” Then he paused and looked like he was going to cry.
I held his hand. “I know. It seems like forever.”
“Well then,” Zack interrupted trying to change the subject. “Let’s get this show on the road! Do you guys remember where we visited next?”
“Ah, I remember,” I sighed. “We met Julia.” I turned to Olivia. “She was the girl that found the book before us. She had kept a journal of her travels and I found it in my closet, which used to be her closet.”
As soon as the words came out of my mouth I knew they sounded silly, but Olivia kept listening, as only a nine year old with a vivid imagination can.
“Anyway,” I continued. “We visited her house years before any of us were even born and she, along with her brother and friend, helped us get closer to home. If I remember correctly, the word on the cover was “Knowledge.” ”
“Yes, that was it” Zack piped up. “And I don’t think it meant just facts, like from a book. I remember the message being something about life and finding yourself. I think we are supposed to gain a better awareness and understanding of our surroundings, so we can use that knowledge to make better decisions in the future.”
“Wow, Zack,” I added. “When did you become so philosophical?”
Zack blushed.
P posed the question, “I know I’m just eight years old, but would that be finding wisdom?”
“Why, P,” I exclaimed. “What an intelligent thought for such a small boy.” I patted him on the head.
“Well, it was one of our spelling words last year.” He replied and smiled smugly.
Olivia chimed in, “P, can you use your newfound wisdom and figure out what the next message was?”
P laughed, “Why of course I can, dear Olivia. We travelled all the way back to World War I and we were stuck in the trenches helping the men in the army fight the enemy. It was so cool!”
Olivia’s eyed opened very wide and P could see that she was impressed. Zack and I both nodded to let her know that P wasn’t exaggerating.
Zack added, “And P was very brave and even saved a man’s life.”
P blushed ad Olivia’s mouth dropped open.
“Tell me more!” she said.
“Well,” continued P, “One of the men was really nice to me and he kind of started to be my friend. A bomb went off behind him and he was hurt. Somebody had to go get him and bring him to safety.”
“Yes,” I added. “P didn’t even think that it was too hard and that he wouldn’t be able to accomplish the task. He was needed and he just did it.”
Zack spoke, “I think that was the book’s message. I remember the main word was “Strength.” Sometimes you can do things even though you don’t think you can. That’s when it’s time to stop doubting yourself and have a little self-confidence.”
“Yeah!” chimed in P. “Just like when Emma was driving!”
I felt my cheeks get red and hot, and we all laughed. Before we started our adventure, learning to drive was the scariest thing I had ever done.
Once my cheeks got back to normal, I thought about our subsequent adventure. “Next, we met the Beetles!”
“Oh wow!” shouted Olivia. “Famous Brits that I know! I bet that was amazing!”
I told her more of the tale of our visit to the theater, and she listened intently.
At the end, P spoke up. “I remember the word! It was “Harmony.” In school we learned that harmony is lots of musical notes that go together and make the music sound good. What does that have to do with us?”
“There’s another way to think of harmony.” I interjected. “I think of it as people working together to get things done. It also reminds me of nature, the trees and plants and animals living together.”
“Yes,” continued Zack, “And us working with nature, like cutting down on pollution, recycling and saving some space for the animals, too. I bet that’s what the book meant by harmony in the world.”
I laughed to myself as I remembered the three of us singing Row, Row, Row, Your Boat. “That visit was kind of fun….except for the people chasing us.”
Olivia looked at me inquisitively. “You were chased there too? By the police?”
P giggled. “No silly, not in that time, but we have been chased by a policeman before. It seems like we were chased or shot at everywhere we went… except when we were on the moon! Hey, that’s where we went next, but I can’t remember the word on the book.”
“I do,” I replied with a smile. “It was “Dream”. I’m pretty sure that time it meant to not give up on your aspirations in life.”
“Aspir what?” P asked. “That wasn’t one of our spelling words.”
Zack laughed this time, but added comfortingly, “It means things you want to do when you’re older, whether it’s just a few hours older or many years older. Like Emma learning to drive now, or the fact that I want to be a doctor when I’m grown up. Those astronauts never gave up on their dreams and they were the first people to go to the moon!”
“Ahh,” P retorted, “It kind of means don’t quit because you think you can’t do it and keep working hard until you reach your goal.”
Zack and I nodded approvingly. I think the kid did have wisdom beyond his years. As we sat there being proud of P, the pages of the
book began to flutter in a slight breeze. Some sheets stood on end for a few seconds then abruptly fell to their original positions parallel to the ground.
Olivia pointed at the book. “Did that mean something, or was it just a breeze?”
Zack and I shrugged our shoulders, but we all sat and watched for a few moments. Nothing else happened.
Zack spoke up and broke our concentration on the book. “After we went to the moon, we landed here, but come to think of it, we haven’t gotten a message from this time yet.”
As he spoke, more pages of the book began to flutter, as a stronger breeze blew in front of the bakery. As we watched the pages stand on end, a gust of wind swooped under the book and it popped into the air like a Mexican jumping bean. When it landed again, its cover snapped shut and exposed its face to us.
Slowly, thick black block letters began to form on the front cover. “L…O…V…E.” There was a pause after the last letter appeared then the book jumped again and fell open with its inner pages exposed. On one of the pages, black dots began to appear in each of its four corners. One after the other….after the other…..after the other, until they formed a moving row across the paper. The dots kept moving, like little ants, until they crashed into each other at the center of the sheet. After they collided they appeared to fall like rain drops to the heart of the page. Drip, drip, drip, until they reached the middle then suddenly exploding into tiny specks of black as if they were small fireworks.
We were amazed as drops of black ink seemed to burst off the page and into the air before gently streaming back to the page. Letters began to form, then words began to appear. One word trailed after another until they formed an arced line. The line became a circle as more words were added. The circle of words became a spiral as the unending line formed a ring around the original circle. The spiral continued to grow as it added more loops. Sentences began to fill the page until two thirds of it was obscured.
Suddenly, the coil of moving words stopped and we were able to read the message. We all moved closer to the book and stood over it to get a better view. As we read, we had to walk around the book to be able to see the entire circle of words. We didn’t dare touch the book for fear that the spell would be broken and the words would disappear. “Cherish the love that is in your life. The love of family and friends. Sometimes you must learn to love yourself before you can love another with all your heart. Knowing this feeling can lead you home.”
P had tears in his eyes. “Emma, I know what it means.” Tears dripped down his cheeks and in between sniffles he added. “I think we need to be more grateful for our parents. I feel bad for not cleaning my room the other day. We may never see them again. What if it’s my fault for not listening? I miss Mom and Dad and I just want to go home.”
“I know sweetie. I miss them too. I know I get upset when I think I should have more freedom but I know they’re just looking out for me.” I felt warm tears flowing down my cheeks now, and I tasted salty liquid in my mouth as I spoke.
Zack came over and hugged us both. “I miss my family too, my Mom and Dad, and my Grandmother. I know I take them for granted. I forgot how important they were to me until I started to get worried that we may never get home.”
The three of us stood there holding on as tightly as we could to each other. We forgot that Olivia was still standing nearby until we heard her stomp her foot. She seemed to be getting impatient.
“What’s going on? You guys have figured everything out but nothing has happened! You’re still here.” She pouted.
P broke out of the circle and walked over to her as he wiped his tear stained cheeks. “Maybe we just have to be patient.” He spoke quietly with much wisdom. “Maybe we have to put it all together? I wonder what else we have to do.”
The four of us stood in silence, thinking, then Olivia spoke excitedly. “I don’t think we understood the whole meaning of the last message. We got the first part but, but what about the part about loving yourself before fully loving someone else? What do you think that means?”
I thought a minute then spoke calmly but with assurance, “You need to love yourself…. respect yourself, don’t put yourself down, have confidence in yourself, know yourself. You need to do that before you can accept someone new to love, someone who’s not part of your family.”
I found myself looking at Zack. I felt my face flush red with embarrassment. To my surprise his cheeks turned pink too and he quickly looked down at the ground, pretending to be thinking hard.
Suddenly Olivia jumped a foot off the ground. “I bet that’s it! You figured it out Emma. Now who’s wise?”
I blushed again, then the four of us waited patiently for a few moments to see if the book would start anything. No wind, not even a breeze. The book didn’t budge. After nothing happened for a few minutes, I remembered that I still held the notebook in my hand. I read over the words I had jotted down before. Believe, Trust, Faith, Courage, Freedom, Knowledge, Strength, Harmony, Dream. What meaningful words all together on one piece of paper. I took a deep breath and slowly added L…o…v…e to the end of the list.
At first all was quiet, kind of an eerie quieter than quiet. Then, all of a sudden, a strong gust of wind whipped the page right out of the notebook in my hand and into the air. The paper fluttered in the air briefly, rotated slowly then began to spin intensely. It spun faster and faster until it twisted into a tight spiral. It hovered momentarily then suddenly burst into tiny pieces of paper as if it was tattered into bits. Each shred fell to the ground gracefully.
Olivia clapped her hands. “Yeah! Something’s finally happening.”
As we gazed at the site lying on the cement, a continuous breeze began to blow the shards into an eddy. They swirled around and around, moving more rapidly and beginning to rise up again. The blowing air continued to spin and it became thicker with water droplets. The all too familiar mist was forming and growing into a large rotating cylinder. We could still see the little pieces of paper floating through the mist, but they were shrinking.
“Look at that!” P shouted and pointed to the sky.
Enormous storm clouds rolled in making the gray evening sky black. Thunder rumbled in the distance and we could see faint flashes of lightning. The wind all around us increased in force and leaves blew off the trees across the road.
My hair blew across my face and I struggled to pull it back again. I could see Zack’s t-shirt clinging to his chest from the wind’s pressure in front of him. The back of his shirt billowed out behind him like a flag. P was holding on to Olivia to keep them both standing up, despite the gale.
The massive cylinder of mist grew to about ten feet wide and fifteen feet tall before it started to turn on its side. It turned slowly until its side touched the ground and it looked like a giant slithering snake. As the vapor twisted toward us, the ominous mouth of the snake became visible. We peered through the gaping black hole into the abyss.
The whirring of the swirling mist became deafening. Unlike our previous trips through the mist, this time we could see flashes of lightning inside the opening. They looked like fangs in the snake’s mouth, making the opening appear even more dangerous than ever before.
As we were watching the chasm get bigger, thunder roared even louder. Finally rain poured down from the dark clouds overhead. As the four of us stood amid the sheets of rain, water dripped off our clothes and puddled at our feet. My hair, heavy with water, clung to my forehead and then fell over my eyes. I brushed the damp strands back so I could see what lay before us.
Olivia looked frightened and P was holding her hand tightly. His eyes were wide with fear. Zack, who was usually the bravest of all of us, stood motionless in awe of what was in front of us. We were so eager to get home, but the passageway was different now. The tranquility of the abyss had been transformed into a menacing monster. Fear was holding us back.
Olivia’s voice was barely a mouse’s squeak over the tumult around us. She spoke as loud as she could. ?
??I think it’s time for you to go. You need to finally get home. Face your fears my friends!”
P turned and gave her a big bear hug and it took a few minutes for him to let go. “Thank you friend!” he shouted over the noise, then let go and walked to Zack and me.
I grabbed P’s hand and pulled him close to me, then I grabbed Zack’s hand and his fingers tightened around mine. I pulled Zack’s hand up with mine to wave goodbye to Olivia and saw her sad smile as she waved back. We all would miss her.
The three of us walked in silence toward the swirling vapors and lightning. The vortex of mist pulled us closer to the cavity with a vacuum-like force. We couldn’t turn back now. Zack put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to his chest. I grabbed P around his waist and drew him closer to me.
Zack shouted over the din. “On the count of three!”
We nodded in return.
He continued, “One…two…three!”
I closed my eyes and leapt with the boys, squeezing their hands tightly as my feet left the earth. At first I heard pelting rain and thunder claps. I kept my eyes closed in fear, but could still see the glow from the flashes of lightning around me. Eventually, the rain slowed down to what sounded like a spring shower. The flashes of light faded away. The thunder quieted, then disappeared, and I thought I could hear faint tweets and chirps in the background like the first birds coming out after a hard rain. I smelled the wetness of the remnants of that rain, but then began to feel warmth on my face like the early morning sun.
I had to open my eyes. Blackness met me square in the face as it had before. The sounds and smells vanished and I was left with the desolate stillness of the abyss. We floated together for a few minutes. I squeezed P closer to me and Zack’s arm still embraced my shoulders, then we started drifting apart. I still held onto each boy’s hand but I was floating by myself in the darkness. I began to feel that comforting peace from before. Could we really be going home this time? I closed my eyes again and let the blackness guide me towards the future.
Thwump…thwump….thwump. I felt the ground under me, smooth wood under my fingers. I smelled dusty air and heard the faint creak of floorboards as I slowly brought myself to a sitting position.
I was afraid to open my eyes, until I heard P running over to me yelling, “Emma… Emma, we’re home!”
I opened my eyes to see the familiar light-brown knotty wood of our attic. I stood up and almost jumped for joy. P ran over to me and nearly knocked me over in his excitement. He gave me a big hug.
Zack came over and put his arms around both of us. “I think we’re home!”
“I hope so!” I replied but added cautiously, “But do you think we are in our own time?”
P looked up from his hug, “Uh oh. We may be in our house in the future!”
I laughed but was still a little nervous, until I heard my Mom’s familiar, sweet voice from the rooms below us, “Emmmaa, Peeeee, time for dinner. Come down and get your hands washed. Zack can stay too, if he wants. Come down before it gets cold!”
The three of us raced down the attic stairs. We were home and we made it in time for dinner!
###
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends