EPILOGUE - A WEEK LATER
The next week passed in a blur for Toby. As promised, Nitika had talked to the school. All his recent problems had been erased from his record. He had been attending his classes regularly and was almost caught up in all of them.
He had sent an e-mail to Pete telling him about Carson leaving town, and how the real governor had put things right in the other world. He didn't mention the silver sentinel on his key ring or that he was now the keeper of Worlds Within. The leather bound book was lying on his bookshelf. The picture of the hut had been safely restored.
He was hunched over his PC deleting spam and advertisements from his e-mail. Finally he reached the reply from Pete:
Did you catch the news last night? Dad called me in and made me watch it. Carson made national news. Someone sent an anonymous tip to the local school board with evidence against him. (Gee, I wonder who that could have been??) Guess they wanted to make sure he didn't go to another state and start over. They showed his picture and listed all the names he used. Wow - I hope he doesn't end up at school here! Wouldn't that be scary? Just when you thought you got rid of him you'd come back home and there he'd be! Like one of those Twilight Zone stories.
The news said all those trophies he had in his office were fakes! He dropped out of college. His grades were bad and he wasn't all that great at sports. Seems the only thing he was really good at was fake ID's - and messing with your life.
This whole thing must have been hard on you to make up all that stuff about another world. It was some fantasy! It did help out in my English class though - I got an A in creative writing! Bet that surprises you! Guess you won't be able to use it next year. Sorry about that. Maybe we can make up some stuff together.
Anyway, it won't be much longer and you'll be home and we can go camping again this summer. Dad said he'd take all of us before Kyle has to go home. You can show him that trail you found last year by the lake. Just as long as the two of you don't sit up all night singing Celtic songs around the campfire. Pete
Toby chuckled and opened a message from his dad.
Toby,
We're starting to wrap things up here and should be home about the time you get out of school this spring. We'll have the summer off and we'll do lots of great things together.
We've been offered another assignment for next fall, but insisted on a base camp close enough to civilization so you can be with us and go to school. A new lizard has been discovered in the American desert and we might get to be the ones to study it! It will be quite a change going from a frozen world to an arid desert. Here's some links so you can check out the new lizard and the area. Let us know what you think. We miss you and love you lots.
Dad & Mom
P.S. - if you hate the idea, let me know and we'll talk it over. We know it's not easy moving around all the time. We thought the trade off of new adventures might make up for it some. Dad
Toby clicked on one of the links. It brought up a picture of the southern Utah desert. In the center was a natural sandstone arch that had been formed thousands of years ago from erosion. Etched into the stone on the bottom of the arch was an Indian petroglyph of a lizard.
Looking through the arch was like looking through a porthole. The scene on the other side was hidden in shadows, but he could see dark blobs. He squinted at the screen and thought they might be tall trees. But it didn't make sense that there would be trees like that in the desert.
Then he remembered the black and white picture in the library. It clearly had pine trees along the path that led up to the arch, but he didn't remember seeing any on the other side of that arch.
But there was also something about that lizard. It looked strangely familiar. He had seen something like it recently. He leaned back in his chair and stared at the wall trying to think where he had seen that arch and that petroglyph. His eyes came to rest on Worlds Within.
Slowly he reached for the book. His heart beat a little faster as he turned through the pages. There it was - almost. The arch was the same as the one on his computer screen, but it wasn't in the desert. This arch was surrounded by tall pine trees just like in the library. An abundance of yellow flowers and tall grass grew around the base. The view through this arch was also in shadow. Could that be more trees on the other side, or was it tall standing stones? He looked closely at the bottom of the arch and smiled with satisfaction as he located the petroglyph of the lizard. There it was, but just below the lizard was something he couldn't quite make out. He reached for his magnifying glass?
NOTES
The pictures on the front and back cover were taken in a small state park in New Mexico called City of Rocks. The park is located in the southwest part of the state near Silver City. If you're ever in that area, it's a great place for a picnic and for spending the day wandering through the boulders and climbing on the rocks.
In Toby's first trip through the Valley of Rocks he sings the song "May It Be" by Enya. It is the ending song on the 2002 Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Rings song track. It was written and performed by Enya and was nominated for several awards. If you watch the movie, be sure to let it run through the credits at the end. Enya's song completes the film and leaves you with a haunting memory of the movie.
1-2-3 Infinity by George Gamow is a book full of delightful scientific facts and speculations. A classic. It is printed by Dover Publishing Inc. New York.
Flatland is a classic science fiction book written by Edwin A. Abbott in the 19th century. It is the story of a two-dimensional world where the people are squares, triangles and circles. The main character, A. Square, is challenged to see things differently when he meets a three-dimensional sphere. Published by Penguin Books.
Steven and Margaret Larson live in a row home with a library and a telescope. They have a cat that is at least 18 years old (when asked she refuses to give her exact age). Their small side yard has several trees, a few gnomes, a Brownie, a Pixie and a Sprite.
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