by Amelia Grace
*~*~*~*~*
At 8.00am I walked to the drawing room. Ben followed behind me. He knew I would not reconnect without him present in the room. Even though the risk of something happening to me now was extremely low, it still wasn’t worth the risk. And Ben would never allow it.
I thought back to where I had left Gran’s memory yesterday. It was when she had just been helped through the window of the portal to return to her own family.
I placed my right hand onto the rock and my head started to spin, quickly at first, then slowed to a stop. I was, as always welcomed by a hologram of Gran smiling at me. Gran’s memory was back to shades of grey again.
Katie landed on the cold white ground. She stood up and brushed the white dustings of snow off her clothes, still holding on tightly to the gift James had given her. She opened her hand to look at it. It was about the size and shape of a hen’s egg. It felt heavy and hard, yet perfectly smooth and cool. On closer inspection, Katie could see the vivid colours like an opal. She placed it into the pocket of the woolen jacket the Terreans had made for her, then looked around.
She was in the same place where she had disappeared five years ago.
Nothing had changed. She inspected the exact location of the portal wanting to make certain she could always find it, just in case the need came for her to return. There was a large boulder right beside it. It was the only boulder in the forest.
She walked the short distance to the train station. It was mostly the same, except the station was new, and bigger. There were crowds of people everywhere so she figured there must be a train departing soon.
But, there was a problem—she had no money. How would she pay for her train fare?
She sat on a seat and watched the busy people. Mostly they acted the same, but they all seemed to be rushing. Some people chatted and laughed, some were engaged in serious conversations, and some read books or a newspaper.
The train doors swished open. All at once everyone stood and headed for the train.
But not Katie—she remained seated at the station. She sat and watched the people, wondering of a way to get back to her home.
While she remained on the seat she noticed an elderly lady with many packages, struggling to get onto the train. Nobody stopped to help her. They just looked at her and continued on. Katie decided to help the lady, otherwise she would miss the departure.
‘May I help you?’ Katie asked.
‘Oh, bless you, dear. Yes you can. I’m afraid that I will miss that train at this rate,’ the lady replied with a look of exasperation.
‘Well, if you get on the train, I will pass all of your bags to you. Then you’ll be right to go,’ Katie suggested.
‘But, dear, aren’t you catching this train as well?’ she asked.
‘I want to, but I haven’t got any money to pay for the fare,’ Katie said.
‘I will pay for you, dear. You have helped me, and so I will help you. Get on with me,’ she said and smiled at Katie.
‘Thank-you so much.’ Excitement ran through Katie. She hugged the generous woman with the kindness of her heart.
Once onboard the train, Katie walked to the carriage where she used to sit daily, twice. She didn’t recognise anyone on the train, not even the conductor.
As she looked out the window she was shocked to see the great change in the scenery. Where farms used to be, were now houses and shops. Roads had been built and there were many cars driving on them.
Katie looked out for her gate. It was usually about now that it would have come into view—but, there was no Katie’s Gate. Her heart sank, then began to race.
She got off at the next station and walked towards where her home used to be.
It seemed to take forever, until she noticed some familiar trees that would have been near her gate. She trudged in the snow for a short while then came to a road. Five years ago this used to be part of her mama and papa’s farm, and it was a paddock where the cows used to graze.
Katie was puzzled. Her high spirits began to fade. She was troubled by the changes that were everywhere. She began to worry that her mama and papa did not live here anymore. Then what would she do?
She had to find them so they knew she was still alive.
She tried to find her bearings and looked for familiar landmarks. Five years ago, she would have been able to see the house from the railway line. But now, houses had been built on Mama and Papa’s farm land, and she didn’t know how to access her home.
She continued walking in the general direction where she thought her home would have been, when she was eleven years old.
And finally she saw it. There was her home, looking exactly the same as five years ago.
Her hope lifted and she started running towards the house, eager to see her family. She had missed them dreadfully.
She stepped onto the veranda and yelled, ‘Mama, Pa, Charlie, I’m home. It’s me, Katie. I’m back home!’
The house was silent.
Katie stood on the veranda and waited. Maybe they didn’t live here anymore, she thought. Yet, she stood on the veranda, motionless, and waited.
An old woman came to the screen door. ‘Katie?’ she asked, ‘is that really you? It can’t be. You’ve been dead for five years.’ The old woman looked closely at Katie, then yelled, ‘Charlie, come to the front door!’
Charlie came, walking slowly. He was twelve years old now. ‘Yes, Mama?’ he said.
Katie was shocked. Mama? This was Mama? It couldn’t be. She looked too old. She should only be forty years old now. This woman looked way older than that.
‘Charlie, it’s me,’ Katie said.
Charlie stopped, stunned. He searched Katie’s face and her eyes. Then he smiled and ran at her and hugged her so tightly that Katie was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to breathe. ‘You came back. Everyone thought you were dead. Where were you?’ he asked. How would she answer him? She was sworn to secrecy about Une Autre Terre; the parallel world.
Katie’s mother stepped in front of Charlie, shaking. Tears running down her face. Katie took a step closer to her and held both of her mama’s hands and whispered, ‘Yes, Mama, it’s me, Katie.’
They hugged and held each other for a long while, each crying a thousand tears. Then Mama led Katie into the old house, not letting go of her hand. They went straight to the kitchen and made hot tea and cupcakes. It was just like when Katie was a child.
Katie could see an instant change in the appearance of her mama as they talked and touched. She no longer looked frail and broken. Colour returned to her cheeks, as did her beautiful smile.
‘Mama, where’s Pa? When will he be home?’ Katie asked, excited about seeing her father again.
Mama looked at Katie. The happiness and colour drained from her face in an instant and was replaced by a grave expression. ‘Pa … he’s not coming home, Katie,’ Mama said, choking on her words.
Katie stared at her mama, swallowed by a moment in time as dread filled her.
Pa couldn’t be dead. She had returned for him. He should be here waiting for her! A loud sob escaped from Katie as the realisation of her father’s death set in, followed by tears of a grieving heart. She bent over, her hand to her heart as it broke.
‘Pa died about two years after you had gone. The doctor said he died of a broken heart. It was terribly difficult for him when Oliver and Libby died. He barely found the will to live then. But, when we were told that you had died, he couldn’t function anymore. He had what they called a nervous breakdown, and withdrew into his own world. He didn’t talk. He didn’t eat. He didn’t sleep. He didn’t acknowledge anything around him. He didn’t do anything. He had no emotion. He just sat and stared. They even gave him electric shock therapy, like to restart his brain again. But it didn’t work. In the end—he was so thin. He was unrecognisable. But I cared for him to his end breath. I loved him till the day he died. And I still do. He was such a good man.’
Tears flowed from Mama, Katie and Charlie. Katie
felt like the death of her papa was all her fault. She should have tried harder to come home earlier, and then her papa would still be alive.
As Mama and Charlie ate the cupcakes they stared at Katie. They couldn’t believe she had returned from being “dead”. She had grown into a beautiful young woman.
Charlie asked again, ‘Katie, where were you? Where have you been all of this time?’
Katie thought carefully about what to say. She didn’t want to her story to be too complicated, because then she would forget what she had said. She wanted a simple story that was believable, and would not be questioned in detail. She had to keep her promise to the people of Une Autre Terre—even if she had to lie. The safety of their world and the survival of their people depended on her. She was sworn to secrecy.
So she started at the beginning. ‘Well … I bought a return ticket on that day that I didn’t return. I was at the train station ready to come home after school. I took the ticket out of my pocket. Then, a large man knocked the train ticket out of my hand. A breeze caught it and blew it away from me. I followed it of course because I needed it to get on the train to come back home.
‘When I found it, I turned to make my way back to the train station. But on the way I tripped on something, and fell into a type of ditch and hit my head. I was knocked out. I guess it kept snowing heavily, and I got covered up with the snow. That’s why I wasn’t found I guess.
‘The next thing I knew, I woke up in the back of a wagon. There was a family there. They had found me and were taking care of me. They were in a hurry, and thought they would help me and then drop me off so I could return back home.
‘But I wasn’t doing so well. The mother was a nurse and she knew exactly how to care for me. So I just remained with them until I felt better. It was quite a while.
‘When I was better though, I noticed their farm wasn’t doing well. So I thought I should stay with them and help them out, since I knew more about farming than them. I felt that I should do something for them, because I would have died if they had not found me and cared for me.
‘I tried contacting you right from the start, but I guess you never received my letters. They lived in an isolated area. The rest is a long story. But finally, they organised some transport for me so that I could return home. I couldn’t wait to get back.’
Mama and Charlie sat motionless and listened to Katie’s account of what had happened. Katie had tried to keep it as simple as possible, so that it would be easy for her to remember. She was sure that she would have to repeat it many times over to others.
After Katie had her fill of cupcakes, she had an important question to ask of her mama. She chose her words carefully, as she didn’t know how her mama would react.
‘Mama, our farm has changed so much. What are all these houses doing on our land?’
‘Well, Katie, after your pa died, Charlie and I tried to keep the farm going as best as we could. But Charlie was still so young, and I was having trouble coping with you gone … and wondering if he would be next. Then one day, a man came to do the door. He had a fancy car. I had never seen one like that before. He said he would like to buy the farm land and he would pay good money for it.
‘We didn’t agree to it straight away, of course. Your pa would have been, unquestionably against it. You know how much he loved the land. But then, after a while, we could see the sense in selling the farm. We wouldn’t have to work the land anymore. Charlie could have more of a childhood like all of the other boys his age. He so much deserved that after all he had been through. And … we would have money in the bank—we had never had that before! It was a blessing, Katie. So that’s what we did.
‘Now, we’ve got a car—Pa would have loved driving it. We’ve got a telephone, electricity, a wireless, and I could feel myself starting to heal a little. We’ve enjoyed watching the homes get built. Charlie wants to be a carpenter when he finishes school.
‘And now, there are other children around for Charlie to connect with. It is good, Katie—it is very good. We kept your gate you know. We wouldn’t let them take it away. It’s in the shed. If you ever want it, it’s yours.’
Katie smiled at her mama and hung her head. She understood everything her mama had said, and knew it was the right thing for her mama to do.
