A Portal for Your Thoughts

by Jeffrey M. Poole

  “They heard me but didn’t find me. I disappeared into the trees and found my way here. Thankfully I bumped into Cecil and he offered me a place to stay. I guess I can let him know I won’t need the room after all.”

  Sarah shook her head no.

  “Don’t you remember what Rosamund just told us? If people see us together then they’re going to know you are with me. The last thing we need right now is some jealous nitwit with a gun causing problems.”

  Steve suddenly stared at Sarah for a few moments.

  “What?” Sarah slugged him on the shoulder. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

  “Can you still teleport?”

  Sarah nodded. “Of course. I just can’t teleport anywhere that I’m familiar with. It’s like I have to recreate all my safe zones. Consequently, I have several around town now. What about you? Does your jhorun still work?”

  Steve ignited a hand and held it up. Relieved, Sarah nodded. Then they both clearly heard a gasp of shock. Husband and wife whirled around on the couch and stared straight up at the closed trap door. Someone had been watching! Sarah closed her eyes and went still. Several seconds later Mrs. Rosamund Jones appeared in front of them.

  Rosamund straightened and looked around the tiny room in undisguised shock. She looked at Steve and then down at his lit hand and gasped again. Steve sighed and flicked his hand out.

  “Mrs. Jones,” Sarah began as she rose to her feet, “please don’t panic.”

  “All I have to do is scream,” the elderly proprietor nervously told her. “There are dozens of people in the saloon right now.”

  Steve shook his head. “I doubt it. You’d be serving them right now. In order to hear and see what you did you’d have to be laying flat on your stomach on the floor. You’re short, yes, but people would still see you.”

  “There’s no one upstairs?” Sarah gently asked.

  “The last customer walked out a few moments before his hand started burning,” Rosamund reluctantly admitted.

  “Stop looking so scared,” Steve scolded. “We’re not going to hurt you. In fact, you’re free to go if you want. If you’d like to stay, we’ll tell you what we can and hope you’ll be willing to help us out.”

  Surprised, Sarah looked his way and nodded her head in agreement. They both looked at the small woman before them and waited. After a few moments Rosamund was back on the couch.

  “Nothing exciting ever happens here anymore,” Rosamund admitted with a smile. “I would like to know how he can make his hand burn and how I was taken from up there to down here when I don’t remember coming down the stairs.”

  “That’s because you weren’t,” Sarah told her. “I teleported you down here.”

  Mrs. Jones stared at her uncomprehendingly.

  “It means she can instantly move things from point A to point B,” Steve added helpfully. “That goes for people, too.”

  “She instantly moved me from upstairs to here?”

  Sarah disappeared from her chair and appeared next to Rosamund on the couch. The poor lady let out a yelp of surprise.

  “It takes some getting used to,” Sarah admitted. “Trust me when I say that I am harmless. I’m not here to hurt anyone. Neither is Steve. We’re just trying to figure out how to get home.”

  Getting over much of her fright, Rosamund looked over at Steve and pointed at his hand.

  “Can you make your hand burn again?”

  Steve ignited his right hand and held it up.

  “Incredible. How can you do that?”

  “It’d be too hard to explain,” Steve informed her. “I’m not here to hurt anyone, either.”

  Rosamund shifted position on the couch until she was facing Steve. “You said before that you were familiar with Idaho, but were surprised when I referred to it as ‘territory’. You had also mentioned the state of Idaho. Then you were shocked to hear the date. What date did you think it was?”

  Steve looked at Sarah for help and guidance. The only thing she could do was give him a look which said your call.

  “Let’s just say that we’re not from your time, either. We really need to leave it at that.”

  Rosamund clapped her hands together excitedly. “You’re from another time? How extraordinary! How can I help?”

  Amazed, both husband and wife stared at their tiny benefactor.

  “You are a lot more understanding that I had originally given you credit for,” Steve admitted with a smile. “We appreciate that. The best thing you could do for us now is to keep the rest of the people from asking too many questions.”

  “How long will you be in town?” Rosamund inquired. “For several more months?”

  “I sure as hell hope not,” Steve muttered under his breath. He looked over at Sarah. “We’re going to make it home. I promise you. There has to be a reason why that portal exists on Lentari.”

  “Lentari?” Rosamund repeated. “Is that where you’re from?”

  “We’re from Idaho,” Sarah reminded her with a smile. She turned back to Steve. “Do you think those poor people fell through the portal for a reason, too?”

  Steve looked up, surprised. “The missing villagers. I had forgotten about them. Have you heard anything about them?”

  Sarah slowly shook her head no.

  “Assuming those people came here, there’s no way we can guarantee that they came to the same time as we did.”

  Rosamund wrung her hands together. “You’re now looking for more missing people? And they came here the same way you did?”

  Steve nodded. “Yes. The problem is, they could have been dropped here at another time. They could have been here longer than Sarah now. Hmm. What if they have been dropped into the future? Say instead of 1884 then maybe 1885?”

  Sarah shrugged. “Who knows? We were dropped in the past, and we were clearly dropped in two different places in time so it’s possible, I suppose.”

  Steve turned to Rosamund and began smiling. Mrs. Jones noticed and returned his smile.

  “Is there something I can do for you, dear?”

  “You know what? Actually, there is. How long have you lived here in town, Mrs. Jones?”

  “Oh, let’s see. Gerry and I moved here back in the spring of ‘47, so that would be almost 40 years ago.”

  “So you know most people in town, is that right?” Steve guessed.

  “Dear, I know everyone in town.”

  Sarah suddenly smiled. She met Steve’s eyes and nodded.

  “Well, I’m hoping you can help me out then, Mrs. Jones. We’re looking for more of our people and it’s hard to say when they would have shown up. Do you think you could discreetly make some inquiries and perhaps see if you can locate any of them?”

  The brown bird’s nest on Rosamund’s head that was supposed to be a hat nodded so violently that several feathers were dislodged and fluttered to the ground.

  “Why, I would be delighted! If those people are here, I am certain I could uncover their present whereabouts. You leave it to me, dear.”

  Sarah was nodding. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Jones. That’s a big help.”

  Rosamund got to her feet. “I believe I will start making some inquiries. If there are people out there that need our help then by God I will find them.”

  “Don’t draw attention to yourself,” Steve cautioned. “Be discreet.”

  “Honey, I perfected the fine art of acting discreet long before you were born. You have nothing to worry about.”

  She climbed back up the stairs, opened the trapdoor, exited the room, and securely closed the trapdoor after her.

  “That was a nice move,” Sarah admitted as she took her husband’s hand. “Giving her something to do will keep her from worrying about everything she heard and saw. Think she’ll find any of them?”

  “I don’t know,” Steve admitted, “but I figure it couldn’t hurt to try.”

  “There’s something else you need to see,” Sarah told him as they both rose to their feet.”

  �
��Oh? What’s that?”

  “The manor.”

  “Our manor? I had assumed it hadn’t been built yet.”

  “So did I. Steve, it’s being built. Right now.”

  “Okay. What’s your point?”

  Sarah smacked him on his arm. “Didn’t you tell me that your ancestor built that house? Something like your great-great-grandfather, or maybe your great-great-great-grandfather?”

  Steve thought a moment. ‘Yeah, that’s right. Luther. Luther Miller built the house. He’s my grandfather’s grandfather. He’s here? You’ve met him?”

  Sarah shook her head no.

  “He’s something of a recluse. He rarely comes to town, and from what I hear, when he is in town he’s here only long enough to pick up whatever supplies he needs and then it’s back to the manor.”

  “Wow. That’s weird.”

  “I think we need to talk to him.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Don’t you get it? I think that’s how Luther got here. Honey, he must have used that portal! That’s probably why it was created. I think it was how our world was originally linked to Lentari!”

  About to ask another question, Steve’s mouth snapped shut.

  “How in the world did you come up with that?”

  “When you’re stuck in the old west for months on end, with no internet, there’s not much else to do but think. I took the time to think things through. Do you know who Luther’s parents are? Didn’t you tell me that Luther was the first Miller to take up residence here in Coeur d’Alene?”

  “That doesn’t mean he used the portal,” Steve pointed out. “It just means he’s the first Lentarian to visit our world.”

  “He used that portal!” Sarah insisted. “How else would he have gotten here?”

  “I had assumed by whatever wizard is living in R’Tal at this point in time.”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Sarah asked. “Wouldn’t you like to know if he knows how to use the portal and see if there’s a way to get back?”

  Steve finally acquiesced. He wasn’t too sure how he felt about meeting an ancestor of his, and was hoping to avoid it, but since Sarah deemed it important then so be it.

  “Fine. We’ll go see this relative of mine. Should we tell him who we are?”

  “I don’t want to,” Sarah admitted, “but we might have to in order to win his cooperation.”

  Steve and Sarah trooped back up the stairs and were startled to see the saloon completely dark. Rosamund was just finishing tipping several chairs upside down on a nearby table.

  “Maybe we should call it a night,” Steve quipped as he looked around at the eerily quiet bar. “What time is it, anyway?”

  “Closing time,” Rosamund announced, as though it should be perfectly obvious. “Business has been slow, ever since the White Elephant opened earlier this year. I’ve been in there. It’s nothing spectacular, believe me. It’s just a tent. A tent! Our establishment is much cleaner and we serve better liquor.”

  “We know you do, Mrs. Jones,” Sarah assured her. She looked at her husband and winked. “Remind me to tell you about the Elephant, okay?”

  Intrigued, Steve nodded. He looked around the quiet saloon. “So is there room for me at wherever you’re staying?”

  Rosamund automatically shook her head no.

  “Appearances must be kept, dear, It would be best if you find another place to stay while you’re in town.”

  “What? We’re married! Do you think there will be some hanky panky going on?”

  Sarah blushed bright red and looked straight down. To her credit, Mrs. Jones chuckled softly.

  “What I mean is that your wife here has had a lot of admirers asking about her.”

  Steve’s left eyebrow rose up as he swiveled his head to look at his wife.

  “How many are we talking about?”

  “A lot,” Rosamund confirmed. “If you start parading about town on her arm then you’re going to find yourself the recipient of a lot of unwelcome attention.”

  “It’s okay,” Sarah assured the friendly barkeep. “He has a place to stay for the night. He’s staying with Cecil and AnnaBelle Cook.”

  “Ah. Excellent choice. Very well, you’ll be off now. We open at sunrise so you can see Sarah then.”

  Steve was ushered to the door much like an unwanted guest. He was barely able to kiss his wife goodnight before a heavy wood panel was pulled across the front entrance of the saloon and bolted in place.

  ****

  The following morning, after they had eaten a light meal at the Silver Spike, Steve followed Sarah out into the bright morning sunshine. The sun was just appearing over the eastern horizon, causing the dark blue sky to become streaked with reds and oranges. Steve stretched his back and groaned aloud.

  “How’d you sleep?” Sarah asked as she cast a sideways glance at him.

  “Not too well. I might as well have been sleeping on a bag of bricks. That bed in Cecil’s house is not very comfortable.”

  “You have a number of years to go before our adjustable beds will be invented, you know.”

  Steve grumbled something but Sarah ignored it.

  “So can we at least teleport there?” Steve asked with a hopeful tone. “I’m so done with walking it’s not even funny.”

  “Yeah, I can, but let’s get away from town first so no one sees what we’re about to do. Funny story about my teleporting.”

  Steve grunted.

  “I said, there’s a funny story about my teleporting. Would you like to hear it?”

  Steve’s bloodshot eyes rose from the ground and found hers.

  “Sure. Would love to. What about it?”

  “It took me some time to figure out how to do it.”

  “What, teleporting? That doesn’t make any sense. You’ve been teleporting for years now.”

  “If I do line-of-sight teleporting it’s a breeze. If I’m trying to teleport someplace I’ve been to before in our time but trying to teleport to the present time equivalent of it, it becomes very difficult.”

  Steve’s curiosity was piqued.

  “Why?”

  “None of my safe zones work. I usually just bring up a mental picture of where I want to go and voila, I’m there. In this time, namely the 19th century, I have to think generic. I remember what those images look like, what scents I remember smelling, if I felt a breeze, etc. It helps me remember. Are you with me so far?”

  Steve nodded.

  “Now, the problem is that none of those places as I remember them exist any more. I have to concentrate on the location and forget about the little things that help me remember the locale. Trust me, it’s a lot harder to do than you realize.”

  Steve still didn’t say anything. Sarah continued.

  “So once I was able to think about just the location and not about any other specifics, then, and only then, would I be able to teleport.”

  “How long did it take you to figure that all out?” Steve wanted to know.

  “About a month,” Sarah recalled. “Once I knew what I had to do it was another two weeks or so before I could figure out how to do it. It’s still hard for me to do. My teleporting is not as instantaneous as it used to be. Then again, that’s only to locations that we’ve been to in different times. If it’s a brand new location then it’s a piece of cake.”

  Once they were certain they weren’t being followed Sarah took his arm and pulled him into the nearby trees.

  “Ready?”

  “Where are we going?”

  “My safe zone is now what used to be, I mean, what will be French Gulf street.”

  “So we’re going to our street, is that it?”

  “Yes. Here we go.”

  The surrounding forest winked out and just as quickly was replaced by another scene, this one with trees visible in the distance all around them. Steve slowly looked around. The other three houses that were at the end of the cul-de-sac back in their time were nowhere to be seen. Clearly they hadn’t been
built yet. Steve looked down. The street wasn’t paved, either. Although now that he thought about it, none of the streets in town were paved. A dusty gray gravel road overrun with weeds was the only indication they were in the right spot. That and the brightly polished brass placque set into a newly mortared set of brick walls framing a solid iron gate set before them.

  Steve walked up to the name placard and knocked his knuckles against the metal surface. “Wow. This thing looks brand spanking new. This is seriously weird.”

  Sarah turned to him. “Why? Is it because we’re about to see our future house over a hundred years before we’ll ever live there? What could be weird about that?”

  Just like the name placard, brick wall, and iron gates, the chain and the lock were practically brand new and very formidable looking. However, the chain was lying, discarded, on the ground and the lock was right beside it. Steve nervously looked at his wife.

  “Either someone forgot to lock the gate, or maybe they have company at the moment?”

  Sarah frowned as she looked down at the discarded chain and lock.

  “That’s probably the same lock and chain from our time. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them off the gate before.”

  “Should I put it back on for them?”

  Sarah shook her head.

  “No. We have to think about the consequences while we’re here. That chain is on the ground for a reason. If we pick that back up and put it on the gate then we could change something that could affect us back home.”

  “How could a simple chain affect us?” Steve wanted to know.

  “Let’s say they were supposed to meet some important person here. At first glance the gate would appear locked and they might turn away. What if it was to meet with the land owners next door so that he, namely Luther, could purchase more land? We could mess up that meeting and when we get back we could discover half our land no longer belongs to us.”

  That sobered Steve. About to retrieve the chain from the ground he instantly straightened and held out his arm.

  “Chain stays on the ground. Got it.”

  “Just remember where we are,” Sarah told him as she slipped her arm through his. “We cannot interfere no matter what happens.”