PLAY ON

by Marilynn Halas

  When they arrived at the Starlight Ball, they could hear the music thumping from the moment they walked inside. Dillon knew the Plaza Hotel well. His parents used to take him there for Afternoon Tea and he enjoyed it just about as much as getting a root canal. Still, there was no denying that it was cool. You never knew whom you might see in the lobby. Celebrities and politicians were a common sight in New York, but at the Plaza, they were an expected part of the scenery.

  The DJ welcomed the crowd and played a favorite high school dance anthem that had everyone on the floor.

  On the other side of Central Park, Michael paced around his Park Avenue apartment. Something was wrong; he could just feel it. He had already put into place most of what he needed to bring the crystal to the highest bidder. He almost felt bad about what he had done when he saw Ryan and Dillon together. The father and son bond was a sacred one, but that’s why he just couldn’t back down. This technology would mean that James was set for life. He already had plenty of money, but handled in just the right way, the crystal meant power. Michael had been travelling around time for while, looking for an opportunity like this. Technology brought back from the future was easy money, but power was elusive and power was the only currency Michael needed. With the crystals, it was clear that he could have more personal power than any one family had ever had. Michael didn’t want to make a score: he wanted to start a dynasty.

  Three hours later Dillon led Marie back out onto the dance floor for the last dance. When they dimmed the lights and the last song began to play, Dillon knew that song would be his favorite for the rest of his life. It almost didn’t matter what the music was. Holding Marie in his arms was the closest thing to heaven Dillon had ever known. Dillon could never forget the night they fell irrevocably and utterly in love.

  December 18, 2011

  Ryan and Thomas decided to get together for coffee near the lab. In the last few months they had become good friends, and Ryan knew that if anyone could understand the crystal, it was Thomas. It was another strange conversation in what seemed like a never-ending dialogue that always started the same way: “I know this sounds crazy, but . . .”

  Ryan told Thomas about most of what happened in Michael’s office and in the future, how this little rock could create enough energy to power a whole city, but with a big drawback. It seemed to run on information, so it sucked up whatever data it could access from the computers around it. Michael seemed to consider that a bonus, but Ryan was not so sure having private information in the public domain was such a good idea.

  “If you’re right, then what we really need is some kind of shield around it. That way we could feed it a loop of recycled information to keep it busy, but safeguard current secure information,” Thomas said. He was excited about this whole idea. “This kind of thing really could change the world.”

  Ryan laughed. “Yeah, that whole interdimensional travel thing is so dated.”

  Michael was in the office and he was furious. Sunday was his day with his current wife and their young son. He was beginning to get a little tired of the mother, but the boy was his dynasty, his legacy, and his future. Michael knew he had to deal with Ryan if he was going to provide for James. The fact that he was already a billionaire didn’t matter.

  He had to figure out a way to get the crystals back from Ryan and then for Ryan to just disappear. The last thing he needed was Ryan talking to anyone. Michael smiled when the solution danced across his twisted mind. He was so preoccupied with his own plans, he didn’t notice that Rosa was standing in the shadows and making some plans of her own.

  Rosa De La Joya loved Michael. She had helped him move from the streets of Jackson Heights to Park Avenue and she was proud of his progress. She knew he was willful when he was young and she had liked that. She needed someone with guts to help her realize her dream.

  Rosa had grown up in the Amazon jungle. Her father was the village shaman and her mother was a healer. She was well versed in herbal medicine and also in spiritual healing. That was the reason that traveling between dimensions of time and space came so easily to her. One day, her father took her away from the village and up a steep incline to a cave. When they reached the top, he took her inside and she took the first step on the path she followed even today.

  It was her father who explained to her about the eagle and the condor. Her mother explained that she could bring much healing to the world if she found a way to bring these two great spirits together. Then her father brought her further into the cave and she discovered the tunnel that led to the abyss. Her father grabbed her hand and they flew down and through the opening. They landed in a future unlike anything Rosa had ever imagined.

  There were cars whizzing by and the streets were full of people. Rosa had never seen anything like it and she squeezed her father’s hand a little bit tighter. Up ahead, she saw crowds of excited people all moving toward a big plaza where bright lights flashed everywhere. The people were bundled up against the cold but they were laughing and dancing. Her father smiled when he saw her bewildered expression.

  “This is why I chose this time and this place. It is very different from our jungle, isn’t it, little one?” Rosa’s dad grinned.

  It was dark and the stars should have been blazing, but only the twinkling lights could be seen, and then the moment everyone seemed to be waiting for finally arrived. The people began to count down: "Ten, nine, eight…" Rosa wondered what was happening. "Seven, six, five, four . . ." The excitement and anticipation were at a fever pitch. "Three, two, one, Happy New Year!"

  People began to cheer and a marvelous crystal ball descended over the crowd. At that moment, the ball opened and released a bald eagle and a condor that flew off at break-neck speed over the crowd. Rosa could not believe her eyes. The sign above her read "Welcome, 2050!"

  She looked at her father with confusion on her face. Why was he showing this to her? Her father took her hand. A moment later they were in a church that was quiet and empty. The only light came from the candles around the altar. Rosa took a few steps forward to get a better look, and there it was: a basket behind the candles with two little babies sleeping inside.

  “These boys are your destiny,” her father whispered.

  Now Rosa was completely confused. She was just about to ask her father what he meant when a noise startled her. She turned and saw an old woman who looked remarkably like herself. She was dressed in the traditional clothes of Rosa’s village and she seemed to know exactly where to find the basket. She smiled as she passed them and winked at Rosa. A moment later she was gone.

  “There will come a time when you will bring these boys to the time and place they belong. With your help, they will be great teachers and healers. Keep them safe and give each one to the right person.”

  Rosa had a million questions, but she didn’t get a chance to ask even one. In the next second, her father was gone, and she felt herself falling and falling as if the ground just swallowed her whole. When she finally stopped falling, she discovered that she was back in her bed in the hut she shared with her family. She could hear the cicadas and the wind blowing through the moonlit jungle. Across the room, she saw her father. He sat up and smiled at her and then he put his fingers across his lips and winked. Rosa knew it was not a dream and she knew what she had to do. She even knew when and where to go, but what she did not know was that they had not been alone in the church. In the back pew sat Michael McIntyre and he had seen the whole thing.

  It wasn’t long before Rosa heard a thud outside. Her parents were snoring as she tiptoed out of her home. There he was in a suit and tie, looking completely baffled and delighted all at once. Michael McIntyre followed her back in time. She was naïve enough to believe he did it for love, that he had somehow seen her and his passion had driven him back through time. In a way, she was right. His passion did drive him. Michael McIntyre had travelled back in time for the love of money, power, and adventure, but Rosa didn’t know that yet.

  She hid him and taught him
about the special places in the world where the space-time continuum could fold. For a long time, she thought they would work together to fulfill her destiny to help bring healing to the world, but Rosa soon learned that Michael was more interested in bringing profit to his pocket.

  Rosa held out hope for many years that he would change, but now, watching him plan Ryan’s demise Rosa knew it could never be. Michael had to be stopped, even if it broke her heart to stop him.

  December 21, 2011

  Dillon and Marie finished their Christmas shopping, and Dillon could not wait to get outside. He held Marie’s hand tightly as they made their way through the crowds. Dillon was dragging her along 34th Street when she stopped abruptly.

  “Hey! What gives? Why are we in such a hurry?”

  Dillon shrugged his shoulders. “I guess I just don’t like crowds much.”

  As they trudged through Times Square twenty minutes later, Dillon realized it was only four days 'til Christmas and no matter what he did, he could not contact Danny. He didn’t know where Danny was or how he was doing, and it didn’t feel anything like a holiday without him.

  Worse than that, Dillon felt like a hypocrite. Dillon loved Marie, but he was hiding the biggest part of his life from her. He just didn’t know how to tell her. Guess what? I’m a time traveler and I also discovered that I have a brother. He happens to be dead, but we don’t like to let that get in the way of a good jam session.

  He needed to talk to Danny. Danny was the only one who could help him figure everything out. That’s when Dillon stopped short. Dillon spent all his time thinking about how this whole situation affected him, but he wasn’t the only one affected. In fact, Danny seemed to be lost between dimensions and yet he had never even asked for help. For the second time, Marie looked at Dillon like he was nuts.

  “I’m such a loser.”

  Marie would have answered him, but he didn’t seem to be talking to her.

  “What a freakin’ narcissist. Not everything was about me. Danny needs me and I didn’t even notice.” Finally Dillon looked at Marie.

  “Who is Danny?” Marie wanted to know.

  “I’m sorry. I have to get you a cab. My brother needs me.”

  Dillon burst through the door of his home and ran up the stairs. He almost made it, too, but then he stopped short. What was that in the living room? Dillon turned and went back down the stairs. He sat down on the bottom step and looked again. Maggie and Ryan were decorating the biggest tree ever. It was no secret that Maggie loved Christmas, but even she never chose a tree like this. They were playing Christmas carols and laughing and actually working together. Weird.

  Dillon stared for another minute, just to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating or something, and then he shook his head. This was too much. He had to talk to Danny. Seeing the future, talking to the dead? No problem. Seeing his parents look happy together? No way.

  Dillon went up to his room and closed the door. His newly repaired Fenson guitar was lying on his bed. Dillon picked it up and began to play and sing softly.

  “Will the circle be unbroken? By and by, Lord, by and by. There’s a better home awaiting, in the sky, Lord, in the sky.”

  Dillon knew it was one of Danny’s favorites, and he was sure that if any song could coax Danny back, it was that one. Dillon was just getting into the second verse when he heard that old familiar harmony and he knew Danny was near. Dillon couldn’t see Danny yet, but he sure could hear him.

  “Man, you sound so lonesome when you sing that. Don’t you know it’s Christmas?” Danny said as he floated into view. “Even so, I do love that old song. Makes me think of home.”

  Dillon looked at his brother and for the first time wished he could just give him a hug or something. For someone who really ought to be in heaven, he looked seriously miserable.

  “Where are you, Danny?”

  “What are you talkin’ about? I’m right here in front of you. For Pete’s sake, you’re looking right at me.”

  “No, I don’t mean right now. I mean when we are not together. Where do you go? What’s it like?” Dillon was about to ask Danny if he was happy, but he stopped before he did. He knew Danny was proud and that he would never tell Dillon anything that might worry him. Dillon knew this had to be handled very carefully.

  “When I’m not with you, I go back to Tennessee. I see my mom and dad, and sometimes I just walk around the places I used to like to go. Once I even went to see an old girlfriend, but that was a huge mistake. I don’t know what I expected. I guess a part of me hoped she’d still be pining away over a fallen hero, but she wasn't. She was knee deep in dirty laundry with a baby on her hip and a husband mowing the lawn. I did not expect that. I’m happy for her though, sort of.”

  Dillon knew that this was his opening. “Why do you think you’re stuck, Danny? Why don’t you just let go and go to heaven?”

  “Just let go and go to heaven? That’s it. You are not allowed to watch any more daytime talk shows!” Danny chuckled. “Don’t you think if I could get to heaven, I would be there by now? I thought there would be a guide or an angel or something to whisk me off into the clouds, but I can’t see anyone over here. I saw your Uncle Joe one time and there were people all around us that night we were in the cave headed for your future, but otherwise, the only time I’m not alone is when I make my visits here.”

  The moment Danny said this, he regretted it. “That’s not to say I’m unhappy or anything. Not at all. I can go anywhere I want, see anything I want, and know that the people I care about are okay, so don’t worry about me. I’m in my own kind of heaven. It’s just not exactly like I thought it would be.

  “Danny? What would you say if I told you that you don’t have to be alone?”

  Before he could say another word, Danny interrupted him. “Forget it. I’m not alone; I can visit any time I want to. And besides, you still get to be a kid at Christmas, so no worrying about stuff neither one of us understands.”

  “You helped me. Neither one of us understood what was happening to me, but you stuck it out with me. You went with me to places neither of us wanted to go, saw stuff neither of us wanted to see, and discovered that there was a really good reason for it. We needed to learn about those things. We, not just me. I don’t think we’re done. I think there is more.”

  Danny looked Dillon in the eye. Up until that moment, Danny figured he was there to help Dillon; it never occurred to him that there might be help for him too. “Maybe those talk shows are on to something after all. Maybe I do need a little help.”

  There was a huge crash downstairs and then silence. Dillon ran down the stairs two at a time and stopped cold at the bottom. Ryan was frozen. He just stared at the shattered tea set on the floor at his feet. The tea set belonged to Maggie’s grandmother. They rarely used it, and brought it out only at Christmas. It was great for holding the flowers Maggie loved to have around the house. For years, Dillon had walked gingerly around the table with the tiny cups and saucers and just plain avoided the mammoth teapot overflowing with blooms. No one wanted to imagine what would happen if they broke; now imagination would not be necessary. They were all about to find out.

  Maggie looked at the shattered pieces and up to Ryan’s ashen face. Dillon braced himself for what was bound to be a tirade. Everyone knew Maggie’s grandmother had carried the set with her from Ireland at least a hundred years ago.

  “What a relief!” Maggie definitely took Ryan by surprise. “It’s okay, really. I always felt like it was my job to keep them safe, for the next generation. Like it was the only link to the past. Like somehow it made my family history more real. The truth is, I never really liked that set. That’s why I only used it at Christmas. Let’s face it, I don’t even like tea.”

  Ryan was convinced Maggie had popped a blood vessel somewhere in her brain. “I’m so sorry. The box just slipped out of my hands. I know you loved that set. I’m so very sorry—”

  Maggie cut him off. “I love my grandmother and I still do, but t
hat tea set was just a reminder. I still have her picture and I think this is really okay. I need to start to let go of the past.” Maggie looked around at all the old pictures and antiques that surrounded them, and she took the broken porcelain out of Ryan’s hand. “Maybe my best times aren’t all behind me.”

  Okay, thought Dillon, this was weird, but kind of wonderful all at the same time.

  December 22, 2011

  It was just like old times. Everyone was gathered together for a new meeting on an old topic. After the Tea Set Incident, Dillon told his parents about wanting to help Danny move on in much of the same way that they were starting to move on. Ryan called Thomas, and he and Tom agreed to meet at Maggie’s place right away.

  “Looks like we’re getting the band back together,” Thomas joked as they took their seats. No one could see him, but everyone knew Danny was in the room with them. It took a minute, but it wasn’t too long before they knew that Uncle Joe was there as well. It was like a breeze or familiar scent: they couldn’t see him, but they could sense his presence.

  After a quick check of their lists and notes from earlier sessions, they began to realize the one thing all of their time travel had taught them was time was too precious to waste. Everyone assumed that only Dillon was in jeopardy. After all, Danny was already dead. Now they began to consider a much more disturbing thought: Danny may have a limited time to move on.

  “Dillon, I want to talk to Uncle Joe, can you tell me what he says? I really feel like he is listening,” Maggie reasoned. Dillon nodded and Maggie looked uncomfortable, but she carried on. “Joe? Listen to me. You have always been there for me and for Dillon as well. Dillon knows where he is from now and how he came to us. We told him the whole story. I understand that you were trying to tell us that Dillon was at risk and I understand that you took him to the places you did because it was the only way he would learn about where he is from. I also understand that you could have done it at anytime, but you waited until Danny came into Dillon’s life. I guess I thought Danny was there to support Dillon. Now I realize that they are brothers who must support each other. That means that we are going to need your help again and this time I want it to be out in the open. No more scare tactics. What do you say?”