Tanglewood Grotto

by Susan Finlay

  “Huh? Why would they do that?”

  “No idea,” Jenny said. “It gave me the creeps. I wanted to ask him more, but my German is too rusty to ask and his English was spotty.”

  “Hmm. Maybe we shouldn’t go there alone.”

  “What are we supposed to do—ask for a police escort?”

  Lisa shrugged. “I guess we should check it out and if we need to we can go back into town and find someone to help us, right?”

  Jenny nodded, but as they left the safety of the walled town and walked along the dirt road, the hairs on the back of her neck prickled.

  LOTTE, CARRYING HER bundle of clothes and a blanket, observed the curious faces of the residents as she, Sofie, Tobias, and Valkyrie walked into the little village. She recognized Max’s teenaged son, Ryan, and Max’s half-brother, Konrad. The rest, she had never met, at least not that she remembered. When she came closer to Ryan, he crossed his arms and glared. Lotte wasn’t surprised. The boy never did like her, not even before her banishment. She leaned in toward Sofie and whispered, “Are you sure it’s all right for me to be here?”

  “Max said to bring you here. He said it’s all right.”

  “I don’t think he agrees,” she said, nodding her head toward Ryan.

  “I’ll talk to him. Wait here.”

  Sofie walked over to Ryan. They talked, but they were too far away for Lotte to hear much of their conversation. She caught a few English words—help find Vikktor, figure out time portal, but not much else.

  A couple minutes later, Ryan turned and walked away and Sofie returned. “We’ll make introductions during dinner. Come on, I’ll take you to our cottage to wait for Max. Tobias, will you please go to the communal kitchen and get some food and milk for Tante Lotte?”

  “Sure.” He gave a backward glance and smiled at Lotte.

  “Does this place have a name?” Lotte asked after Tobias left.

  Sofie said, “We’re calling it Möbius. It’s not really rolling off the tongue, though.”

  Lotte nodded. She knew what reference had inspired the name. Her husband had been a math professor his entire adult life and he’d practically lived and breathed not only math, but his second love, physics, as well. In fact, he’d often spoken about physics topics that interested him, and seeing his face light up as he talked had delighted her.

  Sofie led her into a cozy three-room cottage with a loft above the main room. “You can lie down and rest on one of our beds for a while if you want.”

  Tobias burst through the open doorway. “Shouldn’t she eat first? I brought the food you sent me to get.”

  “Oh, sorry, I forgot. Sure. I must leave you two alone now, though. I need to go help the others prepare dinner.” Glancing at Lotte, she added, “That will take a few hours, no doubt. Rest, or if you want, you can come and help when you’re finished eating.”

  When Sofie was gone, Tobias said, “Did you understand what Mom and Ryan were talking about? I thought you didn’t understand English, but your expression looked like you did.”

  She shrugged and gave a half smile. “You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

  “Why don’t you want anyone to know? And how do you know English, anyway?”

  “I taught linguistics at University. I also studied several foreign languages. Mind you, I’m not fluent in English like you and your Mom.”

  “Why do you pretend you don’t speak it?”

  “I don’t know. I guess people let their guard down more if they think I don’t understand.”

  Tobias nodded. “I get that. People do that when they think you’re asleep, too.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  LOTTE STOOD NEAR the fireplace in the communal kitchen, stirring a pot of stew that Sofie and the five other women had cobbled together earlier, while Max was in Riesen. She leaned over the pot and let the smell of the meat and potatoes and broth fill her nostrils. She was in heaven. If she was lucky, it would taste as good as it smelled, but if it didn’t, she wouldn’t complain. It was going to be her first hot meal since she’d left Senden two months ago. Max, now returned, sat around the table with Sofie, Tobias, and Ryan, discussing plans for travel. Lotte tilted her head and leaned a bit closer to them, hoping to listen in.

  “This is crap,” Ryan said. “I don’t want to go on a trip, especially not with Lotte. Why do I have to go?” He crossed his arms and stared at his father. Sofie and Tobias watched Max, waiting for his response.

  “Sofie and Lotte can’t travel alone. Out of the question. I can’t leave here right now. Gramps has his hands full with Anneliese. She’s distraught over seeing Lotte. You don’t want him to tell her what really happened to her grandmother, do you?” Ryan shook his head. “I didn’t think so. I need you to do this for me, for our family.”

  Ryan let out a loud sigh and uncrossed his arms. “I guess it would be nice to have a change of scenery. How long will this trip be?”

  “Not long, if I can believe Gramps. He didn’t give me much information, except that he thought we should check out the town of Dinkelsbühl. It’s not far from here, according to him. He drew us a map. He seems to think that’s where we’ll find Vikktor.”

  Lotte gasped, then covered her mouth and looked to see if anyone had heard her. No one was looking her way. She uncovered her mouth and returned to stirring. Why was Karl sending them to Dinkelsbühl, the very place she wanted to go?

  Before she had a chance to think of possibilities, Sofie spoke, pulling Lotte’s attention back to the conversation at the table. Lotte leaned in again, to hear them better.

  “I know where Dinkelsbühl is,” Sofie said. “It shouldn’t be difficult to get there. I’m sure Lotte and I can manage on our own.”

  “No. Ryan goes with you, or you don’t go.”

  Sofie glared at Max and opened her mouth to speak.

  That’s my girl, Lotte thought. Don’t let him push you around.

  Before Sofie said anything, Max covered Sofie’s hand with his and added, “Sorry, honey, I don’t want to be bossy. You know I’m usually not, but I don’t want to lose you. My mother got separated from Gramps all those years ago after they time traveled back to the past, and look how long it took him to find her again. If it hadn’t been for us helping, he never would have found her. It’s too easy to get separated from each other, and it’s dangerous out there, especially for a woman alone. Please bear with me. I’m only thinking about your safety. You know that, don’t you?”

  Sofie nodded. “Yes. I know. And you’re right, of course. I’m used to making my own decisions, and I’m still adjusting to married life and living in this time. Sorry about being difficult.”

  Lotte looked down at the pot she was stirring, her mouth twisting. Nein, nein, nein, Sofie. Don’t give in so easily.

  Max leaned in close to Sofie and pulled her into an embrace, then kissed her, right there in front of Ryan, Tobias, and Lotte. Lotte looked away, embarrassed by their show of affection. “Yeah,” Max said, pulling away, “we’re both still getting used to this, and it doesn’t help that we’re stuck here in the past. Life would be simpler back in the twenty-first century.”

  Ryan said, “You got that right. Living here sucks. I know we have to deal with it, but I don’t have to like it. I’ll go with them to Dinkelsbühl, but can we leave Lotte there when we’re done searching for Vikktor?”

  Lotte sighed. Great. She was stuck with Ryan and his rotten attitude.

  “That’s the plan,” Max said. “The main reason for going there is to get her away from here. She’s a liability to all of us. I’m hoping you’ll find Vikktor there, too. Solve two problems at once. Whether he wants anything to do with her or not, she’s his problem as far as I’m concerned, and he owes us some answers.”

  “I want to go, too,” Tobias said. “I’m old enough and I can help. Besides, I just get in the way around here.”

  Sofie said, “I’m sorry, sweetie, but you need to stay here. It’s safer for you, and they’ll need you in the kitchen to help coo
k and in the corral to take care of the cows and horses.” Tobias crossed his arms, sulking.

  “Oh, that reminds me,” Max said. “Gramps is bringing us a goat, a lamb or two, a couple of pigs, and some chickens. You, Tobias, will be in charge of our farm animals.”

  Tobias nodded, but gave only a half-smile.

  Poor kid, Lotte thought. He feels almost as unwanted as I do.

  During dinner Lotte got to practice her new identity as Ingrid Wagner after Max introduced her around the table as Sofie’s grandmother, Ingrid. Only a couple of people besides Sofie, Max, Ryan, and Tobias knew her true identity, and they’d been briefed earlier. Taking on a new persona was a bit like play acting, so she was glad she’d performed in a few plays when she was a college student many decades ago in the future, and had at least some experience, though she realized she’d forgotten much of the training she’d received. All in all, when she lay in Tobias’s bed later that night in the main room, she felt more optimistic about pulling off the deception.

  Ryan slept in the loft, and soft snores emanated from up there. Tobias slept most of the night with Max and Sofie in the private bedroom at the back of the small cottage, but he tiptoed out in the wee hours of the morning and snuggled in with Lotte, which she didn’t mind a bit. She stroked his hair and smiled, remembering when he was a baby with fine, pale blond hair that curled every which way, and she’d helped Sofie care for him. He still had the curly blond hair and that baby quality about him, which she loved dearly. Her own son, Helmut, had that same quality until he reached puberty and turned into a lanky teenager with long blond hair and the beginnings of a mustache. Gott, she missed her boy.

  In the morning, according to Tobias, Max and Ryan had loaded the wagon the men had recently built, filling it with blankets, food, and Lotte’s—no, Ingrid’s—meager belongings. Similar to the way farmers branded their logos into the hides of their cattle, Lotte tried to brand her new name into her brain, referring to herself by the new name even in her own thoughts, because forevermore Lotte Furst must be gone. Tobias almost called her by the wrong name while they ate breakfast, but caught himself in time. Fortunately, no one else in the community seemed to have noticed. After hugs, kisses, and goodbyes, Ingrid, Sofie, and Ryan departed on their journey.

  As the horses trotted along the rutted road, Ingrid began to enjoy the journey, studying the countryside with fresh eyes. The air smelled like rain and the leaves on the trees and bushes were glorious shades of orange, yellow, red, and brown. They held onto their branches until the time was right to let go, and then they danced through the breeze until they finally rested in the grass or blew away to a new location.

  In her own time period, she’d loved to walk along the university’s grounds, through parks, or in the countryside in the fall and take photographs, which she would get printed and then store them in her many photo albums. Once in a while, when one of her photographs turned out spectacularly, she would have it enlarged, matted, and framed, then hang it on the wall in her home. Her husband, Emil, when he was alive, had always cherished her photographs and encouraged her to take more. He’d even traveled with her to beautiful places where she could indulge her hobby. But that’s all it ever was. A hobby. Not anything that was useful to her here in the past. Why hadn’t she taken up knitting, crocheting, or herb gardening like her women friends?

  Sofie announced, “We should get there tomorrow morning. Karl gave us money for lodging. He’s been kind, which worries me, considering he didn’t want to help when I talked to him.”

  “Ja, makes me wonder what he’s up to. He gave me some of Birgitta’s clothes, too. Did I tell you that?”

  “You did not.” Sofie was quiet for a while.

  Ingrid gave her a sideways glance. She missed the close relationship they’d had when Sofie was young. Now, she no longer could guess what was going on in Sofie’s mind. She no longer knew Sofie’s objectives, her motivations. How had she become so alien to her?

  Sofie finally spoke again. “Why did you go along with Vikktor’s charade, Tante Lotte? Why did you pretend we were related?”

  “You should call me Grandma, as we discussed. Remember? Even when we’re alone.”

  Sofie sighed.

  “Oh, your question. Vikktor told me he had rescued you from a bad man. He vowed to protect you. In essence, he’d adopted you—as his granddaughter. Why wouldn’t I go along? You were so tiny and you needed me. My son had left home, my husband was dead. You and I bonded.”

  Sofie nodded. “You knew he was a criminal?”

  “Not back then, I didn’t. I truly thought he was just a businessman—an unusual sort of businessman—but I thought he was a good man.”

  “But you knew he was lying to everyone, telling them and me that he was my grandfather and that he’d had a wife and daughter and they’d all died.”

  “Ja, but that didn’t make him a criminal. Everyone lies sometimes, and he did it for a good reason. At least that’s what I thought back then.”

  Sofie didn’t respond, gazing out at the vast meadow of grass swaying in the wind.

  Ingrid wanted to say something more, something that would lighten the mood, only she could think of nothing.

  After a while, Sofie asked, “Did Vikktor ever really have a family?”

  “Ja. I never met them, but he talked about his wife and son sometimes when he was in our time period. His wife and son did die. That part was true.”

  “I always wondered why he didn’t have any photos. He told me their house burned down and they lost everything. It’s hard for me to know what is real and what is fake with him.”

  “I understand that feeling,” Ingrid said. “I’m not sure which of his stories are true, either. He may have lied about everything. I never saw any proof.” Her shoulders sagged and she suddenly felt drained. All she knew for sure was that everyone she’d ever known was a liar at least some of the time, maybe not Sofie and Tobias, but the rest, and they’d turned her into one, too, drawing her in and making her part of their lies. Even her husband, Emil, had lied to the University about some of his work background, and to everyone else about his religious beliefs and his affiliations. When he passed away at age sixty-four, his funeral was performed by a Catholic priest and no one ever suspected Emil had been raised by a Jewish mother. Lotte had been sworn to secrecy, and she’d kept her promise, because she’d understood his reason for doing what he’d done—he would have gone to the gas chamber during World War II and his mother and sister would have, too. No one in her family ever knew about Emil’s heritage, including their own son, Helmut, and she would take it to her grave.

  Her only real difficulty with Emil’s lie was in knowing that he’d taken it as far as fighting in the war alongside Nazi’s and helping them round up other Jews, though he had at least hated doing the job and had only done it to save his family. That was years before they’d met at the university. At least he’d trusted her with his secret, which was more than she could say about her brother, Vikktor, who’d kept her in the dark about some of his deception. She’d had to figure some of it out on her own.

  They stopped several times throughout the day to let the horses rest and feed on grass while Ryan, Sofie, and Ingrid nibbled on the dried sausages and bread they’d brought along.

  As the sun set, Ryan said, “We could stop for the night and sleep outside, or we can keep going. We’re making great time. Light travel and a light load. We could get to Dinkelsbühl tonight, I think, if you aren’t too tired and want to keep moving.”

  Sofie translated for Ingrid, not knowing Ingrid understood. Ingrid had no intention of telling her otherwise.

  Sofie said, “We’ll keep going.”

  Later, traveling on the defined road and guided by moonlight, they approached a large expanse of trees, above which they could make out two tall towers. Ryan said, “What are those towers? Do they mean we’re approaching a town?”

  Sofie said, “Yes. I’m certain it’s Dinkelsbühl. I remember it has non-matching
towers. The town’s wall connects them, and the entrances to the town are directly underneath the towers. There are actually four towers, though we can only see two from where we are right now.”

  “Cool. I sure hope they have a gasthof.”

  Sofie said, “In our time, it has several gasthofs that were supposedly built centuries ago.”

  A few minutes later they passed through one of the arched gateways at the base of a tower, Ingrid holding her breath that the sentry guards wouldn’t accost them. They didn’t, which meant it probably wasn’t past curfew yet.

  The streets were deserted and a bit eerie, but there seemed no looming threat as they continued into town. A short time later they pulled up to a tall, steep-roofed house on a street corner, which looked to be a place to stay. It had beautiful frescoes painted on the side, much like the gasthof they’d stayed in when they were searching for Max’s mother, Monika.

  Ingrid’s shoulders involuntarily tensed, as she remembered the one time they’d stayed in a gasthof. Birgitta was killed and all of their lives had been forever changed. Still, sleeping in a bed—or at least on the floor indoors—sounded awfully good. She just wished she could shake off her trepidation.

  “Do you think this is a gasthof?” Ryan asked. “It could be some rich man’s house.”

  “I recognize this building from our time,” Sofie said. “It’s a gasthof, I’m pretty sure.”

  They rounded the corner and rode up to the front, finding the entrance. A sign out front read Gasthof Dinkelsbühl. Ingrid tilted her head up. The building’s A shaped roofline was five stories tall from what she could tell, with each ascending floor narrower than the one below because of the roofline. She hoped they wouldn’t get an attic room. That would be too much like that gasthof they’d stayed in when Birgitta died, not to mention too many stairs. She glanced at Sofie and Ryan. Neither of them seemed nervous. Oh well, it’s their decision. Nobody cares what I think, so I may as well keep quiet.