Once Found: The Pocket Watch Chronicles

by Ceci Giltenan

  “All right, sweetling. Geordie, I’m sorry. I have to go.”

  “Ye like this, don’t ye? Learning to be a midwife?”

  “Aye, I do. I’ve only just started, mind ye. Bringing a bairn into the world is hard and frightening. So many things can happen. But holding that wee life, knowing ye’ve made a difference and perhaps brought some ease…well, there’s nothing like it.”

  “Ye’re glowing, more than ye do when ye dance.”

  “Am I?” She smiled.

  “Aye, ye are.”

  “Perhaps I can see ye tomorrow and ye can tell me what’s weighing on ye?”

  He nodded. “Tomorrow will be soon enough.” He gave her a quick kiss.

  ~ * ~

  Just before daybreak, Elsie hurried toward the village priest’s cottage, her heart aching. It had been a relatively easy birth, but as Kenna held her wee daughter in her arms, it became immediately apparent that something was dreadfully wrong. The bairn’s fingers, toes, and lips had a bluish tinge that only got worse when she cried or tried to feed.

  Aunt Dolina had pulled her to one side. Cradling Elsie’s face in her hands, she said, “Go fetch Father Ian, Elsie. The wee lassie needs to be baptized.”

  “But—”

  “Nay, lass. The bairn is going to die. Very soon. I’ll stay with Kenna and her family. Go fetch Father, then go home. Ye’re not ready for this yet.”

  She did as she’d been bid and watched Father hurry down the lane to the cottage where crushing sorrow was coming on the heels of great joy.

  Her aunt had told her to go home, but she couldn’t. She didn’t want to be alone with her pain there. Instead she went into the little church, intending to pray there in the peaceful solitude.

  But she wasn’t alone.

  Geordie knelt there.

  “Geordie,” her voice broke.

  He turned toward her, clearly reading the grief on her face. He was on his feet and had his arms around her in a moment. “What’s happened?”

  “The bairn…something’s wrong. The poor wee thing is struggling to breathe.” She drew in a ragged breath. “She’s dying, Geordie.”

  “Nay, isn’t there anything to be done?”

  Elsie shook her head. “Father Ian’s on his way to baptize her.” Elsie rested her head against his chest. She had no tears. It had been too many years. She couldn’t stop trembling, and the pain building within her was nearly intolerable.

  Geordie held her silently for what seemed like ages. The early morning light crept through the windows before she took one last deep breath and stepped back. “What…why were ye here?”

  “Like I said last eve, I have something weighing on my mind. I couldn’t sleep and thought perhaps I could find my answers here.”

  “You can tell me what it is.”

  He smiled. “It’s not the time. We’ll talk later. I’ll walk ye home. You should try to get a little rest.”

  She nodded.

  They walked in silence and when they reached Dolina’s cottage, Elsie turned to face him. He took her hands in his. “Are ye all right?”

  “Aye. Thank ye. I don’t know what…well, thank ye.”

  He kissed her tenderly. “I’ve never met anyone one like ye, Elsie. I love ye with my whole heart.”

  “Oh, Geordie, I love ye too.”

  He kissed her again before saying, “Go to sleep now, my precious lass. We’ll talk later.”

  “Aye. Until later.”

  ~ * ~

  Elsie slept for a few hours, rising late in the morning. When she saw that Aunt Dolina still wasn’t home, she made bannocks and prepared a pot of soup, hanging it over the fire to simmer. Finally, she tidied things up.

  She had just finished sweeping when the door to the cottage swung open with force, banging against the wall. She spun around to see Drummond, one of the laird’s guardsmen standing there. His sudden appearance startled her, and she took an involuntary step backward. She was a little afraid of the huge guardsman. In truth, she was more than a little afraid of him. He had a reputation for cruelty, and she was happy enough to stay out of his way.

  It was impossible to avoid him with him filling her doorway. Not wishing to make eye contact, she glanced down. “Good afternoon, Sir Drummond.”

  “The laird has need of ye. Gather yer things.”

  “Why do I need to gather my things?”

  “Because I told ye to, ye insolent chit. The laird is sending ye on an errand. If ye waste any more of my time with questions, ye’ll go with nothing but the clothes on yer back.”

  An errand? Where? To do what? She didn’t dare ask. This was not good, but she figured it was best to follow his bidding. She only had a few garments. Laying them on a linen sheet with her comb and a silver brooch that had belonged to her mother, she folded the sheet inward over the clothes and rolled them up, tying the bundle with a ribbon. She folded a blanket in half and rolled it around the bundle, securing it with a belt. She had barely wrapped her mantle around her shoulders when Drummond grabbed her arm, practically dragging her from the little cottage and up the lane through the village.

  Elsie didn’t complain. It would do no good and would likely result in worse treatment. All she could do was try her best to keep up. They were halfway to the keep when a horrific screeching sound assaulted her ears just before a searing pain tore through her skull. Gripping her head, she fell to her knees and dropped her bundle.

  Chapter 4

  NYUHC Intensive Care Unit

  Sunday, February 12, 2006

  “Elsie.”

  Elsie became vaguely aware of someone calling to her.

  “Elsie, ye need to wake now.”

  Nay. Her head hurt, but she couldn’t move it. Her body hurt. It hurt to breathe. She wanted to sleep.

  “I know ye can hear me, child. Be a good lass, and open yer eyes.”

  Elsie blinked. The face of an elderly woman with white hair and kind eyes came into focus.

  The woman smiled broadly. “There ye are.”

  Elsie looked around. She had no idea where she was. Just moments ago, Drummond was dragging her through the village. Now, she seemed to be in some sort of bed. Something was around her neck that prevented her from turning her head. Likewise, her left arm was bound to something rigid. The room was oddly bright, but she saw no torches or candles. Strange noises accosted her ears. Nothing was familiar. How had she gotten here? “What…where…,” her voice sounded strange to her ears. She tried again, “What…”

  The old woman leaned over Elsie and gently stroked her hair. “Sweetling, look at me. I know this place is strange to ye, and ye have a lot questions. I am going to try to help ye understand what has happened. But I need for ye to stay calm, and focus on what I’m telling ye.”

  Afraid to hear the bizarre sound of her own voice, Elsie nodded as much as the thing around her neck would allow.

  “My name is Gertrude. I am...an immortal spirit. One of the ancients.”

  Elsie frowned. “An angel?”

  “Aye, that’s one way of understanding it.”

  “Have I died?”

  Gertrude smiled warmly. “Nay, ye haven’t. But yer soul has switched places with another.”

  Elsie became agitated. “What kind of sorcery is this?”

  Gertrude stroked her hair again. “It isn’t sorcery, lass. Far from it. Please try to stay calm while I explain. Will ye do that for me?”

  “Yes,” she whispered. Her voice sounded less strange as a whisper.

  “I know this is hard to believe, but as I said, yer soul has switched places with another. Yer soul and memories have entered the body of a woman named Elizabeth, many years in the future. And her soul and memories have entered yer body in yer time.”

  “How?” she whispered again.

  Gertrude reached in her pocket and pulled out a thick, gold disk attached to a chain. “This is called a pocket watch. It’s a tool for marking hours that hasn’t been invented yet in yer time. But this isn’t an ord
inary pocket watch. This unassuming device allows a soul who so chooses to temporarily change places with someone else.”

  “But I didn’t choose this.”

  “I know, pet. Several unusual things happened this time. Normally, the person who accepts the pocket watch goes to sleep at night and then enters the body of someone who has made a choice that will result in their death. The time traveler whose soul enters their body does something immediately to change that. Then the time traveler has sixty days to experience and learn from a different life.”

  Gertrude pushed a button on the thing she called a pocket watch, and the disk opened. Inside was a white circle with markings around it. It also had one slender, black piece that pointed to a tick mark. “There are sixty marks around the face of this watch. Every day the hand moves forward one mark. The time traveler has a special word that he or she must say before the time is up in order to return to their home.”

  “And the other person goes back to their own body too?”

  “Nay, pet. Normally, because that person was about to die, when the sixty days is up, their soul moves on. They are not even aware of what happened because while sixty days have gone by in the past, only sixty seconds—a single minute—pass where their soul is.”

  “You said, normally. Is that not what happened this time?”

  “Nay, things were a bit different this time. Elizabeth was in an accident and lost consciousness instead of going to sleep. She also landed in yer body a bit earlier than intended.”

  Elsie could scarce take it in, but she understood the general idea. “So she stopped my death? What had I done?”

  “That is another interesting wrinkle. Ye hadn’t done anything…yet.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I believe at the moment yer soul was brought forward, ye had been summoned by yer laird?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t know why.”

  Gertrude explained. “Shortly before Drummond came for ye, a group of men sent by Laird MacKenzie had spoken with yer laird. Ye see, Laird MacKenzie’s wife has been pregnant four times, but each time the baby came much too early. She’s pregnant again, and they want this baby so very much. Laird MacKenzie heard that Laird Macrae had an extremely talented midwife in his clan.”

  “My Aunt Dolina.”

  “Aye, yer Aunt Dolina. Laird MacKenzie hoped that Laird Macrae would let Dolina travel to Carraigile and see if there was anything she could do to help. Well, Laird Macrae believed there was absolutely nothing that could be done, but he thought he could fool Laird MacKenzie into thinking he was helping by sending someone else.”

  Elsie was shocked. Laird Macrae was not known for his kindness, but it was hard to believe that even he would be so callous.

  “By yer expression, I can tell ye don’t approve. But here is the worst part: he intended to pass ye off as yer Aunt Dolina.”

  Elsie frowned. “Me? I could never have done that. I couldn’t pretend to be a midwife. I wouldn’t give the poor woman false hope.”

  Gertrude smiled and nodded. “I know, pet. Ye would have taken the moral high ground, but he would have beaten ye severely for yer defiance. That punishment would ultimately have caused yer death. It may be the reason why the pocket watch didn’t work quite like it usually does. It would have been tragic if yer noble choice had resulted in such a terrible outcome.”

  “But I still don’t understand what happened.”

  “Like I said, normally, the watch goes with the person to whom it was given. Then for every day that person is in the past, only a second passes here.”

  “That didn’t happen?”

  “Nay, it didn’t. The watch is here with ye, and time is equal. One day here is the same as one day in yer own time.”

  “Exactly where am I?”

  “Ye’re over seven hundred years in the future. It is about three o’clock, none that is, on the twelfth day of February in the year of our Lord, two thousand and six.”

  “Seven hundred years?”

  “Aye, pet. Ye’re in hospital, in a city called New York, across the sea from Scotland, in a place called America.”

  “In Elizabeth’s body?”

  “Aye. Elizabeth Quinn. She’s a very skilled doctor. I will tell you everything I can, but there is one thing you must know first. Even as far in the future as we are, most people are unaware of the possibility of soul exchange. The people who are caring for ye don’t know what has happened.”

  Panic rose in Elsie. “How do I explain not knowing anything about who I am? They’ll think me possessed or a witch.”

  “Nay, lass, they won’t. Most people here don’t believe in such things. What’s more, ye were in a bad accident and hit yer head. Head injuries can result in complete memory loss. It’s called ‘amnesia.’ Other things can cause it as well. Time travelers have faced this for years, and when they encounter doctors, the doctors always manage to find a satisfactory explanation.”

  “Gertrude, I want to go home. Can’t we just switch back?”

  “Elsie, ye said ye would have accepted Laird Macrae’s punishment rather than lie to the MacKenzies about who ye were.”

  “Aye, I would have.”

  “Well, the reason Elizabeth was sent into yer body was because she is a very special kind of doctor. She knows all about pregnancy and birth. She didn’t refuse Laird Macrae’s command because she has the knowledge and skill to possibly help Lady MacKenzie. But she hasn’t had a chance to yet.”

  “So we must wait until she does?”

  “The choice is yers, pet.”

  Elsie didn’t know what to think, but her heart went out to the woman who had lost so many bairns. “If Elizabeth can help, I want her to.”

  “I was certain ye’d feel that way. So, ye must stay here, at least for a while, and pretend to have amnesia.”

  Elsie tried to nod again. She became aware again of how much she hurt. She raised her right hand to touch the thing around her neck. There were clear flexible tubes attached to that arm. “You said I was in an accident. What happened? What is all this?”

  “In this century, they have conveyances that people use to move from one place to another very quickly. But sometimes, those conveyances run into each other. It’s called a motor vehicle accident or a wreck. People can be very seriously hurt when that happens. You were in a car that wrecked. Ye’re left arm is broken. The doctors have splinted it to keep it still until they can put a cast on it and allow the bones to knit properly. This tubing,” Gertrude motioned to the thing on her right arm, “is attached to a much smaller tube that goes directly into yer vein and the other end goes into a bag of fluid, see?” Gertrude pointed up and behind Elsie.

  Elsie looked and saw the tubing went into a strange box. Hanging above the box was what looked like a clear wineskin full of liquid.

  “This machine is called a pump. It pumps the fluid directly into yer body. Doctors in the twenty-first century have wonderful medicines that they can give ye this way.”

  “Why does my voice sound so odd?”

  “Because it’s Elizabeth’s voice.”

  “And everyone here speaks Gaelic?”

  “Nay. They speak English, but even it has changed a lot.”

  “How will I understand them?”

  “Even though ye have yer soul and memories, some of Elizabeth’s memories are still in her body. The language she speaks is one of them. Ye understand, and are able to speak English because of that. It will feel no different to ye than Gaelic. We’re speaking English now.”

  “Really?”

  “Aye. Ye may experience other strong memories from time to time as well.”

  “What is this thing around my neck?”

  “It’s called a cervical collar. It was put on after the accident, just in case ye had broken a bone in yer neck. Ye didn’t. I expect they’ll take it off soon.”

  “Where is the light coming from and what are those noises? Everything hurts so much. Can’t I have some willow bark tea?”

/>   “My sweet lass, I’m sorry ye’re hurting. They don’t use willow bark tea anymore, but they do have good ways of reducing pain. Unfortunately, the longer I stay here and answer questions, the longer it will be before someone can help with yer pain. I know it’s all a bit overwhelming, but ye’ll be fine. I’ll come see you again when you need me, and we’ll have another chat.”

  “You’re leaving me? I don’t want to be alone. Here.” Elsie fought desperately not to cry. “I’m afraid,” she added in a whisper.

  “I know ye are, sweetling. But I promise, everything will be fine. I have to leave, but ye won’t be alone for long. And I must warn ye, don’t mention my visit to anyone. Ye see, no one actually needs to know that I’ve been here.”

  “Won’t they see you leaving?”

  “Nay, I have a way of coming and going unnoticed. It’s a gift that serves me well. Also, I must tell ye the special word, the return word.”

  “But I agreed not to change places yet.”

  “Aye, but that is a choice you have made by your own will. You are always free to change your mind.”

  “I won’t. Not until I know Elizabeth has done what she can.”

  “Still, you must know the word, even if only to ensure you don’t say it accidentally. It is a most strange word and I think that unlikely, but we must take precautions. The word you mustn’t say, until you are ready, is, nintendocore.”

  Elsie nodded. “I’m sure I won’t say that by accident.”

  “I thought not. Now, you’ve made a courageous choice. Hold on to that, and the universe will unfold as it should.” With that, Gertrude left the room.

  As she stepped through the door, it was almost as if she faded into a mist and disappeared. If it hadn’t been for all of the other fantastical things Elsie had learned over the last few minutes, seeing such a thing would have been terrifying. But really, disappearing was mild in comparison to having one’s soul yanked into someone else’s body.

  A woman with blue breeches and what appeared to be a short tunic out of the same blue fabric entered the room. “Oh, my goodness, Dr. Quinn, you’re awake. You were in an accident and you’re in the hospital in the ICU. My name is Jennifer. I’m your nurse. I’m going to get a set of vitals and then I’ll let the doctor know. She’ll want to examine you.”