Oracle in the Mist

by Linda Maree Malcolm

  The next morning the children awoke in the professor’s house to a lovely homecooked meal. Each of them was ready to greet the new day. Bobby thought about her mother Daphne but then she remembered that virtually no time had elapsed since leaving their world and so put the thought from her mind. Still, she felt eager to be on her way home now. During breakfast the professor told them of his plan to enable them to remember their adventure on getting home.

  “So what I’ve done is written each of you a letter,” he said and he produced two neatly folded letters with the children’s names on them.

  “You simply place the letter in your pocket and on returning home you will find it there and then on reading it you will be able to remember all of the details of your trip here. Okay then, best away.” With that, the professor took the children to the same tree that was used 80 years earlier by the original eight children.

  “Lovely to have finally met you,” he said as they were about to enter the tree. “Pip, pip, cheerio and I will see you again one day, I’m sure of it.”

  The children thanked him again for his hospitality as they stepped into the tree.

  In what seemed like only a moment, Bobby awoke in her bed on another beautiful, sunny day, fully clothed and with the backpack on her back. I just can’t work this out, she thought to herself. It’s like I’ve had a dream but can’t remember it … if only I could remember it. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. After a while she took off the backpack and looked inside. Yes, that’s right, a crystal ball, and there are Anzac biscuits, a bottle of water and newspaper articles. That’s right, she thought to herself: there’s a great mystery and I have to solve it. Have I solved it yet? There was a boy too — what was his name? She reached into her jeans pocket — she wasn’t sure why. Out came a neatly folded letter with her name on it.

  Hello Bobby

  This is the Professor Lambert and I know you don’t remember me but I wrote this letter to jog your memory. Good grief, what an adventure you’ve had. Do you remember now that once you go back through the mists your brain completely forgets everything that it has experienced? It’s part of the magic of this island. It’s called self-preservation.

  Anyhow, I know this will sound incredible to say the least but can you bring yourself to remember my most esteemed colleague Sebastian the monkey and all of the natives living here on this island paradise?

  Do you remember Ina and Henry who came here with six other stowaways and their dreadful experience in what they referred to as the workhouse? And what about the evil Oracle? You must by now remember David Game who, as fate would have it, is not only your very close friend but also a cousin of yours, of sorts. Do you remember being here with him, dancing by the bonfire on the beach and then the next day our resident Oracle sent you home together through the giant tree, back through the mists and back through time, as it were?

  Anyway, my dear, we will be meeting again one day, I’m sure of it and in the meantime keep well and say hello to David for me.

  Yours sincerely,

  Professor Lambert,

  P.S. I told David in his letter to call in and check on you so you can be expecting a knock on the door sometime soon.

  Bobby sat blinking and turned the letter over and over as if to glean some kind of other clue as to who Professor Lambert even was. I must be dreaming, she thought to herself. I can’t believe this. How on earth did this letter come to be in my pocket? Where did it come from? And yet the things it spoke of did seem familiar to her, like some kind of distant dream. She slowly became aware of the fact that this was the truth.

  “Bobby, Bobby,” Daphne was calling her name up the stairs. Bobby jumped out of her bed and ran down to the landing where her mother was standing. Never before had she been so completely happy to see her mother. It felt as if she hadn’t seen her mother for a very long time. She bound into her mother’s arms and hugged her tightly.

  “I love you, Mum,” she said and suddenly realised that this was something she hadn’t said in a long time.

  “I love you too, Bob-Bob,” Daphne replied but then she held Bobby back by her shoulders and looked at her and asked, “Hey, what’s going on? You look different. Are you okay and how come you’re dressed already? Are you off to somewhere already?”

  “Oh, no I’m fine; it’s just such a beautiful day and I thought I might try and spend some time outdoors today.”

  “Okay, but first come and have some breakfast with me, will you?” her mother insisted.

  “You know Bobby, it was strange last night. You went out and then I must have fallen asleep on the couch because I don’t remember you coming home and then I woke up this morning still on the couch.” Daphne looked at her, puzzled.

  “Really,” Bobby answered, avoiding eye contact. How she wished she could tell her mother about the crystal ball and the strange letter in her pocket but something told her that Daphne would not be approving of … well, Bobby couldn’t even work out what the mystery was anyway. Then there was a knock on the front door and David Game was standing on her step, just like the letter had said. Now she remembered him of course.

  “I’m going out with my homeschool buddy, Daphne,” she shouted from the door.

  “Oh, okay then, see you later,” came her mother’s reply and Bobby and David walked off up the street together.

  “Bobby, the most peculiar thing has happened,” David started to say.

  “I know. It happened to me too. Did you get the letter, David?” she asked and she reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter by Professor Lambert.

  “Yes, what do you make of it?”

  “It’s too incredible to be true,” said Bobby

  “I know and yet what other explanation is there? Apparently we travelled through a wormhole or something, through time and to a parallel dimension and met Professor Lambert and all of the others. And apparently you and I are cousins. That’s the part I can’t believe.” They stared at one another in disbelief and then they both started to laugh with the shock of it.

  “David,” Bobby stopped walking and looked at David seriously, “I don’t actually remember anything about any of that and yet somehow in here,” she pointed to her heart, “I know it to be the truth. There’s no other way to explain these letters, is there?”

  “I know, I know,” he agreed, “it must have happened.” They arrived at the milk bar and again ordered their milk shakes and went to sit in the window booth. They each sat silently, sipping on their straws and trying to absorb all of the information.

  “Anyway, regardless of all of that, one thing’s for sure,” Bobby said turning to David. “I’m really glad that I have a cousin now. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wished for a cousin all through my life …” Bobby stopped. She had a vague feeling of deja vu, as if maybe she had said this before.

  “Yes, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wished for a sister. It’s all men in my house except for my mum of course. We all go a bit crazy when there’s a female around because we’re just not used to it.” Bobby suppressed a smile as she knew this about David already. David continued, “Of course, it would have been good if … oh never mind.”

  “What? It would be good if what?” Bobby tried to get to the bottom of what it was he was trying to say.

  “Never mind. It’s just a silly thing. So, what do you think we should tell people?”

  “I don’t know,” she answered. “I don’t think anyone would believe us anyway, do you?”

  “Yes, that’s the problem. And not only that but if it leaked out to the authorities and government officials, the next thing you know our beautiful island paradise will be overrun with all kinds of people who are investigating and they’ll ruin the serenity of the place and then they’ll want to take a look at your mother’s crystal ball … and good heavens, Bobby, I just realised this could be disastrous if it gets into the hands of the wrong people. It could cause all kinds of problems for the past, the present and the future. We could have all time dim
ensions and places overrun with people and creatures from other time dimensions and places. You know, it’s just occurred to me that even if someone did find out back in 1930 about the Oracle in the Mist of course it would have to be kept top secret. Maybe that’s why all of this has been covered up so well …”

  Bobby noticed he had that pensive look on his face again.

  “Well,” she said at last, “if it’s our little secret then there’s nothing stopping us from going back whenever we want, is there? We can make the island like our second home. The perfect holiday destination.”

  “You think it’s going to always be there though with that evil Oracle lurking around? What if she carries out her threat?”

  “Well, we can’t let her, can we? Surely you agree with me now David. We have to go back and do what we can to save what our grandparents created. Don’t you think?”

  “You make it sound so appealing. No, I’m not interested. No more adventures for me. I think I’ve had just about all of the adventures I can handle and besides, pretty soon I’ll be off to boarding school,” David said, somewhat sadly.

  “But come on David,” Bobby persisted because she knew by now that David sometimes said no when he actually meant yes and because she also knew that she was prone to getting her own way with him. “Aren’t you curious about everything else to do with our ancestors?”

  “Such as?” David asked.

  “Such as, how did things turn out for Ina and Henry once they returned to here? How did they get over the devastation of losing their son? You know, we could use the ball to go back to Ina and Henry’s teenage years so that we could somehow introduce them to one another.” Bobby was starting to feel excited just at the thought of doing that for her grandmother and also because another adventure was waiting just around the corner for her.

  “You can’t be serious, Bobby. There is no way I would do that, not in a million years. That’s called meddling and who knows what sort of havoc would be created by messing about with time and lives like that?” David was adamant. “Besides, things must have turned out okay because your grandmother went ahead and married another man and then had your mother. And even then, I don’t think you’re able to just use the ball to go to any old place. We would need the voice of the Oracle to bring us through the mists, remember?” Both Bobby and David could now clearly remember all of the details of their adventure.

  “There must be a way though. I am an Oracle too, remember. I’m sure I could make it work somehow. And aren’t you curious to know what became of your grandfather, David? We have the power to find the answers to our questions now. Aren’t you even just a little interested?” Bobby persisted.

  “The way you used that word ‘power’ just now really frightens me Bobby. Don’t you care if you get hurt? I really mean it, Bobby. This isn’t something you should muck around with. And don’t you go pulling any stunts while I’m away at boarding school either, will you? Promise?”

  Bobby smiled. She didn’t answer him because she thought it better not to make a promise that she didn’t plan on keeping. She knew she would use the ball again, with or without him, it was just a question of when. And as she slurped the chocolate soya milk noisily from the bottom of the glass, she shivered inside at the thought of what her next adventure would be and where it would take her.