Myth

by Terri Todosey

  What is all the noise about?

  “What is all what noise?” I asked.

  “Soon enough Tali, soon enough,” said Alfred. “I must go now and prepare a pot of tea.”

  “We just had tea,” I said.

  “You’ll need to aim for forty-two thousand eight hundred and three suns ago, and remember that you must find Henry sooner rather than later. With me now... for every thousand twist it right...”

  I turned to study the track along the round window and mocked the movements while I mouthed the words as best as I could remember them,

  “right a notch for every night,

  twist left for every hundred spent,

  the word should find the right moment,

  the sand will shift and change the day,

  Then let the wind’s eye take you away.”

  “But what about getting back?” I turned around to find that Alfred had already left.

  “I’m sure the Maker will have better answers anyway,” said Emily with a half-hopeful smile.

  ‘Am I the only one afraid of what we are about to do?’ I thought. ‘I must be crazy to go on a time-and-space-defying wild goose chase for an old man that I don’t even know.’ But unless we found the Maker, there was no way to get home.

  “What’s the first line?” I asked.

  “For every thousand twist it right,” chimed Emily.

  I took the small brass latch with my right hand and pulled it out slightly from the circular track that framed the large round window. It popped out, but only so far as it was held into the track by a metal pin. When it was stretched out I could see that it had a round seam at its base, and I assumed that this must allow it to twist.

  It was difficult to imagine how such a simple latch would be able to take us back in time. ‘How would we travel?’ I thought. ‘Would it be fast or slow? Would it hurt? Had anyone even done it before or were we Alfred’s little guinea pigs?’

  “You have to twist it I think,” Emily interrupted my thoughts.

  I exhaled deeply, realizing that I had been holding my breath, and twisted the brass pin ever so slightly to the right. It clicked. I twisted it again and just like a wind-up toy it clicked again. We all began to count the clicks.

  “Two, three, four.....” It was tedious and at one point I wondered if we were doing it correctly, but I continued despite my reservations. “Forty, forty-one,” we were as still as statues as I twisted the latch to the right for the last time. It clicked into place. “Forty-two.” Emily sighed heavily.

  “Okay, what’s next?” I asked.

  “Right a notch for every night,” said Emily and Justin in unison.

  “What does ‘every night’ mean?” I asked. “Every night, as in counting all forty-two thousand three hundred and eight? Or would I only count the three days that are not within the thousands or hundreds?”

  “We never asked,” said Emily.

  “Well, I can’t imagine sitting here for a few weeks counting out thousands of clicks,” said Justin. “It seems more logical to count out the thousands, hundreds and days, if you get what I’m saying.”

  “You’re right, Justin, it’s got to be just the three days, or nights in this case.”

  I slowly slid the latch to the right along the track that traced the circumference of the window. It clicked into small indents along the way, making more clicks for us to count.

  “One, two, three....” I stopped. “Okay, what’s the next part?”

  Emily and Justin stared at each other blankly. Emily began whispering out the rhyme from the beginning again, “For every thousand twist it right, right a notch for every night,” then coming to the part both Justin and her said aloud, “Twist left for every hundred spent!”

  “Yes!” I remembered. “So that’s eight then?”

  “Forty-two thousand eight hundred, yes that would be eight!” affirmed Justin.

  Taking another deep breath, I twisted the latch left until I heard the familiar “click”.

  “One, Two, Three...” We all chanted the numbers in unison, painstakingly careful not to make a mistake.

  “Six, Seven, Eight.”

  “That’s it,” I said, gently letting go of the latch in its final place. To my surprise it whizzed around the track on its own, settling back at the top of the window where I had first found it.

  “Did we do something wrong?” Emily looked confused.

  “Maybe that’s supposed to happen?” I wasn’t sure, and Justin didn’t look confident either.

  “Don’t forget about the word,” Justin reminded us.

  “The word should find the right moment,” whispered Emily.

  I opened my other hand and looked down at the piece of ripped paper. Clearly and with exacting pronunciation, I recited the words. My voice sounded awkward, as though I were reciting a poem in a language that I didn’t understand.

  “What is all the noise about?”

  “What’s next?” asked Justin.

  “The sand will shift and change the day, let the wind’s eye take you away,” said Emily.

  We all looked around the room.

  “Where’s the sand?” I said.

  “He never told us!” Emily seemed frustrated. “How are we supposed to do this if we don’t know where to find the sand?”

  “Shhhh, did you hear that?” I looked around the room.

  “Hear what?” whispered Emily.

  “I could have sworn I heard something.”

  “Guys, check out the window!” Justin blurted out.

  “The window?” I looked at the clear, round window that resembled a ship’s porthole. Other than the track around it, it seemed very plain and ordinary, particularly in a home filled with colourful, magnificent stained glass windows in almost every room.

  I looked through it and down to the old town. It was more like a village, this Lockhart of old, with Victorian houses and dirt roads. A horse and buggy clipped down the street. But then I noticed something happen.

  “Did you see that?” Justin asked.

  “Yeah, that’s interesting.”

  “What did you see?” asked Emily trying to squeeze in closer to look. “It’s not fair!” she said. “You guys are seeing and hearing without me!”

  “You know glass is made out of sand,” Justin glanced at me for affirmation.

  “Yes it is!” I smiled.

  “What are you seeing?” Emily nudged in closely.

  The window had begun to rotate slowly and as it did, the glass spliced the scenery into a mosaic of many pieces. It continued turning and shifting the glass pieces and the village scene of Lockhart into a kaleidoscope of shapes and colours.

  Sliding and dropping, the pieces fell into a new place, altering the scene over and over, until the pieces had jumbled our perspective of Lockhart so significantly that the town had become a pixilated mosaic of colours. The shards of glass slid, twisted and dropped some more, when at last the pieces began to meld together again and slowly the scene through the window became clear. The rotating window stopped with a soft final click into its resting place and the last thin shard of glass slid into place. It was hard to believe we had travelled anywhere, since I hadn’t felt any movement. We remained standing at the window waiting patiently for something to happen in Alfred’s laboratory. The glass window was transparent and whole again, and through it I could see down to the town of Lockhart - the same view of the town we’d had before.

  “It hasn’t really changed,” said Justin.

  Emily peered over my shoulder and through the window.

  “I better go get Albert,” I said.

  “ALFRED!” they both corrected.

  “Whatever his name is, he needs to help us.” I couldn’t help but laugh thinking about how silly we must have looked and sounded, going through the twists and click
s and rhyme for nothing.

  “Alfred!” I hollered down the stairs. “Alfred! It didn’t work!”

  “What is all the noise about?” said Alfred who appeared, out of breath, at the base of the steps below me. The words echoed in my head like a puzzle piece that had just found its proper spot. I opened my hand and looked down at the wrinkled paper that I still held loosely.

  What is all the noise about?

  “Who are you?” Alfred looked up at me, “and what are you doing in my home?”

  Chapter Eighteen

  An Earlier Time

  It was then I realized that the crazy-sounding ritual had worked. We had traveled back in time. I folded the piece of paper, slipped it into my back pocket and smiled at Alfred. “Hey, it’s me Tali.”

  This was going to be more awkward than I thought. In fact, nothing had been properly thought through at all.

  “I’m sorry, you have me at a loss. Have we met before?” he asked.

  “Lady Tali, remember?” I giggled. “And Justin who apparently shrunk and Emily.” I introduced my friends, who had followed me out of the laboratory.

  “You’ll have to excuse me, but I really can’t put my finger on when or where we’ve met,” he said. “And I’ve been so good at remembering things lately.”

  “Of course you wouldn’t remember, because we met you in your future,” explained Justin, matter-of-factly.

  “The future? What is going on? Who are you?” Alfred appeared to be genuinely confused.

  “We’ve come back in time,” I reassured him. But when he didn’t appear convinced I started to wonder, “Have we not?” I asked. This was turning out to be much more complicated than I had anticipated.

  “Back in time?” Alfred pinched his nose. “Whatever do you mean? Did Henry send you here?”

  “No, actually it was you... you sent us!”

  “Why you presumptuous little girl, I never did such a thing. Now stop speaking in riddles and tell me what is going on.”

  “I know, it’s all a little confusing, but it was you who sent us here, forty-two thousand, eight hundred and three suns from now.”

  “Stop this at once...” but then Alfred stopped. He pinched his nose and looked hard at the three of us. He looked up at the open door to his laboratory and then looked back at us again. “Why, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,” he chuckled. “Come down this instant and let me take a good look at you.”

  —

  It seemed to be much easier to bring Alfred up to speed than it was for me to understand all that was going on. Perhaps it was the scientist in him, and the knowledge of the time window that allowed his mind to conceive such a thing. Although, he admitted that he had not successfully experienced time travel back in these early stages of testing.

  “So the wind’s eye brought you,” Alfred smiled, seemingly quite pleased with the thought of it.

  “We traveled through time just like you said we would!” Justin joined in the triumph.

  “Ha ha!” he chuckled. “I knew it could be done, although I never imagined I’d see the day from this side of it.” Alfred’s grin was as wide as his face as he took Emily’s and my arms in his own and escorted us out into the courtyard. Justin followed behind. The courtyard was open to the summer sky and the birds chirped loudly among the fragrant roses. He led us to a curved stone patio where a small wicker table sat paired with four matching chairs.

  “I have so many questions,” Alfred chuckled like a young boy, nearly bursting with curiosity. “I shall put on a pot of tea for us to enjoy as we discuss these travels of yours. Do you prefer jam with your crumpets?”

  “Oh thanks for the offer, but we’ve just eaten and we really must speak to Henry at once.”

  “Henry? Oh, of course.” Alfred appeared disappointed. “I’m afraid you’ll have to wait, as he just left moments ago.” Then with a smile back on his face he continued, “Come and sit. He should be back in a few hours and I’m sure he’ll be just as pleased to hear about your travels.”

  “No, we really have to find him now!” the anxiety in my voice erupted.

  “It’s true,” said Justin. “We have to find him before something...” he stopped as though he didn’t know what to say. Looking at Emily and I he whispered under his breath, “you know!”

  “Before what?” Alfred drew closer to Justin.

  Justin glanced at us, as if looking for help. I could tell he didn’t want to be the one to explain the purpose of our travel to Alfred. After all, how exactly do you tell someone that their closest friend is expected to disappear shortly, and might not ever be seen again?

  “We just have to find him is all,” I quickly interrupted. “You told us so yourself, sooner rather than later.”

  Alfred looked at Emily, who had not said much since our arrival. “You did say sooner rather than later,” she said timidly. Pinching his nose, Alfred squinted his eyes and looked at all three of us.

  “All this stuff about me saying something that I haven’t yet said, humph.” But then he smiled and seemed to be quite enjoying himself. “Yes, well indeed, if I did say that, it must have been for good reason, so if you follow me.” Alfred opened a small garden door that exposed a back laneway. “Follow this lane into town, as I’m sure he’ll be stopping by J.R. Hooper’s Meats and Produce, before he continues on to Lily Palus.” Nearly pushing us out the gate he added, “He’ll also stop by Fustian’s if I know him well enough.” He shut the door to the garden.

  “Who’s Fustian, and how will I know it’s Henry?” I asked through the metal gate.

  “I’m sure you’ll recognize him,” replied Alfred. “Hurry now; sooner doesn’t mean ask more questions.”

  Emily and Justin looked at me and shrugged their shoulders.

  Remembering the painting I had seen of the man back at the school, I could only assume it was the Henry we were searching for. ‘I should recognize the old man’s face,’ I thought. “So I guess we’re heading into town,” I said, trying to sound more sure than I felt.

  The cobblestone laneway was hard and knobby with deep cracks worn between the rocks, and I found myself focusing on each step to avoid tripping.

  “That was probably the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had,” said Emily without looking up.

  “You’ve got that right,” I agreed.

  “Do I really look shorter?” asked Justin.

  I stopped on a black granite stone and looked up at him. His face was so serious and perhaps it was cruel of me, but I just couldn’t help it and I burst out laughing. Emily started to giggle next and soon even Justin was chuckling. It felt so good to laugh. It was the only thing worth doing in this crazier than ever nightmare we had been locked up in for the last month. It was no wonder how quickly the town crept up on us as we hobbled along the cobblestone lane.

  “Watch yourself!” hollered a man at the reins of a horse-drawn buggy seconds before he sped past us.

  The town was alive and buzzing with people, not at all like the town we had walked into earlier. This one was much more vibrant with stores open for business and people going about their daily routines. Despite the fact we were kids dressed in shorts and T-shirt’s, no one seemed to take notice of us.

  “Hard to believe we’re in the same place,” said Emily.

  “Yeah, everyone seems happy and so much more... normal,” said Justin. “Well, maybe not everyone.” His eyes followed a tall slender man wearing knee high braided boots and a cape styled poncho. He seemed human enough, except for the pointed ears that protruded through the sides of his long dark hair.

  “I think he’s an elf,” giggled Emily, who must have giggled a little more loudly than she should have. His violet eyes glared at us and feeling caught in his stare, I quickly looked away. When I did, I noticed another young man coming out of a produce store carrying a basket of food. His hair fell over his face, like blonde
waves of surf. He seemed rushed, and when he turned to cross the lane I couldn’t help but notice his green eyes.

  I must have gasped, “It’s him!” But how? It was the merboy, but with legs just like he had been in my dream.’

  “Henry?” whispered Justin.

  “No, the merboy across the street,” I replied. But he had already crossed the lane and disappeared into another store.

  “The merboy? Here in town?” asked Emily. “Where?”

  “He just went in there - Fustain’s Flowers and Gifts.”

  “And I suppose he just walked into town on his fins?” laughed Justin.

  “He had legs.” I glanced back at them. “I know, it doesn’t make sense.” ‘But I’d recognize those green eyes anywhere,’ I thought, looking back to the storefront. “I can’t explain it, but it’s got to be him!” I ran towards the store - I needed to know for sure.

  “Watch out!” yelled Justin.

  I had not seen a black horse trotting swiftly down the dirt road and by the time I realized my mistake, it was nearly on top of me. The horse reared its front legs above me, as its hind legs bit into the dirt to stop itself. I fell to the ground and the horse’s front hooves stomped heavily down onto the gravel beside me. I lay there with my face in the pea stone, unhurt but shaken.

  “What on earth are you doing child?” came a sharp voice from the rider of the horse. With my cheek still in the gravel, I looked up through the legs of the horse and saw two high-heeled boots jump down from the stirrups. A lengthy skirt followed its owners quick pace around the horse.

  “Did you happen to lose your mind while deciding to cross the street without looking?” the woman looked down at me with a face as sharp as her voice.

  “I didn’t see you there,” I spit out some grits of sand.

  “Get yourself up. I didn’t actually run you over,” she continued. “What is your name?”

  “Tali,” I said fumbling to my feet and brushing the loose stones off my face.

  Glancing over at Justin and Emily who were approaching us from the other side of the road she asked, “Friends of yours?”