by Alex Getz
“River, consider the fact that this is a possible future. And the elders probably have a good sense of humor.”
“OMG! Arthur, your rocks’ collection is just something!”
Instead of one shelf, there was now an entire bookcase filled with a very diverse assortment of rocks and stones. Arthur walked closer and began to scrutinize every piece.
“This is quite a collection, indeed! But do I really live like this? Collecting rocks and lugging boxes at the supermarket?”
“Don’t forget that you also make music.”
Running his fingers through his hair, Arthur sat down in his armchair and tried to recollect any events from his future life. It felt as if he had never visited Octavia. Arthur thought that after Octavia, he would be different, that something in his roots would change. He shared his thoughts with his brother.
“You’re expecting to see big, visible changes, but maybe nothing tremendous is supposed to happen,” said River.
“Probably, we just got lazy and didn’t develop the knowledge we received in Octavia,” whispered a voice in Arthur’s head. Arthur suddenly realized these were not his thoughts. But whose were they? He glared at River. “So you think I’m lazy, do you?”
River’s eyes widened.
“What?”
“I’ll tell you what! What you’re thinking in your head!”
“Wait, do you mean to tell me that you just read my thoughts?”
“If you know what I’m talking about, then yes, I read your thoughts!”
“Wait, cut it out for a second,” River gawked at his brother in amazement. “I wonder where this ability of yours is coming from.”
“Maybe we are not that lazy as you think. Let’s do it again. Try to find out what I’m thinking about right now.”
“Okay. Let’s try.”
River closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. But instead, he felt like his body started to fall into a dark tunnel.
Carol yawned groggily. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep.
“Don’t hurry. When you feel ready, you can get up,” Carol heard Mrs. Lilley’s voice nearby.
Carol fixed her eyes on one point, remembering her dream. She turned her head to the right and saw Vic sitting on a bed with his back to her.
The siblings heard Arthur’s voice from a short distance away, “What a time machine you have here! This was way much cooler than a regular dream!”
Mrs. Lilley handed back the children’s journals and reminded them, “In your notes, you should indicate if this future corresponded to the way you imagined it would be, and if not, what you would choose to be different. Does it make sense?”
“Yes.”
“Good. You are free to go now.”
The children exited Room Sixteen and headed to the camp. On their way, they recounted the details of the future they recently saw.
“Pity they sent us to different times. I would have liked to see myself a bit older,” Arthur said.
River and Arthur told their friends they seemed to have no connection with each other in the future, so they decided to exchange contact details. The main topic of conversation, however, was that Ortigon was still there.
“Does this mean that we should forget about our project?” River asked.
“I think instead we should try to realize it while we are here,” Vic said firmly.
Darkness gradually set in. Arthur shifted his gaze from his journal to Carol. She continued to sit under a tree and write. Arthur decided to stop over and see how her work was going. Carol was so concentrated on her writing that she didn’t even notice when Arthur drew close to her.
“Hi!”
“Oh, Arthur! You scared me!”
“Sorry, I thought you heard me approaching. How’s your writing?”
“It is ok, thank you.”
“You’re not cold?”
“Just a little.”
“Here, take this,” Arthur took off the blanket he was wearing for warmth and gave it to Carol.
“Won’t you freeze?”
“I’m too warm, been sitting by the fire. Take it.”
“Thank you.”
Carol threw a blanket over her shoulders. Arthur sat down next to her, watching Carol flip through the finely written pages.
“It looks like you’ve made a lot of conclusions.”
“I’ve always liked drawing. But working in a gallery wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
“Yeah, I remember your studio with the butterflies,” Arthur said.
“It’s possible that I didn’t put enough effort into doing what I dreamed about.”
“I don’t think so. It seems to me that everything worked out for you. Except for the fact that Ortigon was still there.”
“I know.”
In the distance, they saw a spaceship. While landing, it illuminated the ground with a blue light. The ship gradually drew closer to the earth, finally settling on the ground completely. The children were getting accustomed to such things but still observed the process with interest.
“Will you miss all this?” Arthur asked.
“Of course!”
“Me too... Carol, you mentioned that in your future, you will have a family, right?”
“A husband and a kid. What of it?” Carol gazed curiously at Arthur with slightly narrowed eyes.
“Just curious,” Arthur already regretted broaching the subject. It probably would be better if he just got up and left before he made an even bigger fool of himself, he thought. But instead, he added, “And who’s your future husband?”
“I don’t know. I don’t remember much about him, as I was stressed with that situation. Why are you asking?”
“Well… Vic’s my friend, and you are my friend, so I’m just interested in how things might go in your future.”
Now, Carol couldn’t resist herself and burst out laughing. Arthur was ready to disappear off the face of the earth.
“I’m sorry, Arthur,” Carol said, trying to muffle her laughter. “You just said it so funny,” she tried to get a hold of herself.
Arthur watched someone exit the spaceship. He was ready to approach the man and beg to be taken back to whatever planet the ship arrived from and never return.
“Arthur, you’re funny.”
Arthur repeated the word “funny” five times in his head, trying to understand what Carol meant. Finally, he concluded this was probably a compliment and answered accordingly, “Thank you.”
The corners of Carol’s mouth turned up. He prayed she would not laugh again.
“Do you have much left to write?” Carol asked.
“Not really, but I should probably go finish the assignment.”
“I’ll go with you. I think I’ve done mine.”
“Do you want to finish writing for me?”
“You’re not afraid of what I might write?”
“No, unless you will write that instead of being a loader at a supermarket, I always dreamed of becoming a loader’s assistant. Or the assistant of the loader’s assistant.”
“Nah, we’ll think of something more interesting. A musician, who worked on his future top chart album while paying his bills with a loader job.”
“You know, this version might work,” said Arthur, and laughing, the pair stood up and headed toward the tents.
Chapter twelve
Tennesill
Vic was woken up by a noise outside of unfamiliar voices, laughter, and loud music. ‘Where could all this be coming from?’ he wondered. Vic peered at his sleeping tentmates. He quietly got dressed and peeked outside. Pulling aside the heavy fabric sheet that served as a door, Vic couldn’t believe his eyes. The camp territory was adorned with all manner of festive decorations. Circus acrobats, jugglers, and clowns entertained camp guests and octavians. Two wooden stilts passed before Vic; when the boy raised his eyes upward, he saw a tall man with long, black hair and painted face. A large tiger followed him, staring directly at Vic and roaring. The boy promptly closed
the fabric door.
“Vic, what are you doing over there?” Arthur asked, rubbing his eyes. “Why do you look so scared?”
“You try looking outside.”
“What, is Ortigon standing on the doorstep asking to come in or something?”
“Yeah, right. There’s some kind of festival or circus out there. See for yourself.”
Signs of life could now be detected toward River’s bed as well.“What are you talking about?” he spoke through a yawn.
Every year festival Tennesill was held in Octavia, where octavians put on a show. The performers usually improvise during the day. And just before evening sets in, they are throwing up a circus marquee with an arena inside near the main house. Guests are usually participating in the evening part of the festival. So, Carol, Arthur, Vic, and River had to be ready for that as well.
When boys came out of the tent, Florence’s son Alex told them about Tennesill. He said one of the most popular daytime acts was Mime Bailey’s machine. Alex showed the machine and invited them to try it.
“You could wish any object which afterward comes as a cloud out of the machine in the exact shape that was imagined,” Alex explained. “Isn’t it awesome?”
River was the first one who tried it; he came closer to the machine that looked similar to an old photo camera standing over a wooden tripod. When he looked into it, he imagined something, and right after from another side of the device, a cloud emerged, rising and taking shape in small smoky spurts.
“What will it be?” Arthur asked, trying to discern brother’s creation.
“Maybe you’ll be able to tell,” mysteriously answered River.
The cloud took the form of a ball, gradually extending into an oval. It floated higher and higher over the ground.
“It looks like someone’s head,” Vic noted.
River smiled, confirming Vic’s guess.
“River, are you kidding me?” Arthur sputtered incredulously, lifting his eyes upward.
“I see a mouth, a small nose...” Vic narrated as the cloud morphed into its designated form. “Wait, that’s Arthur’s head!”
“Peanut butter and jelly! My head in the sky!” Arthur grumbled indignantly. River convulsed with laughter next to his brother. “Just you wait,” Arthur snarled half-jokingly at River.
“Hey, guys!”
The boys turned around simultaneously. An unfamiliar girl in a black, form-fitting suit hurried to meet them. A black panther was moving next to her. The boys could only ascertain this girl was Carol when she was quite close.
“I’ve been looking for you! Where did you disappear to?” The boys seemed weren’t in a condition to react to her words, as they were impressed by her outlook. “Hey, what’s with you?”
“Carol,” Vic said, “what are you wearing?”
“And what is a panther doing next to you?” Arthur added.
“This is Beata.”
“That explains a lot,” Vic said.
“Tennesill takes place every year. It’s a festival...” Carol began.
“We already know that,” Vic informed his sister.
“Well, if you already know that, then you must also know that we’ll be performing during the main show later today. I was given the role of the animal transformer, that’s why—as you’ve probably already guessed—I appear in front of you dressed like this. Let’s find Patricia so that you will know your role for the evening show.”
“Ok, let’s go. Carol, how did you find out that we were at Bailey’s?” River asked.
“It wasn’t tough to guess after seeing Arthur’s face in the sky.”
“Of course, my face in the sky,” Arthur muttered.
When they walked up to Patricia, she stood next to a cotton candy machine. The children barely recognized her: she wore a pink wig, freckles were painted on her cheeks, and her eyelashes looked twice as long as usual.
“Oh, there you are!” Patricia called out, catching sight of the approaching group and waving. “Here are the capsules,” she said, withdrawing a bag from beneath the cotton candy machine, untying it, and holding it out for boys. “Okay, guys, find out what you will perform tonight. Inside each capsule is a note with a role.”
They reached into the bag, randomly took capsules, and pulled them out.
“Who got what?” Carol asked.
“Juggler,” Vic read. “The only thing I have no clue how to juggle.”
“Each of you will be in a team with professional performers and instructors—they’ll teach you the necessary skills, so don’t worry. River, what did you get?
“I got a tightrope walker… Can’t even imagine myself doing something like this.”
Arthur watched the others. He seemed pleased.
“Come on already, tell us,” Carol said.
“Well, it seems I got an easy thing. I’m going to be a clown! Piece of cake!”
“Your instructor will be Mime Bailey. You’ll learn lots of funny tricks from him that’s for sure!” Patricia promised.
After that, each set off to meet their team. When River arrived at the place where tightrope artists were training, he stood for a while, watching. He found himself fully entranced by the performers’ weightlessness and free movements until a male voice hailed him. River looked up and saw a high tower with a man standing at the very top.
“Are you with us?” he asked the boy.
“Yes,” River called back to him.
“Then climb up here!”
River approached the tower. A wooden staircase led to the very top of it. He started up the stairs at a run, but halfway wheezed from the exertion and switched to a brisk walk. Reaching the upper platform and trying to catch his breath, he greeted the man in a white training uniform who appeared to be his coach.
“Not bad! I thought it would take you longer to get here. My name is Dennis. We have several hours to teach you a few tricks. You will have to put some effort into it, alright?”
River walked over to the edge and looked over. The height normally wouldn’t have instilled fear in the boy, if it weren’t for the fact that opposite to him was a similar tower and thin ropes were connected to platforms at different heights from one tower to another.
“First, we will train on jumps. Have you ever jumped on a trampoline before?” Dennis asked.
“A few times, yeah.”
“Then you won’t have problems with this part. Now, I’m going to hook you up to the safety equipment, and you’ll jump down,” Dennis said, snapping River into a harness.
River saw a large trampoline below under the area where tightrope performers were training.
“You will bounce off the trampoline and fly upwards, but you won’t go very high. Try to jump onto the second level platform, the one you can see beneath now. Alright?”
“Ok,” River said uncertainly.
“Try to concentrate and be careful,” Dennis warned his tutee.
“I’ll try.”
“Good. Now—one, two, three, jump!”
For a second, River’s eyes closed involuntarily. The wind rushed in his ears. His weightless body drew closer to the ground with every second. The safety cords straightened and stretched, River bounced off the trampoline and soared upwards. Shivers rippled over his entire body. Reaching the same height as the second platform, River leaned forward, stepped his right leg onto the surface, and pushing off, climbed onto the second level.
“Way to go!” Dennis shouted. River stood back up, trying to keep his balance. “Next time, try to push off the trampoline even harder.”
After they trained on jumps, another task was a tightrope walk between two towers. As it appeared, that would be River’s performance in the evening show.
“By the way, you will be performing without a safety harness,” said Dennis.
“Oh. I am not sure I would be able to do that.”
“Don’t forget where you are! Thoughts here have much more power than in your world. If you’re scared and unsure, you will be unlikel
y to succeed with these tricks. You have to be fully focused on what you are doing and be positive about your result.”
River started to train from the first level, and with each next level, his confidence grew. Stepping onto the platform on the fifth level, after many attempts, finally, he was able to complete his walk without a safety harness, successfully walking from one tower to another.
A large white circus marquee was set up near the main house. The audience was gathering, while the artists were preparing for their performances. River bumped into Vic off stage, and for a moment, the friends stared at one another, gawking at the other’s performance costume.
“What a look!” River said. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah. Our show is up first,” Vic said, slightly anxious. “By the way, you haven’t seen Carol, have you?”
“No. I haven’t run into Arthur yet either.”
Backstage, the performers were informed that the show would begin in a few minutes. River decided to see what was happening in the audience. Peeking through the curtains, he squinted at the viewers through one eye. Almost all of the seats were occupied, and conversation and laughter mingled with loud music. Suddenly, the music ceased, and with it, the clamor of the audience. A growing drumroll vibrated throughout the marquee. The first performers appeared in the arena, dressed in neon costumes. Each carried several swords, which they juggled synchronously, tossing the props to one another at a rapidly increasing pace. The performers then pulled such stunts that River’s jaw dropped open as he watched. They formed pyramids by standing on one another, all the while continuing to throw each other swords. Several performers even juggled upside down. When one juggler appeared in a big wheel, River saw that it was Vic. The wheel raised high, turning at the same time. Vic somehow managed to juggle the entire time. Even though Vic was handling his task quite well, River nevertheless found watching his friend’s performance nerve-wracking. At the very end of the act, all performers threw their swords overhead simultaneously, and, to the viewers’ amazement, swords did not fall back down, but disappeared into the dark dome of the marquee.
In the next performance, two black panthers appeared in the arena. They stalked each other, walking in a circle until suddenly one panther pounced at the other. The attacking panther chased the other around the arena. It seemed that before long, the more aggressive panther would overtake the other. The audience trembled with “Oohs” and “Ahs.” When it seemed there was nowhere for the fleeing panther to escape the attacking panther, it suddenly stood up on its hind legs and raised head to gaze at the audience, which froze as if spellbound. It was Carol, who was transformed into a panther, and now, became herself again. Everyone loudly applauded.
