Winds of Time

by Zoe Matthews

  Colleen looked excited. “I want to go to the cave. No one ever takes me.”

  Bridget smiled at the girl’s words. She knew Colleen had been quite put out all winter whenever anyone went to the cave. Colleen was curious about where the keys were located, but everyone felt it would be safer for her if she had no idea where the cave was.

  “I’m sorry, honey. I think I’ll just make the trip on my own this time.”

  Colleen sighed but then skipped out the door with her usual exuberance. Colleen was one of the happiest children Bridget knew. Nothing brought her down for long.

  As Bridget finished cleaning up the kitchen, she thought of the real reason she wanted to go to the cave. It had been a few months since anyone had been able to travel. After a very mild winter, a huge snowstorm came through the Rocky Mountains at the end of March that left behind several feet of snow. It was weeks before the weather warmed up enough for the snow to melt. There were still patches of snow around, but now most of it was gone. Bridget knew that Nicky was anxious to see if there were any letters in the cave and she had a stack of her own to send.

  Over breakfast that morning, Bridget did her best to casually offer to make the trip to the cave by herself. She knew both Patrick and Shaun couldn’t make the trip for at least another week because of their responsibilities on the ranch. Kimberly couldn’t go because of the twins and Nicky was going to be helping Shaun with the horses for the week. She had been itching to get a chance to learn how to work with the horses like Shaun did. Shaun was protective of her and didn’t want her working with horses that were skittish or grumpy because of the cold. Now that the snow had melted, he finally had a job that he felt Nicky could handle, and he was going to teach her a few things throughout the week.

  Bridget was surprised when everyone agreed with her plan to visit the cave by herself. Usually, her brothers were very protective of her and rarely wanted her to leave the ranch alone for long periods of time. She did her best to not act excited about going to the cave by herself. It was finally time to put her plan for adventure into action.

  Because of the snowstorm, the family had had plenty of time to be together in the family cabin. Bridget was able to ask precise questions as to exactly how the keys worked. She also found out what the townhouse where Nicky and Kimberly had lived looked like. She felt as prepared as she could be. She laughed in quiet amazement at her thoughts. She wasn’t sure if she was crazy or brave. She was going to use the keys to travel to the future.

  Bridget put the broom away and slipped into her bedroom. She quickly wrote a letter to her family, explaining to them what she was planning to do. She let them know that she loved them, but that she was starting to want more out of her life. She made sure they knew she wasn’t planning on staying in the future; she just wanted to visit. After signing it, she slid the note under her pillow. She wanted her family to be able to find it, but not too soon. She wanted to be gone before the note was found. That way, no one would be able to stop her.

  Going back into the kitchen, she quickly prepared a stew that would be ready for lunch. After picking up the letters, she slipped outside and looked around, feeling relief when she didn’t see any of her family. She hated leaving without saying goodbye, but she didn’t want anyone to be suspicious that she was taking this trip for anything other than the usual reason.

  She slid the bag she packed with some food, water, and a dress inside onto her shoulder. She quickly found the path that led to the cave and started her journey.

  ****

  Justin let himself into Nicky’s townhouse, knowing this would be the last time he would be around his sister’s belongings. He had just made arrangements to rent the townhouse out to a newly married couple who were willing to take over the last few months of Nicky’s lease. He agreed to leave the furniture for them to use, but he needed to get Nicky’s and Kimberly’s personal belongings out. Since it was Saturday and not a school day, Garrett was with him, and he was being a great help. After sending his son out the door with a bag of garbage to dispose of, he grabbed another box and started to fill it with Nicky’s clothes. He already had filled a dozen other boxes. What was he going to do with all this stuff?

  Again, he felt anger in his gut, and he tried to shove it down inside. This was the last thing he wanted to do- let Nicky’s and Kimberly’s townhouse go, and pack up all their belongings. Making this last step meant he was admitting to himself that Nicky wasn’t going to ever come back.

  His parents had been a bit more understanding since he had shown them the keys, especially after he encouraged them to write Nicky a letter. He hid the keys in his old room at their house in a dresser drawer that was full of childhood collections and memories. He didn’t want to take the keys back to Victoria’s home. He didn’t want to have to worry about something happening to them. If he had been able to get into the house through an unlocked door, someone else could do the same.

  After his mother wrote her letter, he had quickly penned a short note to Bridget, letting her know he didn’t mind if they wrote each other. As his parents watched, he laid one key down on the kitchen table, placed the letters on top of it, then placed the other key on top of the letters and watched with his parents as the stack totally disappeared.

  Then came the many questions. Where did the keys take the letters? How did Nicky get them? When he told them the keys transported the letters to a cave in the Rocky Mountains near Denver, they wanted to know where the cave was located. He had no idea where the cave was or how to find it in their time. He also had no idea how long it would take to get another letter from Nicky.

  After that first time, another stack of letters appeared on their kitchen table a few weeks later. One of the letters was from Bridget. Over the next few months, letters passed between 1894 and 2007 monthly. Then two months ago, Justin sent off a stack of letters and they hadn’t received any response since. His mother was starting to get very worried. Did something happen with the keys? With Nicky? With her new family? How would they even be able to find out?

  Justin heard the front door slam shut and then a shout from Garrett.

  “Wow! Where did you come from?” Justin heard Garrett ask loudly with shock and a little bit of fear in his voice. “You just appeared out of thin air!”

  Justin dropped some books into the nearest box and ran from Nicky’s old room and into the living room. He saw Garrett staring at someone, his mouth opened in shock. Justin turned to see who Garrett was looking at and saw a woman dressed in a long flowered blue calico dress, the type of dress a woman would have worn over 100 years ago. Although she didn’t wear makeup and wasn’t dressed in anything particularly flattering, she was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

  She had auburn red hair that was pulled back and tucked into a bun at the base of her neck. She had bright green eyes that were looking at Garrett and then at himself, full of surprise and shock, along with a little bit of excitement and amazement. He saw her slip something into a large pocket of her dress.

  “Dad!” Garrett shouted when he saw him enter the room. “It was really weird. I came in from taking out the trash when she just appeared right before my eyes!”

  Justin went over to his son and placed a hand on his shoulder in protection. “Who are you?”

  The woman stared at them both for a second and then smiled. “My name is Bridget. Is this Nicky’s and Kimberly’s townhouse? Did I travel to the right place?”

  Justin frowned and shook his head in confusion. “Did you just say your name is Bridget?” Was this Nicky’s sister-in-law? Had she time-traveled from her time to his?

  “Yes... I’m Bridget Callaghan. Do you know Nicky and Kimberly?” she asked hesitantly.

  Justin was so shocked he couldn’t speak, but his son answered the question for him.

  “We know them. They used to live here, but they left and got married. They live in a place far away. Dad and I are packing up their stuff and taking it all to a distribution center,” Garrett
answered before Justin could stop him.

  “Oh, good,” Bridget looked relieved. “Then you know about the keys and where I traveled from.” She held out one of the golden keys in her hand.

  “Keys?” Garrett asked curiously. He ran up to her to study the golden key.

  Justin sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Garrett had asked many questions about Nicky’s disappearance the fall before, but he’d stopped inquiring when Justin refused to give more than basic answers. How was he going to explain this?

  “Why did you come?” Justin asked harshly, although he regretted his tone of voice when Bridget’s face fell. He could tell she was very happy that the keys had worked, that she had been able to travel from her time to his, and that she had finally met him.

  “I wanted an adventure,” Bridget finally said after a hesitation. She seemed to notice her surroundings for the first time as she started slowly looking at everything in the apartment with awe. She reached out and touched a picture of Justin, Nicky, and Garrett that was hanging nearby on the wall.

  Realizing how much she must be trying to take in at the moment, he decided to let up on her a little. “Well, you sure traveled a long way just for an adventure,” Justin drawled with a small smile. He allowed himself to really look at Bridget and liked what he saw.

  He could tell, despite the slightly baggy dress, that she was lean and fit. Her auburn hair and skin had a healthy glow to them, and her lips were a natural red that seemed to draw him to her. What caught his attention were her expressive green eyes. When she’d first arrived, her excitement and happiness had been radiant. If it had just been him in the townhouse, he was sure he would have reacted differently, but because Garrett had seen her first, he was frustrated and rattled. When he did show his frustration, he had easily seen every expression cross her face; hurt, disappointment, and regret before her features settled on a determined look. A look that reminded him a little of Nicky.

  “Why don’t you sit down,” Justin invited and then turned to his son. “Garrett, I want to talk to Bridget.”

  Garrett frowned. “Do I have to go to another room?”

  Justin hesitated a moment and then shook his head. “No, but there will be things that we talk about that you will not understand. Please don’t ask any questions. I promise I will explain everything later.”

  Garrett nodded his agreement and sat on the couch near Bridget. Justin could tell he was fascinated with her, although part of it could be that she appeared out of thin air, right before his eyes.

  “Why did you really come?” Justin asked again. “Is everything alright with Nicky and Kimberly? Did something happen to them?”

  Bridget shook her head. “They are fine, I promise. I just wanted an adventure. I’ve been living on my family’s ranch my entire life. I am planning on moving to Denver in a few weeks, but I wanted to see the future before I left.”

  “What did your family think of your coming here?”

  Bridget looked away quickly, guilt flitting across her face. “No one knows I came. I made arrangements to deliver letters to the cave, but I decided to deliver them myself.” She took a small stack of letters out of her dress pocket and gave them to him.

  Justin laid the letters aside, not even looking at them. What was he going to do with her? He should insist that she immediately return to her own time.

  “What do you think your family is going to do when they discover you're missing?”

  “I left a note. They will know where I am.”

  ****

  Bridget couldn’t believe her luck. The keys had worked! She had traveled through time and was now sitting on a leather sofa in Nicky’s apartment. She hadn’t expected to see Justin right away. In fact, she was very glad he had just happened to be there. She wouldn’t have known how to find him, even though Nicky had told her he lived in the same area. Before now, she hadn’t even known what he looked like.

  She couldn’t decide what she wanted to look at more; the new surroundings, or this handsome man in front of her. It was shocking to look at him since his clothes were so different from anything she had ever seen. He had on a green T-shirt that had some sort of design on the front. His pants were equally baffling; they were cut off at his knees. She could easily see his knees and legs as he sat on the couch, and her cheeks flushed as she realized how much skin he was showing.

  But, even if he had been wearing clothes from her time, she still would have been drawn to him. He wasn’t as tall as her brothers, but still held himself in such a way that she knew she would be safe with him. His strong jaw had a layer of stubble on it, and his brown eyes seemed to see right through her. His hair was trimmed slightly shorter than his ears and was the same color as Nicky’s. Strange feelings flooded her heart, feelings she had never had before, raw but powerful, and she instantly pushed them aside, not wanting to deal with them just then.

  Bridget dragged her eyes off Justin to look around again and noticed the same rectangular box in Kimberly’s drawing, the one that she had been told Garrett played video games on. She looked around in fascination.

  Justin seemed to realize she needed time to take in her surroundings, and stopped asking questions. There was thick light brown carpet on the floor that felt soft under her shoes. The couch she sat on was a darker brown and was more comfortable than anything she had sat on before. The sun shone through a large window and she stood up to look outside. What she saw amazed her. There were large buildings all around, but she also saw lush green grass, big trees, and even a small pond with a few ducks swimming in it. Further away she saw some fancy colorful bars and swings, with some children playing nearby. To her, the future looked idealistic and beautiful.

  When she had her fill of looking out the window, she turned around and found Justin studying her.

  “How long are you planning to stay?” he asked, as if he wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible.

  “Long enough to experience your time,” Bridget told him. “I don’t want to go back right away, maybe a few days.” And she admitted herself, she didn’t want to go back until she had had some time to get to know Justin better. She had enjoyed exchanging letters with him, but she hadn’t expected to be so immediately drawn to him.

  “I think you should go back immediately,” Justin retorted. “Your family is going to worry about you.”

  “My brothers will not be happy when they find out where I went,” Bridget admitted, “But I think Nicky and Kimberly will understand. After all, they traveled to my time and decided to stay there because they fell in love with my brothers.”

  Justin’s face grew dark. “Is that what you’re expecting? To fall in love with me? Because that isn’t going to happen.”

  Bridget’s face turned red with embarrassment and hurt. “No. I just wanted to meet you.” But even as she said the words, she knew she could fall in love with him very easily. She needed to guard her heart.

  “Don’t you want to hear how Nicky and Kimberly are doing?” Bridget asked, changing tactics.

  “I know how they are doing,” Justin said as he raised the letters she had given him.

  Bridget shrugged and noticed the room she was standing in opened into another room.

  “What is this room for?” she asked as she walked into it.

  This room had a hard-wooden floor, with a tall narrow table that lined three of the walls. There were small white doors underneath the table, as well as hanging off the wall above them. When she opened one, she realized there were plates and bowls behind the door. She opened another one and found cups. She looked around in awe, and she was drawn toward a big box that had two doors on it. She opened the top door, and a blast of cold air hit her face, and she gasped in shock. After the air stopped blowing on her, she stepped closer to see a few boxes with pictures of food on it; food she had never tried before. She also recognized a couple cuts of meat. She shut the door.

  How strange and wonderful, she thought to herself.

  Justin stood. “I�
�ll give you a tour if you’d like. This is the kitchen.”

  “Really? Kimberly talked about a stove that ran on something called natural gas and she also told me about a large box that kept things cold or frozen all the time. It’s so different to see it in person. This is amazing.”

  Over the next few minutes, Justin allowed her to look and explore, willingly answering any of her questions. He had to admit to himself that he would enjoy showing her more of the future as long as he would get to see the wonder that crossed her face every time she saw something new. Garrett helped, looking eager to show her Nicky’s townhouse, although he looked bewildered that she didn’t know about such things as stoves and refrigerators.

  When Bridget again refused to go back to her time, Justin finally agreed to let her stay in Nicky’s townhouse, even though he was getting it ready to rent out. Justin showed her Nicky’s closet that was full of clothes. He suggested to Bridget that she find something of Nicky’s so she wouldn’t stand out so much in his time. He then told her he had a few things he had to take care of but would be back later.