by Zoe Matthews
No one knew what to say to that. Everyone was worried about him. Justin had spent the last six months traveling to nearby cities and towns to see if anyone had seen a man fitting Garrett’s description. Justin wasn’t 100 percent sure that Garrett had traveled through the portal and wanted to make sure he really wasn’t in their time. Of course, no one had seen him.
Ever since Keegan had left to follow Megan to the future, and the family knew that Keegan was going to stay in her time, they had devised a way to stay in touch with the “Millennial family”, which was how they referred to them. Just six months ago, Keegan had a stone box with a lid made, and they buried it just under the ground in the portal. Every month or so, Keegan or Megan would hike to the portal and put letters in the stone box. The portal would then transport them to the past. The family on the ranch would dig up the stone box, remove the letters and then do the same. It was a perfect way to keep in touch with each other. Keegan and Megan also sometimes actually used the portal to visit for a few days. Their visits had stopped because Megan was now expecting her first child, and she was concerned about time travel while she was pregnant.
Justin knew that Keegan had not seen or heard from Garrett. Justin had hoped that his son would have tried to find Keegan, but that hadn’t happened. When Keegan had learned that Garrett had come to the future, he had spent a few months searching for him in the Denver area, but he had to stop when Megan’s mother, Barbara, had become pregnant. She had had complications with her pregnancy and had needed bed rest to carry the baby full term. The baby was then born with a heart defect that had needed immediate surgery. Keegan had been very busy helping with their store so Megan could be with her mother and then with her new little brother who they named after Barbara’s brother-in-law in England, Edward.
“I think I need to go to the future and see if I can find him,” Justin suddenly said firmly. He looked around the room as if he was daring anyone to contradict him.
Bridget gasped in dismay. It was obvious she didn’t approve of the idea, but she didn’t say anything. Patrick, Shaun, and Justin started to argue with each other with each one insisting they be the one to go and try to find Garrett. Nicky and Kimberly looked on in amusement, but Bridget was defiantly letting her husband know she didn’t want him to go by the look on her face.
“I’ll go,” Colleen spoke up over the voices. It became quiet as they turned to look at her.
“What did you say?” Shaun asked his daughter.
“I said that I’ll go and look for Garrett,” Colleen repeated.
Shaun sighed and ran a hand through his hair before looking at Bridget sheepishly. “Now I’m the one who isn’t happy about this.”
“Pa, you, Patrick, and Justin have responsibilities here. Traveling to the future isn’t going to be a quick trip. I am the logical one to send. You have to admit that I’m the closest to Garrett out of everyone, and I was always able to talk him out of doing stupid things. I understand how he thinks.”
“You have never been to the future before. You have no idea what it’s like or what you are in for,” Shaun argued.
“I’ve never been to the future, but I know quite a bit about it. Garrett has told me many things,” Colleen explained.
Justin frowned. “He has? He shouldn’t have done that. He wasn’t supposed to talk about anything in the future to anyone here in this time, including you.”
Kimberly spoke up. “Justin, look at this from Garrett’s point of view for a moment. He was only eleven years old when you guys came here. You were only supposed to stay a few days, but circumstances made it so you had to stay indefinitely. He remembers the future like a child would, perfect, fun, interesting.”
“He struggled here in this time. He is too smart; he knows too much. He belongs in the future,” Nicky added. “But I do agree that we need to try to find him, so we can at least know he is okay. He has no idea we have the stone mailbox. Let Colleen go. We can give her money for the future and directions on how to get to Keegan’s house. If she follows them exactly, she won’t get lost.”
By now Justin was sitting next to Bridget, and Shaun was the one pacing. Finally, he turned to his daughter. Colleen couldn’t tell if he was going to let her go or not, but she knew she would try to go even if he was totally against it. She was old enough to make her own decisions, and she had been feeling very strongly that she needed to try to find Garrett, even if she had to go to the future to do so.
“Ok. But you need to make sure you understand exactly what you need to do to find Keegan. We don’t need you lost in the future, too.”
“Thanks, Pa,” Colleen said as she stood up to give him a hug.
Shaun held her close to him for a long time. “You are my daughter, and I love you very much. I pray that you will be safe on your journey, that you can find Garrett, and that you can find yourself.”
Colleen jerked her head up and looked in his eyes at his last words. She knew he was telling her that he was aware of her feelings for Garrett. He was giving her his blessing.
Over the next few days, she received many instructions from Kimberly, Nicky, and Justin. She knew they were surprised at how much she knew about the future. She was aware of the common machines: the vehicles, the airplanes, and computers. She also knew about telephones, cell phones, and appliances, to name a few things. They gave her very detailed instructions on how to get down the canyon after she traveled through the portal. They told her to go to a restaurant that was at the bottom of the canyon and request that someone to call a taxi for her. When the taxi arrived, she was to have the person driving it take her directly to Keegan’s house. They made sure she had enough money to pay the taxi driver and enough extra money just in case she needed it.
Kimberly still had some clothes that were from the future; a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a jacket. They no longer fit her since her figure had changed since she had three children, but Kimberly felt they would fit Colleen just fine. The jacket wouldn’t be as warm as a coat, but it would have to do until she made it to Keegan’s house, and she could purchase more clothing.
Colleen had a letter already written that she could put in the stone box as soon as she arrived in the future, so everyone would know she had gotten there safely. She was to also go to the portal every few weeks and leave an update, weather permitting. Since it was already November, everyone understood that it could be months before she would be able to hike back to the portal. Many times the canyon itself was closed by authorities when the snowfall was too heavy. The hiking trail also could be closed because of snow. Colleen was told that they didn’t want her to risk going to the portal if it wasn’t safe due to the threat of avalanches.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving, Justin and his family decided to head back to Denver. Justin could tell a storm was coming in, and he wanted to get back before it hit the mountains. Colleen was secretly glad they were leaving. Now that the decision was made for her to go to the future, she was anxious to leave. She had received so much advice and instructions, her head was swimming.
By lunchtime the next day Colleen was totally ready to go. She had put on the clothes Kimberly gave her. She wasn’t sure she liked the jeans. She had never worn pants before, although she knew some women did wear boys’ britches and liked them better than dresses because they weren’t as restricting. The jeans seemed way too tight, but Kimberly assured her that they fit her perfectly. She said that she wouldn’t look out of place in the future, but she would if she showed up in one of her long full dresses she usually wore.
At exactly three o’clock, the entire family stood around the portal, and Colleen knew it was time to go. After last minute hugs from everyone and a long one from her father, she picked up a bag that Nicky called a backpack that had her belongings in it, along with some food, and carefully stepped into the portal. For a moment nothing happened and Colleen wondered if it was going to work, and then she was gone.
****
When Colleen arrived in the future, she felt a c
almness sweep over her, a feeling she had never felt before, and she wondered what it meant. The first thing she did was quickly step out of the portal for fear that it would reverse and send her back. There was at least a foot of snow on the ground, quite a bit more than there had been in her time, except in the portal. Triggering the portal must have melted the snow. Then she found the spot where the stone box was hidden and placed her pre-written letter in it. After reburying it, she put on the backpack like Nicky had shown her. She didn’t linger around the portal but started to look around for the path and quickly found it. She could hear the river nearby and it helped calm her nerves, knowing it was the same river that she had played and fished in as a child.
It took her quite a while to get down the mountain, and she saw no one. The snow slowed her down, and she couldn’t see any footprints from anyone else. No one else was around.
People are smart enough to stay in their homes and not be out hiking in the snow, she thought wryly.
When she finally made it down to the parking lot, she saw her first car, a lone red one sat on the other end of the lot. It was much bigger than she had imagined. She was tempted to walk over and look at it, but she remembered one of the many instructions her aunts and uncles had given her. “Don’t show too much interest in the new things you see, at least not until you are with Keegan. Do your best to fit in.”
So, Colleen forced herself to walk right by it. She took a short break and ate some jerky that was in her backpack before continuing down the road. A few vehicles drove by, but no one bothered her. The entire time she walked, she wondered if she would be able to find Garrett. Keegan never found him. What made her think she could? She wondered what his first thoughts were about the future. Did he immediately like it? Was he able to find food and lodging quickly? And the biggest question, was he happy? Or did he miss his family? Did he miss her? By the time she reached the bottom of the road she was exhausted. She was also very thirsty. In her time, she would have eaten some of the snow, but she was warned not to do that in the future; something about dirt from the vehicles and pollution. She had brought a glass bottle of water, but she wanted to save as much as she could just in case she ran into trouble and needed it.
When she finally made it to the bottom of the canyon, she immediately saw the restaurant and headed towards it. She was cold and hungry and was anxious to call the taxi to get to Keegan’s home. But when she got to the restaurant, it had a big sign on it that said, “Closed for Remodeling. See you in the Spring!”
Colleen’s heart dropped. What was she going to do now? Kimberly and Nicky had expected the restaurant to be open, a safe place to wait until the taxi came. She had been given Keegan’s and Megan’s cell phone numbers. Kimberly had explained the best she could how to operate a phone and call them, but Colleen really had no idea how she would use one even if she got ahold of a cell phone.
She looked around and couldn’t see any other buildings that she might be able to get help from. She could see a lot of homes in the distance, some of them so big they looked like mansions to her. Should she walk to one of them and knock on the door? Would someone be willing to help her? Tears started to form in her eyes, and she angrily wiped them away. She was the one who offered to come. She was a smart woman. She could get herself out of this mess and find Keegan’s home in another way.
She pulled some more jerky out of a pocket of the backpack and tried to think while she chewed. This road was in the similar location as the road that led from the ranch to Denver in her time. Keegan’s home shouldn’t be too far away. She would continue to walk into Denver. She would try to find another business that was open to call for a taxi. If that didn’t happen, she should eventually get to Keegan’s home.
She walked past the restaurant and came to a road where cars were stopped while other cars were going the opposite direction. She stood on the side of the road and watched for a while. It seemed as if the cars all took turns. One lane of cars would go, and then another, and then another. None of them went at the same time. It seemed they somehow knew how to go without crashing into each other. She remembered Garrett telling her about this once, but she couldn’t remember what he said. She knew she needed to cross the street, but how was she going to do that without getting hit? Then she saw a young man with a small boy at his side walk to the edge of the road. Colleen watched as the man pushed a button on a large post. Then they waited. Soon the cars stopped, and the man started to walk. He pointed to something at the other side of the road and said something to the little boy who nodded at his father. Colleen looked at what he was pointing at and saw a square box that had a green person in it. The man and boy crossed to the other side of the street and then continued on. Colleen watched them make their way down the street and then looked at the box again. The green person in the box was now a red hand, and the cars started to move again.
Colleen then noticed the same type of post right beside her, and a large button was on it. She pushed it, and sure enough, a few minutes later the cars stopped. She saw the green person in the box and decided that must mean it was safe to cross the street, so she started to walk, being careful to make sure the cars really had stopped. When she made it to the other side, the cars started to move again, and Colleen smiled to herself. She had figured out her first big test at how things worked in the future! She felt much more confident as she walked down the road. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as hard as she thought.
****
She walked down the road for quite a while before she found another building that could be a business, bypassing all the fancy homes in the process. There was a sign in front of the building that said it was open, and she went inside. She immediately saw that it sold a lot of clothes. Curiosity made her want to look around at all the clothing that was for sale, but she knew she needed to get to Keegan’s as soon as possible. She would have plenty of time later to explore. A man walked up to her.
“Can I help you find something?” he asked.
“Actually, I was wondering if I could ask for your help in calling a taxi for me,” Colleen said.
The man’s faced darkened. “We can only help you if you buy something first.”
At first Colleen was speechless. Was he really expecting her to buy something to get help?
“Never mind,” she mumbled and quickly left the store. There was another store next to the first one, so she walked into that building hoping she would have better luck. This store sold food, and no one walked up to her to ask her if they could help. In fact, it seemed that everyone was so busy, they didn’t even know she was there. After standing there for a few minutes, she turned around and left.
It was starting to get dark, and she was getting very cold. She knew she either needed to figure out how to find Keegan or find a place to stay the night. Just up ahead she saw a large building that had the word vacancy on the front. She somehow knew that it was probably a hotel.
“I wonder how much it would cost to stay there for the night,” she said as she headed in that direction. When she opened the door, she saw that it was a hotel, only quite a bit fancier than the hotels she had in her time, which was understandable since she was in the future now. A woman was sitting behind a long counter looking at what looked like a big black box. Colleen walked towards her and noticed that the woman’s fingers were moving quickly over a flat board that had the alphabet and numbers on it.
“Can I help you?” the woman asked.
Colleen noticed that she had a name tag on her white shirt that said “Noreen.”
“I was wondering how much it would cost to stay here for the night,” Colleen said.
“Will it just be you, or will others be joining you?”
“Just me.”
The woman named an amount that had Colleen’s jaw drop. She never would have spent that much in her time to stay in a hotel, even in the fancier ones.
“It is a very reasonable price,” the woman said, as if feeling the need to defend herself.
Colleen did a quick calculation in her head. What the woman was asking for a room would take up most of her money that her family had given her. Noreen looked around quickly and then said quietly, “I’ll let you have the room for half price if you really need a place to stay.”
Colleen breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay. Thank you.” She gave Noreen some money and then accepted a key.
“The room is down the hallway at the end,” Noreen explained. “We serve a complimentary breakfast until 9:00.”
Colleen must have looked confused because Noreen quickly said, “It comes with the price of the room. If you are hungry right now, there is a gift shop around the corner where you can purchase food.” Colleen nodded her head in understanding.
She wanted to ask Noreen how she could call Keegan, because that was what she would need to do now that she just spent most of her money on a hotel room, but in the end, she turned away. She walked down the hall Noreen had indicated and quickly found room 110. The key worked perfectly, and she was soon inside with the door shut behind her. The room was dark and it took her a few minutes to figure out how to turn on the lights. She was amazed at how lit up the room was. There was a bed in the middle of the room that was neatly made. She set her backpack down on the bed and slowly looked around at the room. There were heavy curtains covering a very large window. In her opinion, the curtains were a very ugly green and yellow, but as she looked at them closer, she could see that they were heavy enough to keep light from going into the room from the window if the occupant wished. She played around with each light and lamp to see how they worked. There was a small table by the bed with a small box that lit up with numbers on it. After thinking about it, she realized it was a clock, and it was displaying the time of 8:06 pm. The one item she was most fascinated with was the TV. It was a large rectangular box that hung on the wall above a dresser. She couldn’t figure out how to use it though.