When the group finished their discussion, Anthony and Dimitrios thanked everyone for participating. Then they exited through the Passageway. Mr. Vidrio departed soon after.
Carson asked Charles if he had homework. Charles responded that he did have several assignments, which needed to be finished. He followed Bev out of the office.
Carson, Natalie and Wayland discussed what had taken place at the meeting earlier that morning. When they finished talking about the session, they left the office and headed to the farmhouse to have dinner.
Bev had the evening meal ready on the dining room table. They walked in through the door and helped her finish the preparations. Charles left his homework in the library and joined them. Everyone had something to contribute about his or her day.
After dinner, Charles tried to help clean up but was shooed out of the dining room to work on his homework assignments. Natalie winked when she reminded him that he was still ahead of Caroline, but not by much.
Bev changed the subject and asked Natalie, “So, how was your first day of high school?”
“As a matter of fact I had fun.”
Wayland casually said, “Don’t get used to it.”
Bev asked him, “What did you think of your first day?”
Wayland sarcastically replied, “I can’t wait to get back to my responsibilities.”
“Oh, you don’t seem enthusiastic about repeating your high school experience,” Bev said.
Carson said, “I’d go back to the end of high school.”
Everyone turned to look at him. In unison they asked, “Why?”
Carson took in a deep breath before he said, “Because at that age you have your whole life ahead of you. You feel like you are king of the world and invincible. You don’t have great responsibilities in high school. The responsibilities come in college. College is when you are in charge of what your destiny will be; your character is formed by then. You actually have real life experiences and it gets messy. Other than the end of high school and the years in college, what other time in your life do you feel like that?”
Natalie and Wayland looked at each other.
Bev said, “Honey, you are king of the world.”
Carson snorted. “Just my own little world.”
Chapter 111
Charles glanced at his calendar. He wanted to be sure his assignments had been completed and turned in to his instructors. When Charles was convinced he hadn’t overlooked anything, he reached for a Sojourner’s manual to read.
Carson came into the library and sat on a chair. “How are your studies coming?”
Charles shrugged. “Fine, I guess. I don’t have homework tonight. I have already turned my assignments in.”
Carson jumped up with a sparkle in his eye. “Are you ready for an adventure? Natalie and Wayland are visiting the Hub for the evening.”
Charles jumped at the chance. He’d been itching to be on the Sojourn hunt again. “You bet I am!” Charles said eagerly.
The two men raced to the office and down the secret stairway to the clothes library. Bev followed down the stairway, already dressed and ready. She was talking to Airabelle. Carson opened the closet door for Charles then helped him find clothes to wear that would be appropriate for their destination. Charles put the clothes over his arm and stood by Bev and Airabelle.
Carson dressed first. When he came out of the room, he went to gather the accessories he and Charles needed. Charles then went to change.
When he came out, Airabelle said, “Let me look you over.” Charles thought her request was strange, but he slowly turned so she could check his apparel.
“I approve,” she squawked. Charles was puzzled.
Bev said, “We will be making contact with the owner of a specific coin. We have approval for limited contact based on the nature of this transaction.”
Charles thought about her words for a moment. He was very excited about the prospect of a mission, and wished he knew the whole story.
Airabelle said, “We are allowed to interact with the seller of this coin based on an incident that recently occurred. We will reenact the scene and hope that we can persuade the owner to sell to us instead of the interferer, who is also a Sojourner. Since the buyer disrupted the process, solving the riddle for the coin is no longer necessary. This situation happens but it is rare. When it does happen, everyone involved must be careful to follow specific guidelines to avoid being questioned by the council.”
Charles said, “I will try not to interfere.”
Bev showed Charles a picture of the coin. Charles studied the image. She placed a protective case in her purse.
Airabelle gave Charles the history behind the coin and then explained, “We must embark on this mission tonight, because the competing Sojourner made a move out of order and arranged a private meeting with the coin owner. The meeting will take place soon.”
Charles asked, “Who is the other Sojourner?”
Airabelle looked at Bev before answering, “Joseph Grey.”
“How do you know?” Charles asked.
“I have my ways. A lady never reveals her sources or secrets. You should know that by now,” Airabelle loftily answered.
“What secrets?” Charles asked. He was curious now. “You don’t have secrets from me, do you?”
Airabelle shot back, “I most certainly do.”
Charles looked at Bev. She shrugged.
“We need to discuss this in quite a bit more detail. I’d like to know why you can have secrets and I can’t,” Charles asked her in his head.
“Because,” was all she would say.
“That’s not good enough.”
“That will have to do for now.” With that she ended the discussion.
They walked upstairs and waited for the Passageway to open. As they walked through, Airasten decided to join them at the last minute. He didn’t want to miss out on the adventure and then hear about it second hand from Airabelle. Once the group exited the Passageway, they took out their flying disks and began to make their way to the center of the Hub.
The sector wasn’t as crowded as it had been the last time they made the journey. Bev and Carson were ahead of Charles. Charles wondered just how close Joseph was to taking the coin from them. He’d never seen Carson in such a hurry.
Airabelle whispered to Charles, “Close, very close.”
Charles let out a sigh. Airabelle and Airasten stayed next to him. He felt that Airabelle was for some reason more focused on him, instead of paying attention to where she was going. Several times she flew in his way and almost caused a problem.
A pair of eyes watched as the young man crossed the sector.
Once they reached their destination, both Airasten and Airabelle went into Bev’s purse. Once the birds were settled, the group made their way to the Time Warp Tunnel official for travel verification. Once approved, Carson, Bev and Charles hurried to the location of the Passageway that would lead them to their destination.
When they reached the correct Passageway, the experience of going through was different. Electricity filled the air in the form of static. Carson explained to Charles it was a sign that Joseph was closer to clenching the coin than he had anticipated. The stakes were higher now. It was going to be a race to the finish.
Bev whispered, “If it is a race he wants, it is a race we’ll give him. We aren’t going down without a fight.”
Carson turned around and winked at her. “That’s my girl, ready to fight to the very end. It will take every ounce of ingenuity to cross the finish line. We will all have to work together.”
They stood in the semi darkness looking around for a street sign to determine their location. A streetlight was in the distance. They began to walk very quickly in that direction.
Although Airabelle was in Bev’s purse, that didn’t stop her from communicating with Charles. He wished she would turn her attention to Airasten. Her constant chatter made it difficult to give his full attention to what was happening around hi
m.
Carson was following a map that he had made, based on information gathered from an old drawing. Charles wasn’t convinced Carson could make sense of it. Several times they went down the wrong street. After talking to his grandfather, Charles discovered that the map was created from earlier information than the time period they were in. New streets and buildings had been added over the years. A few blocks over, they discovered the street they were searching for. It was in a business district. The shops were still open and people were all around. The family began sprinting down the street. They barely avoided several collisions.
Bev looked back at Charles. She collided into a man in a dark brown trench coat as he was coming out of a specialty shop. Bev fell to the ground before Charles could reach her. The gentleman tried to catch her and dropped his packages in his attempt to help. Carson ran over to assist his wife in standing and asked if she was okay.
Bev brushed herself off, smoothed her skirt, and straightened her hair. She was blushing from all of the attention.
Charles turned his attention to a shiny object on the ground.
Airabelle squawked in his ear, “Quick Charles, grab it and offer it back to the man!”
He lunged for it, just as a hand from nowhere stretched out for it as well.
Charles closed his fist around it tightly. When he looked up, he was face to face with Joseph Gray.
Charles heard in his head, Airabelle saying, “Well done! Now give it back to the gentleman. Don’t think, just do it.”
Charles knew it was the right thing to do.
He tapped the gentleman on the shoulder. “Excuse me, Sir. When you collided with my nana, this fell from your pocket.”
The man wearing the dark brown coat looked at the coin in Charles’ hand.
He paused before taking it from Charles. The man held the coin up to the light and then put it in his pocket. “Thank you, young man.”
Charles said, “Yes, Sir. You are welcome.”
Charles looked around for Joseph. He noticed the man walking toward a restaurant at the end of the block.
The well-dressed man in the dark brown trench coat made sure Bev was okay then asked, “Would you like me to buy you a cup of coffee at the café?” He pointed to a café across the street.
Carson said, “No, thank you Sir. I think we should buy you a drink. Would you let us? It is the least we can do.”
The gentleman looked at his watch. “As a matter of fact, I am late for a business meeting. I was just going to walk you across the street and make sure you are taken care of, before I head to my destination.”
Carson shook his hand. “Thank you, Sir. I believe we are fine.”
Charles had gathered the man’s packages. The man took them back from Charles.
“Well, if you are fine, and sure I can’t interest you in a cup of coffee, then if you will excuse me, I will head to my meeting.”
Carson tipped his hat, “Thank you. Have a good day, Sir.”
The man walked in the same direction as Joseph, toward the restaurant at the end of the block. Carson hung his head.
“We tried. We were so close. Another coin will be available at some point. I am really proud of both of you.” He kissed Bev on the cheek.
“That was the right thing to do Charles. Good job,” Carson said.
Bev agreed. “We all gave it our best. Let’s head home.”
They window-shopped along the way. Sometimes they went in various shops and browsed. Bev bought a few things that caught her attention.
At the dinner meeting, the owner of the coin asked Joseph a series of questions. Joseph wasn’t entirely truthful as he answered the gentleman. The man asked Joseph why he answered the questions the way he did. Joseph admitted he had not thoroughly researched the information needed to answer the required questions. Joseph also admitted he was late for a prior engagement. He encouraged the owner of the coin to speed up the meeting.
Joseph gave the man a disdainful look and said, “Do you know who I am? Because of who I am, I set up this meeting with you in order to acquire the coin. My family connections should give you pause, if you reject my offer.”
The gentleman stated, “I require more time to fully consider my decision regarding this coin. Allow me to pay the tab. Please accept my apology. I have another meeting to attend tonight as well, and must now leave in order not to be late.” The owner of the coin signaled the waiter to approach to the table. After paying the waiter, he left the restaurant. The seller began to think about the young man who had picked up the coin and returned it. He had the integrity that Joseph Grey lacked.
The owner of the coin raced down the street in the direction he noticed the family walking earlier. The man saw Charles, just as the family was ready to step through the Passageway into the Time Warp Tunnel. He yelled to Charles, Carson and Bev requesting a minute of their time. He asked Charles a few questions about the history of the coin. Charles was relieved that he had listened carefully when Airabelle had explained the history of the coin earlier. He was able to answer the man’s questions. The man sensed Charles’ sincerity from his replies and tossed him the coin. The gentleman’s parting statement was, “Good luck.”
**********
Carson, Bev and Charles returned to the office with Airabelle and Airasten. Charles asked Carson, “Is there something special about this collection that would make Joseph Grey want this particular coin so much that he would risk drawing attention to himself?”
Carson said, “Sojourners, like coin collectors everywhere, aspire to complete their collections because they realize that coins can reveal extraordinary stories about history by their condition, design and markings. Collectors hope their coins will appreciate in value through the metal content or rareness. Some collectors just enjoy the challenge of finding certain coins.
“On Bridgeiro, a Sojourner with a completed collection is awarded a special certificate from the Sojourners’ Council. This certificate allows the holder to visit a private sector of the Hub known as the experitron sector. When a Sojourner visits the sector, an experience coordinator will meet him or her. This coordinator will help the visitor plan either a fantasy adventure or pleasure vacation in a simulator that transports the visitor to the time period of the coins in the collection and the place of origin. The collector will also have the opportunity to meet influential Sojourners, who earlier agreed to have full body scans, in order to participate in the simulations of that time period. I would guess that Joseph Grey intended to complete his collection for this purpose.”
**********
As Joseph Grey was leaving the meeting with the coin’s owner, he thought: “I’m sure I convinced the owner to sell the coin to me. I need that one coin in order to complete the collection I’ve worked on for the past year. With the certificate from the Sojourners’ Council, I can use the experitron simulator to begin making connections with influential people from that time period. Then my grand plan can be put into play, and I will reap huge profits from selling commodities in those time periods.”
Chapter 112
Caroline reread the same page of the book in her hands. She realized that she had been daydreaming for some time. She sighed and put the book on the bedside table. Caroline looked at the window and let her mind wander to Bridgeiro. She got up from her bed, walked to her closet and took out her Marble Track. She set it on the dresser and probed the tiny door covering the niche that held the queen’s marble. Caroline took the marble between her finger and thumb and closely inspected it. She sat on the bed and began to dream of having an adventure of her own. She couldn’t help but try to guess where this mysterious marble would lead, if she set it on the Marble Track. Caroline thought: What harm will come if I cross over on my own? I won’t be gone for very long. I just want to stay long enough to look around, and find out for myself the destination of where this marble leads on the other side.
Curiosity got the better of her. Without a second thought, she placed the marble on the Marble Track ca
using it to seesaw back and forth between the two angels. Caroline looked for a Passageway opening. She didn’t see one. She opened her backpack, took out her crystal and gently blew across the top. The Passageway was revealed between the open doors of her closet. Caroline placed the crystal in her pocket. This must be the queen’s Passageway. Without hesitation, she crossed over.
Once on the other side, Caroline looked around at the tranquil surroundings of the natural environment. The sun was shining and the warm gentle breeze carried a fresh sweet scent as it blew through the decorative plants, causing them to sway. She noticed a small pool of water nearby. Caroline observed that a babbling creek was meandering off to the side of the pool. The water was splashing up and over many of the rocks in the creek bed. The scene before her provided an idyllic setting for her own story. Thoughts filled her head of the adventures that awaited her in this new paradise. Caroline marveled at this new sense of freedom she was feeling.
Suddenly movement caught her eye coming from the small pond. Caroline became inquisitive and crept over to investigate. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and knelt down to observe the diminutive creatures playing in the water. Each creature had chubby cheeks, a small pug nose and tiny rounded ears on top of its head. The animals had miniature hands and feet, and were covered in short off white fur. Caroline sat on a large flat rock to further observe the aphinaswins as they quickly hopped from water plant to water plant in the sunshine. She watched the creatures as they touched the base of a water plant, causing the plant’s leaves to unfold. She surmised that the animals were feeding off of the miniscule insects living on the water plants. It was pleasant to watch the aphinaswins frolic because the critters were so animated. Every once in a while, one of the animals would mischievously use its tail to push another aphinaswin off a plant they had previously shared. The creature that ended up in the water didn’t seem to mind cooling off as it went for a swim amongst the plants, until it found another plant of its own to cling to and then crawl up on.
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