Beyond: Snillotia Trilogy Book One

by Donna Wagner

  Tim picked up where Anna left off. “Do you remember when I explained how my mom had had her room from the Y here, in that extra space in your bedroom?”

  Adam and Myra both nodded. “We saw that as the safest way to get back here, and to have a place for everyone to stay, comfortably. Goldie brought the royal rooms here. I’m guessing one opens up down here and the other in the hallway upstairs. That’s what the extra door is you noticed in the hallway upstairs. I’m assuming we’ll find another door in the kitchen if we go look.”

  “Wait, are you telling me my house now has an extension into my back yard? What about my flowers?” Myra asked, in shock.

  Tim shrugged. “I’m sorry, Myra. I’ll help you plant new flowers.”

  Myra stood up and ran to the back of the house. They heard a door open and then a shriek. Adam, Tim, and Anna jumped up to see what was wrong. It wasn’t just about flowers. Myra sounded scared. They found her frozen on the back patio, which had been cut in half by a new wall. Most of the yard was gone, as well, and right next to the new part of the house, sat Goldie.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  “Shoo! Get out of here!” Adam yelled, running toward Goldie.

  “Wait!” Anna tried to stop him.

  Goldie hadn’t moved. In fact, she was watching Adam with a bemused expression on her flat face. Tim watched all of this, in what seemed like slow motion. Adam seemed angry, like he wanted to hurt Goldie for some reason. Tim’s gaze flickered to Myra, still frozen, with an expression of pure fear, on her face. Before he even realized what he was doing, Tim released a stream of energy from his hand, stopping Adam cold. He was inches from where Goldie continued to sit.

  “Why can’t I move?” Adam yelled, with panic in his voice.

  Tim ignored him for a moment and went over to Myra. “Myra, look at me.”

  Slowly, her gaze left Goldie and she focused on Tim. “Are you afraid of dogs, Myra?”

  She nodded and whimpered slightly. Tim glanced behind him to see that Anna had scooped Goldie up and was holding her tightly. “Myra, I need you to relax,” Tim said, as he touched her arm, “I know she looks like a dog, but she isn’t. That’s Goldie. She’s the gup who’s been helping us. She won’t hurt you.”

  Tim sent all the calming thoughts he could think of to Myra. It seemed to help. He released the energy that was stopping Adam from moving. “Adam, you can come over here now.”

  Realizing he could move again, Adam looked at Goldie, first, unsure, then went and stood next to his wife. Once he was sure she was okay, he looked at Tim. “You’ve been keeping things from me, Tim. I know you said you’d gained control of your powers and you even told us some of what you did in the time you’d been gone to protect yourself from Ronnoc, but this is more than I’d imagined. I have the feeling this is barely scratching the surface, though,” he gave a short laugh, “Am I right?”

  Tim nodded, slightly. “Anna is going to come over with Goldie. She is nothing to be afraid of,” he said to Myra.

  Anna walked over. Tim could see that Myra tensed, but she didn’t move away. “Goldie, this is Adam and Myra. I’m sorry for their reaction to you. I’m not sure if you know this, but you resemble an animal we have here in this world. A dog, if you know what that is- a pug dog, to be exact.”

  Goldie looked at Tim for a moment, but stayed silent. Her little face scrunched up and she let out a quick bark. Myra jumped, but didn’t run away. Goldie started wiggled in Anna’s arms so much that Anna put her down. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she took off back inside the house. Everyone followed right behind her- Tim and Anna because they were concerned something was wrong, but Adam and Myra because they didn’t want a dog alone in their house and they still didn’t believe she wasn’t just a dog.

  When they reached the kitchen, the new door was standing open. Tim and Anna quickly walked through, by Myra and Adam hesitated in the doorway. “Do not be afraid, new friends. Come in.”

  They both jumped, surprised to hear a voice that was both old and young at the same time and seemed to fill the room in front of them. They entered the room and saw Tim and Anna with looks of relief on their faces. “I am sorry I scared you.”

  Myra realized first that it was the dog talking. She let out a gasp as she stared at the dog. She couldn’t tell if this frightened her more or less. Adam caught on soon enough and put his arm around his wife, sensing her conflicting feelings. “Tim, this world interferes with my magic. When I spoke to you outside, you could not hear me. I went outside to see how the addition of these rooms had affected the area outside the house. I only meant to make it look like it belonged there. However, I could not. Not while I was outside. It did not work.”

  “You talk.”

  It was the first words that Myra had spoken since she’d raced off to check on her flowers. Goldie turned to her. “Yes, in a way. I can communicate with you. I could not outside. You could not hear me. I could not fix your garden, as you call it. One moment.”

  Goldie closed her eyes and went completely still. Suddenly, windows appeared in the room they were standing in. “There we are. Now the addition looks more natural from the outside. You may look out the window and see.”

  Tim and Anna went to the new window. The back yard looked freshly landscaped. New flowers had appeared, and the garden looked beautiful. “Wow,” Myra whispered.

  She turned back towards Goldie and hesitantly held out her hand. Goldie came over and let Myra pat her head. “I guess you really aren’t a normal dog.”

  “I am not. I do know of what you call a dog, however. I am sorry they scare you. I did not think they were scary animals. I know about pugs especially, and now that I have experienced this world outside, I understand even more than I did before. That is a story for another time, however.”

  Adam had figured it out for himself. “Pugs are, um, gups. They came from your world, but they don’t have magic here. It doesn’t work.”

  Goldie looked at Adam, curiously. “Yes. That is a simplified version of it.”

  “How did you just do all that then?” Adam asked her, gesturing to the window and beyond.

  “This room is still tied to Snillotia. It is a copy of the room there in storage. The only way the connection would be broken is if I were to leave the room in this world and the door would be shut. I left the door upstairs opened when I first ventured outside.”

  “Hey! I found them!”

  Everyone turned and looked at the doorway. Retep stood there, looking behind him. Silently, everyone filed into the room. It was slightly cramped with so many people in the room, but it was a pretty large space. After introductions were made and everyone was caught up to speed, sleeping arrangements were decided. Tim’s grandparents and Retep were staying in the rooms upstairs. Anna’s parents and grandparents would be in the rooms downstairs.

  “Um, not to be rude, but do these rooms you’ve brought have bathrooms? I only ask, because we only have one upstairs and a half bath down here.”

  “Yes, I included them. I will add one more thing,” Goldie said, closing her eyes.

  In the corner of the room a spiral staircase materialized out of thin air. Adam just shook his head, clearly still trying to get a grasp on magic really existing. “This staircase is mostly for my benefit, so I do not have to chance being disconnected from my world,” Goldie explained.

  Everyone nodded in understanding. Adam looked at his watch. His eyes widened as he saw that it was almost 2 in the morning. “I’m sorry. We need to get back to sleep. We have to go to work tomorrow. It will be hard enough explaining so many visitors and how our house doubled in size overnight!” Adam explained.

  “Just say it’s been a long work in progress. Make whoever is asking the question feel like they are the ones who missed something if they only just noticed it now,” Grandpa Mit advised.

  Adam nodded and he and Myra left the room. “I think they have the right idea. If we want to seem like we belong here and nothing is unusual, tomorrow needs to
be as normal as possible. This means school for the three of you, so off to bed everyone!” Grandma An said.

  “Three?” Retep questioned, but realizing he wouldn’t be getting out of it, he sighed, “I guess just call me Peter, then.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Tim slammed his hand down on the alarm clock, which was blaring from his bedside table. He groaned as he sat up in bed rubbing his eyes. He looked around his room for a moment, and then remembered everything that happened the night before. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered if it had actually happened, or if it had been a dream. Before he could find out, the door to his bedroom flew open and his cousin barged into the room.

  “I need clothes if I am to become Peter,” he announced.

  “You can borrow clothes; let me see if I have any old stuff,” he paused, seeing the distain on Retep’s face, “Do you have a problem with my old clothes? Newer clothes won’t fit you. If you haven’t noticed, I’m about half a foot taller and a whole lot wider than you are. My new clothes will be too big. “Peter” would instantly be shunned for looking like a geek!”

  Retep frowned, and then shrugged. “Fine, if that is the truth. Give me whatever will make me not a g-geek,” he stated, stumbling over the last word, “A geek is bad?”

  Tim grinned. “It depends. There’s no way to explain high school to you with as little time as we have. You’ll just have to wait and see.”

  Tim found some old clothes in the back of his closet and threw them to his cousin. “Here, these should fit you ok. You’ll look like you’re from this world, at least.”

  Retep looked down at the clothes he was wearing. He didn’t see anything wrong with what he had on, but it was very plain, compared to the bright colors on the shirt Tim had given him. “I understand there is not a lot of time to prepare me, but could you explain a little?”

  Tim thought for a moment. “Forget about the other kids for right now. It’s the adults that will probably be paying the most attention to you today. Remember your name is Peter. Most kids named Peter here are called “Pete” for short. Your last name here is Miller. So, keep repeating that to yourself. If someone asks your name, just say Pete Miller.”

  “Pete Miller.”

  “We’re keeping as close to the truth as possible. You’re my cousin. My last name here is Tollins, not Snillot. You live with our grandparents. They’ve finally arrived back in this country. Adam and Myra are graciously letting everyone stay with them because I don’t really know my grandparents and they have to find somewhere to live in this country.”

  It was a flimsy story, but it was as close to the truth that they could get. Maybe eventually, they all could really get a house of their own and leave Adam and Myra to live their lives, but for now, this had to work. Retep left to change his clothes and Tim got ready as well. Soon he was downstairs, in the very crowded kitchen. After a quick breakfast, Tim, Anna, Retep, and Grandpa Cire left for the high school. It was a short walk, which was good, since Grandpa Cire didn’t know how to drive. In fact, he’d never seen a car before. He and Retep were quite amazed by them. “I must learn more about these marvelous machines!” Grandpa Cire exclaimed, “Are they hard to control?”

  “I don’t know Grandpa. Even though everyone in this world thinks Anna and I are sixteen, Adam wouldn’t let us get our licenses. So, technically I’m not old enough to drive one, yet, though I will be on my next birthday.”

  “Wonderful! We’ll all learn then together!”

  Tim smiled, wondering how far Grandpa Cire would really take his interest in learning to drive. Before the conversation could continue, they’d arrived at the school. As they got closer and closer to the door of the building, Anna’s expression changed. Tim had wondered how she would act around him at school now, and it seemed she was worried about the same thing. He decided to help her out. “It’s okay. Go, find your friends. Find Nos-Jason.”

  Anna gave him an odd look at his slip and disappeared into the crowd of kids hanging around the school, waiting for the first bell to ring. Tim led his cousin and grandfather to the office to get Retep enrolled at the school. “Good morning, Miss Potter!” he greeted the school secretary, “I’d like you to meet my grandfather, Eric Miller. He’s come to enroll my cousin in school. They’ve finally arrived.”

  Miss Potter nodded, as the school was aware of Tim’s situation, though she still didn’t understand how it could take over two years to travel from one country to another in today’s world. “Nice to meet you, sir! Here are some forms you need to fill out for your grandson. You are his guardian, I presume?”

  “Yes, my dear lady,” Grandpa Cire said smiling, sadly, “And now Tim will join my wife and I, as well.”

  Miss Potter, smiled once, wondering if the same tragic fate had befallen this other boy’s parents as well. She was too polite to ask of course, just as she didn’t want to outright ask why it took so long to travel here. She couldn’t recall ever hearing what country they were coming from. “I do hope your trip from… well from where you came from was okay? It must have been such a long journey.”

  “Yes. Yes, it was.” Grandpa Cire replied, giving nothing away.

  Miss Potter waited for a moment to see if Grandpa Cire would elaborate. Frowning slightly when he did not, she turned to Retep. “What is your name, young man? I’ll start creating your schedule while we wait for the paperwork.”

  “Pete Miller.”

  Tim smiled, proud that his cousin hadn’t even hesitated when giving his name. “Miss Potter, if it’s possible, it might be easiest if you put Pete in classes with me or Anna Ellis, since he’s met her already.”

  “I’ll try, Tim. That is a good idea.”

  The bell rang then. “You better get to your first class. I’ll definitely add him to that class with you, and you can take him with you now.”

  Tim nodded and turned to Grandpa Cire. “You’ll be okay finishing here, and getting home, Grandpa?”

  “Yes, my boy. Have a good day, lads!” Grandpa Cire said, waiving them towards the door.

  Before they could leave the office, the door opened, and Tim hesitated when he saw who walked through. “Hey, Ollie,” he said quietly.

  Ollie looked up from the note in his hand and saw Tim standing there with a boy he didn’t know. “Um, hi.”

  “This is my cousin, Pete. He’s going to be going to school with us now.”

  Ollie’s eyes narrowed. As long as he’d known Tim, Tim had no family, but his parents. “I know, Ollie,” Tim tried to explain, seeing Ollie’s suspicion, “Things are different now. I have grandparents and a cousin.”

  “Oh. Well, nice to meet you, Pete. See you around,” Ollie said, as he moved toward the desk.

  “Ollie?” Tim called after him, “Do you want to maybe come over after school? You could meet everyone, and I can explain.”

  Ollie stared at him a moment, then turned away without saying a word. Tim’s shoulders sagged a bit, then he pushed Retep in front of him and let him to his first class of high school. It was geometry class. Tim hated it. Math was one of the things he was still struggling to catch up with after his first trip to Snillotia. Sometimes he really wished there was a way to figure out how the time difference between the worlds worked. “What are we going to learn first?” Retep asked, trying to contain his excitement.

  Tim was surprised and he raised his eyebrows. Not bothering to comment on his cousin’s excitement, he simply said, “Geometry.”

  The excitement on Retep’s face rapidly dimmed. He didn’t know what geometry was. Seeing the sudden change, Tim couldn’t help but try to reassure him. “Don’t worry. Geometry is just math. Math can’t be that different here than it is in Snillotia, can it?”

  Retep smiled and his excitement returned. He loved math! He hoped this was a good sign of what was to come. They reached the classroom and Tim motioned for Retep to go in front of him. “Hi, Mr. Abrams, this is my cousin, Pete. Miss Potter is working on his schedule, but said she’s going to
add him to this class,” Tim said, introducing Retep to the teacher.

  Retep held out his hand for Mr. Abram’s to shake. “Nice to meet you, sir.”

  Surprised, and only after a moment’s hesitation, Mr. Abrams shook Retep’s hand. “Very well then, take your seats.”

  For Tim, the hour-long class felt like it took forever, but Retep was happier than Tim had ever seen him. Math was, indeed, the same in both worlds and Retep answered almost every question Mr. Abrams had asked. Mr. Abrams seemed overjoyed to finally have a student excited about geometry.

  Tim spent the class thinking about Ollie. He knew he never should have disappeared through the wall right in front of him. Adam had told him that Ollie had freaked out. Adam had tried to explain, but Ollie was so scared he ran home and told his mom. He was so adamant that Tim had disappeared into a wall and wouldn’t let it go that his mother had made him start seeing a psychologist. The kids at school found out about his claims about Tim and never let him forget it. It didn’t help matters that Adam had filed a false report that Tim had been placed in a foster home two hours away. When he’d returned, he’d tried to talk to Ollie, but Ollie wanted nothing to do with him and told Tim he’d ruined his life. Over two years later, Tim was still trying to get his former best friend to talk to him for more than a few seconds at a time. Tim sighed to himself and tried to listen to what Mr. Abrams was saying.

  Right before the bell was about to ring, a very bored looking senior came to the door with Retep’s finished schedule. Tim glanced at it quickly. “Great, you’re in the rest of my morning classes. Anna is also in English with us, right before lunch. It looks like you’re in her Art class after lunch and her French class, last period, as well.”

  Retep looked slightly fearful. “I’ll be with Anna, without you?”

  Tim gave his cousin an odd look. “Well yeah, but other kids will be in the class too. Art should be easy enough for you. I don’t know about French, though. Does Snillotia even have different languages?”