by Jamie Magee
It was just after noon in our dimension, and it had already been a long day. I explained to Olivia that she needed to tell her aunt and uncle that she was safe. She agreed, and we handed her a blank page. She told them that she’d met someone and was going to see the world before she went to school, explaining that the line was busy each time she’d tried to call. We enclosed a snap shot of Chrispin and Olivia using the sun as a backdrop, covering her eyes with sunglasses.
My father had given Jessica and Hannah the herb that would take their short-term memory away, and it would soon take effect. The girls hugged Olivia goodbye.
Chrispin stayed behind with Olivia. Ashten and my father joined us as we walked back to the string. Landen led us. We were going to use the new paths he’d discovered, avoiding Esterious all together. Jessica and Hannah held their eyes down as we led them. As we walked, their eyes grew heavy, and eventually Marc and Brady carried them as they drifted off to sleep.
Landen found a passage that was on the roof of the only hospital in Franklin. The street lights started to blink yellow, meaning it was past midnight. My father had worked in the hospital for close to twenty years, and he knew everything there was to know about it. He went in to put the girls names in the computer and assigned them a room. When he returned, he had two beds with him. Brady and Marc laid the girls down, and Ashten went with my father to take them to their rooms.
Taking advantage of the time that they were gone, I walked to the edge of the roof and gazed toward the town. The streets were empty, but my memory took me back to so many happy days that I’d spent growing up within a four-block radius. Landen came to my side, smiling as if they were his memories as well.
The walk home was quiet, the mood complacent. No one wanted to comment on what had happened to the girls, or where we’d found them. Talking seemed to confuse the issue more. We made two stops on the way back, one in the Florida Keys to mail Olivia’s letter, and one in New York to mail letters my mother had prepared for her friends that she’d left behind. Sharon’s letter was on top.
Landen and I had agreed to return to Franklin that night while our bodies slept. It would be daylight soon, and the girls would be awake, and we could see if forgetting had healed their hearing and voice. Once home, everyone departed to dress for the celebration. My father and Ashten lingered behind the others. Worried glances came from Aubrey as she helped Olivia into the car.
Ashten chose not to resume his lecture, a promise I felt him make Aubrey.
“Now that Willow’s friends are safe, will you stay here?” Ashten asked.
Landen glanced down at me, then to his father. “I won’t make you a promise I can’t keep,” he said respectfully.
“Landen, this is the only dimension that will protect the both of you,” Ashten said, stepping forward and trying to hide his frustration.
“What do you mean?” I asked, looking from Ashten to Landen.
“Chara can only be found by those who were born here,” Ashten said, looking at me, hoping I’d be able to convince Landen to stay.
“Then why didn’t you just bring me here when you found me? Drake never would have found me.”
“We didn’t know that until Drake started looking for you. He passed by the passages to Chara blindly,” Ashten said defensively.
I believed him. Landen’s gift of truth was making itself known inside me. Yet, I also knew that wasn’t the entire story.
Ashten sighed and walked down the front steps. “Just promise me you won’t ever go to Esterious alone,” he said, looking back at Landen. “We’ll get the star one way or another.”
Landen stared back at him.
My father hugged me. “I’ll see you in a little bit,” he said as he let me go.
Landen and I walked inside our house to get ready for the celebration in town. “Why do you think they’re so worried about that star?” I asked, “Do you really think it’s that important?”
“I don’t know. I do know I don’t want Drake to have anything that belongs to you,” Landen said.
“Do you think if we got the star we’d be able to heal my friends?” I asked.
“I do,” he said quietly.
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” I said confident as ever it was the right choice.
Chapter Fourteen