The ticket agent shrugged. “This way to customs,” he said at length, pointing down a hall.
“Now,” said Tempo, once they were in the hall and out of earshot, “We have two options: I can very discretely put a spell on the customs agent so we can cross the border without explanation, or you can let me do the talking, and I’ll try my best to get us on that train.”
“I don’t think it’s right to put people under spells, do you?” asked Robbie.
Anja and Ava agreed.
“Then the truth will have to do!” declared Uncle Tempo, grabbing hold of the cart and resuming his walk down the hall.
Ava took Robbie by one hand and Anja by the other, and the three of them followed their Uncle to the boarder agent.
A stout man with a sour face took their passports and made them walk one at a time through a metal detector.
“Where ya headed?” he asked.
“To Canada, to visit their father,” replied Tempo, smiling his wide smile.
“And do you have papers for that cat?” asked the boarder agent, pointing to Professor Ronald.
“The disgrace!” came the Professor’s voice from the pet carrier.
The boarder agent opened his eyes wide at the sound of the cat talking, and then bent forward to have a closer look inside the cage. Tempo moved fast. He reached for his wand and before the man had a chance to come face-to-face with the Professor, there was a flash and a crack.
Stunned, the boarder agent took a step back. The children looked from Tempo, to the man, then back to Tempo again.
“Have a fun trip, guys,” said the agent with a shake of his head. He handed back the passports and gave Uncle Tempo a soldier’s salute, his rigid hands against his temple.
Tempo thanked him heartily, and then, turning to the children, said, “Follow your Uncle, my dears, off we go to board the train!”
“I thought…” began Ava, intending to reprimand her Uncle for doing unauthorized magic, but Tempo silenced her with a wave of his hand.
“Last resort, my dear, last resort,” he said.
“A worthwhile risk, to be sure,” said Professor Ronald.
“Professor, I think that’s quite enough talking from you,” said Ava.
“I’m hungry,” said Robbie.
“I’m in the depths of despair,” said Anja.
“Then we’d better get to the train, before Robbie wastes away and Anja loses hope and Ava harangues us with a lecture!” Tempo said, laughing, and he shooed all the children to the platform.
The train crew helped the children find their car and gave them rolls to eat and milk to drink. Tempo busied himself seeing that their luggage was secured overhead, and Professor Ronald, having been freed from his cage to roam around the small compartment they now occupied, pressed his soft fur into Robbie’s arm and spoke calmly to the children, issuing assurances of their safety.
Anja’s eyes were dry now, but the rain and the wind had become fierce, and the angry raindrops flung themselves against the window and made it impossible for the children to see the tracks.
Ava watched the storm from where she was sitting, and said quietly, “I thought once Anja had stopped crying, her storm might calm, too.”
And Professor Ronald answered, “Ahh, my dear. Her tears have stopped, but her heart still rages.” Professor Ronald turned to Anja.
“Your emotions are too big for your small body. This is not a hindrance, but a gift, if you can control it. Until then, sweet Anja, the storm will always be outside as well as inside your body. Your tears may be few, but the storm is still strong.”
The train lurched forward, and children sat in silence, falling asleep one by one as the train steadied its forward pace and found a travelling rhythm. But Professor Ronald stayed awake, his eyes round and alert, looking out the window into the eerie darkness of the storm.
Chapter Seven
W
hen the Smith children woke up, they found themselves in a different country. The train had come to a stop in a new station, and the children pressed their faces to the window and looked out into the grey and misty morning fog, trying to catch a glimpse of the strange Canadians who lived in this city. But soon it began to rain, and the few people who had been out and about on the train platform ran indoors.
“Anja, please try to stop raining,” said Ava sleepily, as Professor Ronald appeared behind her.
“This weather is not Anja’s responsibility, Ava. This is Vancouver. It rains here all year round,” the Professor laughed.
“How did we get across the border? Did we sleep the whole time?” asked Anja, trying to smooth out her hair.
“My dear, the train left the US in the small hours of the morning and arrived here in time for breakfast. Does that surprise you? What were you expecting, a border wall? How absurd!” replied the Professor, smoothing down his own fur.
“How I do wish I had a bowtie,” he said, looking at his reflection in the window.
The Professor turned to Robbie and encouraged him to brush his hair, which had gone wild after a fitful night of sleep, but Robbie was still hungry, having only had bread and milk for dinner the night before, and he refused to make himself presentable.
Ava scooped him up in her arms, brushed off his coat, patted down his hair, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, all while Robbie tried to wriggle away.
“Where’s our Uncle?” asked Anja, noticing that other passengers had begun to depart.
“I’m right here!” came Tempo’s loud voice from another compartment, and then Tempo appeared in the doorway, beaming with delight. “I’ve just changed our American money to Canadian money – look!” and he placed his suitcase full of money on the floor, opening it for the children to see. It was like a rainbow, each bill shimmering and shiny, and each one a different color.
“How pretty!” said Anja.
“How practical,” said Ava, after discovering that there was not a single dollar bill in the whole suitcase, but only fives, twenties, and fifties.
“Can we have breakfast?” asked Robbie.
“Of course – we have some time before we board the train that will take us East. Come, let us take our suitcases and step inside Pacific Central Station. There we will find something to eat and a restroom. Now, up and away!” Tempo said, grabbing his suitcase in one hand and pointing towards the exit with his cane.
Professor Ronald, quite reluctantly, went back into the pet carrier, and Ava tried to carry him as gently as possible without knocking him against the narrow corridor walls. Robbie and Anja came behind her, each pulling a suitcase, and both looking curiously around, in case they should come across a Canadian.
They quit the train single file and found themselves on a covered platform. The fog had lifted slightly, and although it was still raining Ava could see mountains rising up from the city, and she could hear the scream of seagulls overhead. The skies were grey, but the breeze was warm, and the rain was a drizzle instead of a storm.
“It’s not so different,” mused Tempo, watching Ava as she surveyed her surroundings. “I think you’ll find Canadians to be exactly like Americans, only nicer,” he added.
Tempo marched towards the station, which rose from the tracks like a stone castle. The children followed, and inside they saw high gilded ceilings and oak-paneled walls, and a dozen coffee shops all promising warm drinks and fresh food.
“Hot chocolate! Please! Please! Please!” chanted Robbie, hopping around in a circle. The girls joined him in his request, and soon they were all seated at a café table, with muffins and hot chocolates to fill their empty stomachs.
“What about Professor Ronald?” asked Robbie, wiping whipped cream from his lips.
“Ahh, The Professor!” said Tempo, pulling a squished sandwich from his pocket. “I would never forget my old friend.”
Tempo unlocked the door to the pet carrier and deposited the sandwich at Professor Ronald’s feet.
“Cheer up, Professor,” Tempo said in a friendly tone, “y
ou’ll be out of there by your next meal, I should guess.” And then he closed the door once more and let the Professor eat in the silent torture of the cage.
Ava was starving. She ate her muffin quickly, and blew on her hot chocolate to cool it, and then she sat back and sipped her drink, watching Tempo as she did.
Tempo was looking strangely at his cup of coffee, taking small sips and then placing the drink down again in awe. When he noticed Ava staring, he said,
“Don’t mind me! I haven’t had a cup of coffee since…well, since before I was a clock! And I haven’t had anything to eat or drink since I turned into back into a human yesterday. It’s quite discombobulating!” Tempo took one more small sip and then shook his head in wonder.
“What’s discom…bobulating?” asked Robbie, who was feeling much better now that he’d eaten.
“It means he’s confused, or out of sorts,” answered Professor Ronald.
“Why were you a clock in the first place?” wondered Ava, looking at her Uncle.
“Why not a clock! I always wanted to be a part of your lives, and there upon the fireplace mantle, I got to see you playing board games, reading bedtime storybooks, and having birthday parties. I had a front row seat to all the best moments!” replied Tempo, draining the last of his coffee.
“But why were you a clock?” repeated Ava, “Why didn’t you just show up in human form-”
“Shouldn’t we be going, now that the children are done their breakfast?” cut in the Professor from his cage.
“Don’t we have time to look about?” asked Anja.
She thought that fresh air and a walk in a new city would do them good, and she hoped to see more of Vancouver while they were there, however briefly.
“We don’t have time, I’m afraid. We’re to board our next train early, since we have an animal with us.” – All looked sympathetically at the Professor, who hated being called an animal – “But the train has an observatory deck, and you’ll be able to sit up there and watch the city go by.” Tempo explained.
So the Smith children cleared their table, sorted the recycling into the bin and the garbage into the trash can, and once again picked up their luggage and made their way to the train platform. This time, instead of the Amtrak, they boarded the sleek grey Via Rail train, which would take them across Canada on the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Uncle Tempo had managed, with his conspicuous bag of money, to buy tickets for a sleeping car, and when the children boarded and they were shown to a room with tiny bunk beds and a very tiny bathroom, they were exceptionally pleased. And the Professor, who could stand to be in the pet carrier no longer, was also very pleased. Ava set him down on the bed and released the cage door so that he could roam freely about the cabin.
“Why don’t you children have a peek around, while I talk to the Professor,” said Uncle Tempo once they were settled.
“Let’s go look at the observation deck!” said Robbie at once, and Ava and Anja agreed, and they set out, leaving behind the Professor and their Uncle. Ava went last, closing the door to the cabin as she went, but before it clicked closed she heard the Professor say,
“I think it’s best if we wait to tell them…” but in the hall Anja motioned for Ava to catch up, so Ava closed the door and followed behind Robbie and Anja, and she didn’t get to hear the rest.
The children made their way to the next train car, and there they found couches and stairs that lead up to a glass-domed seating area. Robbie started up the stairs first, followed by Anja and then Ava. Robbie had barely reached the top when the train began to move, and he fell forward onto the floor, with Anja landing on top of him immediately after.
“You should have held onto the rails – safety first!” Ava scolded, but then she, too, lost her footing and fell, right on top of Anja.
“Help!” said a squished Robbie, and the next instant a friendly pair of hands reached down to lift the children up.
“Hello, small friends!” said a voice, and when the children were upright and sorted out, they were face-to-face with a pretty and smiling woman. She was wearing a long jacket, rather similar to Uncle Tempo’s jacket, Ava thought, but hers was trimmed with fur. Her long hair was wrapped around her head, and holding it in place was a collection of pencils, sticking out at odd angles.
“Come! You’d better get out of the aisle, and plant your bums in a seat! Here,” the woman pointed to the row of seats behind where she had been sitting, “there’s plenty of room!”
Robbie ignored her and instead climbed into the seat right beside hers, while Ava and Anja sat in the seats she had suggested.
“I’m Robbie Smith,” he said, sticking out his little hand like a gentleman.
“I’m Charlotte Holms,” said the woman, taking Robbie’s hand and shaking it cordially. She turned to the girls. “And who might you be?”
“I’m Anja, this is Ava, and we’re pleased to make your acquaintance,” said Anja, “but I do wonder why you have pencils in your hair?”
“Pencils? Oh, yes! I forgot they were there!” said Charlotte, whisking a pencil out of her bun and taping the sharpened end to make sure it would write. Then she pulled out a scribbler and started taking notes.
“What are you writing?” demanded Ava, not impolitely.
“Oh, children,” sighed Charlotte, putting one hand over her heart. “I’m writing an article for a magazine. I came up here for inspiration. I hope you don’t mind, but when I have a thought, I have to write it down, or else it just hops away like bunny and I never think it again.”
Ava nodded her head, and she silently watched Charlotte write in a very frenzied manner for a half a minute. Suddenly, Charlotte put her pencil down and looked back up at the three Smith children.
“I suppose you’re on a vacation?” Charlotte asked, smiling again.
“We’re going to go and rescue my dad from a tragic fate,” replied Robbie.
“Robbie!!” bellowed Ava and Anja at the same time. “You CAN NOT say…”
But Robbie reached out his hand to Anja, who was nearest to him, and said simply, “We can trust her.”
“Well,” said Charlotte, “this is remarkable! You’re not alone, are you?”
“No,” said Robbie, “We’re travelling with our Uncle and our Professor.”
“Ahh,” said Charlotte, and Anja was about to explain that only one of these two were human, when who should come up the stairs but Uncle Tempo himself.
“Tempo!” Charlotte gasped upon seeing him, her eyes wide.
“Charlotte!” said Tempo, equally surprised.
Ava and Anja exchanged amazed glances, but Robbie looked from his Uncle to his new friend Charlotte and smiled.
“Well,” said Charlotte, standing up quite dramatically. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the man who could have saved me, but didn’t.” Charlotte was not tall, and she only came up to Tempo’s shoulders, but she raised her head and looked him in the eye, daring him to reply.
And reply he did.
“Charlotte, my dear,” Tempo began, bowing low, “You know I have no say in these matters. I would not have banished you, of course, but it was entirely up to my sister, the…well, you know who she is. And you know very well she is bound by the ancient laws. It was for safety,” here, Tempo paused, looking at Charlotte from the sides of his eyes. “It was nothing personal,” he added quickly.
“Safety!” Charlotte said, mimicking Tempo’s tone and expression. She was rather good at it, too.
She turned to the children, who were watching this unfold, and said, “You see, children, once upon a time I wrote a wonderful book. It was about a boy who went to wizarding school – maybe you’ve heard of it?” Charlotte smiled as she placed her pencil back into her light brown hair and smoothed a stray strand back into place.
She continued, “Unfortunately, it drew too much attention to the magical community. People started to suspect it was real, and not made up. So, like everyone else who risks exposure of the Magicals, I was banished
…to this world.” Charlotte sighed.
“That must have been so terrible, to leave behind everyone you knew,” said Anja, who had been gathering small grey clouds while Charlotte spoke.
“That sounds like a truly wonderful book,” said Ava, who loved books of all sorts.
“And it was,” agreed Charlotte. “All I wanted to do was give Magical children a chance to read a story about themselves, and I hoped this book would allow the Logicals to see that we’re not to be feared because of our magical talents. We can all be different and still be equally wonderful.”
Charlotte shook her head sadly. “Sadly, not everyone agreed with my methods.”
Robbie reached forward and patted Charlotte’s hand, which was resting on the back of his seat.
“Don’t be sad,” he said to her. “We love writers.”
Tempo rolled his eyes, but Charlotte smiled at Robbie and took a deep breath to collect herself.
“We’ll be in the mountains by lunchtime, children. Take a seat by the window, now, and see what there is to see. And Anja, dear, if you’re going to rain, please let me know. I have a spare umbrella or five in my purse.”
And with that, Charlotte returned to her seat to write, and Tempo sat down in the opposite aisle, stretching his long legs and wondering to himself how this day was going to end. Because if there was one thing he knew, and Tempo knew quite a bit for a man who’d been a clock, it was that Charlotte Holms was a very well-intentioned troublemaker, and it was his plan to keep the Smith children as far out of trouble as he could.
But the Smith children loved Charlotte. They discussed her as they looked out the window, whispering to each other.
“I wish Miss Potter had been like Charlotte,” said Robbie to his sisters.
“So do I!” said Ava, “I think it’s lucky we found her.”
“What do you suppose she’s doing on this train?” asked Anja, “And I wonder what became of Miss Potter after she left our house!”
The Adventures of Ava Smith: The Secret of the Enchanted Forest Page 5