Chapter 23 -
04/23/2018
“I have a shortcut for you to get home,” a whisper to my ears had me bolt up from the mat. My skin tingled. I was wide-eyed but in darkness I couldn’t locate the speaker. I waited, my chest heavy with anticipation.
The night was quite again. My friends were sound asleep. The room was filled with nothing but their soft breathing.
Had I dosed off to a dream? I tried to recall.
“Sasha,” There came the muffled voice again.
“Yes?” I whispered back, feeling a sharp prick in my temple.
“You want to go home, right?”
“Yes.”
“I will show you a shortcut. You just need to come out with me.”
“Who are you?” I squinted in the dark trying to catch sight of the divulger. I leaned to the window frame, when something flashed outside. “Treble!” I called out, when the music note shot into my view.
“Quiet down, Sasha!” His voice turned coarse, “I am Warden Gerkolli, the head of the Timekeepers. You’ve already heard of me, I know. Now come out of the tree house and be discreet.”
“Warden Gerkolli. Can I get my friends first?” I asked.
“No,” came a blunt reply.
I hesitated, as a staggering sense of discomfort washed over me. A voice in my head told me to put an immediate stop to this conversation.
“Listen. Sasha,” said the Warden. “I made a mistake taking you to AohhoA. You see. It was a total blunder on my part.”
“I figured that it just some sort of a mix-up,” I replied. My hands flew to my chest with relief. I had been right about it all along.
“That’s exactly it. The whole thing is just a mix-up,” Warden Gerkolli assured me. “The Prince has gotten wind of it and he isn’t too thrilled,” said the Warden. “Sasha. Let me make amends for my blunder. All you need to do is following me and I will get you safely home.”
“But what about my friends? Bulkee and Sye and Doe? I shouldn’t just leave without saying goodbye.”
“Look. Sasha,” said the Warden. “I’ve felt terrible about what I had done, so let’s take care of this quietly. Just between you and me, Okay?” he asked. “You know about the Big Gloom, right?”
“Yes. It’s part of the Cycle that erases everyone’s memory.”
“Correct. That’s how the Pocket of Tree Houses maintains its status quo. What I will do is to ensure that the Big Gloom wipes out anyone’s recollection of you,” said the Warden. “When your friends wake up at sunrise, they won’t notice that you are missing because they don’t even know that you’ve ever existed. Trust me. This is the best arrangement we can do for them.”
My heart fluttered like a trapped butterfly and something inside me pulled me back. But I couldn’t think of anything else better.
“We don’t want to cause any more disruption than we already have. And you aren’t going to bring your friends home with you,” Warden Gerkolli urged me. “I know how much you’d want to see your family. This is your only chance. Now hurry.”
How could I refuse the only chance to return to my Mom and Dad and Sam and Swallow again? My chest swelled with the desire to be with my family. “Where am I supposed to go?” I asked in a whisper.
“I will give you the directions. Just listen and follow my voice. Meet me out in the lair.” Warden Gerkolli rustled and went out of sight quickly.
I was swept by a surge of excitement, as I climbed out of the window and glided down the weaving ivies. I took off running as soon as the Warden’s voice sounded into my ears. I dutifully followed his instructions and I trudged through a winding path before arriving at the backside of a hill. There was a den almost cloaked by nearby shrubs.
Behind me the nightfall muddled the crossing line between the earth and the sky. I left all worries there, as I stared ahead into my shot of finally returning home. I walked up, maneuvered through the plants and stepped inside the den. The shrubs slid together sealing the opening to everything that I was willing to depart from.
There was only a faint light inside the lair and the air was much colder than it was outside. I shivered at a rush of drafts that came through as if there were bats circling over my head.
“Warden Gerkolli?” I asked to a shadowy figure in the corner.
I heard fingers snap. In an instant the den lit up with light beams like arrows racing into my eyes. It became so bright that I had to back a few steps. When my eyes cracked open, I was faced with a grayish white bird with crooked teeth through its open beak.
“Great seeing you again, Sasha.” Treble’s voice came out, when the beak moved.
“Who are you?” I was more than startled.
“You don’t recognize me, I see.” The bird walked up to me, his teeth asserting their prominence in my face. “How about this?” he asked. In a puff his tusks drew back, his feathers disappeared and his round body transformed. “Is this better?”
“Treble?” I stared in disbelief at the music note that he had turned into.
“Or how about this?” He changed again, before I could respond. The color of his skin shifted from white to red and his body revolted till he became someone completely different.
“Bulkee?” I backed away from the figure, breaking out in a cold sweat.
“You seemed a little surprised. How do I explain this to you?” He transformed back to Treble. “We, the Timekeepers of AohhoA, are known to be intangible, meaning that we are shapeless, just like the concept of ‘time.’ We are anything an onlooker projects us to be. When you first met us, you mistook our descant as noises from your alarm clock. You saw us as music notes.”
I watched him pace around me. My head was spinning, as he switched characters back to the grayish bird.
“As the Warden, I have the liberty to present myself in forms of my will,” he went on, as he balanced his weight on one toe and stuck out his chest. “I like being viewed as this bird of prestige, for my proximity and association with the King of AohhoA.”
I nodded numbly, despite the fact that all I wanted was to push aside this craziness and head straight home.
“You want to be with your family, I am aware,” Warden Gerkolli turned his back to me. “And I have a shortcut for you. How perfectly things work out.” His feathers convulsed as if the statement triggered a spasm in his body.
“Where is the shortcut?”
“You should ask ‘What is the shortcut’!” He swirled around with a laugh, “But of course you wouldn’t know. Let me gave you a taste of it. A taste of home.”
When he lashed out his wings, the grainy dust on the wall drifted off, like they had been brushed aside by a broom. The rivulets of dust gathered into a pile at the corner, and the wall revealed a reflective surface.
Warden Gerkolli walked around to stand behind me. “Take a good look,” he told me.
I squinted to see the mirror have captured the interior of the den in reverse view. A beat later the landscape of a city materialized in front of me and I felt like high up in the clouds with an aerial viewpoint.
“Look closely,” the Warden said. I felt his wingtip on my back, as he guided me closer to the wall.
My breathing quickened at the houses and trees along the grids of city streets. My heart raced to my throat, when the view zoomed in on a light blue colonial structure with decorative white fence. “That’s my house!” my hands flew to my mouth, as a sense of familiarity rushed back to me.
The Warden urged me to crouch down a few notches. I did so, right when the view switched. “That’s my bedroom!” Excitement shot through my veins like a current, as I eagerly looked on. My room was exactly the same as when I had left, with three pillows layered into a mini-pyramid next to my green quilted throw blanket on the bed.
“You should be very happy with what you see,” said Warden Gerkolli.
I gave a few quick nods, as I turned to find him smile at me. But I shuddered when my eyes shifted to his stone-cold glares. Another twinge of unease came over me.
“What’s wrong? Can’t wait to see your family?” asked the Warden.
His question set my thoughts off sailing to my parents and my brother. The yearning to see them almost crushed me. It was painful to even think of the stages that they had to go through in their search of me.
Did they have to describe to the police what I was wearing before I vanished inside the house?
Did they have to go through my photos to pick a portrait for the search poster?
Did they have to go on the internet and type in my name for any clues of my whereabouts?
I imagined the joy on their faces, when I bolted through the door and made my reappearance. If I had any doubt about the Warden’s plan to bring me home, it was forced out of my head. “Yes, I need to see my family,” I said. “Please get me back.”
“Of course. Here is your shortcut!” An unnerving screech broke from the Warden. Along with it, I caught an unexpected blow to my back. Immediately I lost balance and tumbled forward. Everything turned dark. I lost my sight, when my body slammed into the wall.
The night was quite again. My friends were sound asleep. The room was filled with nothing but their soft breathing.
Had I dosed off to a dream? I tried to recall.
“Sasha,” There came the muffled voice again.
“Yes?” I whispered back, feeling a sharp prick in my temple.
“You want to go home, right?”
“Yes.”
“I will show you a shortcut. You just need to come out with me.”
“Who are you?” I squinted in the dark trying to catch sight of the divulger. I leaned to the window frame, when something flashed outside. “Treble!” I called out, when the music note shot into my view.
“Quiet down, Sasha!” His voice turned coarse, “I am Warden Gerkolli, the head of the Timekeepers. You’ve already heard of me, I know. Now come out of the tree house and be discreet.”
“Warden Gerkolli. Can I get my friends first?” I asked.
“No,” came a blunt reply.
I hesitated, as a staggering sense of discomfort washed over me. A voice in my head told me to put an immediate stop to this conversation.
“Listen. Sasha,” said the Warden. “I made a mistake taking you to AohhoA. You see. It was a total blunder on my part.”
“I figured that it just some sort of a mix-up,” I replied. My hands flew to my chest with relief. I had been right about it all along.
“That’s exactly it. The whole thing is just a mix-up,” Warden Gerkolli assured me. “The Prince has gotten wind of it and he isn’t too thrilled,” said the Warden. “Sasha. Let me make amends for my blunder. All you need to do is following me and I will get you safely home.”
“But what about my friends? Bulkee and Sye and Doe? I shouldn’t just leave without saying goodbye.”
“Look. Sasha,” said the Warden. “I’ve felt terrible about what I had done, so let’s take care of this quietly. Just between you and me, Okay?” he asked. “You know about the Big Gloom, right?”
“Yes. It’s part of the Cycle that erases everyone’s memory.”
“Correct. That’s how the Pocket of Tree Houses maintains its status quo. What I will do is to ensure that the Big Gloom wipes out anyone’s recollection of you,” said the Warden. “When your friends wake up at sunrise, they won’t notice that you are missing because they don’t even know that you’ve ever existed. Trust me. This is the best arrangement we can do for them.”
My heart fluttered like a trapped butterfly and something inside me pulled me back. But I couldn’t think of anything else better.
“We don’t want to cause any more disruption than we already have. And you aren’t going to bring your friends home with you,” Warden Gerkolli urged me. “I know how much you’d want to see your family. This is your only chance. Now hurry.”
How could I refuse the only chance to return to my Mom and Dad and Sam and Swallow again? My chest swelled with the desire to be with my family. “Where am I supposed to go?” I asked in a whisper.
“I will give you the directions. Just listen and follow my voice. Meet me out in the lair.” Warden Gerkolli rustled and went out of sight quickly.
I was swept by a surge of excitement, as I climbed out of the window and glided down the weaving ivies. I took off running as soon as the Warden’s voice sounded into my ears. I dutifully followed his instructions and I trudged through a winding path before arriving at the backside of a hill. There was a den almost cloaked by nearby shrubs.
Behind me the nightfall muddled the crossing line between the earth and the sky. I left all worries there, as I stared ahead into my shot of finally returning home. I walked up, maneuvered through the plants and stepped inside the den. The shrubs slid together sealing the opening to everything that I was willing to depart from.
There was only a faint light inside the lair and the air was much colder than it was outside. I shivered at a rush of drafts that came through as if there were bats circling over my head.
“Warden Gerkolli?” I asked to a shadowy figure in the corner.
I heard fingers snap. In an instant the den lit up with light beams like arrows racing into my eyes. It became so bright that I had to back a few steps. When my eyes cracked open, I was faced with a grayish white bird with crooked teeth through its open beak.
“Great seeing you again, Sasha.” Treble’s voice came out, when the beak moved.
“Who are you?” I was more than startled.
“You don’t recognize me, I see.” The bird walked up to me, his teeth asserting their prominence in my face. “How about this?” he asked. In a puff his tusks drew back, his feathers disappeared and his round body transformed. “Is this better?”
“Treble?” I stared in disbelief at the music note that he had turned into.
“Or how about this?” He changed again, before I could respond. The color of his skin shifted from white to red and his body revolted till he became someone completely different.
“Bulkee?” I backed away from the figure, breaking out in a cold sweat.
“You seemed a little surprised. How do I explain this to you?” He transformed back to Treble. “We, the Timekeepers of AohhoA, are known to be intangible, meaning that we are shapeless, just like the concept of ‘time.’ We are anything an onlooker projects us to be. When you first met us, you mistook our descant as noises from your alarm clock. You saw us as music notes.”
I watched him pace around me. My head was spinning, as he switched characters back to the grayish bird.
“As the Warden, I have the liberty to present myself in forms of my will,” he went on, as he balanced his weight on one toe and stuck out his chest. “I like being viewed as this bird of prestige, for my proximity and association with the King of AohhoA.”
I nodded numbly, despite the fact that all I wanted was to push aside this craziness and head straight home.
“You want to be with your family, I am aware,” Warden Gerkolli turned his back to me. “And I have a shortcut for you. How perfectly things work out.” His feathers convulsed as if the statement triggered a spasm in his body.
“Where is the shortcut?”
“You should ask ‘What is the shortcut’!” He swirled around with a laugh, “But of course you wouldn’t know. Let me gave you a taste of it. A taste of home.”
When he lashed out his wings, the grainy dust on the wall drifted off, like they had been brushed aside by a broom. The rivulets of dust gathered into a pile at the corner, and the wall revealed a reflective surface.
Warden Gerkolli walked around to stand behind me. “Take a good look,” he told me.
I squinted to see the mirror have captured the interior of the den in reverse view. A beat later the landscape of a city materialized in front of me and I felt like high up in the clouds with an aerial viewpoint.
“Look closely,” the Warden said. I felt his wingtip on my back, as he guided me closer to the wall.
My breathing quickened at the houses and trees along the grids of city streets. My heart raced to my throat, when the view zoomed in on a light blue colonial structure with decorative white fence. “That’s my house!” my hands flew to my mouth, as a sense of familiarity rushed back to me.
The Warden urged me to crouch down a few notches. I did so, right when the view switched. “That’s my bedroom!” Excitement shot through my veins like a current, as I eagerly looked on. My room was exactly the same as when I had left, with three pillows layered into a mini-pyramid next to my green quilted throw blanket on the bed.
“You should be very happy with what you see,” said Warden Gerkolli.
I gave a few quick nods, as I turned to find him smile at me. But I shuddered when my eyes shifted to his stone-cold glares. Another twinge of unease came over me.
“What’s wrong? Can’t wait to see your family?” asked the Warden.
His question set my thoughts off sailing to my parents and my brother. The yearning to see them almost crushed me. It was painful to even think of the stages that they had to go through in their search of me.
Did they have to describe to the police what I was wearing before I vanished inside the house?
Did they have to go through my photos to pick a portrait for the search poster?
Did they have to go on the internet and type in my name for any clues of my whereabouts?
I imagined the joy on their faces, when I bolted through the door and made my reappearance. If I had any doubt about the Warden’s plan to bring me home, it was forced out of my head. “Yes, I need to see my family,” I said. “Please get me back.”
“Of course. Here is your shortcut!” An unnerving screech broke from the Warden. Along with it, I caught an unexpected blow to my back. Immediately I lost balance and tumbled forward. Everything turned dark. I lost my sight, when my body slammed into the wall.
