20. EXPLORING THE TOWN

I am absolutely alive with excitement.

"Where is it?" I ask Brent while putting the diary I am reading down on the stack of already read diaries.

"It is another door in the basement of the bar where Billy works" Brent says almost absentmindedly as he still tries to carry on reading.

"Are you coming?" I ask Brent as I get up from the floor to get dressed.

"Nooooo, no no no, Little Sapling! We cannot just barge in there and go through another portal! We don't even know here it leads to!" Brent sounds stressed.

"What is it saying?" I go to sit on the floor again.

"It seems that Billy came from the past. He and old Mrs Grindle were in a relationship for more than a year when she finally told him that she came from another time. She expected him to break off the relationship when he confessed that he also came from another time." Brent puts the diary down and takes another.

"I want to know where it leads, before we even try to get in there." Brent sounds very serious.

"Very well, we will keep on reading" I roll my eyes a little and carry on reading the diary that would follow the one Brent is reading now.

Mrs Grindle really had the most exciting life. She travelled a lot with Billy. He took her to different tourist attractions. They were most certainly very in love.

They went to France, where Billy asked Mrs Grindle to marry him. Billy's last name must have been Grindle? As I carry on reading, I am swallowed by everything the two of them explored. Mrs Grindle had a very engaging way of writing. She tells about their travels in detail and describes the places they go to and the food they ate with such love.

During this visit to France, they met a man they believed to also come from a different time. Mrs Grindle writes that, when you are guilty of time travel, you learn to recognise the tell-tale signs of other time travellers. She then realised that there are many portals and that they all jumped to different time zones.

"Hmmm". I hear Brent murmur.

"Oh, please, do tell." There is sarcasm in my voice I didn't mean to be there. I must be getting tired of all this reading. I try to cover the snideness with a broad smile. Brent looks at me and smiles.

"Not all the portals work the same way. If we leave our side and come here, if we stay here for five days and return to our time it will be five days later in our time also. Where Billy came from the time stayed the same as the time he left. If he left there on his 30th birthday at 16h00 and came here for thirty years, it would be the exact same date and time he left when he returned." I stare at Brent as this information starts sinking in.

"Oh no, eventually he couldn't go back because he would have aged too much."

"That is right."

"And if Mrs Grindle went from this side to that side? Did time stand still on this side?"

"Yes, apparently the portal has no sense of time" Brent closes the diary he has been reading. "I think we need to call it a night. It is too late to go out anyway. Let's visit the bar tomorrow and see if we can find the door without being seen." I nod as Brent is speaking.

Brent makes each of us something warm to drink and we sit on our beds and talk about everything we read in the diaries.

This was one exciting couple. They travelled and explored the world in different time zones.

"We have two more stacks of diaries to read." Brent says as he stifles a yawn.

"We will check out the bar tomorrow and read the other two stacks tomorrow evening." I tell him as I get into bed.

"Goodnight Little Sapling." Brent says as he gets into bed.

"Goodnight old tree" I reply with a smile.

*** *** ***

The next morning, I wake up well rested and very hungry. Brent's bed is already made and he is in the bathroom with the door closed. I quickly get dressed while he is in there and straighten out my bed.

I put the stacks of diaries we already read neatly into one of the bags we brought them in and put the bag at the bottom of my cupboard. The other diaries I put on one of the shelves inside Brent's cupboard.

By the time Brent comes out of the bathroom the room is tidy.

"Well good morning to you" Brent almost sings to me. It is clear that he also had a great night's rest.

"I feel very excited today. I want to check out the bar but I am sure it is not the best idea to go first thing in the morning."

Brent chuckles a bit.

"Yes, I am sure that only regulars show up at the bar when the doors open. Let us do some sight seeing and then we will wander into the bar to get a drink." Brent is done with getting ready and holds his hand towards the door.

"Are your ready?" He asks politely.

"One moment." I tell him and dash into the bathroom to brush my teeth and straighten my hair. When I am done, I come out smiling broadly. There is nothing as refreshing as having fresh breath and combed hair.

Brent holds his elbow to me and I hook my hand into it. We walk down to the reception area where the receptionist urges us to try the breakfast buffet the hotel offers to its patrons. I suddenly remember being very hungry again and the invitation sounds very welcoming.

Brent and I walk into the restaurant area and a waiter takes us to a small round table near the back corner of the room. From a menu, we order hot drinks. The waiter tells us how the buffet table works and tells us to please get something to eat while he prepares the drinks.

The buffet is set out with different types of eggs, bacon, pork bangers, chicken strips and the likes. There are different types of breads that can be toasted or just heated. Brent and I fill our plates with all our favourites and go back to the table where our warm drinks are already set on the table.

We enjoy our breakfast with light conversation of what we would like to explore during today.

There is a sudden excitement in the street outside. Children are laughing and yelling at each other to look at something. Brent turns to look outside and quickly announces that he thinks the circus is finally in town.

We finish up our meal and follow the sounds of the excitement outside.

Large trucks with wagons carrying the animals are slowly making their way through the narrow streets of the small town. Women are pulling their kids back onto the sidewalk to keep them from running to the animals. Men are picking up their toddlers to give them a better view of the procession.

As the last truck pass the crowd the kids start dancing after it in the street.

I hook my arm into Brent's elbow. I love the sounds of the small town. It is nothing like the cold hard sounds of the city. You never hear kids playing there.

I look up at Brent to see him looking down at me with a soft smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

We start to walk after the children following the wagons with the animals.

We follow the cobblestone path and come to stand still on the bridge to watch the children and their parents follow the circus to where they will set up. When they are far enough for the noise to sound distant Brent turns to look over the side of the bridge.

There is a small stream running under it. On both sides of the stream is well kept grass carpets. There are lovely trees giving great shade for picnic spots. There are a few concrete garden table and chair sets where park goers can enjoy the view in peace.

To one side of the park sits a man wearing a black hoody. He has his hands deep in his pockets and he sits as if he has all the worries of the world on his shoulders. While I am staring at him, he looks up to where we are standing. He has dark circles under his eyes and he looks ill in health.

There is something familiar about him. The way he holds himself reminds me of the youth of modern times. The way he wears his hoody and how he keeps his hands in his pockets while he sits hunched over on the bench. He looks miserable.

My eyes grow wide as I suddenly remember what Mrs Grindle wrote in her diary.