Instead of awkwardly looming over the table, I occupied the empty chair next to miffey punching her leftover pancake all over her plate.
So… Colander what do you as our guardian suppose we do of our “Situation” or has the veil of forgetfulness already ate you whole like a spineless amphibian?” – – – Colander paused a short moment to absorb and think of an appropriate response that won’t light the firecracker again, – – – “Look it seems we’re in here just like Osterius, and no it hasn’t thankfully we still have time to find our opportunity. Remember what Osterius said over breakfast?” “Time flows at an accelerated pace meaning this small bubble zips at 10× the average speed of Earths rotational axis.” – – – “Exactly, see this is where it gets tricky… if we go back what year or maybe millennium has past? We theoretically don’t age on a molecular level in this bubble so we will be pretty much the same but out there they have concluded we are deceased.” – – – ” True, so the quicker the better got it. Goodnight Colander.”
“Goodnight Willow.” as they shuffled to their respective rooms to check out for the day.
The next morning someone mysterious rapped upon the metal door knocker impatiently. Osterius fumbles into his sherpa slippers and made his journey to the mahogany grand door’s. At the door stood a tall burly thin railed man in a pre victorian suit complete with a black leather trench coat with a black wide rimmed right side folded western hat. His eyes remained at the floor hiding his face in a shield of darkness, then he spoke in a deep robust voice distinctly south western accent: “Look you and you’re friends here don’t belong in these parts, my friend Osterius here must’ve told you bout me already, No?
Colander spoke for the group, “Look I am these kids caretaker we ended up here by accident and we’d love to leave but we don’t exactly know ‘these parts’ you see,”
“Frankly no but obviously Osterius is withholding a lot of information from you regarding what this place is so… essentially you are in the spirit realm which is between your world and the incarcerated realm, the latter is essentially hell to earth where all the really really bad souls end up. Now the spirit realm is tricky because we can leave but physical humans we’re never intended to inhabit down here thus the gateway is sealed off until said intruders are eliminated and sent to incarceration.”
“Look we didn’t mean anything by it, Willow cast a spell on the house we just moved into to help restore it. Then we woke up here,”
“What house, moresay Mansfield Mansion?”
“Yes that’s the one, do you know it?”
“Yes it was built the year I was born 1710, and it was used many years for ritual sacrifices to the spirit realm for peace and prosperity in the west.”
“And that correlates how?”
“I was trying to say it nicely but Willow is a Mansfield witch like me, it called me towards her to help get you all out, I know its alot and I’ll explain more on the way yes?”
Colander stepped back to greet the man inside.
They talked more over supper, then met in the library to venture deep into the family lore and find the key to unlock Willows true abilities especially the one to open a gateway out.
They dug through it all the way back before the strange mans time, not a word about the realms as if some books and pages were destroyed intentionally from the family archive.
Willow sneaked off from the group to return to the tower to meditate as a hail mary, in her meditation she came upon a fence gate. As she walked through the fence gate she fell deeper in middle of a grassland, in the fog she saw one single giant eagle perched on a fallen tree approaching the grey and white spotted bird the fog cleared it’s ears perked and its big deep blue eyes came open. “Welcome willow, what can I do for you?”
I came seeking help for my current situation, I got stuck in the between realms… “Ahh I see Willow I can help, think back to a time back yore when you’re mother once took you on a trip to yulu Island which is located in the between realms. Now think of the way you’re mother called the Earth realm, you both could pass back to Earth.”
“Ohh that one saying, I got it now thank you elder.” a hole opened above her sucking her back to where she sat.
She rushed to the library to inform everyone, “hey everyone! I found the key to return, ” She wailed in excitement.
Do what? everyone puzzled. “Earth I call to you open a door back to your realm back to my our time from which we came.”
A tear began then grew to the size of the front door of the other side, the group and Osterius made it back to earth. But not all is well as it so seems…
Copyright 2021 SvenDefono, all rights reserved.
Twister Fiction 