20
William was glad that the tension between Rachel and Clarence seemed resolved. The three of them shared a modest meal and cleared the table, working as if they had done this together a hundred times before.
When the small, heavy wooden table was cleared, William opened his papers in an arrangement similar to the one he had created at Thomas’s house. Clarence was standing nearby, not sure how he could help.
“Clarence, what I am about to tell you will be hard for you to believe.”
“Try me!”
Clarence was quick to respond. William looked at Rachel knowing she already had the benefit of his claimed predicament.
“Go ahead, William, tell Clarence. I am certainly starting to believe you. All I know is I could make no sense of your notes.”
Rachel sat on the rocking chair close to the fire. She pushed on the balls of her feet, tilting the chair as far back as she safely could. Both men watched her as she closed her eyes in a resting position and gave them a gesture to proceed without her attention. William’s glance returned to Clarence.
“Clarence, I arrived here just a little after Daniel went missing. As a matter of fact, I presume I arrived at the very spot he went missing.” William was pointing at his notes to a diagram of the Natural Bridge.
“Here, directly under the bridge and slightly left of center. When looking into the canyon, right next to the edge of the stream.”
Clarence stepped forward and studied the sketch.
“Yes, that is where we were when Daniel disappeared, but what exactly are you saying?”
“I am saying that I am finally realizing that the disappearance of Daniel and my appearance are tied somehow!”
Clarence was visibly perplexed.
“Appearance? What do you mean, appearance?”
William looked at Rachel once again.
“Go ahead, tell him William!”
Rachel remained in her chair with her eyes closed. It was obvious she was listening closely. Clarence was shifting his glance back and forth from Rachel to William like a pet dog waiting for ether one of them to throw him a bone.
“Tell me what? Why are you being so evasive? Get to the point! I am just as concerned to learn what happened out there!”
“Clarence, I am not from this time. One hundred and ten years from now I was visiting the Natural Bridge with my family; my wife Kate and my daughters, Tara and Nicole…”
Clarence did not let William continue.
“Wait a minute!” Clarence covered his forehead with his right hand, and with it still there he blurted:
“Did you say one hundred and ten years from now? Did I hear you correctly? One hundred and ten years from now, you mean in our future, are you trying to tell me you are here from the future?”
Clarence still had his hand over his face, rubbing his forehead as if a serious migraine was setting in. He slowly pulled his hand all the way down his face and stared at William in disbelief. William picked up one of the pieces of paper, and continued.
“You see, this is a note I made earlier today at the Byronville house. I did not understand any of this until you told me how Daniel disappeared. One hundred and ten years from now, I too, was entranced by the droplets of water from the underside of the Natural Bridge. I remember the sensation of my body going to a liquid form and suddenly appearing in the same place but at a different time.”
Rachel released the pressure in her legs, the rocking chair rolled upright, without moving her body she opened her eyes widely. No one had anything else to say for the moment.
The silence between them was long. Finally they felt they had to speak at once.
“I…”
“Let me…”
“I must be…”
Within a split second of each other, they all spoke without completing their individual statements. They looked at each other in amusement. William took charge, inviting Rachel with his hand to complete her sentence.
“I must be on my way. It will be dark in an hour, and I will need that much time to get back home.”
“It’s funny you should say that. I was just going to offer to accompany you back.”
“No, Clarence, that will cause you to return in the dark, it’s best I go alone. I will be all right. But promise you will visit me tomorrow. William, I will let Thomas know you are here unless you wish to return with me?”
“Rachel, I think one of us should go with you. If Clarence has a place for me to sleep, I would like to remain here. I have an idea! Clarence, you take Rachel home and spend the night at the Byronville house, and I will stay here, seeing as you have only one bed anyway.”
William quickly glanced at Rachel to gauge her reaction to his suggestion. She seemed fine, more than fine, with the plan.
“Clarence, you are welcome to stay in our guest room for the evening. Thomas will not mind.”
Clarence looked at both of them back and forth very quickly as if to think they had planned this out beforehand.
“Well, I had not considered staying at your house, Rachel, but it does seem to make the most sense all around. I do not want you to return alone. We certainly could not all sleep here.”
“Certainly not!” Rachel interjected as she got up from her chair and headed for the direction of the door.
“Well, it’s settled then. Clarence, I will take good care of Sergeant, you both best be on your way.”