Time's Daughter

twenty two

Augustus was nowhere to be found. That was to be expected as Theressa crept up the stairs into the same door that Ayalisse had locked not long before. Theressa glanced around her wildly before she pulled her down the stairs and into the basement- Ayalisse's basement.

There were no wall tapestries. Instead, the only thing that covered the tunnel was a mahogany dresser. The two girls tugged it out of the way moments before Theressa all but pushed her in it as the shrill voice of what Ayalisse could only imagine was Mrs. Aitken sounded out. Ayalisse crouched inside the tunnel and watched as Theressa bolted towards where the voice came from. She wished she'd asked Theressa if there were any more people in the family she had to look out for. Oliver was gone, the husband was dead, were there any more siblings? How long did she have to stay in the tunnel?

Curiosity was just about enough to kill her, and if Theressa hadn't slid the dresser back into place, she would have had to look around. She could only see through the small crack that she seemingly left open, just enough for her to breathe comfortably, and it barely gave her room to see. One thing was for sure, it definitely wasn't her basement apartment. Even though she'd beautified the basement for herself, to her taste and her liking, it seemed so odd that this new world was more beautiful and homey than she could have imagined or done herself. Ayalisse chalked it up to it really being Gideon's home, even if she lived in it, and when her mother was alive, Adelaid was the queen of minimalism. Anything unnecessary Adelaid didn't bother keeping. She'd smile and tell Ayalisse that it made the task of cleaning a breeze, not having to move and replace dinky items or dust a hundred nicnacs.

Whether or not Mrs. Aitken had nicnacs or other trivial things instead of the one large piece of decor, textural item and one statement piece (Ayalisse smiled in the darkness as she rehearsed what Adelaid had said so many times before), she didn't know but there was still an air of hominess she could almost feel. For a split second, she wished she could live here instead of going back to Gideon's even though Theressa had made it perfectly clear that there was no room for her, that she alone was their help. Though she barely knew her, Ayalisse couldn't help but feel a friendship with Theressa. She wouldn't want to do anything deliberate to hurt her. But, what if she got a job elsewhere and just stayed in the big house with them? If the upstairs was anything like Gideon's, she knew there was plenty of room. Even if Theressa was in Augustus' room, and Mrs Aitken in Gideon's, and an unknown child or even Oliver's bedroom as the spare room, she could still sleep in the basement. How much room could she possibly take up? She didn't eat much, either.

Ayalisse sat back on her heels. She tried to stop her mind from imagining, daydreaming and concocting the impossible. What a nicer place it would be to live! No Augustus... no silly rules of not being able to cross the street for flower picking. Everything, even in her world was tranquil, but how much so this place! It would do her a world of good. She was even quite convinced that Gideon wouldn't object. Not that she could tell him. Hadn't it just been pity- charity- that he had taken her in? She'd clearly disrupted their home life- unless of course, Augustus was that annoying all that time.

Theressa was taking forever. Would she even come back? What would they do when she did/ In a way, Ayalisse hoped that she'd just sit with her and talk a while, but it was impossible to tell if that were realistic. Perhaps the only time that the girl had off was when the widow woman was asleep. Ayalisse stood and stretched her arms over her head before she peered down the tunnel again. It was just as dark, even in daylight as it had been the first night that she'd followed Theressa and Oliver. It was almost as claustrophobic as the tunnels the Tunnel King on The Great Escape had made through much wider. It had to be the darkness that made it so small, closing in on her. She wasn't the bravest in the dark, but with her mind whirling what felt like a mile a minute, she didn't have time to dwell on it. How many people had stepped through the tunnel? Had Oliver and Theressa merely stumbled upon it? Had they dug it? With two of them working at it, it wouldn't have taken so long, Ayalisse reasoned, but did they really have the skill? She couldn't. Of course, it was a different time period, and from the sounds of it, Theressa had been doing hard labor since her childhood.

If only Theressa would return, preferably with some food, so she could pick her brain. Ayalisse paced for a few minutes, wondering what her mother would think. It would go one of two ways: either she'd be enthralled with the history and time change that had happened and probably want to write about it, or she'd be horrified that her daughter was in something used for illegal activity. What were they smuggling afterall? So many questions flooded her brain.

It was deathly silent. Convinced that no one was around, or coming, Ayalisse scraped the dressed against the floor as gently and softly as she possibly could, until she had just enough wiggle room to get out of hiding. She inhaled deeply and sucked in her stomach to get past the dresser without it scraping more. She sighed when she was free and no one was the wiser.

Her wall tapestry fell heavily back into place. How had she managed to screw everything up? She botled back into the tunnel, held her breath and raced back out. Still, she was in her room. She ran up the stairs two at a time, before slowing down to go look out the backyard. It was covered in a thick blanket of snow. She blinked back tears as shescanned to see if Theressa's clothesline was there. It wasn't.

Time had changed.

Times had changed.

Convenience ruled the day. Why wait for clothes to dry on a line? Why go through the bother of hanging them neatly on a line when you can get faster results in a clothes dryer?

Ayalisse looked over at the clock on the microwave, blinking a few times when she saw that it was only just past seven. She glanced down the hall. Augustus' backpack still hung on the railing by the door, his shoes still where he had left them. Unless a full twelve hours had passed, no time had passed at all. Ayalisse cringed as she thought of Augustus' barelling down the hall to ask why she looked bewildered. She considered going down and banging on the door for him to hurry up and get himself together before he missed the bus, but she couldn't be bothered. She retrieved her backpack and lunch from under the cupboard and walked towards the door.

"You coming, Auggie?"

"Don't call me that."

Ayalisse jumped- when had he snuck up on her? A creep through and through. "I'd worry more about missing your bus."

"Why is your face so red? What's wrong with you. Are you sick? I don't want to be sick. Stay away from me."

Ayalisse rolled her eyes. "I'm not sick."

"Then why is your face so red?"

She shrugged in response. He was the last person she'd tell that she was running around outside where it was warm. "It doesn't matter." Not waiting for him to give another comment, she slipped out the door. She glanced back to be sure that he locked the door behind him as she stood and waited for their buses. She was never so glad that they didn't go to the same school. Only a few more days before she'd spend more time at home. Hopefully, the portal would open again, leading her back into Theressa's world.