Stuck in Time | #OpenNovellaContest2020 | Round Two

5.

"Oh dear lord, this has become such a disaster!"

"I know. Poor Pat won't get to go home again."

I landed on the ground floor to these comments after seven in the morning and more coming from the direction of the kitchen. I yawned and stretched my limbs for a second time since waking up – in my own bed – and the tight muscles in my body finally loosened up with a shot of pain. I groaned and tried to massage my muscles all over to make it go away.

I finally walked into the dining room, where I spotted my hostesses sitting at the table with a newspaper between them.

"Mornin'," I yawned, covering my mouth with my hands instantly.

Mother and daughter looked up at me with sad smiles. "Good morning," they said at the same time.

Iris added, "We were just saying how you should probably stay here for some more days."

I nodded. "I thought as much. I should probably go in to work now."

"And maybe explain your absence yesterday."

"Meh, they already know. The whole town knows."

"Oh, that's not what I mean."

I saw Mrs White leave the dining room and go into the kitchen as I sat on Iris's other side at the table. "What do you mean?"

"You know. About how you weren't the one who committed the murder?"

A pang of shock shot through my chest. "WHAT?!"

My friend shook her head and handed me the paper. As I read the headline article, she went on:

"The coroner found the death to be between eight and ten last night. You were back home by nine, max. You should've found the body around that time. Unless you went in through the backdoor and straight to bed and not noticed the smell of rot in between."

I groaned again. "I forgot about that! But, how should I explain that I found it last night when I went down to get a drink of water?! No one can know that I can travel through the past or they'll all be at my front door, demanding justice!" I paused as a memory from last night filtered through my harassed brain. "Well, I actually wanted to do just that and see who actually killed that guy and how."

I heard a gasp from Iris. "And you went?! What did you find?!" she whisper-yelled.

I sighed and slumped over the paper. "That my magic no longer works!"

"What do you mean?!"

I shrugged. "I couldn't go. But, you know what happened instead?"

"What?"

"I gave up and went to bed – and then, I awoke in this house fifty years ago!"

"No way!" She almost giggled, but controlled herself.

"I know!" Realising that my voice rose to an uncomfortable high, I lowered it again. "I know. It's just... I don't know. I couldn't get back because now, apparently, I can't simply think-work the magic. I'm telling you, Iris, something is interfering with my magic!"

She crinkled her nose. "Like a bad signal on a windy day?"

I shrugged again. "Something like that. When I gave up trying to think-work, I went out to do some exploring to see if I could come back any other way. I was walking across the street outside this house – the direction that leads on to the library – but then, that's as far as I got."

"To the library?"

"No. Somewhere in the middle. I think this part of the town was abandoned at that particular point of time."