Page 3 of Caught in Time
Annabelle nodded in satisfaction and let out a short laugh then shook her head as if to clear it.
“It is now 1864,” she informed Charlotte.
Charlotte’s mouth went dry,1864. It could not be possible. Savannah, Georgia 1864 meant...Mouth agape she could do nothing but shake her head in fervent denial. None of this could be real!
“I’m dreaming, I must be dreaming.”
“Come along, Charlotte, I’ll explain everything inside over a nice cup of hot tea.”
Charlotte entered the house. Its charming appearance immediately struck her. Golden wood floors gleamed with fresh polish and crisp white walls shone in the lamplight. Annabelle led her into the parlor and instructed her to make herself comfortable. Charlotte sighed as the other woman stepped out of the room. Wearily she flopped onto a chair, trying to make sense of the recent events. She realized that she felt strangely numb.I think I must be in shock.
“Have you eaten, Charlotte?” The kind, almost motherly, voice pulled her from her disturbing thoughts, and she turned to find Annabelle carrying a tray laden with a silver tea service, biscuits, strawberry preserves, and a steaming bowl of chicken soup.
“I had dinner, but that was—”
She shrugged and let out a short laugh.
“Well, I suppose I don’t know when that was.”
Annabelle bestowed another understanding smile upon her.
“I’m glad to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor. Now, you eat, and I will explain to you everything I know.”
She sat opposite Charlotte and lifted a cup of tea.
“As you know, my name is Annabelle Beauregarde. I am a being who exists simultaneously at different points along the space-time continuum. I know that I have met you before in 2024 in the Marshall House parlor.”
Charlotte was dumbfounded.
“The best way to explain what has happened to you is to say that you passed through an interdimensional doorway and landed here in 1864—one hundred and sixty years in the past. That is the only explanation I can offer that would make any sense to you,” Annabelle apologized.
Charlotte’s mind reeled wildly. She had never given much thought to quantum physics or time, either, but had she really traveled into the past? Had she really passed through the fabric of time to Savannah, Georgia and the year 1864?
“Well, we’ll have to destroy or hide everything you have brought back with you, especially your cell phone,” Annabelle warned her.
Charlotte swallowed hard. Everything she had witnessed and heard, no matter how impossible, had been real. She had traveled back to the year 1864, seemingly trapped in the past.
“No!”
The thought of being stuck in the past made her feel queasy and dizzy. Her whole being rebelled at being unable to return to her own time. Uncontrollable shaking took hold of her entire body as the denial gave way to shock.
“What about getting back?” Charlotte whispered hoarsely.
Annabelle put a comforting arm around her shoulders.
“You should give up hope of that, my dear. The portal is one way.”
Annabelle drew back, fixing Charlotte with empathetic eyes.
“I believe that you were always meant to be here, Charlotte. Maybe this is your place and time to be, to exist.”
Charlotte’s mind protested as she desperately sought to reject Annabelle’s words. Sobs tore from her body and Annabelle held her and stroked her hair, quietly murmuring soothing words of comfort until Charlotte regained control of herself. Pulling away, Charlotte rubbed her tear-stained face, feeling as though her eyelids were made of sandpaper.
Looking at her friend, she realized how lucky she had been that Annabelle had found her as soon as she had. Straightening, Charlotte squared her shoulders, grasping at some measure of determination.
“Well, I guess it’s time to accept that I am really existing in the year 1864.”
Wiping tears from her eyes she tried to look as calm as she could but failed miserably at a smile.
