100 Years Between Us

Prologue

MARIA (present day Massachusetts)

3 days. 

Three days since she had returned from her last travel.

She had been thrust, unwillingly, into the horrific event of The London Blitz in 1940, a girl with no one to turn to as the bombs rained from the sky. She winced at the thought of returning to the screaming; the terror that rushed through her nonstop as she raced through alleys and train stations in the dark of night. Luckily for her, Master had kept his promise that time, and left her there for only a few weeks.

Maria closed her brown leather notebook, then her eyes as she leaned back into the soft grass. She sighed, stood up, grabbed her things, and headed toward the old red-brick mansion.

The house had been built in the early 1800's, with large oak doors, a dark brown roof, and hazy windows with white silk curtains. Maria had counted over 50 rooms, including 9 main bedrooms, 10 servant rooms, 7 bathrooms, and 17 beautiful lounge rooms. Her favorite room was the main living room; countless dusted books filled the shelves, fire crackled in the fireplace, the comfy parlor-style chair waited quietly for her, and a soft animal skin rug sat below it. She smiled, though she remembered she would never sit there again, as Master had strictly forbidden her to enter the room for unexplained reasons.

As she walked up the steps, the front door opened before she reached it. She brushed her brunette hair out of her face and looked into the man's icy blue eyes, straightening her posture. He had never told her how old he was, but Maria suspected he was in his late sixties to seventies, because his dark hair and beard had slowly turned white, and the skin around his face had become more and more wrinkled, like a raisin left out in the sun too long.

"Hello, Master." Maria said politely, trying to seem as if she didn't mind his presence. All he did in response was nod and hold out his hand. Maria pulled her notebook out of her leather bag and handed it to him. He gestured for her to follow him inside as he flipped through the many pages of Maria's journeys.

The old man sat in his chair once they reached his office. Maria sat on the other side of his desk and waited patiently for him to finish reading.

"So, the Blitz wasn't so fun, huh? Well, that's alright. You'll have fun in the next place, Maria. Just you wait." He smiled; his eyes did not stray from the pages of the book. Maria shifted in her chair uncomfortably. Whenever he says that, she thought, I almost end up dying. Shaking off the thought, Maria dared to ask, "When am I Traveling next?" Master continued to look at her journal and replied, "You will be going in a few moments. Take your notebook and go back to the Time Tree." Maria pictured the old tree, standing in the middle of an abandoned forest. She nodded and grabbed her notebook before heading outside.

Master didn't live near anyone, so Maria didn't have to worry about unnecessary conversations with vexing neighbors to distract her from Traveling, which she was thankful for. She tried to imagine the next place she might go. Perhaps an ancient war; that certainly sounded like something Master would send her to.

The cool spring breeze was soothing as she walked back to the large oak in the forest. Once she arrived, she circled it until she found the right spot and pressed her hand into the age-old mark, soon spinning into Travel.