The Peregrines

Chapter 30

{ Edited - 26th April, 2024 }

It was as if the entire town had been reset. I couldn't help but notice familiar sights from the day before: the wagon speeding down the path, its back wheel skidding in the gravel; the women queuing up at the well; a man still working on the rowboat, making no progress from yesterday. I half-expected to witness my doppelgänger running through town with a crowd chasing after, but reality didn't unfold that way.

"You guys must know a lot about what goes on around here," Jake said. "Like yesterday, with the planes and that cart."

"It's Millard who knows everything," said Hugh.

"It's true," said Millard. "In fact, I am in the midst of compiling the world's first complete account of one day in the life of a town, as experienced by everyone in it. Every action, every conversation, every sound made by each of the one hundred fifty-nine human and three hundred thirty-two animal residents of Cairnholm, minute by minute, sunup to sundown."

"That's incredible," I said.

"I can't help but agree," he replied. "In just twenty-seven years I've already observed half the animals and nearly all the humans."

My mouth fell open. "Twenty-seven years?"

"He spent three years on pigs alone!" Hugh said. "That's all day every day for three years taking notes on pigs! Can you imagine? 'This one dropped a load of arse biscuits!' 'That one said oink-oink and then went to sleep in its own filth!' "

"Notes are absolutely essential to the process," Millard explained patiently. "But I can understand your jealousy, Hugh. It promises to be a work unprecedented in the history of academic scholarship."

"Oh, don't cock your nose," Emma said. "It'll also be unprecedented in the history of dull things. It'll be the dullest thing ever written!"

Rather than responding, Millard began pointing things out just before they happened. "Mrs Higgins is about to have a coughing fit," he'd say, and then a woman in the street would cough and hack until she was red in the face, or "Presently, a fisherman will lament the difficulty of plying his trade during wartime," and then a man leaning on a cart filled with nets would turn to another man and say, "There's so many damned U-boats in the water now it ain't even safe for a bloke to go tickle his own lines!"

I was duly impressed and told him so. "I'm glad someone appreciates my work," he replied.

We strolled by the lively harbour until we reached the end of the docks, then made our way along the rocky shore towards the headlands where we found a sandy cove. The boys decided to strip down to their underwear (except for Horace, who opted to only remove his shoes and tie), while the girls went off to change into classic, modest bathing suits.

While I watched from the shore, Bronwyn and Emma raced in the water as the other children paddled around. After tiring themselves out, they rested on the sand for a nap. When the sun became too intense, they jumped back into the water. And when the sea breeze chilled them, they returned to the shore. This cycle continued until our shadows stretched across the cove.

We started chatting. They bombarded Jake and me with countless questions, and because we were away from Miss Peregrine, Jake could answer them honestly. However, I'm not sure it's a good idea for me to do the same. The children wanted to know about our world. They asked about the food, drinks, and clothing people had. They also wondered when science would conquer sickness and death.

They resided in luxury, yet yearned for fresh faces and tales. Jake shared all he knew. What truly astonished them was our era's technology and quality of life. Our homes were equipped with air conditioning. While they had heard of televisions, they had never laid eyes on one before and were astounded to discover that Jake's family owned a television set in nearly every room.

Air travel was just as frequent and economical for us as train travel was for them. Our military engaged in battles using remote-controlled drones. We carried pocket-sized telephone-computers, and even though Jake's device didn't function in this place (it seemed like nothing electronic did), Jake proudly displayed its sleek, mirrored casing to impress them.

As the sun began to set, we made our way back. Emma accompanied Jake to the cave, while the rest of us headed back to the house. Upon our arrival, Miss Peregrine has me reluctantly agreed to the suggestion of taking an early mark before dinner and the changeover. We both wanted to avoid a repeat of yesterday's incident.