In a Time Far Away

In a Time Far Away Part 3

Joan felt stuck in a dream. She wanted to ask a question to clear up everything, but she didn't know what question that could be.

After thinking a moment, she finally asked, "How long was I with you in your hole under the tree root?"

"Hole? Tree root?" Tim sounded confused and unconcerned at the same time.

She tried again. "How long have you known me?"

"Oh!" he exclaimed with sudden interest. "I love riddles."

Joan didn't know how he came to the conclusion this was a game. "Sure," she said to humor him. "A riddle, then."

Tim looked at Joan, muttering to himself as he estimated the distance between them. "This long?" he said holding his hands about two feet apart.

"What?" She had no idea what he was talking about. "No."

"This long?" he said holding his arms out as far as they'd reach to approximate Joan's height.

"What a strange answer," Joan commented.

"Good," responded Tim. "It's a strange question. So I'm right?"

"I don't know."

"I think I am."

Despite the unusual characteristics of the woods, Joan followed the more permanent landmarks until she came to one of her favorite places. A trail still passed along the top of a cliff to give a wide view of the river valley. The river was not clearly visible because of all the trees, but sometimes a mist rose from the water, clinging to the treetops like cobwebs. The distant hills were sometimes clear, sometimes hazy blue, sometimes shrouded in low clouds. Every day the scene was different, but always beautiful.

Today the view shocked her.

"What's this?" she exclaimed with alarm.

Most of the trees were gone. Tall, blocky structures stood in the distance like ridiculously impossible mountains with stark, vertical sides. Wide trails of dark stone ran everywhere. Over them roared self-propelled metal carts spitting out smoke. Nearby squatted hundreds of smaller block dwellings. The distant hills were not visible because of the smoke.

"A human city," Tim calmly answered as if it had been there forever.

It looked as if a million humans lived in this one area, but there weren't enough humans in the entire world to be able to do this. The largest groups she knew of numbered to only about two hundred, and their towns were simple: cabins and taverns and stables. This scene was unheard of. The world had changed completely.

"Impossible," she uttered.

"Down there," pointed Tim. "In one of those dwellings. That's where my wand is from."

Something was horribly wrong. How much had changed? Was her family even here anymore? She turned from the view and ran into the forest toward her beloved birch grove. Though she knew the route home by heart, she felt completely lost. As Joan scrambled through the inexplicably unfamiliar woods, Tim followed effortlessly.

She almost passed through without recognizing it. Only a few birch trees remained; pines and oaks had taken over. Oak trees took ages to grow to this height. It looked as if elves had not lived here in a long time, not for hundreds of years.

Joan fell to the ground, heaving sobs into the earth. Everything she knew had disappeared. Her family would all be dead now, and they had passed away thinking she had abandoned them. Joan felt utterly alone.