Epilogue
Once again, Katie couldn’t quite place what happened. One moment she was in the boat again, sitting beside Jason, laughing and crying and basking in the glow of love. The next moment she was alone in the boat, and the next alone under the waterfall, and the next, sitting on the bank of the same river in the same strange forest. She wasn’t even that wet.
Nothing really happened..
What
time was it? What year was it? How long had the cart her parents had
driven, been safely back on
Her mind had come up with some pretty strange stuff. Skye wasn’t dead. She was out there somewhere, probably with a husband and kids or at least fiancé; definitely with a life.
Katie
had never lived in space. Besides a
few other trips to the mainland, and that one rabbit-hole door trip with Jason,
she’d never been off
Was it a stupid dream or could it have happened?
There was no way to answer that.
I want to go home.
That seemed almost as impossible.
The piano music faded, although the crystal notes from the waterfall remained unchanged. There was another sound. Someone was breathing hard in the forest.
“Katie! Dad says he needs you to get a stone out of Lightning’s shoe…you can sulk later.”
This was just classic Jason, right on the level of their video game and practical joke camaraderie, and yet it still hurt.
“Katie? You look like you saw a ghost.”
I did. But was it a ghost of a dream or a ghost of a real future? Had she said that aloud? No. “Just had a nightmare.”
“You can make one of your crazy stories out of it, then. I would have let you sleep longer, but we really do need your help.”
“What day is it?” she said fuzzily. She pushed back the ocean of tears inside. Does Jason really love me like that?
He gave her a strange look. “You jumped off the cart about a candlemark ago. We weren’t even out of sight.” He looked at her again, and saw her this time. “Are you all right?”
“I’ll be okay,” Katie said. “Lightning’s foot, you said?”
“Yeah. I’ll race you back.”
Although what came out wasn’t a real laugh, Katie did her best. She started to run.
“You know, I could manage staying on the mainland,” Jason said. “What do you think? D’ya want to run away?”
“No,” Katie said. “Let’s take care of that horse and get home.”
And, Katie won the race.
If God has a master plan
That only He understands
I hope it’s your eyes he’s looking through!
Things get damaged, things get broken,
I thought we’d manage, but what’s left unspoken
Left us so brittle with so little left to give.
I pray you learn to trust
Have faith in both of us,
And keep room in your heart for two.
--Depetche Mode, “Precious”