Читать книгу Twelve Upon A Time... - Edward Galluzzi - Страница 16

Ten months had now passed. Donja and Amanda enjoyed their time with Bronto, Screecher and Puffy. Puffy joined the group a couple of months ago. The girls named it Puffy because it puffs out its cheeks and turns different colors when threatened.

Late one evening as Amanda and Donja slept, their parents talked about the portal somewhere out there. Wherever it was, it would project them into the future and back home. As they shared ideas with each other, it dawned on them that they always checked for the passageway during the day; yet, they arrived here in the past exactly at midnight. Could the portal only function at midnight?

With their daughters fast asleep, Don and Jane decided to find out. Midnight was about one hour away. They left the safety of the cave and ventured into the still of darkness. Donja’s parents traveled the path that they took many times before. The moon provided a dim light that helped them stay on course.

Amanda’s parents arrived near their believed entry several minutes before midnight. They decided to stand back-to-back and then slowly walk forward at midnight. As midnight arrived, they began their slow walk feeling around with their outstretched hands. They hoped to contact anything that might suggest a passage way back to their future, their present.

As Amanda’s parents walked, her mother felt the same gel-like stuff that marked their way to prehistoric past. She quickly withdrew her hand and called to her husband. There was no doubt that this was the portal that would return them home. Don asked his wife to remain at the site while he gathered wood and stones to mark the portal. They returned to the safety of the cave. They were tired and drifted off for some needed sleep.

Donja and Amanda arose early the next morning as Screecher, Puffy and Bronto were making their familiar chatter. The girls greeted them and played with them as their parents rested. Amanda’s parents were awakened by the comforting sounds of creatures and children at play. They knew what their daughters did not know: this was to be their last day in long ago past. Their girls would be happy to return to their present in the future, but saddened by the loss of their friendships with Bronto, Screecher and Puffy. They decided not to tell their daughters until lunch so that they could enjoy their morning play with their friends.

As their midday mealtime approached, Amanda and Donja were told of the portal and its passage at midnight. The sisters shrieked with happiness, hugging each other and their parents. Sometime during all that hugging, Donja and Amanda realized that going home meant leaving their friends Bronto, Puffy and Screecher. This tempered the girls’ jubilation and they went off by themselves.

Donja and Amanda wondered how they would communicate to their dinosaur friends that they would be leaving this very night. They really did not know. Amanda and Donja walked out of the cave and greeted Bronto, Screecher and Puffy. In an instant, the three friends sensed something was different; something was not quite right. The girls sat tearfully quiet as they held on to their creature friends.