“Maybe that’s your gift!” Tim said excitedly, “Maybe you can remember things about other things, just by looking at them or something.”
“Maybe,” Anna shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal, “but right now, we need to get to that building. We need to go through the wall, go to that building in the park, and see if we can get back through while we’re there.”
“Let’s try it then.
Anna got up and led the way to a small office off the kitchen. “This is where I came through,” she said, pointing at a corner of the room, “On the other side, is my school room,” she paused, “I never went to a real school. My parents thought it best if they taught me themselves.”
Tim thought that explained a lot about how Anna acted. He held out his hand. “Okay,” he said, as Anna grasped his hand, “Let’s do this.”
They ran toward the wall. Then tumbled to the floor on the other side. Anna jumped up and looked around. “It worked!” she exclaimed.
Tim looked at her, confused. “It was your idea and now you tell me you didn’t think it would work?”
Anna spun around, with tears in her eyes. “I never thought I’d be here again. Mom! Dad!” she yelled as she ran from the room.
Tim followed as Anna ran through her house, searching for her parents. The house was empty. “I wonder where they are.” Anna said to herself.
Before Tim, could even respond, a voice sounded from behind him. “How?”
Anna nearly knocked him over. Standing in the doorway, was a very large man Tim could only assume was Anna’s father. The two hugged for a very long time. Tim began to get uncomfortable. “Dog ym ho!”
Suddenly, a woman appeared and joined in the hugging. Eventually, Anna remembered Tim. “Oh! Mom, Dad. This is Tim. He finally showed up- but it wasn’t his fault. His-”
“We know honey. We heard what happened. It’s why we haven’t been staying here since you left. It’s not safe here.” Anna’s mother said, before she could finish.
“Then why are you here now?” Tim couldn’t stop himself from asking.
Anna’s father smiled sadly. “It’s her gift. She always knows where she needs to be. I just follow.”
“Oh,” was all Tim could think to say.
Anna’s mother looked at Tim. “I’m sorry for your loss, sweetie. We did try to help. We talked to Social Services and told them we’d take you in. They said no initially, since we weren’t relatives, and before we could figure out another way, they told us you’d run away. We could only hope that meant you’d found your way home.”
Tim nodded, again, not sure what he should say. Anna, however, was not at a loss for words. She started explaining to them how they had returned and why. Her mother interrupted her. “Not here, honey. It’s not safe,” she said again, “Into the car.”
They piled into Anna’s parent’s car and her father started driving. Anna continued with her explanation. When she was finished, neither of her parents said anything for a moment. Then they both smiled, as if they had just realized something good. “We can go with you now. Tim can take us all back to Snillotia, and we can help defeat the Rebels. It’s exactly what they were trying to prevent when they, um, when they-” Anna’s father stopped abruptly.
Her mother took Tim’s hands in her own. He felt tears form in his eyes as he remembered his own mother doing the same. “The Rebels killed your parents, Tim. We don’t know how they passed through to this world, it was thought only royals could do that, but it seems as if they’ve found a way.”
Tim didn’t say anything. It really didn’t matter who had killed his parents. They were dead either way. He felt numb, but at the same time he felt the same darkness he had felt when he had first been taken by Social Services. That darkness is what urged him to run away; to know he had to stay with his house. Now he knew why. He had to defeat the Rebels, at all costs, and restore the kingdom his parents had died to protect.
CHAPTER SEVEN
As they drove into the park, the sun had begun to set. Anna led the way to the building, which, Tim saw, was the same as the one he had seen from the widow of Anna’s mirrored room. As Anna reached the door, her mother blocked her way. “We shouldn’t be here. It isn’t safe.”
She motioned for them to move back into the trees behind the building. Just as they reached the trees, Tim heard the squeal of an old hinge. “Someone opened the door!” he whispered.
“Shh!” Anna’s mother hushed him.
Two people appeared suddenly but ran right passed them. They were running in the direction of Anna’s parent’s house. Tim saw something fall from the hand of one of them. As it landed on the ground, it glinted in the setting sun. Tim took off, knowing he had to get to whatever it was that was dropped, before the person realized they had dropped it. He raced over and grabbed it off the ground and retreated to the trees as quickly as he could. Once he was safely back in the trees with the others, he took a breath and opened his hand. It was a disc, just like the one his parents had left him. Anna’s mother gasped. “This must be how the rebels are coming through to this world. I wonder how they got a portal key and how they can activate it. Only the touch of someone with royal
