Do you like stories with mystery and suspense? Strange and “wyrd” ones? Well, if you do, keep reading and enjoy Eggcentricsagas. If you are just joining Eggcentricsagas, you might want to start from the beginning: A La Mano: Part 1-The Treasure
It was the handsome man. “Welcome back, stranger. We thought we had lost you there for a minute. You scared Rajiv and Kapi,” he said and grinned at her.
Charlotte smiled back. The pain in her upper neck had disappeared. She studied Edward Angel’s face. Her earlier impression of him being middle-aged was incorrect. His old-fashioned mustache lent an air of maturity, and his demeanor was sophisticated. However, now that she could see him up close, Charlotte noted that his face was young with only a trace of age around his brilliant green eyes. Older than me but less than a decade, she thought. Still, there was something about him that seemed timeless.
“Can you sit up?” he asked her.
She nodded in response, and he helped her to a sitting position. Checking out her surroundings, the young woman found that they were in a train car, she was on a mat, and nightfall had arrived. Two glass lanterns, filled with kerosene, provided the light for the dark space. Edward sat back on a mat adjacent to hers. Across from her was Rajiv with Kapi on his shoulder. Both were transfixed, staring at her.
Charlotte realized that she was in the rail car that she and Rajiv had been standing next to earlier. The stinky, drunken men and their dice game had cleared out.
She must have wrinkled her nose at the odors of stale tobacco and men as Edward said, “Sorry about the smell.” Handing her a glass of water, he assured, “This will refresh you.” Taking the glass of water from him, she drank it and did feel better. “Rajiv says that you told him quite the tale. I would like to hear it from you. Perhaps you can start from square one?” the magician prompted.
Charlotte paused before she spoke. What was the beginning of her story? “Well, I guess it all began the night before I went to the carnival with Betsy. There was a terrible storm that night and I was awakened from a dream by thunder and lightning.” Pointing at Rajiv, she stated, “A dream that he was in.” His eyes widened in surprise at this claim.
Edward did not seem surprised, only interested. “Tell me your dream.”
Charlotte tried to recollect the details. “I was at a carnival and a boy wearing a white turban was ahead of me. Before he went into a tent, I saw that he had my rhinestone heart bracelet.”
Edward remembered his find and pulled the bracelet from his waistcoat pocket. The faceted glass caught the wavering light and reflected sparkles as the charm swung from the end of the chain. “Is this the one you are talking about?”
“Yes. Can I have it back?”
“Of course,” he replied. “Would you like me to help you put it on?” She nodded then watched as he placed it around her wrist recalling when the man in the Hall of Mirrors tent had done so. Edward looked up at her and urged, “Go on. Continue with your story.”
Charlotte relayed the rest of her dream. Then she proceeded uninterrupted to tell all that had happened until she got to the part of the fortune teller and her reading.
Edward interjected, “She used the phrase magic man?”
“Uh, huh.”
“What was the gypsy’s name?”
“Madame Mariposa.”
“Mariposa? Not Glass?”
“Yes.”
“According to Rajiv, you weren’t in the tent of Madame Glass when the tornado hit but another one. A sideshow attraction tent called the Hall of Mirrors. Is this correct?”
“Yes.”
“Hmmm…” He stroked his clean-shaven chin in contemplation. “Okay, go on.”
Charlotte continued and ended her narrative with her strange encounter with George. Edward listened with rapt attention and without further interruption. The young woman looked at him earnestly. “Thank you for rescuing me. I don’t know what that horrible man might have done to me.” She cast her eyes downward.
“Don’t worry about him. The situation has been resolved,” Edward reassured her. “So, Rajiv also told me that you believe that you were in a different carnival than this one. You were in one space and ended up in another?”
Charlotte focused on those magnetic, green eyes. “Yes.” Then she looked away again and sighed. “But this is the unbelievable part. Based on what Rajiv told me, today’s date, I was in a different time period.” Pausing, she added, “Sixty years from now.” Charlotte waited for Edward to deny her statement, but he did not.
Glancing at him again, he seemed to be pondering the particulars of it. The green-eyed man was silent, so, meanwhile, Charlotte looked at Rajiv. The young boy was shaking his head in disbelief. She could tell he thought she was mentally unhinged. A goner. Had she lost her mind?
“Sixty years? Hmmm… Interesting,” Edward said after a while. “Well, this is certainly something to think about.” Pulling his pocket watch from his waistcoat, he consulted it. “You have had a remarkable day and it is late. We will need to explore this as well as determine the whereabouts of Madame Glass as she seems to be the crux of the problem.” Her companion pointed to the mat where Charlotte sat. “You can sleep there and in the morning, we will continue our discussion.”
Charlotte agreed and suddenly realized that she was exhausted. She lay down, and Edward extinguished both lamps. In the dim light, Charlotte saw Rajiv take off his turban, and he and Kapi curled up together on their mat. Soon, the three were fast asleep.
The magician, however, stayed up late. Sitting on the back platform in the moonlight, he puzzled over the recent turn of events.
Next: The Magician’s Hat No. 2: Part 2-Beginning to Explore
