Brian stared tentatively at the globe. He could hear the police coming up the stairs, so if he was going to do it the time was now. His mother, long ago, had told him the stories, the powers that the old tattered globe harbored. But they were just stories right? Now a pounding at the door, last chance. He took a deep breath and gave it a spin, it wobbled, spinning slowly. The door splintered, guns were pointed his way, he tapped the globe with his finger and closed his eyes.
“Uncle, are you being silly again?” The little girl laughed and skipped down the hallway, the green ribbons in her dark curly hair bouncing along. He watched her go all the way down the long hallway. Suddenly the fog lifted and he remembered the globe. Damn. He should have looked where he’d put his finger down because he had no idea where he was. Or for that matter when he was. The only thing he knew was that he must belong here because the girl had recognized him. He decided the best thing was to follow her.
“Darling”. He whirled around and found himself face to face with a stunning woman. She had bright red hair, that cascaded over her shoulders in waves. She wore a long green dress that placed her, he thought, in the mid 19th century. As she took him by the arm and he realized they were married, he felt as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
A year later, the entire country was amazed when the royal couple presented them with a princess and heiress to the throne. For five years they had resigned themselves that they were incapable. But now this miracle, and then another and still another.
“What would you change darling?” He looked into his wife’s gray-green eyes, just as beautiful as they’d been on that crazy day 23 years before. “What do you mean?” She sighed, “you are so dense sometimes…it’s a good thing I love you. What would you change about our marriage, our courtship, our children?” He stopped to consider. It might have been 23 years ago but he remembered that day like it was yesterday. He thought of the globe. He thought of what drove him to spin it in desperation and he regretted nothing.
He took her hand and squeezed it hard. “Nothing. I wouldn’t change a single thing”. The Queen stood and smiled “good answer”.
He watched her walk away, and he realized that the old globe had not let him escape to some random place and time. It had brought him home.
© Glenn R Keller 2020, All Rights Reserved
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