voice of the sphere, just before the part I read you,” she responded, and quoted: “‘In order to see into Space you’—that is, the square—‘ought to have an eye, not on your Perimeter, but on your side, that is, on what you would probably call your inside; but we in Spaceland should call it your side.’”
“Okay,” I said shakily.
“When you make the transition in the future, my dears, you might find it easier to keep your eyes closed,” she said, closing the book.
“But how will we see where we are going? And anyway, how are we supposed to make these interdimensional trips without you?” I demanded.
Tom blushed again. It was charming. Gloria too seemed delighted.
“This is why you were chosen—because you both see the connections between things so quickly, and are quick to anticipate the next move. In other words, you’re both super-bright.”
Tom and I snorted at the same time.
“Also modest. Modesty is a great thing, but you should also know your own potential. And that is why you belong to—or belong with each other, I believe it is more socially appropriate to say.”
Now we were both blushing furiously.
“You must each help the other discover what is strongest and most beautiful in the other. That is why you felt such urgency about this meeting.”
“Speaking of urgency,” Tom said, glancing nervously at his watch—a real, honest-to-God pocket watch—“my curfew is in less than half an hour.”
“Oh, that. Now, if you’ve been paying attention, you’ll notice I said that time is only another dimension, and for me, one of the lower ones,” Gloria said.
“Yes?” Tom said blankly.
There were invisible spiders running down my arms. I gulped and turned to Tom. “She—it—she can control time,” I said.
“Well, perhaps no more and no less than you can ‘control’ space by moving one object nearer to another,” Gloria said. “But yes, I can do some modest manipulations. You don’t need to worry about your curfew, Tom. Or the weather, Teresa,” she said, glancing at my thin skirt and raising an eyebrow. “The end of November isn’t the most pleasant time for a first ‘date’—Tom, I believe you call it ‘walking out with a girl,’ right?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said softly.
“When you walk out the door, once you pass the in-between zone, you will find it is a warm May evening,” she said.
“In-between zone?” I asked.
“You must have noticed that this place has no address, that the streets around it have no name and are a little—off-putting,” Gloria said. “I call it the in-between zone, or the Zone for short. I don’t want you to worry too much about it, but those streets aren’t exactly real, and neither are the buildings. Your minds fill in the scenery for you, is the simplest way of explaining it.”
“So what’s really there?” Tom asked.
“Nothing terribly interesting, I assure you,” Gloria said quickly. “Well, off with you then. Try to be back by ten o’clock by your watch, Tom. Why not take Teresa to Gerald’s Gelato and Tea Room?”
“Mum and Dad always take us there in the summertime!” Tom exclaimed. “How did you—”
But she had already vanished.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
