Hello, I'm not sure if people are reading this, but I enjoyed writing it so I'm posting another chapter. This was actually my first Sherlock story; it is surprising to see how much I've grown since I began. Anyway please enjoy.
1862: Kanas, United States of America
"Sumer is icumen in
lhude sing cuccu!
Groweth sed and bloweth med
and springst the wde nu.
Sing cuccu!
Awe bleteth after lomb
llouth after calve cu
bulluc sterteh, bucke verteth
murie sing cuccu!
Cuccu, cuccu, wel singes thu cuccu
me swik thu naver nu!"
"Sing it again Sarah!" Caleb's cheerful face peered up at the young woman lit by the glowing light of the setting sun as they enjoyed the cooling air on the front porch. Sarah happily returned the smile to the young child; when she had stepped off the train just a few short weeks ago she would have never imagined the she would feel so comfortable in such a short time.
The first thing to meet Sarah as she ventured off the locomotive was a cloud of dust. The western states were certainly much drier than her home in Main, and she was instantly struck with a feeling of intense anxiety. She did not belong here, this had been a mistake; a big mistake. She had been tempted to walk into the station and quickly buy a return ticket back to where she had come, but then she heard a voice.
"Sarah?" A masculine yet strangely soft voice called to her. Sarah closed her eyes and bit her lip; she was caught and there was no turning back now. The tall woman forced a smile onto her face, and turned to find its source. There standing before her was a sun browned man; he wore overalls and a straw hat over his dark brown hair. Sarah studied him momentarily but could only find one way to describe him. Normal. He looked completely and utterly common in every aspect and way.
"Iyah, I am Sarah. It is a pleasure to meet you Jacob." Sarah flashed a genuine smile at the man; it was nice to finally put a face to the person who had penned all of those letters.
"It is nice to meet you," there was a short pause before the denim clad man continued with the short sentence "as well Sarah. It seems you gave a very… appropriate description of yourself, although I am not sure… I would call you plain. You are very beautiful."
Sarah could not suppress a small chuckle at the man's compliment and strange speech pattern. It was almost charming the way that he spoke in short halting phrases; as though he was choosing each world with great care. Perhaps he was just as nervous about meeting her as she was to come to his acquaintance.
"We should get going." The man's statement broke through Sarah's current thought stream, "the children are… very excited to meet you." Oh yes the children! Sarah had almost forgotten in all of her nervousness that there were children waiting to meet her.
Sarah nodded her answer in return, before an idea crossed her mind. "I hope I am what you are expecting," she expressed aloud "it would be a shame to get the children's hopes up. I have never been a mother, and my own died when I was very young."
"Are you willing to… give them your love?" A look of concern passed through Jacob's eyes.
"Oh most certainly," Sarah quickly responded "I have all of the love in my heart to give them. I only lack the experience."
Upon hearing this Jacob's face softened; a genuine smile came to his lips. "Sarah… you are exactly what my children require." Sarah returned the smile and followed her new acquaintance willingly to his horse pulled wagon.
2016: London, England
Sherlock approached the box with intense interest. It seemed like a life time since he had used a hallucinogenic, but he did not recall the visions being so corporeal. He carefully stretched out his long arm and placed his hand against the hallucination. He had expected his figures to pass through the delusion, but instead the pads on his left hand were now resting on what felt to be wood. This was curious; somehow the drug was not only affecting his vision but his tactile receptacles as well.
"Fascinating" the detective breathed.
"Um, Sherlock? Is that a retired police box where the kitchen table is supposed to be?"
"No John" came the distant but conclusive answer "as you may recall we have both just taken what could be a hallucinogenic; based off our current data it would seem that it is very likely this substance has indeed caused the Admiral's recent state. What we are experiencing are the effects of said drug on our nervous systems, nothing more."
"Oh" John digested this information quickly. He was a doctor after all and had seen patients come in stoned, but had never experienced the effects of a drug first hand. He momentarily hoped that there would not be any drug testing in the hospital any time soon; he was not sure how he would explain this. John quickly shook the thought from his mind and tried to focus on the strange present. "So what do you see? Because right now it looks like you are touching an old piece of yard technology."
"I also see a police box."
"Wait, how could we see the same thing?" Our minds wouldn't come up with the same ideas."
Sherlock spun around from his current examination and gave his flat mate an exasperated sigh. "It seems the drug not only causes hallucinations but also renders the user excessively prone to suggestion. Obviously we have supplied each other with notions which would make our trips seem exceptionally similar. You mentioned seeing a police box so I also perceived a police box in front of me; however my perception is flawed. For instance the windows on the box are far too small to be an actual police box. This leads us to the simple conclusion that we are indeed hallucinating as this is not a real object."
John opened his mouth to explain that the windows also looked too small to him, and had long before Sherlock mentioned that fact, but closed it again when he thought better of it. He knew that in the past Sherlock had done extensive 'research' into the world of narcotics; if his friend said they were hallucinating then it must be true. Instead he watched as Sherlock circled the strange object now taking up residence in their kitchen. The detective was knocking on the walls and examining the paneling with his pocket magnifying glass. He had already made a lap around the blue vision and was beginning another when John suddenly drew in a breath.
"Sherlock" the army man gasped "the door is opening."
1862: Kansas, United States of America
The ride away from town had been quiet. Neither Jacob nor Sarah had spoken much after their first exchange. Sarah filled the time by taking in her current surroundings. The buildings which had already started off sparse were now indeed a rare sight. She was surprised to see that Jacob and his children seemed to be so distant from their closest neighbors. It was no wonder that Jacob had not found a wife when he was so far removed from society. After what seemed like an eternity of fields Jacob spoke; spooking Sarah.
"Up yonder... is the homestead. I can see the children. They are waiting… outside."
A few minutes later the wagon pulled up outside the quaint little house. It was made of logs stacked upon one another and fit together at the corners. The cracks were filled with mud to keep the wind out during the winter. It was similar to the other houses Sarah had seen on her way there.
"Sarah!" Before the young woman could stand from her place on the wagon she was tackled by a young giggling child.
"Why hello there" Sarah exclaimed with a surprised chuckle "You must be Caleb; I am so happy to finally meet you!"
"I'm happy to meet you too," Caleb supplied with exuberance; the boy then launched into a series of questions to which Sarah supplied the answers to the best of her ability. She did not know how but she found the child had nestled himself onto her lap; Sarah smiled at this realization. Maybe she was fit for the role of mother after all.
As the boy babbled on Sarah lifted her eyes and allowed them to drift over to the older of the two children. Anna was examining her with a strange mix of sadness and yearning. The girl seemed to feel another's eyes on her and quickly locked gazes with Sarah. She supplied a smile, but Sarah noticed that it did not reach the ten year old's eyes; it was polite but not happy.
'The poor girl,' Sarah thought to herself 'I must seem like such an intruder to her, but she loves her brother and wants him to be happy.' Sarah nodded an understanding towards the young girl. Sarah had no intention of replacing her mother, and she wanted Anna to understand that fact. The girl did not seem to comprehend the gesture, but nodded back nonetheless.
"Do you want to come inside?" Sarah's eyes were drawn back down to the child in her arms.
"Of course, I would love to come inside." The boy smiled happily and slid off her lap grabbing Sarah's hand in the process so he could lead her through the door of the small house. They passed Anna who had stepped to the side to allow Papa, Caleb and Sarah into the house.
Anna stayed on the porch, but shut the door closing her off from the rest of the group. She took a breath to steady herself as she examined the wood patterns on the planks beneath her feet. Anna liked Sarah, and knew that she would be willing to give of herself when the time came, but she could not help but feel dread collecting in the pit of her stomach. After a few moments Anna decided she should rejoin the assembly inside. She began to push the door open when she suddenly felt eyes upon her; Anna turned around quickly. Papa was always saying The Giver was watching, but Anna had not seen The Giver since that dreadful night. She desperately wished to see her again, but as the girl scanned the horizon The Giver was nowhere in sight. For a moment Anna thought she saw a man standing on the closest hill. He was too clean, had short dark hair, and was attired in an odd suit and long oatmeal colored coat. Anna could feel his eyes drilling into her; they were heavy with anger. Anna gasped at the sudden on slot and fell to the ground shuddering. When she looked up a moment later the stranger was gone; leaving Anna alone with her growing dread.
