Chapter Fourteen
Being pulled back to my time was the best thing to happen that night. I had thought that I would be stuck there forever. Thankfully, Tarryn was indeed there watching over me. The bad part was that I had to explain to her who and what I was, when I wasn't one hundred percent sure of all of it. I had so much more to learn, and she would be learning with me, if she didn't run away screaming first.
She stared at me like she thought that I was crazy, but after I blinked a few times and smiled at her, she seemed to relax.
"You did it again," she said.
Here goes nothing.
"Yes, I did. And I have something to tell you. You were right about me hiding something," I revealed. I told her everything I had learned and how I first traveled through the book before Gram died. I told her how I met Lisa and how dashing she was, leaving out the fact that I couldn't stop thinking about her. I didn't hide how beautiful Lisa's home was or how awful Nancy was, which made her laugh enormously. "She made me take my clothes off and wear a corset!" Tarryn continued to laugh at me, which gave me hope that she wouldn't dash at that moment.
I showed her Gram's hidden room and the photographs of The Librarians. She didn't say much, just nodded here and there. When I showed her the books and told her I had to find the guide, she bit her bottom lip like she was dying to tell me something important.
"What is it, Tarryn?" I asked after I had just spilled my most important secret to her.
"I found a book I think was meant for you, and I think it's your guidebook. I didn't mean to take it, but you weren't being honest with me and I knew it was important."
She pulled out a small pocket size book and handed it to me. It was in fact the guidebook. It may have been small in size, but it was thick with information. There was handwriting in it that had been from the women who traveled before me. Grace also had her own sections.
I never missed this book or knew that I needed it until it was in my hands. Once I held it, it was like I was reunited with an old friend. It was the strangest feeling I had ever experienced. I didn't question it, I just went with it.
"Where did you find this?"
"It was in your Gram's personal library upstairs. I wasn't snooping, it just sorta found me. I'm glad it did. You can't travel without your ring," Tarryn told me. "I read this book from cover to cover. Twice."
She laughed nervously, but I was so happy that I hugged her. She let out a little squeal, but eventually hugged back.
So my family members were using science to travel through time, and I was one of them. I was a traveler now. The truth was a bitter pill to swallow, but I would get to know my ancestry and would do them honor. They were the only family I had left.
"I'm so glad you don't think I'm crazy."
"I'm happy you're not crazy, too," she admitted. "The book explains why you are able to travel, and it's amazing actually."
We sat on the floor of the room and she turned the pages of the book.
"It's all here. Your ancestors have travelled as far back as the history of Egypt and the building of the pyramids. They travel to record what really happened and to make sure that history is exactly fact and not fiction. It explains that some historians tend to tell stories that haven't happened. Your family made sure this didn't occur. A book can be rewritten if it needs to be."
I pondered this and wondered how many books they've traveled through to ensure the truth was recovered. Just how many books were based on fact and not on the author's way with words?
"There are Librarians all over the world; some do different things. Your family is the only one to preserve history. Some travel back into books to make sure things are carried out exactly as they should and others find missing artifacts. There are entries from all of these women in the photo and some that aren't in the photo."
She pointed to Jenny's face and said, "Tessa got stuck inside a book on purpose."
My mouth fell open in shock. Who would do that? I could imagine getting lost inside the pages, sure, but to stay there forever wasn't for me.
"Did it say why?"
She shook her head. "Only that her protector, Beverly, was devastated that she did it. She traveled without telling her and she couldn't get her back. She tried real hard to retrieve her, but failed."
Maybe she fell in love with someone. Maybe, like me, she longed to be with him.
"When you travel, your physical self stays here while your spiritual self leaves. As long as you have your ring on, you are tethered with your time. If you take it off at all inside another time period, you could get stuck there," she explained further. "When the ring is removed, your whole physical self leaves. It's amazing, really."
I remembered her telling me how I looked like I was sleeping with my eyes open when she found me the first time. Now I understood perfectly. I was inside the book spiritually and physically anchored here.
"Tell me more about Lisa. What does she look like?"
"She's probably the hottest person I've ever met," I admitted. I could go on and on about how debonair Lisa was. I was afraid to tell Tarryn about how much she consumed my thoughts.
"So she's the one you spoke about at the bar, right?"
I nodded.
She sighed. "Let's Google her!"
"Let's not. I'd rather not find out by some website what happens to her. It's my job to record her history, not Google's."
She nodded in understanding, but I could see the disappointment in her eyes.
"I'll travel and get a photograph of her, okay? I'll bring this," I said as I lifted my cell phone. "I'll snap a nice picture of her. She would probably think it was amazing."
"Oh my God!" she exclaimed loudly. "You're in love with her, aren't you?"
I scoffed, "No way. I don't even know her. And she's dead, Tarryn."
"Say what you want, but you have the look of love in your eyes," she teased.
"Well, you're gonna have the look of a black eye if you keep that up," I warned, jokingly. "Really, I need to travel back and see her soon. I have to keep recording her history. It's important."
She nodded and got up and stretched.
"Just not tonight. I'm tired and I don't feel like being your protector anymore tonight."
The guide specifically stated that I needed to officially ask someone I trusted to take the job of my protector. I hadn't known her for very long, but Tarryn was a great person. She was the sort of person I would trust with my life. She'd already studied the manual without being asked, and she was good with crazy. Anyone who was okay with all of this information was my kind of girl.
"Tarryn, before we go to bed, I want to ask you something," I began. I took a deep, nervous breath, and continued. "Would you like to be my protector? I mean, I know you are already sorta involved, but I think that I trust you. And I need to trust someone, strongly, if I'm going to do this. I can't do it alone, you know?"
She smiled and nodded her head before crashing into me with a hug that was so very unlike her. Maybe Tarryn needed purpose in her life, and I had just given it to her.
