17:00 DT
Doxopolis
"So how's Dr. Brown doing?" asked Linda, as soon as Marty and Alex had returned to the table where the girls were sitting. "How did he end up in the world, anyway? Gee, I believe I might wake up from this any minute now. This seems very surreal."
Marty was a little uncertain of how he should answer. "It's possible that he may have found a magic stone, too," Marty suggested. "Anyway, he said that he was feeling so wonderful. He said it was a really swell vacation for him, to get away from the hustle and bustle of normal life. I would like to stay here, but I would miss my family."
"You really need to try some of the pancakes," suggested Mallory. "I must say, these pancakes are even better than the kind that Mom makes. Please do not tell her I said that, though. I really find the food here to be swell. I greatly enjoy watching the birds and the butterflies flying around the sky. I really wonder how this world would look at night. It would probably be rather heavenly! I suppose we cannot stay and find out?"
"Well, to be honest," Alex replied, sighing, "as nice as this place is, I am anxious to return to the Land of Colour. I mean, that world is such a swell place, too."
"I have to agree with Alex," added Marty. "The Greenwoods have been wonderful to us, and I really would like to spend more time with them. The kids are all so cute!"
"I can hardly wait until Andy starts talking," Alex said, smiling. "I mean, he is quite a gorgeous little baby - but I wish he could talk back to me. That will be the one major drawback of working at Wall Street. I wouldn't be able to see my brother as much as I would like to. I will make it a point to visit around the holidays and such."
"Sometimes I wish I had a little brother," Marty said, sighing. "It does suck some of the time to be the youngest in your family. At times, my parents do still treat me like I'm still a little boy. I mean, I'm an adult now, for crying out loud! Give me a break!"
"Well, in your parents' defense," Alex said, gently, "I can imagine it would be difficult to see your child all grown up. Also, it could be the empty nest syndrome setting in. I mean, you did say you were the youngest in your family. It must make your parents a little bit sad. I mean, obviously I'm not a parent yet - but I could imagine how that would feel. Sometimes, I tend to regard Andy as being my son. Know what I mean?"
"Oh, I can understand Marty's frustration," Linda said, nodding. "I mean, when I had decided to leave the house and rent my own apartment - my parents did not take to that so well, either. They kept begging me to stay, and it tends to get frustrating."
"My parents are kind of like that, too," Mallory said, sighing. "Although, I suppose it's better than the other extreme - where a few of my friends' parents would practically kick them out of the house as soon as they turn 18. I mean, that's not right, either."
"You do have a point, Mallory," Linda said, sighing. "It doesn't exactly make it less frustrating, though. Maybe I'll understand better, when I become a parent myself."
"I can imagine becoming a parent would change your perspective on a lot of things," Alex suggested, smiling a little. "I mean, I have friends who are parents - and they told me about how some of their views towards life have really changed."
"Why don't we grab a few sandwiches," suggested Marty, "and then maybe we could maybe start heading back to the Land of Colour. We'll have to figure out where we should go, though. It sounds like the path out of here would be fairly easy, though."
"Would you like some chicken sandwiches?" asked Mallory. "Those are so good. I'll be back in a few minutes. I'll grab some bottles of grape juice for each of us, too."
"Thank you, Mallory," Marty said, smiling. "I'll ask how we leave this place. As much as I really enjoy being here - I am anxious to see the Greenwoods, again."
"They are wonderful people, aren't they?" asked Mallory. "I know I was initially quite suspicious of them, but it's simply because I didn't know them. Maybe my brother is right, and I watch too many horror movies. Maybe I should cut back a little."
"I have to admit that I was never much for movies with a lot of violence in it," Marty said, smiling a little. "I know many are surprised whenever I say that, because I am a man - and, for some reason, men are supposed to like movies with violence in it."
"I don't like movies with violence, either," Alex said, nodding. "I mean, there already is so much violence in the real world to deal with - and I guess I don't understand why some people seem to get a frission from violence. To me, that isn't right."
"I'll be back in a few minutes," called out Mallory, and walked off to collect the food.
"I'll be back soon, too," added Marty, as he went off to ask for directions. Marty felt a little nervous around all these humans and humanoid beings that didn't exist in the dimension that he resided in - or, at least, they didn't exist on the planet earth.
"Hey, may I halp you, young man?" asked a friendly middle-aged man. "Do you like it here in Doxopolis? This is a very beautiful place, isn't it? I enjoy being here."
"I loved visiting Doxopolis, too," Marty said, smiling, "but I thought we should maybe start heading home. Do you know how to return to the world where we came from?"
"Oh, sure," said the man, smiling. "Just take the trail over there. The path there is so beautiful. When you step through the ripple, you'll be back where you came from."
"Thank you so much, sir," replied Marty, as he made his way back to the table where his sister and Alex were sitting. Marty explained, "We should just take the trail by the lake over there. When we step through the ripple, we'll be back to where we came."
"Thanks, Marty," replied Alex. "That shouldn't be too much of a problem at all. We'll just have to wait until Mallory come back here, then we can go. I should say it was great that we could bond like this. I can tell that you and your sister really love each other, too - just that, sometimes, you guys are prone to fighting. I guess that's quite normal. Well, here comes Mallory with our food. We should maybe leave, now."
"I got two sandwiches for each of you," explained Mallory, as she arrived. "I hope it's enough for all of you. So do you guys know how to get back to the Land of Colour? I really will miss this place, though. I could swear that this place is paradise!"