BACK TO A WORLD BEFORE TIME
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Gus really liked to fly in the magic sailboat. And so did Rosie who giggled and laughed and pointed down to the bright colors of the city below them.
Stanley had arrived soon after the parents had left for their evening dinner plans, gathered the children up in the sailboat, and whisked them away on a night-flight across the sky over the city.
The honking horns, the sirens, and clamor down blow seemed to disappear as a calm wind and cool breeze was all that the three of them could hear and feel.
But Gus hadn't joined Stanley for just a fun fly around the city at night. He had questions, and he hoped the little troll had the answers.
"So — what did you want to talk to me about, Gus?" said Stanley as he gave the wheel to Snuffy and Pansy.
Gus sat down and told Stanley everything, his trip to the museum on Wednesday, the finding of the fossilized flower shaped like a star and the portal-like vortex that almost sucked him in. There was a short, numb silence when he had finished.
Stanley had a looked of total shock on his round face.
"What, what is it?" said Gus.
"Gus," said Stanley, "Why, I believe, you found a genuine Star-leaf."
"What's that?"
Stanley began to pace the length of the small sailboat as he explained.
"Well," he said. "Star-leafs were magical plants that had the power to send anyone through time. I was taught about them by my mother. They were ancient plants that even I had no idea still existed."
"Really? Cool!" said Gus, sounding excited. "You mean I could have time traveled just like in the movies? I could have seen a real dinosaur?"
Stanley quickly put his hands up to stop him. "Whoa! Gus, it's not that easy, you know? And besides, the Star-leaf is not only a portal through time, but its dangerous."
"What do you mean?" said Gus. He felt the air suddenly become a little thinner.
"The Star-leaf is unpredictable, Gus," Stanley said. "A good troll with a green thumb could use it to travel through time, yes, but only if they were really concentrating on where it is they wanted to go. And anyway, the Star-leaf is rare in the troll world."
"Why is it rare?" said Gus, leaning in a little so that he didn't miss a word.
"I told you once before," said Stanley, wringing his pudgy hands. "that in the world of trolls, darkness always triumphs over light. Without light, and the green thumb of good trolls who do good deeds, no flowers grow at all. And that includes the Star-leaf, Gus. With no sun in our world we were without the Star-leaf for a long time. When Gnorga took over as queen,(this earned a shudder from the flowers) it got even worse."
"But what about the one I found in the museum, Stanley?" said Gus. "It looked like it still worked."
Stanley waved a hand. "Oh, that one you found is ancient. And even if, that's a big if, it did produce a portal, Gus, it would be too dangerous. You never know where it would send you."
Gus nodded in understanding. He yawned and so did Rosie. That was the signal that it was time to head back.
Stanley took the wheel and steered them back toward the direction of the apartment.
The flowers helped Rosie across and through the window and into her crib. But Gus stayed by the window to talk to Stanley.
"So you're coming with me and my family to the museum tomorrow?" said Gus.
Stanley nodded. "I'll hide in your backpack. I wanna' to see this Star-leaf for myself, see if it really is magic."
"But what if my parents see you?"
"I'll pretend I'm stuffed, like Rosie's toy troll that she carries around," said Stanley. "It'll be fine. I just wanna' see the Star-leaf."
"Okay," Gus didn't seem so sure as he bid his friend goodnight, closed the window, and crawled into his race car bed. He didn't fall asleep right away. His mind was abuzz with excitement.
What he wouldn't give to see a dinosaur just once, a live one too. No, a real one.
He lifted his thumb up, gave his finger a snap, and looked at it for a while. This, his own green thumb, was the key to seeing a real dinosaur. He couldn't wait to go to the museum tomorrow.
But then he remembered what Stanley had told him. The Star-leaf was dangerous. But Gus wasn't afraid of some stupid leaf. And he wasn't afraid of the risk. But neither was he stupid. He wasn't about to go against the troll's wishes. But still. Seeing real dinosaurs. How great would that be.
He turned over on his sheets, closed his eyes and went to sleep.
The next morning was a bright and sunny Saturday. Alan and Hilary had Rosie in a wagon while Gus walked between them. They had taken a bus that morning and were now walking up the steps to the museum. All the while Gus kept his hand in his pocket, keeping his thumb out of sight.
In the building the four were escorted to the dinosaur gallery by a guard. There were not a lot of people there. It was a small opening to the general public. To a everyday guest, this would seem like just another exhibit with nothing new or fantastic.
Hilary stood on a podium, made of bunch of speeches that didn't interest Gus in the least, and pulled a rope that unveiled the curtain to the new hall. Not a bunch of folks went in but they clapped for the sake of being nice. Some kids went in with their parents and Gus, along with Alan, followed after them while Hilary stayed behind.
Gus took the wagon from his dad and he and Rosie went to the alcove where the prehistoric plant life were housed. When they got inside Gus noticed that there were no kids inside or grown-ups. Obviously, the cool stuff was in the main gallery. Who wanted to look at a bunch of plants anyway?
Gus set down his backpack, unzipped it, and let Stanley out. The pudgy little troll stretched and groaned.
"Stanley!" Cooed Rosie.
"Shh!" Gus hissed, putting a finger to his lips. "Rosie, hush up!"
She quickly kept quite, placing her hands to her mouth.
Stanley, seeing the display case, jumped upon it and examined the fossilized leaf.
"Well," said Stanley. "It's definitely an ancient Star-leaf from the prehistoric past. But there's only one problem."
"What's that?" said Gus.
Stanley turned and pointed to the leaf. "That's not a fossilized rock that Star-leaf is embedded in, but stone!"
This came as a surprise to Gus. "You mean like what Gnorga did to you kinda stone?" he said.
Stanley nodded and hopped off the case. Looking closer, Gus then saw that it was indeed stone, not fossilized rock at all. Of course, the alcove had been dark when he saw it. Maybe, if he could...
"In the troll world," Stanley explained, as Gus moved closer. "We used to have this plant in a secret garden that only good trolls knew of. But Gnorga found out, destroyed the garden, turned the leafs into stone and scattered them to this realm. But this one must have survived being broken into pieces..."
Before Stanley could get another word out, Gus quickly moved forward, his green thumb now aglow and sparkling, lifted his hand and pressed it to the center of the stone plant.
"Gus! NO!" cried Stanley.
Too late. The Star-leaf began to shake, a pulsating green glow emanated from it's center in waves. The watery vortex emerged and swirled, more wild then before. It began it's pull once again because now everyone in the alcove could feel it. And it was growing stronger.
Rosie screamed as a rush of wind lifted her and Gus bodily off the floor and had them both tumbling right towards the whirlpool.
"Rosie!" Gus cried, landing on his stomach. He wanted to help his sister but he was being pulled in as well. He tried to grab a hold on the carpet but it was no use. He was slipping, closer and closer to the portal.
Before Rosie could go through it, Stanley grabbed her by her overalls while holding onto a railing with his legs.
"Gus! What have you done?" Cried Stanley as Rosie let out another scream.
But Gus didn't reply.
Suddenly, and without warning, the vortex stopped. The rushing wind had disappeared. The alcove was silent as the air conditioner came back on and the lights flickered.
Letting go of the railing, Stanley and Rosie looked around for Gus — but the young boy had disappeared.
"Oh no," Stanley whispered, looking at the spot where Gus had vanished.
Rosie whimpered. "Where Gus?" she babbled.
Stanley didn't know how to answer, let alone tell her. All he knew was that Gus had gone through the portal. No. he been pulled into it.
And not just Gus. The wagon was also gone, along with the boy's backpack.
Acting fast, Stanley rushed to the entrance of the alcove, looked around so that nobody was looking, and pressed his green thumb to the carpet. Vines shot up out of the green glow on the floor in front of Stanley and created a wall of flowers, thick like a brush. They intertwined and wrapped around each other until they had covered the entrance.
This was the best that Stanley could do. And he hoped it would buy him some time.
He walked back to the display case and looked up at the Star-leaf. And then his mouth went dry as he let out a gasp.
The beautiful and once green leaf was now a sickly gray color, shriveling at the ends and becoming brittle.
What could have happened to it?
And then Stanley remembered something about the Star-leaf. Something his mother had told him when he was no older then Gus.
The Star-leaf was only good for one trip through time, and that was it. After that, when it turned gray, it was done. It could not be used anymore.
Except if there was another Star-leaf on the other side where you traveled to.
But Gus didn't know this.
And now, because he had been foolish, he was probably scared out of his wits and didn't know what to do.
And, this worried Stanley, what if there were no Star-leafs on the other side?
Gus would be trapped forever in a world before time even began.
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