A Kiss in Time (27 page)

I wish that Jacks love will be strong enough. . . .

Touch it, my dear. . . .

W
eve been climbing the hill for an hour, and the cot- tage looks no closer than before. In
fact, it looks farther away. The wind is pushing against us at every step, and Pleasant
isnt being very pleasant about it. Neither is Travis.

I want ale! Pleasant whines. We have already been to this cottage!

I bet theyre serving dinner at the castle right now, says Travis. And its not like we can
just go to a drive-thru or something if we miss it.

I glare at him, and he says, Im just saying . . .

Dont just say, I tell him. But its getting dark, and soon we wont be able to see to walk.

Hey, Travis says. Would you look at that? What? I say. I spit my gum out by an oak tree before. There it is. He points at the tree.

What do you mean? You spit your gum out just now?

He shakes his head. Like, twenty minutes ago. I spit it out, and now its there. Its like
weve been going in a circle.

I look. Hes right. Theres a piece of green gum. Its probably someone elses gum. Are you
kidding? They dont even have gum in this place. Thats my gum. Weve been here before. But thats impossible. We cant be going in a
circle. Weve been walking uphill. But a lot of things do look familiar, like that funny
rock over there thats shaped like a wedge of cheese. Travis shrugs. Weird, right? I look up at the cottage. Its stone, like
Talia said, and at the top of the hill. And still as far away as ever. I shiver in another gust of wind.

We have to keep walking, I say.

After another five minutes, its almost completely dark. I hear Traviss stomach growl.

I am going back, Cuthbert says. Theres no way we shall reach it tonight. Look. He gestures
down the hill.

I look. Were near the bottom, as if weve been sliding backward. Has someone placed a spell
on this hill? Not impossible, not here. But if someone has, that someone must be Malvolia.
That would mean Im on the right track, that Talias here. I look up at the top of the hill, at the cottage so far away. A light burns in one of the windows. Is Talia there? I remember what I saw in the
chestnut tree. She is.

I make a decision. I turn to Pleasant, Cuthbert, and Travis. Look, guys, why dont you go
back to the castle and have dinner?

Thats all Pleasant and Cuthbert have to hear. They say their good-byes and go. Travis
tries to protest. Bud, if you want me to stay . . .

I dont. I have a feeling this is something I need to do myself. All by myself.

Well, if youre sure . . . I can tell hes dying to leave. Im sure, I say. Okay. He turns
and walks away before I can change my mind. I keep going up the hill. The sun is down now, and the moon is barely a sliver. The only light is the light in the window of the cottage. I can
see someone moving inside. Is it Talia?

I pass the wedge-shaped rock again.

Are you messing with me? I yell up toward the cottage.

No answer but the wind in the trees. Its not that late. My body is still on Miami time, so
its really not. But Im hungry and tired from walking so far. I look at my watch. Ive been
walking uphill for four hours, wearing sneakers, getting nowhere. An hour more. Then another in the pitch darkness. I cant see where Im walking, but once, I
feel something sticky on the bottom of my shoe. Traviss gum. I look up at the cottage,
still so far away. This is the hardest Ive ever worked, the most exhausted Ive ever been.
But still, I keep walking against the wind.

If Talias not here, then where is she? Did she run away in Miami because she didnt want to
go home? Could she be on the street somewhere? Could she be dead?

An hour later, I pass the same wedge-shaped rock. But something is different. By the dim
light of the skinny moon, I can make out a shape lying beside it. I walk closer and reach
out to touch it.

Its a blanket and a pillow. Theres something attached to the blanket: a piece of paper. I
take out my cell phone to use as a light.

Sleep, it says.

Although I want to resist, I cant. I fall down almost like Im fainting and go quickly to
sleep.

But I dont sleep well. I have this strange dream where Im playing Jeopardy, and the host
is this weird old woman in black. I know from Talias description that its Malvolia. Were
on Final Jeopardy, and the category is Princess Talia.

The old woman reads the question. What was the name of Talias art teacher? I look at her.
What if I dont remember? She fixes me with a dark stare. True love would remember. The other contestants, Pleasant and Cuthbert, are already writing. The Jeopardy music
begins to play. When its almost over, I suddenly remember Meryl showing me the Wikipedia
article yesterday.

I write, Carlo Maratti.

I wake with a start before I can find out if I got it right, if I won the game.

The sun has risen, and maybe its getting in my eyes, because now it looks like Im a
quarter of the way up the hill.

How did I get there? Did Malvolia really appear to me in my dream, the way she did to
Talia? Did she ask me that question, and did I move closer because I got it right?

Beside me is a loaf of bread, a wedge of cheese, an apple, and a jug of water. Although it
grosses me out to eat some- thing that just appeared on the ground, I have no choice. Im
too hungry. I eat some of the bread and cheese, drink the water, and save the rest for
later. I dont take the blan- ket or pillow with me. Theyre too heavy, and I hope not to
need them. I begin to walk. As soon as I start, the wind, which had been silent, begins to
howl again.

Its just like yesterday, except now Im closer to the cottage. It looks like a normal
cottage, like every other cot- tage in Euphrasia. What if its just a mirage? Im clearly
hallucinating.

But the fullness in my stomach tells me I didnt imagine the bread and cheese. I keep
walking. I dont see the gum or the wedge-shaped rock. Instead, theres a line of bushes that looks like a dinosaur and a clump of blue flowers. I see them over and over, like Im
on a treadmill.

Again, at the end of the day, it gets dark. Again, I find the blanket and pillow. Again, I
sleep.

This time, Im playing Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Im on the million-dollar question,
and its multiple- choice.

What is Princess Talias fondest wish? Malvolia reads. Ato fall in love? Bto travel? Cto be
a great queen? Dto please her father.

They all seem like pretty good answers. She wants all those things. I cant decide.

Then you will fail. Malvolia looks a lot happier about that than the host of Millionaire
usually does. Of course, you could take the prize you have already earned.

Whats that? I ask.

A first-class ticket back to Miami . . . with your father questioning why you wasted his
time in this manner!

I groan. Hey, wait! I try to remember when I watched this game. What were the rules? Do I
have any lifelines left? I ask Malvolia.

She looks annoyed. You can phone a friend.

Phone a friend. Phone a friend. But who would I call? Travis is here in Euphrasia, and my
other friends dont even know Talia.

Then I have an inspiration. Can I call Talia? Malvolia sighs. She is on your list. I hear
the sound of a ringing phone, then Talia answers. Thank God she remembered how to answer the phone. But where would she get a phone?

Oh, yeah. Dream. Hello? Thirty seconds, Malvolia says. Hey, Talia, Im trying to get up
this hill to save you,

and I need to know: Whats your fondest wish? Ato fall in love? Bto travel? Cto be a great
queen? Dto please your father?

Talia laughs. Oh, silly, you know the answer to that one.

No, I dont. Thats why I called you. But you do. I told you about it, remember? No. No!
Just tell me! Shes maddening. But thats Talia. When we went to get the passport, Jack. Think. The buzzer rings, and Malvolia says,
Times up. What is your answer? And suddenly I remember Talia, that day at the pass-

port guys place. She was so excited about the airplane. She clapped her hands and said, It
is my fondest wish to travel!

So thats what I tell Malvolia. B. Final answer.

Again, I wake before I can find out if I got the question right, if I won the million
dollars. Again, I look around and find that I have moved up the hill. Now Im at the
halfway point. Theres food and water. I eat and drink. I wonder if its even worth it to
walk uphill, since by now Im pretty sure that my getting there is more tied to answering ques- tions in my dreams. But I have
a feeling Malvolia wants me to walk. Im tired and have muscle aches where I didnt even
know I had muscles. I need some Bengay bad.

But I walk. Everything swims in my head and I wonder what Ill be asked next. I can barely
concentrate for it. Still, I push uphill, against the wind.

When I collapse on the blanket for the third time, I dream that Im playing Trivial Pursuit
with Malvolia. Were sitting in my parents house, and Im looking across the game board at
her. We both have all the wedges, and Im in the center of the board. Malvolia reads from
her card.

What is Princess Talias full name? Full name? She had seven or eight of them! Malvolia
holds up her hands. Tis difficult to win. Oh,

and you must recite them in the correct order. Wait a second, I say. I used to play this
game with Meryl all the time. This isnt how it works. I get to choose the category for the final question. Malvolia shrugs. All right, then. Choose. I want a
sports question. She chuckles. There is no sports category in this ver-

sion of the game. So its like, what, the Silver Screen edition? She hands me the box. I
read, Trivial Pursuit: Insanely Difficult Edition. I look at the instructions for the list
of categories: YellowNeolithic Civilizations GreenTheoretical Physics PinkTwelve-tone Composers BlueSino-Tibetan Languages BrownThe
Norse Saga in Literature OrangePrincess Talia Uh-huh, I say.

Malvolia drums her fingers on the table. Her nails are long and purple. Which category do
you wish to try, then?

These are impossible. Not if you are smart. Well, that kills it. Ill take the Princess
Talia question.

Just give me a minute. Very well.

She continues drumming her fingers on the table. I glare at her, and she stops but begins
to whistle the Jeop- ardy theme song, like Meryl used to do when I was trying to think of
the answers. I put my hands over my ears.

Talia Aurora. I remember Aurora for her grandmother. Then, there were three kings names,
in alphabetical order. What were they?

Im gonna wi-in, Malvolia chants. No, youre not, I snap. I think I am. I put my fingers in
my ears and begin to hum. Talia Aurora Augusta . . . Three kings, then three queens. There is a time limit for this,
Malvolia says, loudly enough to be heard even with my ears stopped up. No, there isnt. Yes, there is. She sounds exactly like Meryl. I throw the rules at her.
Find it, then. You lose points for your rudeness. Id be able to think better if youd be
quiet. She is, for a second while she examines the rules, and in that time, I hear Talias voice. Talia Aurora, I repeat after her. Augusta Ludwiga Wilhelmina Agnes Marie Rose . . . of Euphrasia. In an instant I am awake and three
quarters of the way up the hill. There is no food beside me this time, and the wind howls
louder than ever before. Is Malvolia angry that I got the hard question right? It doesnt
matter. Im almost there, and I need to keep going. This time, when I walk, I do get closer to the cottage. I see the distance closing, and I can examine everything more carefully. Its just an
ordinary cottage made of stone, with a thatched roof and big windows in the attic.
Shouldnt it be a dark castle like in The Wizard of Oz or maybe guarded by a three-headed
dog like in Harry Potter? But its special, for now I know for sure that Talias inside.

I
reach the top of the hill, the cottage door. A chill wind howls across me. The door flies
open. But how could it be open? Its too easy.

I walk inside. Theres no Talia. No Talia. Instead, theres only Malvolia, Malvolia in the
flesh. Ive never seen her, but I recognize her from her piercing, black eyes.

Wheres Talia? I say.

The old woman shakes her head. Shes here, if you can get to her.

Get to her? I got past your never-ending hill. I answered your questions.

She chuckles. Mere trivia. To be worthy of a princess, one must face a dragon.

A dragon? I cant . . . I picture getting fried by a dragon. But then I think about it. I
couldnt answer any of those questions, either, and yet I did. I wouldnt have thought Id be able to walk
uphill for three days, but I did. I was motivated, maybe for the first time in my life. So
if I have to slay a dragon, maybe I can do that, too.

Do I at least get a sword? I say. Tis not that kind of dragon, she replies. Then what . .
. ? She moves aside to reveal a part of the room I hadnt seen. Its a sort of office setup with a desk and chair. In the chair sits my dad. He has a
stack of paper about three feet high in front of him and another, marked
URGENT
, to the side.

Can this wait, Jack? He gestures toward his work. Im a little busy.

I didnt . . . I came to find the princess. You know that.

To be worthy of a princess, you must face your dragon, Malvolia says. Your greatest fear.
She gestures toward my hands. I look down and see that Im holding the notebook where Ive
been drawing my garden design. I glance at Dad, then at Malvolia. You mean I have to show
it to him?

Malvolia nods. Your greatest fear.

Outside, the wind whistles through the trees. I take one step toward the desk. Then
another. Dad? I have to tell you something.

Dad tears his eyes away from his work. What is it? He looks back at his papers. His phone
and his cell phone both start ringing at the same time. But I hold out the book. I . . . its just something Ive been fooling around with.