Worlds Within

  Part of his fascination with the library was Nitika. She had introduced him to a lot of different books. When she talked about a story, it seemed to come alive no matter what the time period or subject. It was almost like it was history instead of fiction, and she was a character in the plot.

  As he entered the library, Nitika emerged from behind a stack of books. Her dark gray skirt flared slightly, and the air stirred the fringe of the scarf tied around her waist. Light reflected off the delicate necklace that stood out against her dark blue T-shirt. It was a silver owl pendant with eyes made of pink quartz and a body of turquoise. Toby recognized it as the one she always wore.

  Her feet made no sound as she lightly stepped across the floor. With slender brown fingers she pushed back her long dark hair. Her smile hinted at some secret, and her voice was musical as she said, "Hello Toby."

  She sat down with him at one of the tables.

  "How are you enjoying Flatland?" she asked.

  "They've been visited by a creature from another dimension," Toby replied.

  "I've often wondered what it would be like to be the invading creature instead of one of the other characters," she said.

  Toby squirmed. He had been so caught up in his own feelings of being displaced it hadn't occurred to him to wonder how Caedman and Marnie felt about him dropping in on their world. Nitika's green eyes narrowed slightly as she studied him carefully.

  "Perhaps you think there aren't any other worlds but this one." Her smile taunted him.

  Almost against his will he whispered, "Have you ever traveled to another world?"

  She seemed to look through him as if she were seeing something far away and said, "Some people believe this world is merely a shadow of another. Each person's world is different, even though we may be in the same place. We each have our own worlds to explore. It is what makes us unique."

  Loud whispers and giggling made Nitika turn to look behind her, breaking the spell. The Davis twins stood huddled together laughing and rolling their eyes. Getting up, Nitika excused herself. Toby was left to ponder her cryptic remarks and wonder about the sanity of the twins.

  When he got home that night, he checked his e-mail. First he deleted the spam and the advertisements. Then he read an update from his dad. The weather was very cold. They were doing fine. The penguins were fascinating. They sent their love and hoped he was making new friends. Toby grimaced. Yeah, right. Making friends everyday.

  There was also an e-mail from Pete, his best friend from back home. His class had been on a field trip to the Very Large Array, a group of large antenna dishes used for collecting radio waves from space. Toby felt a twinge of jealousy. Pete was exploring the universe without him while he was stuck dealing with monsters at school. Sometimes he thought Buz and his friends must be invaders from outer space. Probably sent here to take over the world by terrifying the population - starting with him.

  He wanted to tell Pete all about Caedman, Marnie, and the book. But Pete always laughed at stories about space aliens. He certainly wouldn't believe in a book with pictures that took you to another world. Toby didn't understand it himself. So first he wrote about his encounter in the cafeteria. Then he added?.

  You'll never believe how I got out of Carson's office. There was this book on his shelf?. Toby then told him the whole story. He ended with?Well, what do you think? Better than the Roswell alien stories?

  He signed off and went to bed.