Page 74 of The Messengers of Magic

Chapter Fifty-One

A delaide crossed the street with a box full of sweets tucked under her arm and her head brimming with everything Dottie had told her. As she stepped through the shop door, she was met by the now-familiar scent of men’s cologne mingled with the musty aroma of old books.

“Pen?” she called softly, realizing the scent must be his.

She waited for a reply, but only silence answered.

Setting the box of pastries on the desk, she rounded behind it and perched on the old stool propped against the wall.

She stared out into the quiet, hoping to catch a glimpse of him weaving through the shadows, but the room remained still.

She opened the box, reached for a chocolate puff, then froze.

There was a flicker of movement in the back row of books.

Adelaide sprang to her feet. She hurried through the children’s section and into the back aisle.

“Pen?” she called out again.

She came around the end of a bookcase just in time to see the small fox dart between the shelves. It lasted only a heartbeat, a flash of fur and motion, before it vanished into thin air, mid-stride, as if it had slipped through some unseen crack in time.

She gasped.

The fox must be from Pen’s timeline.

Heart pounding, she crossed to the spot where it had vanished, dropped to a crouch, and pressed her hands to the floorboards. There was nothing there, no seam, no door, just the dust bunnies that had gathered over time.

Standing there, she rubbed her palms on her jeans.

This was getting stranger by the minute.

She tapped on the floor, thinking maybe this was where the hidden room lay.

But it sounded dense like the rest of the room, not hollow as Rowland had described in his journal.

Not the spot , she thought as she turned and made her way back to the front of the shop.

Back at the desk, she pulled out an old notepad. If Pen could reach her through letters, maybe she could reach him in the same way.

She chewed on the pen lid, doodling stars at the top of the page as she mulled over what to write.

There were so many questions, so many gaps to fill in, but she didn’t want to overwhelm him.

Instead, she decided to start with the most important ones, the ones that might help her understand how to help him.

Dear Pen,

I hardly know where to begin. There’s so much I want to ask you, but I don’t want to overwhelm you with questions. Today, I’ll start with what feels most important, the things that might help me understand what you’re going through and how I can help.

First off, are you okay? How have you been surviving without food?

Do you know where the watch is now? If I’m to help you escape, we’ll need it, won’t we? Could it be in the secret room, with the other journals? Can you tell me where that room is? I think reading the other journals might help me understand how the watch works.

One more thing, can you always see me, or only when the space between us thins?

Adelaide paused, her pen hovering over the page.

Pen’s letters had steadied her, encouraged her, softened the edge of her loneliness with the sweetness of his words.

The thought of him watching her settle into the life he’d once dreamed of, not with bitterness, but with quiet kindness, twisted something deep inside her.

He hadn’t tried to scare her away. He’d only ever reached out to her with gentleness.

Thank you for your letters. You have no idea how much I needed those words of encouragement.

I’ll be patiently waiting for your next one.

Sincerely,

Adelaide

P.S. That fox, is it from your world or mine?

Setting the pen down, Adelaide stretched her cramped fingers, rubbing the ink-smudged tips against her thigh, then carefully folded the letter.

Her eyes drifted to the letterbox. Should she leave it there?

Would Pen even see it? She wasn’t sure if her note would even transfer to his time.

Yet, the letterbox had been the one place where he’d managed to leave them for her, up until today.

Hoping the magic worked both ways, she lifted the lid and slipped the note inside, closing it with a quiet prayer.

She checked the clock: quarter past twelve. The day was dragging on, and the thought of waiting until tomorrow for a response made it feel even slower.

She needed something to keep her mind and her hands busy.

She had planned to visit Carolyn at the apothecary today, as it had been a few days since she’d seen her, but she thought better of it.

With everything swirling in her mind, seeing Carolyn now felt risky.

She might say something she’d regret. No, she needed more time to understand the situation.

When Pen wrote back, maybe then she could decide whether to confide in Carolyn. He might also be able to shed some light on whether she was telling the truth.

Turning away, she wandered over to the pile of furniture from her shopping trip and got to work. She chose one of the new rugs and the little table and chairs and set about finishing up the children’s corner.

Once she got started, the day slipped by quickly.

Twilight draped itself across the windows, the golden light dimming to violet.

Adelaide remained absorbed in her work until her stomach growled, pulling her back to the present.

A glance at the clock, quarter past five, reminded her that if she left now, she could still make it to the market on the edge of town before it closed at six.

But going meant passing the hardware store.

Ewan would likely be there, and she wasn’t ready for that encounter, not today.

Now that she knew the kind of man he truly was, whatever flicker of possibility that had existed between them had been snuffed out completely.

She wouldn’t make the mistake of giving her time, or trust, to someone like that again.

She brushed the dust from her sweater and ran her fingers through her hair.

Despite having to pass the hardware store, she knew she needed to go as there was zero food in the flat.

She grabbed her jacket and keys and pulled the door closed behind her.

Something made her glance back at the shop windows.

For the briefest moment, she thought she saw Pen standing between the rows of books, watching her. But when she blinked, he was gone.

Her feet faltered on the sidewalk out front, and she almost turned back, ready to go and search for him.

But hunger won out. She couldn’t live on sugar and curiosity alone.

She needed some real food, something to keep her clear-headed.

The market wouldn’t stay open all night, and Pen… well, he wasn’t going anywhere.