The Time Bubble Box Set 2, стр. 304

Dressed in brightly coloured woolly hats and scarves, weheaded down towards the River Thames, close to a pub called The Head of theRiver. I remember getting drunk there many years later one summer night withPhoebe and Lily. It all seemed like another world now, almost unreal as if itwere a fantasy world that I had invented for myself.

I willed myself to keep strong and hold onto those memories.Phoebe and Lily were real, as was the adult life I had once led. I must notallow the person I once was to become lost in this increasingly undevelopedmind and body.

Gran had made us sandwiches, as she always did. She didn’tbelieve in buying them pre-packed from shops. “A waste of money,” she used toproclaim. She had lived through times of austerity and by that I mean realpost-war austerity, not the relatively tame 21st-century version.

We walked along the river and into Christ Church Meadow,where we sat down on an old felled tree trunk to eat our lunch. Once we hadfinished, Gran would let us feed our crusts to the many ducks that bobbedserenely along on the River Cherwell.

It was while Rachel and I were throwing morsels of bread tothe massing ducks by the bank that I looked up and saw someone I had neverexpected to see again.

He seemed to have appeared from nowhere, right beside a treebarely ten yards away from me. I may only have met this man once before, but Iknew instantly who he was. His image was indelibly imprinted on my mind.

It was Doctor Gardner.

He was looking around sheepishly, as if to check that no onehad spotted him. Gran and Rachel hadn’t – they were too distracted by the ducks– but I had and I knew this could be my one and only hope of salvation. I hadto seize this moment and make the most of it right now.

I dropped the few morsels of bread in my hands and rantowards him. He looked startled, no doubt wondering why on earth a six-year-oldgirl was racing towards him, and turned quickly, starting to walk away in theopposite direction.

“Doctor Gardner, wait!” I yelled.

Behind me, I heard my gran shouting, “Amy, what do you thinkyou’re doing?! Come back at once!”

As soon as I said his name, Doctor Gardner stopped andturned back around. I had clearly got his attention. I had to make the most ofit. I knew I would not have much time – seconds at the most and would have topick my words carefully. I couldn’t risk him dismissing whatever I said as thefantastical ramblings of a six-year-old child. It was difficult enough gettinganyone to take me seriously at this age, as I had already discovered over thepast couple of days.

I would also have Gran to contend with, who was now comingafter me. She wasn’t exactly hot on my heels, as would be expected on herseventy-year-old legs, but she would soon drag me away when she caught up. Ihad to be concise, give him the facts and then hope for the best.

Doctor Gardner looked down at me as I approached, giving mea chance to get a good look at him. He was exactly as I had last seen him,right down to the backpack and the weird-looking wand. He was the same age,too.

“Listen, we don’t have much time,” I began in my squeaky,high-pitched voice. “My name is Amy Reynolds. I was a nurse at the JohnRadcliffe Hospital in January 2025 when you came in and did something that sentme back in time. Now I’m falling backwards through my own life and I need youto do something about it because in less than two weeks I’m going to reach atime before I was born which means I will be dead.”

This was as far as I got before Gran, who had now reachedus, interceded.

“I’m so sorry,” she said to Doctor Gardner, before grabbinghold of me and wheeling me back the other way. As soon as we were a few yardsaway she began giving me a right scolding, beginning with, “What have you beentold about talking to strange men?”

He hadn’t been given the chance to reply and I needed to besure he had understood. My grandmother had grabbed my hand and was frogmarchingme away, but I did my utmost to wriggle free.

Managing to loosen her grip and turn back the other way Iyelled, “Please, remember what I said.”

Briefly I caught his gaze and, although he said nothing,there was a flash of recognition in his eyes and a barely perceptible nod ofacknowledgement. Meanwhile, my defiance was making Gran even more cross.

“Come away, Amy,” she said. “I don’t know what’s got intoyou, but we’re going home right now. Just you wait until I tell your parentsabout this.”

She glanced over to where my sister was standing, stillsurrounded by hungry ducks, observing my bizarre behaviour from afar. “Come on,Rachel!” she called.

Grabbing my hand firmly, Gran pulled me back down the path.

“You idiot, Amy. Why do you have to ruin everything?”complained my sister.

I managed to fire one glance back to where Doctor Gardnerhad been standing to see that he was now walking swiftly away in the oppositedirection. He had understood, hadn’t he?

I was in the doghouse for the rest of the day, but I didn’tcare. My unexpected encounter in the park had given me fresh hope that theremight still be some way out of this, and if there was, then it had been soworth it.

When I got to bed, I tried to think things over as best asmy immature mind would allow. I could no longer analyse things as logically asI had when I was an adult. Clearly there were areas of my brain now simply nolonger physically developed for the task. I became slightly frustrated as Itried to arrange my jumbled thoughts into some sort of order. No wonder kidshad so many tantrums.

I knew without doubt that it had definitely been him andthat he must have time-travelled to get here. But his journey must have been byother