Molly and Anaru's Great Massey Adventure: Chapter 8
Yesterday’s Poll Results
Where should Molly and Anaru go?
Into the yellow portal? 0%
Into the purple portal? 100%
Chapter 8
With a loud bang, Molly and Anaru were ejected roughly from the purple portal and rolled across a grassy surface for several metres before coming to rest. They lay staring at a blue sky that looked much like the one they had just left behind.
When they recovered from the short and sharp trip enough to turn their heads, however, it was obvious that nothing else looked much like what they had just left behind—or like the Massey they knew, for that matter.
To Molly’s left was a parked vehicle with strange-looking blowers underneath rather than wheels, and to her right, she saw what she assumed was a house. It was tall, skinny, made of mostly windows, and didn’t appear to have a door. She watched as a man arrived home, looking somewhat curiously at the two kids lying on the grass berm, and used a remote control to make a section of glass dissolve so he could enter.
This wasn’t their Massey, and it didn’t look like anything they had seen in a history book. That could only mean one thing…
Before Molly could get her brain properly into gear, the man came back out of the house with a young girl in tow.
“Kia ora kids! Are you two okay?” he asked.
Anaru sat up.
“We think so,” he replied. “But can you just tell us where we are?”
The man and his daughter, dressed in clothes that were oddly baggy and a little shiny, looked a little confused.
“Ahhh.. you’re in Massey, Auckland. Is that what you mean? Do you need help getting home?”
“Are we near Triangle Road?” Anaru asked, standing up on shaky legs that were still not accustomed to the passage through time.
“Yeah, it was called Triangle Road until about thirty years ago”, the man said, “but it has been called Roadway 321-A-W since the high-density roading system was built. Come inside if you like, we are happy to help you get back to where you need to be.”
Molly and Anaru looked at each other and shrugged. The man seemed nice enough, and they could certainly use the help.
Two hours later, they had been fed a hearty lunch and had decided to tell the whole tale to the man who had introduced himself as Brooklyn, his wife Matilda, and their daughter Arlo. They had been informed that the year was 2120, and at this stage, nothing could really shock them.
“... and so now, we don’t know when we will get back to 2020. But we have to keep trying.”
The family looked at each other. Molly and Anaru could tell that they weren’t sure whether to believe them, but weren’t certain that they were lying, either.
“So you were in the Great Lockdown of 2020 when you first travelled?” Arlo asked, looking interested. “We have been talking about that at school, watching holograms of people telling their stories. The last local person who lived through it has just died recently, and she was only three years old at the time.”
“Yes, we were. It has been a bit boring, and pretty hard not being able to get out and see our families and friends, or anyone for that matter—until now, of course. Now we have seen a lot more than we ever imagined, and to be honest it would be nice to be stuck at home again!”
A thought occurred to Anaru.
“Do you know how long it will go on for?”
“I can’t quite remember,” said Matilda, “but I think the first lockdown was only around a month or so. It had quite the effect on Aotearoa, though. It took a long time to go back to normal after that, but it really pulled the country together. Our grandparents and parents said they felt like everyone played a part in stopping the pandemic, and people in neighbourhoods like Massey learnt to be kind to each other and help each other out.”
“Well,” said Molly, “sounds like something good will come out of it! Maybe it is worth being stuck at home for all this time.”
“If we ever get back there,” said Anaru.
“But if we do, we should make the most of it.”
“Yes,” said Anaru, “it definitely sounds like it’s worth it.”
And as he spoke the words, Molly noticed a glimmer of light out of the corner of her eye. Through the glass wall that looked out into the tiny backyard patch, she saw the now-familiar portal appear and grow larger, and there was just one of them this time.
Brooklyn, Matilda, and Arlo were awestruck and looked a little nervous.
“Well, it looks like you were very much telling the truth!” stammered Brooklyn. “Not that we thought you were lying, but it did seem a little far-fetched.”
Molly smiled. She didn’t blame him for finding it hard to believe their story. She wouldn’t if someone else had told her the same thing a week ago. It had been a wild ride—but now, she was fairly sure, they were going home.
“Thank you so much for lunch, and for helping us out,” she said to the family as Brooklyn pointed his remote at the glass wall and made it fade into thin air.
Outside, the kids peered into the portal, the more they squinted the more they thought they could see the fence dividing their backyards. They couldn’t work out which side of the fence they were looking at though…
