Chapter 4 – Back to The Shop

Taking no notice of the persistent voices behind him, Karl came to a halt where the door originally was. The door wasn’t there. He turned around and a faint light coming from a pond caught his eye. ‘The sun isn’t out’, said Karl, ‘I haven’t a clue what it is’. He walked up to the pond and stared into the murky green water. He could just make out that the light was attached to a door at the bottom of the pond. ‘How will I get down there?’ Karl said ‘It’s quite deep.’ He needed to get out of the forest, before it was too late. Karl didn’t hesitate, he jumped into the water.

Down in the murky green water, Karl swam towards the door at the foot of the pond. His heart pounded. He thought that he wasn’t going to make it. He could barely breathe now. He reached the bottom of the pond and tugged at the door handle. He tugged and tugged, until he couldn’t breathe. He feared the worst as he pulled at the handle one more time. Somehow, a miracle happened. The door opened and Karl appeared back in the original corridor.

Saturated and bitter, Karl walked guiltily back through the transparent curtain and was met by Mr Creevy and his owl. ‘Hello! Didn’t think you would come back to us. Find what you were looking for?’ Karl shook his head disappointedly.

‘Look kid,’ Mr Creevy said to him, placing his hand on Karl’s shoulder, ‘You can visit as many worlds and wonders as you like, but the past cannot be undone. So, we can’t always find what you miss or want. There will always be another day.’ Mr Creevy let out a sigh, smiled and opened the shop door.

‘Come again another day’ Mr Creevy said to Karl, while holding the door open.

Karl took one big sigh and stepped out of the shop. He wanted to find out more. But when he turned around, Mr Colin Creevy and The Faulty Dice vanished, as if it was never there. Karl felt a shiver of magic and shuddered.

Maybe another day, He thought to himself, as he trudged home. Maybe another day.

What Karl did not notice was that he was being followed by the same owl that was in The Faulty Dice. It perched in a tree across the road from Karl’s house and watched as he let himself in. The owl turned its head to the side and sighed. It had all the time in the world.