“Something like that,” she muses softly.
I think back to the notebook, the flower, and the piece of paper he gave me with his number. How none of those objects made it to their destinations. “Is that why I keep losing certain things that I bring in or out of the lighthouse?”
Her eyes light up, and she nods. “Any objects brought with the intention of changing time or gifting to someone are rejected, it seems. Anything you bring that is trying to cross a line between the two times is not allowed or won’t work.”
“Why?”
“Well, you can’t change the past, my dear,” she says with a defeated look in her eyes.
“How do you know all of this, Iris?” I find myself reaching for her hand that anxiously plays with the chunky silver band.
“I discovered the portal a long time ago. Back in my twenties,” she says. “I was out exploring around the area, and there was a bolt of lightning that came out of the cloudless sky. A bolt from the blue, I’ve learned the phenomenon is called. I watched as lightning cracked down all around me—even on top of the lighthouse. I raninside to duck for cover, and that’s when I met him.” She stares out in front of her again, eyes filling with water. Blinking them back, she continues. “His name was Grant. Grant MacDonald. We fell deeply in love. Once we both figured out what was happening, I would go back and forth from his time to mine. We had a beautiful relationship.”
“I saw that same thing! The lightning bolt from the blue sky. It also hit the lighthouse, then I went inside. Just like you.”
“My guess is that’s how the portal opens. Do you feel a mild shock every time you enter?”
“Yes! I thought that was because the metal was old or something.”
“Nope.”
“Why didn’t he come into your time?” I ask, leaning in toward her.
“Ah, it doesn’t work that way, dear. The portal letsyougo back and forth, but the person from the past can only go one way. If he were to come out through that red door with me, I don’t think he would have been able to go back.”
“How do you know?”
She chuckles softly. “Oh, we made a few attempts at the start. But the one thing he noticed whenever he tried to open the door with me was something he described as a ‘magnetic pressure.’ A severetinglingsensation throughout his whole body. He tried to push past it one time, as we were trying to enter the present, but he started to feel like he was getting pulled away—like he knew he couldn’t come back.” She wipes a lone tear that has fallen. “Sorry, it’s been so many years, but it feels like yesterday to talk about it.” She sniffles and then continues. “We never tried again afterthat day.”
“Why didn’t he want to leave his time and come with you? Were you not in love?”
“Oh, we were madly in love. But he couldn’t leave the past.” She plays with the ring once more. “He had a daughter. Milly was her name. Beautiful girl. She was ten. He had separated from his wife when she was eight, and she stayed with him every other week. He couldn’t leave her. And I couldn’t ask him to.”
“I see.” I stroke her back affectionately, the heartbreak still painted across her face even after all the time that has passed.
“Eventually, it just became too hard. I didn’t belong in the past. I had my own responsibilities here. We said our goodbyes one day, and I never saw him again. I couldn’t leave, though. I always stayed close. I learned he died back when he turned forty-five, so there was never a chance I would even see him in my time. His daughter moved to the West Coast. That’s all I know.” Tears are falling down her frail face. She wipes them away and then pulls out a fabric handkerchief from her skirt pocket and very loudly blows her nose.
“Thank you for telling me all of this, Iris.” None of this feels real. But everything is starting to make sense. Why my phone wouldn’t work. Why he thought my outfits were odd. No Wi-Fi— “How did you and I meet?” I ask her.
“Well, you saw me earlier today.” She smiles. “I would have been in my forties, and we crossed paths in town. You had quite the fall, if I remember correctly; I hope you’re alright. We see each other a few more times as well.” Her face widens into a full-on grin.
“So I go back?” I ask, already knowing I will.
“We’ll see.”
Dylan.DylanHart. “But Dylan,” I start, panic risingonce more in my chest. “He’s the lighthouse keeper who disappears. Who dies.”
“He is,” is all she says somberly.
“But that’s not fair.”
“Life’s not fair, dear.” She rises to stand. “But you get to make a choice here. You either keep going and see why that lighthouse chose you. Or you walk away now and never go back. There’s no wrong choice. I understand both sides. Sometimes I wish I had chosen the latter,” she says wistfully.
“I still have so many more questions, Iris,” I plead with her. But she’s already up and walking away.
“My dear, I’ve told you all I can tell you. The rest is up to you now.”
Chapter Sixteen
