The Canvas, Part VII

Riley looked around the room in awe. Emerson felt immediately at home with the paint-covered floorboards and her paints and paintbrushes scattered in the ground. A ray of sunshine was beaming through the window, illuminating the canvas in the middle of the room. It looked just like they left it--purple stream, pink sky, and a gaping black hole taking over half the canvas. Soaking in the sunshine, Riley became puzzled.

“Hey Emerson,” he said, “Wasn’t it dark out when we left? Weren’t there a bunch of candles lit?”

“Yes, I lit every last one of them,” she said as she started to climb down the ladder to the first floor of the treehouse. She ran over to her desk and pulled a small, golden pocket watch out of her drawer.

“Why, it’s 6:00 in the evening!” Emerson exclaimed as Riley lowered himself into the room. They looked outside to see the early winter sunset over the mountains.

“Look to the entrance of your house, that’s my mom and dad! And that’s me!” He said as he pointed to the three houseguests stepping out of a limo, entering Emerson’s estate.

“The clock—in the canvas—it reversed time! It must’ve been nine o’clock when we left, and now it’s only six o’clock. Do you know what that means?” Emerson asked.

“That we never hit that lady in the head with the goat! We won’t be in trouble when we get back!”

“Precisely,” Emerson agreed. She looked out the window and remembered seeing the scene from her bedroom window, right before her mom was to come in and tell her to change her outfit. She quickly climbed down the latter and Riley followed.

Running through the backdoor, Riley and Emerson hugged then split up to their respective spots. Riley raced through the many halls and rooms of the mansion until he finally found his family in the lounge, and saw his former self sitting on the couch. Riley decided to follow his instinct and sat right on his past self and took his spot in the present reality.

Emerson avoided her mother in the kitchen and tiptoed up the stairs to her room. She closed the door and ran to the spot where her past self was standing in front of the mirror. All of a sudden, Emerson was looking at herself in the mirror, feeling the heat of the crisp, just-ironed pink dress.

The doorknob turned and her mother entered with a smile on her face. “Oh honey, you’re wearing the dress your grandmother gave you! It looks so darling, oh you’re just so precious,” her mother said as she gave Emerson a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Tonight will be fun!” Emerson said as she thought of dancing with Riley. Emerson and her mother walked out of her room and down the grand stairwell to see beautifully dressed houseguests flowing in through the double-door entrance.

Halfway down the stairwell, Emerson caught Riley’s eyes.

“Hey, Emerson!” Riley exclaimed as he waved.

“How do you know Riley, sweetie?” her mother asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Emerson said with a smile on her face. She rushed down the stairs to a brand new night.

THE END!