Tomorrow is another day

When in Rome, do as the Romans do

The month or so remaining until the beginning of December turned into a period of discoveries, but not just for Anna. The imminent move through... time, made us give up looking for a job, so free time increased considerably.

In that time I managed to get Sven to perform quite satisfactorily and finished its beautiful feathered covering which gave it the look of an Eagle Owl.

On the other hand, Anna and I got closer and closer and with less measure, and, thanks to one of the best inventions in history, we were able to cross that door that a 19th-century princess probably shouldn't cross before marriage. Although our initial intention was to wait for everything to calm down and do things in the accepted order, the uncertainty of tomorrow fed a certain lack of control that made us choose to worry about the future... in the past.

It wasn't many days from the day we decided to travel back in time until Anna stopped going to her room at night. And what began as innocent sleep and tender caresses, took even less to turn into kissing baths, passionate glances, intertwined tongues and other more mischievous, moans of all kinds and colors, gallops and lunges.

Although we both would have enjoyed the glory and fortune of living our love forever in that oasis away from people, from the past and from the daily routine of work, we also knew that it wouldn't last forever, and, with the icy snow wind, December came through our window.

"Tomorrow is the day," Anna said the night before the great Trolls celebration already settled in my bed.

"Nervous?"

"A little edgy..."

"We both are there then."

"Is all set, right?"

"All that remains is to put the water and Sven into the backpack."

"You're taking the robot?"

"You never know what you might be missing in the past. I also carry a medicine cabinet."

"We have that in the past, you know?"

"But this one is set."

"Then we only have to sleep to have energy for what is coming our way, right?"

"I guess so."

"Yes, I guess this is not the time for me to do this..."

Anna approached me smiling and began to gently nibble on my earlobe, slowly went down my neck then leaving a pleasant trail of soft kisses.

"Anna..."

"Yes?"

"We shouldn't do this today."

"I'm not doing anything..."

"As you wish, but if we're sleepy tomorrow, it'll be your fault."

The next day, we were very, very sleepy, but the excitement and the nerve for the adventure that we were about to begin made sure that we arrived awake at the Valley of the Living Rock.

That morning, the valley was dressed in colored crystals that were magically shinning wherever we looked and all the trolls were celebrating in songs, dances, and jumps that made us doubt the real weight of those rocks.

"It seems that you have brought with you everything you need, my dear," Bulda said appearing out of nowhere as we reached the central area.

"Yes, I have it all," Anna said taking my hand.

"Are you two completely sure that you want to go ahead with this?" Pabbie said appearing also before us. "Time travels are a sensitive matter. You never know what could go wrong."

Anna and I shared a look and nodded. In our minds, there was no going back.

"Perfect then. In that case, let the ritual begin."

A troll called Cliff began to play the lute while among four others used a pile of stones, weeds, and mushrooms to assemble in an impressively short moment a Flemmingrad like the one in the lost clearing where I met Anna.

The song started and all the trolls and Anna sang it in chorus while I struggled to remember the lyrics and tried to follow that new tune to me. Then, one by one, all the trolls licked the stone figure in the forehead, leaving Anna and me for last.

There, that rough and multiple drooling forehead, awaited looking at us with an empty and at the same time mocking gaze, as if to say: "Do you want your wish? Come get it..." That was the price. A wish in exchange for a lot of other people's drool.

"If we are going to go together... we should do it at the same time," Anna proposed making a mischievous look.

"I guess you're right."

"Come on, it's not as disgusting as it looks!" she said dragging me to the figure. "Tastes like lichen!"

"Okay..."

I crouched down to Flemmingrad's forehead under the watchful gaze of the trolls and met Anna's laughing eyes in front of mine.

"I love you, Anna."

"Everything will be fine," she answered knowing that my declaration was my farewell in case it all ended there.

She took my hand, we nodded, and we licked the troll.

'I wish to return with Anna to July 1816.'

"Ha! You were right! It's not that bad!"

And everything went black.