Not Yet Forgotten

Chapter 12

A month later...

 It was about six this morning when I walked back inside after my morning ride with Jacob. I've never been more tired from the early mornings, but it's totally worth it. Ever since meeting Jake, I have felt so fulfilled. It's like he was just what I needed.

I did need him. He actually listens to me. Even when I'm complaining about my uncomfortable corset or the weird food served the night before (yeah, I haven't adjusted to 19th century food. I'd do anything for some taco bell), he still pays attention. He jokes with me, comforts me when I'm frustrated, and tells me random stories just for fun.

What I really appreciate about him is that when I'm with him, I have his full attention. It isn't like with my parents, who seemed to forget that I even existed. In most of my childhood experiences, I was treated like I wasn't even there. My teachers liked to ignore me too. My guess is that they were afraid I was going to take their jobs away from them because sometimes I knew more about a topic then they did.

Sure, I got some recognition when I won the national spelling bee. But that was because of what I did, not because of who I am.

I used to feel like I was a mistake, like my parents hadn't wanted to have a child, but not when I'm around Jacob. He wants to hear what I have to say and treats me like I matter.

I've been in 1834 for over a month now. Lady Blackfield has been surprised that I haven't gotten my memory back. I think she is getting tired of having me in her house, but she hasn't kicked me out yet.

Anyways, back to the present, or in my case, the past, or...well whatever. This whole situation is confusing.

When I reached my room, I changed clothes. Since Frida wasn't around, I couldn't put my corset on (aww, I really wanted to wear it, not). Another thing I enjoy about my early morning rides are that I can sneak out without that torture instrument on.

I intended on kicking back and trying to get some rest, but I couldn't relax. That is what happens when I think too hard.

Since I couldn't get comfortable, I came upon a realization. Just because science was primitive in this era didn't mean that it didn't exist. There had to at least be some old science books that could help me figure out why I ended up here and in 1834.

So I crept down to the library, the only place that seemed to have any books.

When I entered the library, I stopped at the door to admire the impressive display of books. There had to be thousands.

I walked by a shelf, running my hand against the books as I walked by. I wonder what happens to all these books by my time period. Maybe they'll be put in a museum. I hope they won't get thrown away. There is nothing I love more than a good book, even though these books are probably hard to read and understand. 

I wasn't sure if the books had been sorted by genre or author, so I just started pulling random books off the shelf to page through. Hey, maybe that's a project I could do. Organize the books, I mean.

I saw several titles I recognized, including some classics that haven't even been made classics yet. This place is awesome. I would totally spend more time in here if Lady Blackfield didn't make me do that boring needlepoint.

I finally found a science book, but it was in French. I don't speak french. My school offered it as an elective, but I took Spanish because I figured it would be more useful. Yup, taking Spanish turned out to be really helpful.

My only knowledge of the French language is from the French dictionary. (Yeah, I memorized that too.) I know that knowing vocabulary isn't the same as understanding the language, but I decided to look through the French science book to see if there was anything that could help me. The chances of there being anything about time travel in this book are like nothing. And if there was, I might miss it because it's in French, but I may as well give it a shot.