Part 38 (2/2)
”So you can translate the markings?”
”I already have.”
”And?”
”Before I answer, I need to apologize for possibly disturbing you. It was not my intent to be seen.”
Two memories splashed into Cameron's mind. The figure in the park and the one in the truck. ”You've been stalking me.”
”Not stalking. Watching. You and Ann. I needed to see you two. I needed to watch you for the coming time.”
”What coming time? What are you trying to say?”
”As I said before, I think a power beyond yourself guided you here today. Maybe you are the new guardian?”
”Guardian of what?”
Grange tilted his head back and held the stone up to the sky. ”This was marked over four hundred years ago. It tells of the place where the stories of time are told.”
”Stories of time? What are the stories of time?”
”Memories. Of the past. Of the future.”
Cameron stared at the stone, and his heart pounded faster than it had during the climb. He grabbed his climbing pack and rustled through it, even though he knew his notebook wasn't inside.
Hadn't Jessie said something about the stone and the book? Weren't her last words about the stone having to do something with the book? The memory flitted in and out of his mind like a dragonfly.
He needed G.o.d to come through.
If You're real, help me remember.
A moment later her death flashed into his mind.
”You have the stone?”
”What stone?”
”You must not lose it. It's the key ... use it to find the book, okay?”
She'd known. A chill sprinted down his spine. Cameron closed his eyes and rubbed his face with both hands. She'd known where the stone would lead him.
”It's a place that records the past, present, and future?”
”One might use that word to describe it, yes.”
Unbelievable. This had to be the Book of Days' legend Taylor had spoken about. Cameron wiped his hands on his pants and swallowed.
Stone had lied.
”It's real? This place?”
”Yes.”
His heart rate kicked into another gear.
”Can you tell me how to get there?”
”It is a special place. It is not for everyone.” Grange held Jessie's stone by the leather cord and let it settle onto Cameron's palm. ”It is only for a very few.”
”I need to go there.”
”Why?”
How could he explain the reasons to a man he'd just met? For Jessie, for his dad, for himself. To know there was meaning to life, that there was something beyond what he could see, beyond the chemical reactions residing in his mind he called memories. To be healed.
Cameron closed his eyes and let his chin fall to his chest. ”For the love of my father and the love of my wife.”
”Is there anything else?”
”Just before my wife died, she told me to use the stone to find the book. And that someday I would know it's okay.”
”I see.” Grange stared out over the valley, sitting on the palms of his hands. ”If you choose to go, please note that it is a long hike. The hike is not hard, but it is four miles from an obscure trailhead not frequented much any more. Consider giving yourself enough time to make the journey. And give yourself enough time to be there as long as is necessary.”
Grange picked up a small stick from the ground and sketched the Three Peaks Mountains in the dirt at their feet. ”Start here.” He pointed to the base of one of the peaks. ”This is where you will find the trailhead.”
Wait. Grange's sketch reminded him of something. A view? Taylor ... Didn't Taylor show him? Yes. That day at the park. Stone guided him to a specific spot at a specific time of day to look at the Three Peaks. And he'd seen a shadow that looked like an arrowhead pointing to what looked like a tunnel in the same spot Grange had just drawn.
Cameron shook his head and smiled. Taylor had been telling him where to find the book.
”Do you know Taylor Stone?”
Grange nodded. ”We are friends.”
”Has he been there? To the place where the Stories of Time are told?”
Grange patted Cameron's shoulder. ”Let me show you what to look for along the way.” And he continued drawing in the thin layer of dirt at their feet.
When he finished he asked Cameron, ”Do you understand?”
”Yes.”
”I pray you are able to discover your path and find the Stories of Time.”
Cameron's adrenaline didn't stop pounding till he reached the bottom of the cliff and started the two-mile hike back to his MINI Cooper. He'd found it. The Book of Days and the Stories of Time were one and the same. He clutched the stone around his neck. Tomorrow he would take Ann and find his memories of Jessie and see his father again. Maybe even be cured.
After that he and Taylor Stone would have a very long talk.
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