Free Oracle in the Mist by Linda Maree Malcolm

people or the fact that she had apparently just time travelled to another dimension with a boy she hardly knew, leaving behind her mother who would probably be frantic with worry about her daughter by now. No, it wasn’t any of that.
    The thing that amused her the most and made her cover her mouth with her hand to stop the giggle from erupting and making her appear rather rude was the attitude of the cats. Apparently cats are the same in all time dimensions. Each and every one of the cats marched past the small gathering with an air of superiority, tails and noses up in the air, eyeing the children nonchalantly as if they had not the slightest bit of interest as to who they were or where they had come from. They obviously had far more important things to tend to. In fact there may have even been a slight air of distaste from the cats towards the small group. The last tiny furless cat, who was quite ugly by anyone’s standards, gave an aristocratic flick of its head as if to dismiss them completely and proceeded to make its way down the stairs. Such an air of royalty, Bobby had never seen before, not even displayed by the royalty of her own world. The professor continued to bow low to the cats as they passed and as soon as the last one was away down the mountain the little group made their way to the entrance of the professor’s house.

O n entering the professor’s house, the children were stunned by how much was packed into the four walls. While the hut they had awoken in was completely empty this one was the exact opposite. It seemed as if not one more thing could be jammed into this house. Both Bobby and David expressed their surprise at the sheer volume of books lining shelves all around the inside of the house and also acting as freestanding room dividers. Bobby thought that there were probably more books here that she had ever seen in any library. It would take weeks or even months of snooping and investigating to see everything that this house held. There were a lot of areas that were cluttered with old rubbish and had been left so the dust had built up but even that did not diminish their enthusiasm. Many nooks and crannies were appealing to the children and they both had to fight the urge to run off and start exploring the house.
    â€œOh, be my guests,” said the professor, as if he could read their minds. The children looked at each other gleefully and took off in separate directions. Bobby found herself drawn to a sketch of a woman that hung on a wall by the window.
    For a moment Bobby thought she recognised the woman, but no, it was probably just her imagination playing tricks on her again, but still she couldn’t help staring at it. There was definitely something about the eyes …
    â€œAh, yes, I thought you might notice that. Beautiful, isn’t she? How is Daphne anyway?” but as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he clapped his hand to his mouth and said in a whisper repeatedly, “Shut up old fool, oh shut up, what have you done, silly old fool, taboo subject, remember?”
    â€œWhat was that?” Bobby asked, becoming intrigued. Could it really be her mother?
    â€œWhat?” he said calmly and turned away as though to ignore her.
    â€œYou just mentioned my mother’s name, Daphne.”
    â€œWhat’s that? Your mother’s name? No I didn’t. No, I said, ‘Lousy artist, what a shame!’” the professor insisted.
    â€œBut I heard you … just now,” Bobby persisted.
    â€œYour mother … why would I ask about her? I have no idea who she is.” Even though Bobby had just met the professor, she could tell by the way he avoided looking at her and stood gazing out of the window with his hand on his hip, humming a tune nervously to himself that he was lying.
    â€œScreech,” said the monkey.
    â€œOh good heavens, yes Sebastian, I’d quite forgotten.
    Time to make the tea. Excuse me,” the professor said