Swanie is finally asleep and dreaming up her own characters to play with. Center of the night: time to crack into that Monster Book for real, but caarefullly so as not to jar loose the remaining marble again. (Got in) so much trouble before!
He opens up the book in the middle which is the same as the beginning. Just then, the “front door” of special collection slides forward. Someone enters.
“Ross C.!” Man About Time exclaims in a rare outburst. So mild usually.
“I’m glad you made it back, sir,” she said in her robot way, continuing to dust around the shelves and making up time for last week’s snowstorm. Ross C., Man About Time ponders. Haven’t seen her since…
“Sir?” MAT still doesn’t respond. “Sir?” She approaches the reading table. “Oh dear, he’s gone a bit *glassy*-eyed, hehe,” and then dusts him off as well while she’s there.
Pretty good joke for an interloper.
“Oh look,” she continues while looking down at what he’s studying. “Abner again.”
The marbles fall out of his eyes and he can see. But Ross C. was gone. Ross C. was never there.
Sunklands 