Episode 5 – Chapter 13

‘Get down!’ Thursday screamed at me. I found myself hiding next to Isabella who soon fainted. The front door had exploded and Thursday and Miss Havisham had pulled out their guns. I stayed away from most of the action while bullets were flying around. It turned out to be a group of ProCaths, wanting to kill Heathcliff. There was even more gunfire and shrapnel flew through the room. The cast of Wuthering Heights screamed while the ProCaths told their demands.
‘Polly, stay down.’ Thursday said as she crawled towards the kitchen. Not long after that the ProCaths started shooting again, but this time they didn’t aim for us. We could hear screams and everything became quiet. I knew from the book that Big Martin had showed up. Silence returned and soon everyone had left after a small fight between Heathcliff and Miss Havisham. I found myself alone with Thursday Next cleaning up the mess.
‘Are you sure you’re ok, Polly? The bookworld can be a lot to handle if you’re not used to it. Even I sometimes feel like it’s too much.’
‘I’m fine, really. It was kind of exciting actually.’ Thursday laughed.
‘You do know that you can die here, right? It’s just as real as our world.’
‘I know. But I’ve been feeling kind of boring lately. It was nice to be in some kind of danger. It sounds stupid, I know.’
‘It doesn’t sound stupid. Although sometimes I wish my life wasn’t so dangerous all the time.’
‘The grass is always greener?’ Thursday laughed.
‘If you want to talk in proverbs…’
Life in the real world had been pretty boring lately. Everyday life had sneaked in. I noticed the dullness of my days about a week ago. It had been another day of school and work. While reading another boring philosopher I decided I had had enough. It was time to leave. And I knew just the person to go to. Thursday Next had always seemed interesting and felt like the right person to talk to about this. I really wanted to meet Thursday at this point of her life. She was hiding in books; I wanted to do the same. So it had been days since I left my life behind and joined Thursday in The Well of Lost Plots.
‘So Polly, what is it that you do at home that’s so boring?’ Thursday asked while she took up a broom.
‘I don’t really know. My life got busy. I don’t seem to like that. It means I don’t have time for questions.’
‘What kind of questions?’
‘Any questions, really. Whatever comes to mind. I ask people from books for answers. They seem wiser then real people.’
‘And you came to me for an answer? That’s flattering.’ I smiled and put a table back in its corner. ‘But wait… does that make me a book person or a real person?’ I thought about this for a while.
‘I wouldn’t know, Thursday. You’re wise, so that would mean you’re a book person. But I could also be a book person. It’s all pretty confusing sometimes. Because if I was a book person I should be wise. And I don’t think I am.’
‘Hmm, I don’t think it really matters. I have two worlds; both feel real enough to me.’
We cleaned up some more while talking about Wuthering Heights. I told Thursday I had never read the book and didn’t even own it. She was surprised.
‘You should really read it. Although Heathcliff is kind of an arrogant jerk, he still makes for a good story.’
‘He is kind of mean sometimes. Why does the old Catherine love him so much?’
‘I would give away the story if I told you that.’ We laughed about this for a while, not really knowing why it was that funny. We cleaned the remaining mess in silence. Heathcliff’s house was back to its normal state and we sat down in the kitchen.
‘So, what question do you have in store for me? You’ve been here for a couple of days now, but I haven’t heard any big questions.’
‘That’s because I’m still not sure what to ask you.’
‘Well, why did you come here?’
‘Because I felt like my life was boring. And yours seemed very interesting. You can jump into books. I would love to be able to do that.’
‘But Polly, you do know that you’re in Wuthering Heights right now, sitting at Heathcliff’s table. I think you can jump into books just as much as I can.’
‘What I do is different. It happens mostly in my head.’
‘How does that work?’
‘I’m not sure, but I do know it’s not the same.’
‘You’re a difficult girl, Polly.’ I smiled.
‘Thursday, are you happy with your life?’
‘So it’s time for the big question. Am I happy? I think I am. But I miss Landon.’ She looked really sad when she mentioned his name. I knew she was getting him back, but I couldn’t tell her. ‘Enough talk about eradicated husbands. Would you like to meet my mother? I was going to have dinner with her. You do know she’s also called Polly?’
‘Yes I do. But I think I really need to go home. There are people waiting for me.’
Thursday smiled knowingly, just as I had done when she mentioned Landon. It made me wonder which one of us was a real person.
‘It was nice to meet you Polly. Come visit me again. I guess you’ll be able to find me.’
‘I’ll do that. You’ve been a great help with my question.’
‘But you have many more to ask.’
‘I certainly do!’ We hugged and said goodbye. I promised to come back soon, but I wasn’t sure if I would be able to. As Thursday left for her real world I left for mine. At home I sank into my couch. It felt good to be home again. A book on my dining table caught my eye. I walked into the kitchen and found a copy of Wuthering Heights. I smiled and started reading.