“Kings Cross. Platform 9. 8:00.” Collin read his own untidy scrawl on the slip of paper and shoved it back into his pocket. He took a quick glance at his watch. 8:05. He bounced up and down on the balls of his feet and let out an enormous, silent yawn.
He had left in a hurry that morning. It had been a pretty late night, friends over until the early hours of the morning watching stupid movies and talking about nothing. Collin had fallen asleep on the sofa around 3:00. The dull throb in his neck reminded him yet again that the arm of his couch should never be used as a pillow. He had barely woken in time to throw on some clothes, search frantically for the note with Jovie’s arrival information, and run out the door to King’s Cross Station.
Thinking of the rush in which he had left his apartment, Collin looked down and noticed for the first time the outfit he had managed to throw together: his designer black leather coat; plain white T-shirt; blue jeans with one of the pockets turned inside out; and feet crammed into tennis shoes with no socks on. A large brown stain on the front of his T-shirt caught his attention. It was still damp. “I don’t remember eating that…” Collin thought with a frown. He zipped his coat up around his neck and looked down the tracks.
A train was pulling up to platform 10 across the station from Collin. Still no sign of an arrival at platform 9, where he had been standing for the last 10 minutes.
“Hmmmm.” Collin took another glance at his watch. 8:11. “She’s late.”
Jovie was always late. If you were having a party you could expect her to show up an hour after it started. If it was a lunch date; 30 minutes. Work; at least 15. Somehow though, with Jovie you never took this chronic tardiness personally; it was just an inevitable side effect of her fun-loving, carefree personality. This easygoingness seemed to follow her around like an invisible cloud, infecting everything she came in contact with. Even a train that was consistently on time day after day was now 15 minutes late, as if it had stopped for a pastry or ran into an old friend while on its way to meet Collin.
As he stood musing on this, a sudden, cold gust of wind blew through the terminal, swirling around Collin. He stamped his feet and thrust his hands into his pockets. It was September 1st and already the air had a frigid bite to it. He regretted not taking more time to put some socks on.
Getting impatient, he began to pace up and down the terminal. His eyes scanned King’s Cross Station, taking note of his surroundings.
There was the normal flurry of businessmen and students swarming off to his right towards the main terminal. A couple of Asian tourists were talking excitedly to Collins left. A man with a pointed mustache and wearing a business suit sat on a bench not far behind him. Further down, about three quarters of the way to platform 10, was an old custodian in an ancient, grey uniform. He was sweeping up garbage around a large, brick support column.
There were a dozen or so other people meandering along the platform. None of them were of particular interest, except for a couple of kids and their parents pushing enormous carts with what looked like giant cages on top. ‘Hmm, how about that…’ Collin thought absently to himself. He turned his gaze back to the blank stone wall across from him.
Suddenly, realizing the oddity of what he had just seen, Collin quickly turned back around. The family was nowhere to be seen.
‘Weird…’ Collin thought to himself. A strange feeling came over him just then, as if something very out of the ordinary was going on. He took a couple steps toward where he had last seen the family, trying to see around a large, brick support column that was in his view. Suddenly he found them, except now they were coming towards him from the other side of the platform.
“What the… How’d they get down there?” he thought in astonishment. “Wait…” this was a different family; there were about three times as many people as the previous group. Just like the previous group, however, the children were all pushing enormous luggage carts with cages perched precariously on top. It seemed odd to Collin that he would see two such out of the ordinary groups in such a short time. Curious, he craned his neck around and studied this new family.
There were about 6 children, all in their young-teens from what Collin could guess, and there was a definite air of strangeness about them. Four of them had bright red hair. Two of the red heads looked identical, although it was probably a result of his vantage point. The final two, a skinny kid with dark hair and glasses, and a girl who hadn’t brushed her hair that morning, looked like they were brother and sister. Accompanying the children was a shorter, older looking woman who was dressed quite sloppily. Come to think of it, they were all dressed rather poorly; it looked like they had just thrown on whatever clothes they could find, regardless of color coordinating.
Collin watched the group with a look of bewilderment. He studied them, trying to figure out why a troop of red-heads dressed in mismatched clothing would be pushing giant carts (animal cages rattling on top) around a train station. A sudden realization hit him: ‘Oh! Of course.’ He started. ‘They’re homeless.’
A small, almost fatherly smile came upon Collin’s face. He felt a sudden condescending compassion for them, a mix of pity and fondness. They looked so happy pushing their little carts in front of them… probably had everything they owned right there with them.
Just then the group halted right next to the large brick column. The ancient janitor was sweeping several feet away; head down and mumbling to himself. Each member of the group then began looking around the platform with anxious looks on their faces, almost as though they didn’t want anyone to see what they were about to do.
“Probably going to go through the rubbage bins.” Collin thought knowingly to himself. With what he considered respect, Collin turned back around and peered down the long stretch of empty tracks again.
After about ten-seconds of forcing his attention on the blank stone wall, Collin’s curiosity got the better of him. He took an inadvertent glance back at the family. What he saw next took him completely by surprise.
One of the red-headed boys, along with bushy-haired girl and skinny glasses kid, were leaning against the large support column Collin had noticed earlier. They were apparently chatting normally; except for a small, mischievous grin that seemed to play around each of their faces. Suddenly, the trio leaned against the column, and disappeared right through it!
Collin flinched noticeably. Was he crazy, or did he just see three people disappear right through a stone wall? He quickly looked around to see if the other people on the platform had seen it. The old man was still sweeping, his gaze fixed to the ground. the Asian pair had taken a seat on a nearby bench, looking bored, and the businessman was still reading his paper. None of them seemed to have noticed what had just happened.
He gazed back in disbelief at the group of red-heads, shaking his head. He was probably just seeing things. The three kids were probably just walking around behind the pillar.
As searched for them (with a hint of desperation to assure himself he wasn't crazy) he noticed the mother and the smallest child, a young girl with smooth red hair, start towards the same column. Collin took a few steps towards them, amazement etched on his face. The young girl broke into a jog, the older woman right along with her. If they didn't stop they would run right into it.... Whoosh!
They too went right through the wall.
Now, the first time people had gone through the wall, Collin could have been seeing things. But this time he was absolutely positive he had just seen a plump older lady and a little girl go right through a solid wall. He was also considerably closer this time, having unconsciously taken several steps towards the column.
A feeling of supreme awe had crept over Collin. What was going on here? Something was up, and Collin had the horrible feeling that someone was playing a trick on him. He looked around quickly for any sign of a television camera.
Just then he realized that the last two red-heads were looking right at him. Apparently they had been watching him for some time, because one was pointing at him and they were both chuckling. The one on the left leaned in to his counterpart and whispered. They both grinned and started walking towards Collin.
The awe he had felt quickly turned to alarm. The boys were coming straight at him, malicious smiles on their faces. It occurred to Collin at this point that these probably weren’t homeless people.
His mind furiously trying to decide whether he should run for his life or act like he hadn’t seen anything, Collin instead froze to the spot. He didn’t seem able to move his legs. The two kept coming. They were almost right next to him…
Collin had never hit anyone in the face before, and he wondered what it would feel like as he clenched his fist… but just then one of the two threw out his arm in a wave and greeted him with a hearty “Hello, friend!” Apparently he wasn’t going to be mugged.
Confusion at this unexpected gesture completely stunned Collin. As punching the stranger in the face and running like hell no longer seemed to be a viable option, he instead gave voice to his bafflement: “Who are you? What’s going on?” Collin heard himself blurt out. “I saw them walk right through that stone wall!” His hands shook as he talked.
The pair looked at each other and smiled. It was the same smile Collin had when he first thought they were homeless; a fatherly, condescending smile.
The twin on the right, (Collin could see now that they were definitely twins. Or possibly clones…) put his hand on Collin’s shoulder and squeezed in a reassuring manner. He looked at him with a slightly convincing look of concern and genuineness.
“This may be hard for you to understand, friend. But we… are not from this world.” His words were slow and deliberate, and his voice had a mystical tone to it. It reminded Collin of a bad sci-fi movie.
The twin continued. “This is the gateway to our land. To our…mothership.” He paused, apparently to let the words sink in. He looked right into Collin’s eyes as he spoke, his own eyes full of sincerity.
Perhaps it was because of their show of concern for him, perhaps simply because he was supremely unnerved by what he had just seen, but Collin found himself ready to believe anything they told him.
The other twin spoke up, also looking into Collin’s eyes and speaking in the same slow, mystical tone. “No one else here can see us. You are the only one. It’s because you are… a special person.” Collin thought he heard the first twin snort and quickly tilt his head down, covering his mouth with his hand. Almost immediately however, he looked up at Collin again and began to speak.
“We must go now. But if you desire, you can find your way to our world as well. So long, friend.” The twin gave a quick squeeze to Collin’s shoulder, smiled his compassionate smile, and the two turned back towards the column.
Collin watched them go, mouth hanging open. His mind was racing, trying to digest what he had just heard. Another world? Mothership? He could see it? A surge of excitement and terror filled him.
The two scarlet haired strangers were walking back towards the column, their heads bent in solemn conversation. They both seemed to be shaking as they walked.
“Wait! Wait!” Collin ran after the pair, who turned around abruptly. He noticed that their faces were very red.
“How do I…you know, find the way to your world? How do I get in?”
This time the twin on the right responded. “If you study the wall very carefully, the way will become clear to you. Farewell.”
Collin watched in silence as the two made their way to the column. The awe settled over him again as they collected their carts and started walking directly towards the wall. He didn’t dare get any closer to them. Just before disappearing through the wall, one of them raised a hand towards Collin and gave a wave.
He waited, unable to move. Then all at once his curiosity overwhelmed him and he sprinted to the column. His eyes searched frantically over the wall, taking in every detail. It appeared to be ordinary, solid brick.
He threw his hands on the brick surface. Sure enough, it was as solid as any other wall. Collin then felt every brick; pushing, searching, knocking. Nothing seemed to be happening. He wasn’t about to give up. The words of the twins echoed through his head: “If you study the wall very carefully, the way will become clear to you.” The next couple of minutes seemed like an hour as he searched frantically.
Just then, as he began to feel the heat of frustration trigger on his face and ready to give up, something began to emerge through the wall.
He gasped and took a step back. The thing (or rather things, as there were now two of them) were slowly coming out of the wall, seeming to materialize from nowhere. They were getting bigger…but he couldn’t recognize what they were. They looked like sides of two small, pale spheres, slowly swelling. The spheres were a few inches apart and were growing at the same rate. He watched, amazed, as another pair of spheres appeared about two feet next to the first set. They too were growing in size, getting bigger and bigger. Now there were tiny flecks of red on each, like spots, or freckles.... Then the figures emerged entirely, and Collin knew exactly what he was looking at.
It was the bare rear-ends of two pale-skinned, freckly red-heads.
As this realization hit him, the two fully formed posteriors then began to wave back and forth. Through the wall Collin could hear someone whistling the tune of “Oh, Britannia”.
He was thunderstruck. A variety of emotions ran through him at that moment: shock, amazement, disbelief, disappointment, confusion. In his bafflement at seeing human posteriors materialize through a brick wall, however, one absolute fact registered in his mind: he was being mocked.
The absurdity of the situation being entirely lost on Collin, he lashed out his tennis-shoe clad foot in a long, sweeping kick.
He first felt his foot smash into a fleshy buttock, and then felt it smash into a solid brick wall. Temporarily immune to pain, Collin repositioned himself to attack the second bum which had now stopped swaying. As his foot went flying forward, he saw only too late that his target had disappeared. His foot went crashing again into the wall. This time he was very aware of the pain.
Collin bellowed a curse and crashed onto the floor. From behind the wall he could hear a moan, followed by roaring laughter: “A ha ha ha! Are you ok George! Let me help you… YOU’VE GOT A SNEAKER PRINT ON YOUR DUFFER! A HA HA HA!”
The voices slowly faded away. Collin got back onto his feet and yelled some more choice phrases at the column, kicking it with his good foot. He heard footsteps behind him.
“What in the name of sam-hell are you doing son?” a gruff, weathered old voice crackled behind him. Collin looked up, and his eyes met those of the old janitor. It suddenly dawned on him how odd it must look for him to be kicking and swearing at a wall.
He struggled to explain. “These people…red hair...they…went right through the wall…two rear-ends came out at me!” Collin managed to stammer.
It was fairly obvious to Collin that the janitor thought he was insane. “I swear! There were people going through the wall! It was…magic!”
The weathered old janitor fixed Collin with a look of intense annoyance. “What damned nonsense. Magic? Pshaw! No such thing as magic, son!” he spat at Collin in his gruff voice. “You get out of here, and don’t go kick’n my walls like that no more.”
The old man looked at Collin expectantly. Collin stared back incredulously for a moment…then turned and stalked off.
The janitor watched him go. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the floor and resumed sweeping.
“Stupid Muggle.”