Three weeks passed since Heron arrived at Lila’s establishment. Two Chinese guests traveled back home within a week. Unfortunately Lei Feng missed Heron’s banquet, but Xiu Song was able to enjoy a taste of Greece. Before Xiu Song left, she thanked Lila for a very enlightening experience. Lei Feng had also been grateful, but he was less sad to leave than Xiu Song.

Without Lila’s awareness, Heron spent his nights spying on her. He was determined to know what was behind the locked door. He was able to figure out that a code of seven numbers was needed to work the keypad, but he was still at a loss for what numbers to press, and in what order to enter them in. A few times, while Lila was nowhere near her private quarters, Heron would push some numbers to see what would happen. Nothing ever did, but he remembered every combination he used. With every new attempt, he prayed harder that the new combination would work. Heron knew his days in this place were numbered, and he would always regret not knowing more about Lila’s secrets if he returned home soon.

While he was not sneaking around the house, Heron was by Lila’s side asking her many questions and burning her responses into his memory. Sometimes he would try to trick something out of Lila, but she could always tell and would sweetly rebuff his curious inquiries with different information. His failures fueled his eagerness even more, but he had quickly realized that he would have to use every ounce of his wit and intelligence to catch her off guard.

Two months into Heron’s stay, he was still as determined. He watched Lila from the gardens as she made her way from her personal quarters and into the courtyard. He used this time to sneak to the door and try a few more combinations.

Heron was not worried that Lila, or the other guests, would miss him. He had created a pattern from the very beginning, already planning on what he would be doing during his ‘personal’ time. Every day he had specific times in which he asked to be alone. No one thought that strange, as many people there had different customs. William would be off reading his Bible most of the time while Marjorette spent time to herself in order to primp and practice new dance moves. Makawee would spend most of her days in her tent, but she was an elderly woman whose energies were slowly leaving her. Heron felt safe that no one would seek him out.

Time was coming to an end as breakfast approached and just as Heron was about to give up, the lock made a sound he had not heard before. Quickly he turned the handle and the door opened. His heart raced as he burned the sequence into his mind. Oh how he longed to enter into the doorway, but no, he would wait. Heron closed the door and went to breakfast.

He was antsy all morning; he tried to hide it, but the more he tried the worse he became. He needed to stay calm in order to bide his time. Breakfast seemed to last forever, and even after it was over he wouldn’t have another opening until after lunch. Heron thought he would burst with excitement and ruin everything. Lila noticed Heron’s unusual behavior. He would normally be trying to pry some information from her, but instead he was distracted by everything. When she inquired about his health, Heron thought it unwise to feign illness and instead made up some story of feeling the irresistible urge to hunt. Lila laughed at his response and took him for his word. She had no doubt that Heron was feeling suppressed.

Heron’s time finally came and ever so cautiously he made his way to her door. Once he was absolutely sure that Lila would not come back until evening, Heron snuck up to her door, pressed the sequence of numbers and turned the knob. The door opened and he slipped through.

On the other side of the door lay a plain long corridor. The light reflected on the corridor walls from the room it opened up into. Still very apprehensive about each step, he slowly made his way into the larger room. Heron’s mouth dropped at the sheer size of it all. The room was a massive library that went stories below the ground. It was a large circular room, with stairs that spiral downward. Every inch of the wall was covered in books, encased in glass. Books on every culture, every time, every dialect.

Heron was so overwhelmed that he stood in still silence for a long while. Even though he could not read over half the titles, he only guessed at what priceless knowledge lay in between the pages. Once he overcame the feeling of smallness, Heron set out to find books he could read. After two hours of skimming the books’ spines, he found a large section of books that he understood. As much as Heron wanted to figure out how to open the glass, he knew it was wiser to return the next day and continue from where he left off.

The next day Heron returned and immediately set to work on trying to open the glass. The glass was paneled, but had no latches or handles to open it with. He started from the very top of the stairs looking for buttons or levers that might lift the casing, but only succeeded in turning on and off lights or opening and closing windows. There were a few doors Heron found, but they were all protected by separate keypads, and the code he used for the main door did not work on any of them. As he walked farther down the stairs, he noticed a glass desk at the bottom of the room. He walked and walked until he was hovering over the desk.

The desk sat right under a light that mimicked the sun and on it’s desktop sat a computer. Heron had no idea what it was, but he understood that it was technology of Lila’s era. It was on sleep mode and as he moved things around on her desk, the mouse was bumped, which switched the screen on. He was awestruck, but couldn’t really understand the concept of the mouse in relation to the machine. He tried to work out the mechanics of the computer; assuming that this device might hold the key he sought. As he was looking underneath the desk, he noticed a small button tucked all the way in the back.

Heron smiled, he was sure he had found his answer. The glass did not rise when he pushed the button, instead a door opened behind the desk. The door lead into a very cozy room, with a Victorian couch and was plastered with pictures in frames. All the pictures in the room were drawings Lila had created, and most featured a likeness of a specific man. Heron was drawn farther into the room where more books were stored, only these were not protected by glass. Heron picked up a random book and opened it. It was a photo album containing images of Lila and her guests at the time. Page after page, after page, contained pictures of Lila with different guests.

Heron remembered the machine that Lila had asked them all to be still in front of and took the last book on the shelf. He opened it in the middle, but the pages were empty. He flipped nearer to the beginning and saw it, the picture of him with all the guests during the morning of his Greek banquet. He then took, what he assumed to be, the first book on the shelf and opened that. The only consistent face in the first book was of a man, and eventually that man plus a woman. Heron skimmed all of the books and witnessed, through the photos, a little of Lila’s ancestry. Four generations of displaced traveler guardians. He even saw her as a baby, growing into the lady she currently was.

Heron was so intrigued at the images that captured the passage of time, he didn’t hear Lila as she walked up behind him. The only cue she gave to her position was a strained sigh. Heron turned quickly, dropping the album as he did. Some pictures fell out of the book and spilled onto the floor.

“I, I” was all Heron could say before Lila sighed again and bent down to collect the fallen images. Heron stooped down as well, but was very awkward in helping.

“You are the first person to find their way into my private space, I have to commend your tenacity for that.” Heron was surprised at her reaction. “Though, did I not express properly that my personal space was not to be intruded upon?” Heron hung his head and tried to think of a way out, but he could not come up with one.

“What will happen to me now?”

“Excuse me?” Lila wasn’t sure what he meant by that.

“Will you have to kill me?”

Lila’s anger was mellowed by Heron’s train of thought, “No” she replied holding back a laugh, “but I don’t really know what to do in this situation, as it has never happened before. No displaced travelers are meant to see this place.”

“This is the technology of your time?” Heron asked energetically. “You control the light and dark, the wind from the ceiling and can build such an amazing structure way below the land’s surface. From outside no one would be able to tell this trove of knowledge is so large.”

Lila nodded her head, “Yes, you’re right. I assume you know what is safely stowed behind the glass in the main room?”

“That is the future.” Heron’s eyes gleamed.

“For you, but for me it is history.”

“You truly are the keeper of time.” Lila shook her head back and forth. “You and your family have been keeping time for generations. Do you know how amazing this is? How can a handful of people know so much?”

Lila gently shrugged. She had never placed too much importance on her part; it was simply what she was born to do. From birth she was taught everything that she could possibly learn about the histories of different cultures and learned to speak every dominant language and pick up others as she grew.

“This is simply how I live. We’ve collected and learned for generations, but the real knowledge comes from people like you, who come and impart their ways on us. My family has been documenting the histories of displaced travelers since this establishment’s beginning.”

Lila lead Heron out of her hidden room and back into the vast library. “My family wrote a quarter of these books on what they’ve learned about cultures from travelers, and half of the rest of these books are collections of writings from travelers themselves.” Heron remembered what Lila had mentioned to him a few days after he arrived. She told him to write about whatever he pleased, if he felt inclined to. He had started, but was too preoccupied in trying to sneak in here, or learn from Lila.

“I see,” was all he had to say about that. “And that secret room we just came from, that is the room where you keep memories?”

“You are very sharp, Heron.” Lila stated frankly, which pleased Heron greatly.

“Who is the man from your art?”

Lila looked to the room and only caught a corner of one of her more recent pieces. He was someone from her past, but she was not inclined to speak of him. Instead she smiled slightly and pressed a button, which closed the door. “I’m afraid that I will have to reset my lock. Do you know what I am saying?”

“You are saying that I will not be able to use the same code to re-enter.” Lila nodded her head in compliance. “Then let me stay here a little longer, I wish to take in as much as I can.”

Lila saw no harm in his request and stayed with him. There was nothing he could really do in the library unless he knew how to open the glass using her computer. She watched him as he soaked in everything he could. He ended up back at the glass desk; he was very curious about the machine that sat on it.

“And what is this?” He asked as he pointed to the monitor.

“That is a machine that stores knowledge and data. Can you believe that this small box holds all the knowledge of every book here and much more?”

Heron looked at the hard drive and then all the books around him and shook his head in disbelief.

“And how does it work?” Lila smiled and simply replied it was magic. Heron understood that was her way of saying it was not for him to know. He tried to get more information from her, but she politely refused to answer. Heron’s time in this place was running out and he started for the entrance of his own volition. Lila nodded to him in appreciation and they began the impressive climb up the winding stairs. As Lila escorted Heron out the door, he glanced back one last time.

“Is there no way I can come back here?” Lila shook her head. Heron did not belong in her time. He walked out the door and Lila watched to make sure that he really left. When she was sure that he had gone, she closed the door and stood in front of the keypad for a while. She was thinking of the past and how the particular code for the door had deep meaning for her. Her hand rose to reset it, but then she brought her hand back down as she stared past the numbers.