The Exhibition Worlds

Elizabeth AARTI Thejus

“Who are you?” Anu was met with a highly philosophical question when she came to. She looked around her at unfamiliar territory - an old shed, a train chugging by (which looked strangely familiar), some people walking around, a few little newspaper stalls and a few domesticated animals. “Who are ye?” Anu spun around to look at who was talking, detecting the different accent. 

    She saw a young boy around her own age: 12. He was wearing a scruffy cap and was carrying some newspapers in a bag slung on his shoulder. His face had blackish marks - probably from coal from the trains, and his clothes were mucky and patched. He was lean and quite tall. 

    “Who are ye??” the boy asked for a third time, growing impatient. “Ummm…” Anu hesitated as she took the boy’s features in. “Aye?” The boy asked questioningly. “Anu… I’m Anu.” Anu mumbled hurriedly, her mouth gaping and her eyes wide. Suddenly the boy pushed her to the pavement, just before a cart rumbled past. Anu snapped back to her senses and questions flooded her mind. “Who are you?” she pointedly asked the boy “Where am I?” 

    The boy looked surprised “Ma name’s Jack and ye’r in Glamshirton. Whaur dae ye come fae? Ye sound like ye fae the East!” Anu looked lost and confused as she tried to remember what happened… "I was at the train exhibition, and I crossed the boundary line and fell onto the display. Somehow I shrunk and fell a very long way, hit something hard and got knocked out! Glamshirton…" 

    She took out her phone and opened up maps. Surprisingly, there was a signal. Jack looked over her shoulder and gaped in awe “Whit’s tha?” he said, open-mouthed. Anu ignored him for the moment, no explanation for a phone coming to mind. She quickly tapped the search bar and wrote in Glamshirton. A message popped up on the screen and Anu’s personal AI attendent said - “Maps couldn’t find Glamshirton, Anu. Sorry. Maybe you misspelt it or it doesn’t exist '' Anu asked Jack how to spell it, and he hesitantly said - “G-L-A-M-S-H-I-R-T-O-N”, while eying the phone suspiciously from the corner of his eyes. “Aargh!” Anu screamed out in frustration. 

    Jack slowly backed away. He didn’t like to mix with this kind - A witch from the East, he guessed, making weird sounds and brewing potions to put in their weird gadgets which glowed and talked to them, they suddenly fell from the sky and talked weird. 

    “Wait!” Anu said, sounding pained and desperate. “I’m from St Andrews, in Scotland… I just moved there, from India. It’s a small but prominent town. Do you know where it is?” Jack seemed perplexed, and undecided. Then he made a decision. A decision which he said later on “changed ma wee leif!” He said that he would try his best to help her, but first would take her home for a wee bit of something. It was a short walk to Jack’s home. He lived on a farm, and Anu saw a few chickens, cows, and sheep.

    Further on, there were fields with at least three different crops. A plump short woman with a red chequered apron on and a blue dress emerged from the house. She looked jolly and easy to get along with. “Hullo! Whit dae they cry ye?” Thankfully Jack answered for Anu, as she couldn’t figure out what she was saying. “Anu, Mum, the lass is Anu.” “Anu? Aye, a fine name that! A’m gled tae meet ye! Ma name’s Daisy and a’m Jack’s mum!” Anu gulped. This was going to be an interesting lunch conversation! 

    She thought of what to say and then realised that Daisy was talking. She was telling Jack to change out of those grubby clothes which made him look like he lived in the sewers. Anu chuckled inside. At least something reminded her of home! Daisy prepared lunch while she gave Anu some “proper clothes” to put on. This consisted of a pretty pink dress made of cloth and some beautifully handcrafted petite shoes and a little cardigan. When she came out Daisy gasped - “Aye, that’s more liek it! Don’t ye go around dresseeng liek a scruffy boy now!” Anu didn’t really understand, but it seemed like Daisy was showing clear approval of the dress, and clear disapproval of the jeans, t - shirt, zip-up hoodie, and trainers that Anu usually wore! 

    By the time Jack came down, there was a huge spread on the table - fresh jam and cream, scones, strawberries, bread, potatoes, meat pies and a huge apple pie, and something called Haggis which Anu stayed away from without realising!

    Soon after lunch, Jack and Anu packed a few leather satchels with water and food for their journey. Jack said that it was approximately a 5 and a half day walk. So they set out. Slowly Jack and Anu grew close, both sharing about their lives. Jack said that Anu had fallen from the sky, while Anu recalled definitely being on solid ground when she had fallen. An amazing idea sprang into Jack's mind - maybe there were different worlds, which you entered through by falling into exhibitions. Anu said that that was ridiculous.

    Jack said that his dad mysteriously disappeared 2 years and a week ago. His name was John McLoyd. Somehow, that name seemed familiar. Ofcourse - There was a farmer who owned the farm across the road. His name was John McLyod and he usually seemed sad and confused with things like tractors, traffic lights, phones, laptops and the internet. Maybe he WAS Jack’s dad. “Ma dad went missin in St Andrews at a wee farmers exhibition” Of course! It all clicked into place. A farmers exhibition to get to St Andrews in Anu’s world and a Railway exhibition to get to Glamshirton in Jack’s world. Anu felt super excited! Jack was right! She could even get Jack’s dad back to his world! As they continued, Anu wondered - Was it different worlds or time travel? 

    Jack said it was 1831 here - people spent an amazing amount of time doing things by hand like building something, cooking and even writing! Almost everything required a huge amount of manual effort, yet back at home it was 5668 - everyone used AI and it was a world run entirely on technology and was also eco-friendly! But then suddenly she remembered that some exhibitions were temporary and her stomach lurched with fear. 

    When Anu finally looked up, St Andrews loomed into view. It looked completely different from what Anu was used to. The three main streets - SOUTH STREET, MARKET STREET and NORTH STREET were neatly etched on black signs in gold, each pointing in different directions. The town was bustling and there were dozens of carts neatly rowed up proudly displaying their wares. Seagulls were perched everywhere and the unmistakable smell of the sea wafted around the market port. 

    “Cum on!” Jack shouted out to Anu. It looked like he knew the way! “Ah.. There it is - the beaty!” He had led her straight to the town hall, and sure enough, there was a farmer’s exhibition. Luck was on their side. They rushed in and Jack led Anu to the stall his father most probably fell on to. John loved fertilisers, so Jack guessed that his dad had probably fallen on that section. Anu didn’t know what to do. Should she try to fall on this section? What if it doesn’t work? What if… “AHHHHH” Anu screamed as Jack pushed her onto the exhibition counter. Again, she fell a long way, and landed in…. The Train Exhibition!! This time she was ready for a sudden landing and managed to and on her two feet. 

    She ran back home and went straight to John. She asked him if he had any family. A Jack and Daisy perhaps? John’s face lit up with recognition. Anu had no time to explain, so just hoped Jack could. She dragged John to the train exhibition and told him to try to land on his feet. She found a different counter that looked more like St Andrews then and shoved him into the exhibition. Sure enough, he fell down and down, until he disappeared. Jack had watched Anu fall back into her world and after a few minutes walked around the exhibition, went back to the spot to make sure everything was fine, and then slowly began walking out. 

    Suddenly he heard a thump behind him and turned around. “Dad!?” He screamed out - running towards him and bear hugging him, crying into his jacket. John wrapped his arms around Jack and whispered reassuring words into his ear “Yes Jack, it’s me. Don’t worry, I’m here, I won’t leave you!” And so they walked home, back to their own farm and Daisy. While Anu finished looking around the train station, wondering what the people in each exhibition were like. When she went home her parents suspected nothing - as 5 days in Jack’s world was only 2 hours in Anu’s. Every year when Anu revisited the exhibition, she would look for little figures in Glamshirton which looked like Jack and his family, always hoping they were doing well. And so, life went on, no one suspecting anything.

THE END

Date finished - August 14, 2023