The Search For Rollo
We had been traveling for some time. Music had accompanied parts of our journey. At times we sat in silence, each man alone with his thoughts. At no time did we feel alone.

The three of us had embarked on a pilgrimage without being aware.
The day had started mid-morning when I left my home to meet the Doctor. From there we traveled through the city to pick up the Professor. Two men of science and an interloper, we held our own thoughts close, never quite letting our defenses down.
The three of us were set to meet Rollo in the mountains where he lived. The time it should have taken was a little over an hour but we didn’t find Rollo until well into that afternoon. Even then, we were still not sure if we had indeed found him.
In the space of one day we would shape governments and our destiny while feasting.
Later that day, from our table, we surveyed a valley below us as the road we had taken slowly wound its way up into the high country. A railway passed nearby. But no train came. Time passed. Trees became clusters that in turn grew into forests. Farms perched on green hills. Children waved to the trains and Rollo asked the question we all wanted answered.
“What are they waving at?”
The Doctor laughed, but his voice soon faded as thoughts silenced him.
The Professor sat in silence.
“You.” I ventured.
Rollo turned to his plate and, with eyes centuries old, examined the sacrifice before him. “Really?” he asked. I was lying. We all knew it and ignored the lie.
The young boy was in a fury. His voice hurt my ears with each new scream. I was too worried to ask the others if I could let him free. From their expressions I think they too were fighting their own dilemmas. A common introspective purgatory.
“How long will you stay here?” The professor asked.
Rollo’s answer was long and complex but we all knew what it was before the question was asked. Our kinship had been revived and together, the four of us would change the world for ever. Nothing would be the same again.

