Chapter 3

Jenna pulled up to the museum; it was an exquisitely kept stone structure from the 1500s. Stones lined the walkway to the building, and two dragon statues were on pedestals by the entrance. The children gasped when they saw it. They had lived in this town their entire lives but never visited the museum because their parents were always too busy. Jenna had only been here once on a school field trip in the second grade, but that was just a distant memory now.

Jenna parked the car looking at the children; Melanie gleamed with excitement. "This is so cool! I hope the inside is just as cool." 

Jenna laughed, "I haven't been here since I was really young, but I remember it being pretty fantastic." She said, peering out the window at the massive stone building.

Max had brought his handheld game and was completely oblivious to his surroundings. Jenna walked over and took the game, putting it in her pocket. "Okay, you two, time for rules." Both twins rolled their eyes.

"Jenna, we are ten now. We're practically adults. We don't even need a babysitter," said Max. 

Jenna smirked, "You two are super impressive kids. I will give you that, but there will be a lot of people here today, and it is my responsibility to keep you safe." She said, eyeing them both, the twins groaning as she did so. "You two are to stay together with me at all times. There will be much to see; they even have vendors out front and a few special new attractions inside. The museum is celebrating its 500th anniversary, and it will be packed. Now if we do get separated, I want you to find the front of the building and wait by the doors. I'll find you." They both rolled their eyes but agreed to the rules Jenna laid out.

These two kids had no idea what the real world was like, Jenna thought. She was annoyed that they didn't understand the importance of an adult looking out for them. Jenna had wished so many times for that; she had to grow up more quickly than other children her age. She was on her own with occasional guidance since she was five.

They walked to the front entrance along the pebble stones path. Jenna smiled at Max and Melanie when they saw the dragon statues, their excitement evident. She told them to stand next to the statues so she could take a picture. The twins took silly pictures before they all went inside.

Inside, the floors were marble, and the stone structure of the building was still evident in the walls. The museum was massive and beautiful inside, almost like a castle. They waited in line, taking in the majesty of their surroundings. "Wow! Look, this was a castle," stated Melanie, pointing to a plaque she was reading from. "It belonged to the king and queen, Richard and Angela."

Jenna nodded, "That is pretty cool." She said, looking at the plaque. "I know the town here is old, but it is weird to think it is that old. Can you guys imagine having a Queen and King now? Everything is so manicured and well taken care of now in this town. The castle definitely doesn't match." 

Melanie laughed, "I bet the whole town looked so much different 500 years ago." 

"I bet it did," said Jenna nodding in agreement. 

Max nudged Jenna, pointing to the line, "it's our turn." They quickly moved up to the window. 

"Hi, how many? " Asked the lady behind the counter. 

"We need three tickets. One adult and two children," stated Jenna smiling at the attendant. 

"Of course." the museum attendant said. She rang up the total and told Jenna how much it would be. Once Jenna had paid, the attendant handed her the receipt. "Here you go. Don't forget we are celebrating 500 years today. There is a special exhibit with different clocks and photos from the museum's past." 

Jenna smiled, taking the receipt "thank you! We'll check that out."

They walked through the entrance and into the main area, grabbing a map as they passed. There were so many different rooms with different exhibits. Max looked at the map "let's go to the exhibit featuring the town first. We learn different things in school, but I'd like to see what they have." 

Jenna nodded, "okay, Melanie gets to pick the next exhibit."

They followed the map until they found the room featuring the town exhibit. It was massive; there were old horse-drawn carriages and town pictures. Clothes and other items that people would have worn were also on display. Jenna studied each image; she had found an image of their church. It looked the same, but everything else was different; the town was still beautiful but in a 500-year-old way. People walked the streets; there were horse-drawn carriages on the main road; it was surreal. 

Melanie called over to Jenna, "look at this picture. This girl looks a lot like you!"

Jenna looked; Melanie was right; Jenna and this girl could be twins. "That's so strange," she said. 

Max nodded "you have a doppelganger," he said, and they all laughed.

Jenna nodded. "I guess I do. One from 500 years ago," she said, shrugging. 

Melanie smirked, "well, it's my turn now. I want to see the clock exhibit the lady at the front mentioned." 

Jenna nodded "okay. Let's head that way." they followed the map until they got to the hall featuring the clock exhibit. So many different clocks lined in this room, watches, wall-mounted clocks, and grandfather clocks, each of them different. 

"Wow, this is actually really cool!" exclaimed Max. The three of them walked around the room, observing the different clocks. 

A man approached them, asking, "are you enjoying your day at the museum ?"

Jenna nodded "we are, thank you." 

"You know the grandfather clock you're standing in front of now has a legend behind it. " Jenna looked at the old clock. It was more significant than the others in the room and was made of almost a black-colored wood.

"It does?" she asked. 

"Yes. This clock was rumored to change your destiny" he smiled. 

Jenna looked at the clock "but how could a clock even do that?"

The man smiled almost magically "it was rumored to be a time machine." 

Melanie and Max were captivated by this, "wouldn't it be so cool to travel back in time?" Asked Max.

Melanie nodded in agreement, "it would be amazing," she said excitedly.

Jenna smiled at the two children, she knew this was make-believe, but she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like. She could have a new destiny, one that she could mold; so much of her life was out of her control. Her mother, her housing situation, and where she was placed; even the next year, she was aging out of the system, something else out of her control!

She sighed as the two children marveled at the clock, "well, thank you so much for telling us that." She smiled at the man. 

"No problem." He said as he winked at her.

Jenna rolled her eyes "what a creep," she said under her breath. 

"All right, Max, your turn to pick." Max pointed to the map at a new exhibit, and off they went. She couldn't help thinking about the time-travel clock as they walked to the next exhibit.