The Story
The castle's drawbridge was up. Below it, two crocodiles floated in the moat, looking remarkably relaxed.
One wore sunglasses. The other appeared to be napping. The traveler suspected the crocodiles were unionized.
Across the water, someone called, “Can you lower the bridge?”
She checked the clock, looked at the work spread across her table, and considered the question. Yesterday she might have lowered it immediately, then spent the evening wondering why she'd done that.
Today she called back, “Not this afternoon. Tomorrow might work.”
The crocodile in sunglasses gave what could have been an approving nod. Or a hiccup.
Later, she lowered the bridge for a little while. Then she raised it again. Nothing about that made the earlier visit less real.