Time, a mysterious thing. At times it goes so slowly. Yet other times it goes so fast. The day that followed was of the latter for Tom. He, Chaphar and Shehleg had a wonderful time. They talked, rested, even played a few times together.

Before Tom knew it, lunch had passed and they were a few short miles from home. Tom had been having so much fun, he forgot about food. Chaphar and Shehleg had also gone without lunch so there was nothing to even remind him.

A feeling broke into Tom’s lifted heart. It was strong and seemed to be more than just a feeling. An inner voice seemed to speak words, which were the cause of this feeling in the first place. Though, the feeling was not his feelings, but something traveling with the words.

The words were unmistakable and said, “Time to go.” The feeling was one of certainty, haste, and urgency. The feeling seemed to be saying that the words were not a ‘time to go now’ but a ‘time to go very soon’.

As he realized what it all meant, another thought hit him. His time left here was growing short and it was time to start saying his goodbyes. The thought brought sadness. Just over a day ago, near noon the previous day, he had said he wanted to go home. He no longer wanted that. He now saw that he didn’t really then either.

For the first time since yesterday morning, he realized how chilly it was. The trees all showed the reason why. It was still Autumn, or Fall, as it is also known. Fall sounded more correct. He had been pulled into this world and now he was about to fall back to his own.

“Tom, you look sad, why?” Chaphar asked.

“Yeah, we were all talking and then you just stopped,” Shehleg added.

Tom patted Shehleg’s neck. They were walking slowly. A few moments ago, before the feeling, they had been galloping. Again, it seemed to be a physical representation to what Tom felt. The day had galloped by at full speed, and now it seemed to crawl at a snail pace.

“I got this feeling and,” Tom said. “And these words which told me it’s time to go.”

Shehleg and Chaphar stopped and looked at each other. “Are you sure?” Chaphar asked.

“Without a doubt,” Tom answered.

“Did it say when?” Shehleg said lowering her head.

“No,” Tom said slipping down to the ground. “But soon.” Tom sighed. “If you don’t mind Shehleg, I would like to ride Chaphar for the remainder of the trip. It’ll be my last time to do so.”

“Yes I do mind,” Shehleg answered softly. “But, you may do so anyway.”

“Thank you,” Tom said as he reached for Chaphar’s shoulder.

“It will be an honor to finish this journey with you on my back,” Chaphar said as Tom jumped onto him.

“Well, shall we see if we can get you two home before I go home?” Tom asked.

“It’s worth a try,” Chaphar said trotting away.

“But shouldn’t we spend our time together?” Shehleg answered.

Chaphar stopped again. “I don’t think I’m going to leave without being able to say a proper goodbye,” Tom answered. “Now let’s go, I have a feeling this is not where we are supposed to say that goodbye.”

Shehleg sighed lightly. She then caught up and ran by. Chaphar joined her a second later.