Setauket, Long Island, NY, Present Day

Eleven-year-old Linda Krane was screaming.

It wasn't abnormal; she always ended up screaming at night. It was the same nightmare every time...

She would fall asleep, and, then, she would be on the beach near her house -- Setauket Harbor. But she was floating, floating over the beach! That part was lovely. Then, out of nowhere, a girl appeared, holding a glowing, triangular, purple rock. She would look up and see Linda. Suddenly Linda would feel pain, terrible pain, pain like she never felt before --

And she would wake up, covered with sweat.

It happened every night. Why?

Setauket Harbor, June 27, 1777

Sarah Caswell looked out on the harbor. It was much busier than she remembered it, although that was probably because she had been too tired to really notice the day before yesterday.

She and her family had come to America from England two days ago, hoping to start a new life here. They had moved in with her aunt and uncle until Sarah's father could build them a house.

They had arrived at Setauket Harbor onboard the ship Forward. It had been a tough journey, but they had finally reached America!

It was almost time to go home. Sarah took a step, and her foot was cut by a sharp rock in the sand. She bent down to pick it up and was surprised to find that it was in the shape of a perfect triangle. Its surface was smooth, all except the edges -- these were very sharp. It was only about a half inch thick, but what really caught Sarah's attention was the color of the stone -- a queer shade of purple.

She picked it up to examine it more closely and was surprised to find that it was growing warmer and giving off a gentle glow.

Soon it had grown so hot that it was burning her fingers, so she dropped it.

When she looked up, everything was different.

Present Day

It was a beautiful day, so Linda decided to go for a walk down to the beach; the old Setauket Harbor.

There were plenty of boats out on the Sound, and there was a horseshoe crab shell over there. It seemed perfect to Linda, but she couldn't help wonder what it had been like a few centuries ago, when large ships ruled the harbor.

A port -- a place where things come and go, Linda thought with a smile. People didn't come and go as much anymore through the harbor now.

Suddenly the wind picked up immensely. The gentle breeze turned into a tornado, out of nowhere, and Linda was swept off her feet and thrown into the air.

What in the world...?

Nothing else was affected by the sudden world -- the sand didn't fly in the air, waves didn't crash down, boats didn't shake like crazy.

Then the wind stopped, just as suddenly as it had started. But Linda wasn't let down. She was hovering over the --

Her eyes grew wide with the terrible realization that she was living her dream.

IT LOOKED LIKE SARAH WAS STILL ON THE BEACH. The shape of the land was nearly the same, but the ships and people were gone. Only a few, small, strange-looking boats were moored out in the harbor, and, as for people, there was no one. Across the street there were houses -- but houses like she'd never seen before.

And when she looked up -- that was the largest surprise of all. How had that girl managed to get up there?

It was too much, and Sarah nearly fainted. Well... nobody else was around, so she might as well ask that girl where she was.

"Excuse me?" she began awkwardly, looking up. "I am lost, and I was wondering where I am. Could you please -- um -- come down from there and assist me?"

As for Linda, she was at a loss for words. Her nightmare had come true! Except for the pain, but she could do without that.

"Actually, I'm not exactly sure how to get down. In fact, I don't know how I got up," Linda explained.

"Well, I need to get home. Do you know where I am?"

"You are at Setauket Harbor, on Shore Road. Didn't you know that?"

"Setauket Harbor? I was just there! And this looks nothing like it. It's all in this stone-- what else does it do, I wonder?" She picked up the purple stone and as she did so, Linda suddenly came crashing down to the ground.

"OW!" she said, but she was unhurt. "That's one strange rock. Where did you get it?"

They introduced themselves (rather awkwardly) and, after a great many questions being asked, they came to the conclusion that Sarah had time-traveled.

"That's all very nice; but how do I get back to the 1770s?" Sarah said miserably. "I want to be home!"

"Maybe if you play around with that stone again, it'll get you home," Linda said.

Sarah picked up the stone once again, examining every inch. She suddenly spotted a strange symbol on it -- a triangle with what looked like a seashell inside. "Look at this," she said. "What is it? Is it your country's current symbol?"

"Not unless it's an eagle," Linda answered, "or the Statue of Liberty."

"What's that?" Sarah asked quizzically.

"Never mind," Linda said. "What we need is to get you home. Maybe if you touch it, or -- oh, I don't know. I'm not really an expert on time travel, you know."

"Well, I'll try touching it, and then we'll see what happens," Sarah said. "But if I do get home, I'll try and visit you again, if possible."

"Goodbye, then, Sarah, and good luck!" Linda said.

With a smile, Sarah rubbed her thumb against the strange symbol, and --

She disappeared.

And Linda thought that maybe Setauket Harbor was still a place where things came and went.

The End