The Other Side of Life is a fantasy about what can happen when the forces of nature intersect our lives. People caught up in storms, earthquakes, floods, and the like have a story to tell, none so mystical as what it might be like to travel through space and especially through time. William (Bill) and Henry (Hank) are two high school students who have that experience: first, when they meet Winston, a visitor from the nineteenth century, and later when all of them are transported from their twenty-first century lives to the nineteenth century, a land caught up fighting in the Civil War. Are they forever trapped in nineteenth-century America? What effect will the customs of the nineteenth century have on them if they are ever fortunate enough to be transported back to the twenty-first century? This story helps determine the direction of our lives. The Other Side of Life By Daphne Williams Robinson AuthorHouse Copyright © 2018 Daphne Williams Robinson All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-5462-3618-4 CHAPTER 1 Strange Visions I'm just an ordinary guy..... or so I thought I was, until one day my life turned upside down and more or less inside out. In the twinkling of an eye I was going to find out the meaning of the phrase "topsy turvy" world. I would embark on an experience unlike any other that I'd ever had. I was standing on the street corner, eyeing the girls instead of making my way home. I soon found out how radically my life was about to change. Mom and Dad were often disgusted with me. They said that I was a bit lazy at home ... that I constantly tried to talk my way out of responsibilities. Their biggest concern, was as they said; 'too often my hormones were in charge of my brain. 'Heck, what don't they understand? I'm not much different from any other fifteen year old guy. I admit that I should have headed home once I finished studying at the library. School had just begun following our summer break. The teachers were piling on assignments as if there were no tomorrow. I had stopped at the county library to research materials for a school history project. I soon learned, that I should have made a beeline for home when I finished instead of hanging around. I stood there on the corner even after I could see that most everybody else was gone including the girls. I was so lost in my thoughts, I hadn't noticed that the winds were picking up and the sky was getting dark ... almost black. I should have paid attention. The weatherman had predicted some really bad weather..... a possible tornado. Suddenly I took note. I was shocked to see that the winds were blowing like some ferocious animal attacking a victim. I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed that the street had long emptied of the people who had been there when I first came out of the library. The noise was deafening. I immediately looked for a place to hide. I sought safety in an office building across the street. Luckily the outer doors were unlocked. I darted inside, still trying to concentrate on what the weather was doing. The wind was getting stronger. It roared like a subway train coming in to Grand Central station. Even though I was deep within the doorway, I ducked my head and covered it with my arms trying to protect my face. The force of the wind penetrated the door, the walls of the building ... and my eardrums. Though I was inside the building's entry way, and the outer door stood between me and the weather, standing soon became a challenge. I felt a little like I was walking in a turbulent sea as the wind penetrated the outer structure of the door. With care, I lowered my body to the floor. As I peered out into the street, I saw all kinds of debris flying through the air. There were broken street signs and pieces of a bench from a nearby park. Rocks, bricks and parts of a small bush sailed past. Even a piece of a swing from the park had severed itself and flipped through the air like a hawk flying toward its prey. I thought I heard large heavy branches and tender young trees give way to the force of the storm. I noticed portions of a roof moving faster than an arrow headed toward a target. The traffic lights clung to life, then blinked and died. I was in semi-darkness as the lights in the surrounding buildings gave up the ghost, including the building that was my harbor of safety. Although it was only about four o'clock in the afternoon, the sky was really black, even though it was still day. Suddenly, the wind subsided, about as quickly as it had begun. The sky appeared to lighten up almost like the dawn of a new day. I looked at my watch. In all, the storm had ravaged this part of town in about forty to fifty minutes. When it seemed safe to go outside, I did so with trepidation. The area resembled scenes from an old World War Two movie I'd once seen. I noticed that there was not a lot of traffic. The few cars that had stopped began to move carefully through the debris laden streets. The street was empty of peo