"Isn't this fascinating?" Tina asked, lifting her chin and looking around at the thick forest of elms and maples surrounding them. Already long shadows, stretched across the path, announced the end of the day.

"Let's go," Lydia said. The more she thought of those two men and the more she considered her opened books sitting on the table in her room the more Lydia wanted to leave Sturbridge quickly.

"Just think! All this shows us how people lived back in 1720 or so," Tina bubbled out, turning and running behind her friend.

"I've had a good time, Tina, but I want to go back."

Lydia and Tina had decided to visit Sturbridge Village, a recreated New England town of the early eighteenth century. It was two days before the beginning of the fall semester and their last fling before settling down to their studies. Tina didn't notice Lydia's gloomy attitude as she strolled behind her friend and peered up at the tall, arching elms on either side of the path.

Nestled in the woods were restoration school houses, elegant town homes, taverns, copper smiths, general stores, and even a complete New England farm stretching out to a winding brook at the far end of the compound.

"Oh, let's stop here," Tina said, reaching forward and grabbing hold of Lydia's arm. They were in front of the shoemaker's shop. A young man in his early twenties squatted on an uneven wooden stool and carved a pattern on a sheet of leather.

"Tina…" Lydia was about to protest. But her dark-haired friend had already disappeared into the small shop and was chatting busily with the artisan. Lydia sighed, then turned around and found herself staring across a neatly manicured square. Across the tiny well-kept gardens and paths the blonde spotted a small home next to the church.

Checking behind her once more and seeing Tina was going to be tied up with the shoemaker for a while, Lydia brushed her hair back and quickly crossed the square to the home. Might as well do something until she's through Lydia thought, glancing down at her wristwatch and seeing Tina had only twenty more minutes before the compound closed.