Excerpt: Another Time and Place

With no notice except for a slight haze in the air, a large rowboat sailed into the pond, scaring the feathers off a small flock of ducks. They quacked noisily, trying to get out of the way as fast as possible. The boat shuddered, and then came to a complete stop as one of the rowers began to scream. “Ducks! Always ducks!”
“Captain, calm yourself. They’re gone. And better yet, we’ve arrived. Please don’t stop so suddenly.”
“They’re watching me,” the frantic rower insisted. “They’re watching me, wherever they are.” Shuddering, the “Captain” hid behind the nearest person.
The other rowers sighed. “Very well,” said the other one who had spoken. “I suppose we can leave the Bifrost here, and retreat to quarters.”
The boat shimmered again, and then everyone aboard vanished, leaving a fairly plain looking boat sitting amidst a flock of extremely startled ducks. One duck looked at another and quacked mournfully. It had liked watching the activity. Now the pond would be boring again.
Not so, claimed the other duck. It had a feeling that things were only beginning to get interesting.