The Peacock 297

 "Where did you get to?" he asks, still smiling.

"How long have I been gone?"

"Nearly an hour.  Where did you get to?"

"Sorry I didn't stick around for clean up."

"You are not obligated.  Where did you get to?"

"Where did I get to?"

"You were off property, weren't you?"

"And what if I was?"

"You were warned, weren't you?"

"I wasn't gone that long, was I?"

"Nearly an hour.  And we were getting worried.  Now, Christopher, please, tell me, where did you get to?"

"I went out past the tulip beds, and instead of turning right in the direction of the magnolia, I simply stayed on the path."

"And then where did you get to?"

"It all turned to forest, there was an opening in the fence, and I kept going on the trail.  It continued for some time, and then it led out onto a clearing, this beautiful meadow full of flowers, lupin and daisies.  And in the middle there was a cabin."

"Did you enter the meadow."

"For some reason I was scared to, so I came back.  I thought you would explain it to me."

"Me", says Carl, smiling then shaking his head.  "No, not me."

"Why not?"

"Because I've never been there..."