A loud noise wakes Jan up suddenly. She looks at the alarm clock beside the bed.
It's five o'clock. Then she hears the noise again. It's thunder. Then she hears a different noise.
It's the sound of something hitting the window. She gets up and goes to the window. She can see Tom standing outside in the rain. He's shouting at Jan, telling her to come outside.
Jan gets dressed, puts on her anorak and goes downstairs quietly, trying not to wake Tom's parents.
"What are you doing, Tom?"
"The storm, " he says. "It's the same storm as Thursday night. Let's go to the tree. Maybe you can go home!"
Jan follows Tom down the road and then she remembers something.
"The time capsule!"
Tom shows her the biscuit tin under his jacket. "I've got it. " And now maybe there's the possibility that she can return to the future. Soon they come to the river and then the old building. They run up the path through the trees and arrive at the piece of land with the apple tree.
"Now what do we do?" asks Jan.
"I put the time capsule back where I found it and ... "
Tom uses his hands to dig a hole by the tree. He buries the time capsule and then stands up.
Jan suddenly thinks of something.
"Tom! I wanted to give you something from the time capsule. "
"No. I don't want anything. It's more important for you to go home. "
Jan feels sad that Tom doesn't want anything to remember her. But he's right. The important thing is to get home.
"I'm never going to forget you, Tom. Thanks. You're a real friend. "
"Bye, Jan. Look for me in the future. "
"I promise. "
Then he turns and runs back to the trees. Jan watches his shadow disappear into the trees.
——文章节选自《时光隧道》(The Time Capsule)
a. The thunderstorm. b. The time capsule. c. The apple tree. d. The anorak.
