He stood in the doorway. That shock of dark hair, the thick beard. That robust frame. A high, broad forehead, large eyes, wide nose: I had seen that image most often in my friends' artistic caricatures, though the youthful face looked utterly serious now.­ He proffered his hand. I took his in a firm clasp that jolted me to the core. His eyes never left mine as I shook hands with myself. "I wondered if you would ever come," he murmured. "Let's get out of here, before the Delegate arrives." Mystified, I followed the dark-haired young man, myself. © 2007 by Lyn C. A. Gardnerfrom "Kelmscott Manor: In the Attics" by Lyn C. A. Gardner, first published in Challenging Destiny, No. 25, Dec. 2007; scheduled for reprint in Best New Tales of the Apocalypse (Permuted Press) and Timelines (Northern Frights Publishing)­