Two days earlier…
Aetherics Department, Huntington University, England, 08 June 1870
Of all the things about the college Edward Bailey liked, the ivy was his favorite. It clung to the buildings, climbing up their stone faces, sending leafy tendrils along window edges as if peering in on lectures. On foggy days, it served as a green veil over the facades and provided a sense of decorum and discretion. He much preferred its jaunty green leaves and steadfastness through all seasons to the flashy color and riot of spring flowers with their pretty lies and false promises.
On this Monday morning, Edward tipped his hat to one particularly long tendril that hung over the door of his department building. He then ascended the cozy stairwell with its wooden rail smoothed to softness by generations
