Original Story by William M. Lee

Teleplay by Alan Brennert

We start out by seeing a man and woman dressed in pilgrim garb, tending to a young girl who's very sick from a contagion that hits the area periodically. The scene cuts to a modern day mother, looking after her young son who is very sick with the same thing; their house is in the exact same spot as the young girl's was. In some way, the girl and boy's world have melded, and each can see, feel and hear the other's world, though the girl is 300 plus years older. They recover, and talk about what has happened to them. They become very good friends, Charity in the 17th century, and Peter in the 20th. He tries all the new things that she's never even thought about, like ice cream and orange juice, and she marvels over TV and airplanes. Peter is a loner who hasn't made friends yet at his school, so having a friend of his own is something he likes. They both go to the stream that runs by their house, and look into the water. Each can see the other's face, and Peter call Charity beautiful. Charity tells him of her world, and one day she mentions too much about her new powers to a girlfriend in her own time. The girl tells the elders, and Charity is accused of being a witch. The elder who examines her makes it clear that if she will allow him to look at and touch her naked body, he'll declare her not a witch; Charity remembers when he did the same thing to another falsely accused girl a year ago. Charity tells them she's innocent, but the elder does not believe her. Peter is frantic to help, and does some reading in the history section of the school library. He finds out that in the future, the elder will be accused of murdering two sailors who had disappeared, and their bones would be found under his house. Charity confronts him with her knowledge of his crime, and he vindicates her. She tells Peter, however, that their friendship must end, since it's not safe for her to talk to him anymore. She stops receiving his thoughts and doesn't answer him. Peter is devastated, but Charity is resolute and she doesn't contact him again. Peter makes friends at school and he becomes popular, but he never forgets Charity. One day, several years later, Charity speaks to him again, and tells him to go to the big rock by the stream, but that's all she says and he never hears from her again. He runs to the rock, and finds carved in it, "Charity loves Peter."

Last revised: Tuesday, September 24, 2002

 
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