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people go by.
    “ Look at them all,” he
said to Maddy. “They have no idea what’s about to happen – no idea
at all.”
    “ You can’t see the future
either,” Maddy said.
    “ I am still different,
though. I have a special ability to, not see the future exactly,
but to understand it.”
    Maddy nodded. “That makes sense. You are an
amazing person!”
    A broad smile crossed his features. “I knew
you would understand,” he whispered. “You always do.”
    A street vendor walked by selling morning
donuts.
    “ Excuse me, sir,” Maxwell
called.
    “ Hello, there,” the vendor
replied.
    “ I would like two of those,
one for me and one for my beautiful friend, here.” He gestured to
the air behind him.
    “ Of course, Mr. Dippings.”
The vendor nodded politely to Maxwell and then said, “Looking
lovely today, Ms. Maddy.”
    Maxwell beamed, and paid for the two donuts.
“You have a nice day now!”
    He offered a donut to the beautiful woman
walking beside him.
    “ I think since we are
early,” Maxwell said, waving to the vendor and walking down the
sidewalk, “perhaps we shall go look for the key before our meeting.
This will save time later on.”
    “ It is on the way,” Maddy
replied.
    “ You’re right! It is on the
way, so it makes sense anyway.”
    This part of town was largely filled with
shops. Yofstek’s Slumgum and the Boollery Toy Store were two of his
favourites, and he tipped his hat to the curators of William
Oliphant, bookseller, and Pete’s Clocks.
    “ Maybe we can stop by the
new candy store on our way home, Maddy, if it’s not too late,” he
said. Maddy loved candy.
    Slowly, the quaint shops turned into brick
and metal office buildings and corporate headquarters. He led Maddy
right up to The Globe.
    “ Welcome to the Globe,
Maddy!” he said. “The most famous building on the
planet!”
    “ It’s so tall!” she
exclaimed.
    He followed the sidewalk towards the main
entrance, but veered off through the grass towards the gardens
which surrounded the building. “These gardens are always so nice
and well-kept,” he said. “Although, I feel that the money might be
better spent on housing for the poor.”
    Tall bushes rose up around him as he stepped
into the garden. Brightly coloured flowers lined the path, and
small and large statues hid among the foliage.
    “ John always hides his key
in a different place,” he continued, walking towards the fountain
in the main part of the garden, “but usually there is always one in
a fountain somewhere.”
    The main fountain hosted a sculpture of a
giant man holding a well-placed pitcher. On his head he wore a
hedgehog. Maxwell began to feel along the edge of the pool, looking
for the loose stone that housed the key. Maddy stayed back to keep
watch.
    “ Excuse me,” a man said,
stepping out from behind the man and the hedgehog.
    Maddy shrieked.
    Maxwell gasped. “What were you doing hiding
behind that there statue? Now you’ve startled Maddy!”
    “ Who is Maddy?”
    Maxwell frowned and turned towards her.
“Don’t be rude! She’s standing right here!”
    “ I see.” The man raised one
eyebrow.
    “ What do you want?” Maxwell
asked haughtily.
    “ Well, my name is Rock and
I am head of security here at the Globe. I noticed that you appear
to be looking for something. Can I help you?”
    “ Oh, probably not.” Maxwell
swallowed and looked back and forth from the fountain to the Globe
building. He couldn’t give away his plan, not when he was so close.
“I seem to have lost my… my…” His eyes lit on the statue. “…my
hedgehog.”
    “ Oh really.” Rock gestured
towards the nearby fountain. “Does your hedgehog habitually hide in
fountains?”
    “ Oh, ha ha,” Maxwell
pretended to laugh. “Hedgehogs are funny creatures, aren’t they?
Aren’t they, Maddy?”
    Maddy nodded. “Yes, they are!”
    He turned back to the security guard and
gave his head a definitive nod. “See? Maddy agrees.”
    Rock frowned slightly