Their minds raced, so they didn’t talk much until they got back onto the road. Breaking their silence, Kay asked, “So what’s the deal, Tommy—the pigeons, the giant bird, the chestnut tree—those are all things that are more or less extinct on our side, right?” Thumb said, “That’s right, Kay. As Merlin said, over the centuries some species have sought refuge here as they went extinct over there.” “Does that mean there’s dinosaurs and stuff over here?” Kay wondered. “No, no, my dear. It was a major extinction event that killed the dinosaurs. The same extinction event killed many here as well. The worlds share the earth, remember; it’s just that the earth is more layered and subtle in its presentation of reality than most believe it to be.” “What about dragons?” Artie asked as they walked. “Did they used to live on our side?” Thumb raised his eyebrows and said, “Dragons are a different matter. They only come from here. Here they are very real. There, they live only in the imagination.”
