Jack remained seated on the driftwood branch for some time; sitting quietly and thoughtfully. As yet he didn't really understand completely what had happened to him in what seemed to be hours of normal time but was, in effect, just the blink of an eye. He carefully recalled the story which his ancestor, Yong Nian, had related to him. He tried to remember every detail. Was everything which he was told real? Or was it just a dream. Was he really related to Yong Nian? Was his name really Nian Zu and not Jackson Dexter Morton? And if he had chinese ancestry, how come he didn't have any typical chinese facial features?
A sudden gust of cold wind took him by surprise and brought him back to reality from these thoughts. He stood up and went to retrace his steps back along the beach. As he did so, he took one look back at the driftwood branch and to his amazement, it was no longer there. It had vanished.
Jack walked home slowly, alone in his thoughts. The icy wind seemed to claw at him and he shivered. He was glad to see that he was making footprints in the sand once more!
But what was this power Yong Nian had given to him? Was it real? Should he test it out? No, not now, not here. It'd be better to wait until he got back home. He could open himself up to danger out here on the beach. Jack started to walk more quickly now as he headed home to the relative privacy of his bedroom.