Time-Trace Investigation Bureau

Ages 9–12, with family · When you look through, something looks back.
Read episode one freeEpisode 1 needs no account. Episode 2 is free with a parent account. Episode 3 onward is for Stories members.
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Why this series stands out

When you look through, something looks back.

For grown-upsChildren feel the pull between looking again and knowing it is dangerous. Grown-ups recognize the harder choice: when does protecting a child become keeping them outside the truth? The case ends, but the family argument is worth carrying home.

  1. Treat an image as a clue, not the answer, and revise a theory using physical evidence, position, and time

  2. Read motives from what someone did and in what order, not only from who appeared

  3. Name fear and uncertainty, then share safety limits and decisions as a family

Episodes

Episode 1The Next Passenger Is TowaFree to readTowa's name appears on an unpowered station board. With only three eight-second views—each one letting the train see more of her—she and her accident-investigator mother must discover why a stationmaster returned to the black last train twenty-four years ago.Episode 2The Ghost Who Warned of FireFree with an accountA father believed to have abandoned his family was pounding on every door the night of the fire. Each look through a burned peephole leaks more smoke and voices into the present—until the mother who waited for him tries to open the fire door.
The White Hand in the Empty Pool — The next episode is in the making

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Inside the series world

Time-Trace Investigation Bureau

Every accident or disappearance can leave behind an eight-second window belonging to that event. When eleven-year-old Towa observes the past through it, the danger on the other side observes her too. Together with her mother Saki, an accident investigator, Towa gets only three views—each making the past more present—to solve an old misunderstanding and a danger happening now. Episode 1 boards a black last train; Episode 2 enters a burned apartment block.

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