Interesting seemed to be the word of the day. And like Fred said, it didn't always mean good, but things were certainly lively. It was a nice contrast. He laughed once, caught off guard by her observation. "I was apparently..." how had Beauty put it? "Sent back to my own world," he said. "Or something to that effect. Honestly, I feel like I haven't been away at all."
Except that wasn't really true. There were differences, even on the shifting streets. Businesses that he recognized had redecorated themselves. The bookstore wasn't quite the same. People had grown older. He'd believed strange things before; at least there was evidence to back this claim up. It wasn't traumatic for him so much as it was just strange, and this walk, meeting familiar faces, and reading the newspaper for once helped ease the strangeness.
"I hope your 'interesting' has been more good than bad," he said.