For Charley, Grand Central Station of New York has three levels. Actually, there are only two levels. There does not exist any third level. The modern world is full of insecurity, fear, war and worries. Charley just wants to escape. So he wanders into the fanciful world of 1894 which is much away from the harsh realities of life. The writer Jack Finney uses the Third Level on Grand Central Station as a medium of escape. Consequently Charley wants to escape in the old world. Even his psychiatrist Sam calls it just a waking-dream wish fulfilment.

In order to buy two tickets to go to Galesburg, Charley drew three hundred dollars from the bank so that he could arrange old currency. He tried his best to find the corridor that led to the Third Level at Grand Central Station but he never found it. Since, the Third Level is just a medium for escape so Charley is not only lingering but has also entered into the world of fantasy and romance. Hence he would not be able to reach there.

In reality the Third Level is the creation of Charley's own mind, fantasy and whim. He is inhabiting in the modern world which is full of insecurity, fear, war, worries, stress and tension. He has to confront with them round the clock. The harsh realities of life are making our stay unpleasant and unbearable. There is a mental tension which is transforming our lives burdensome and heavy. Charley has an escapist mind. Even stamps collecting is a temporary refuge from reality. So he talks to his psychiatrist friend Sam about the third level at the Grand Central Station. He terms it as a “ waking-dream wish fulfilment.”

In this lesson even the writer Jack Finney interweaves Charley in the midst of fantasy and reality. The compulsions and realities of modern life make Charley escape into a world of fancy and romance. There is a refererence to his grand father's stamp collection of 1894 in the lesson. In those days there was peace as well as tranquility. So there was no need for escape. For Charley the Grand Central is an exit and he wanders down to the third level and finds himself into the world of 1894 which used to be a romantic living. So the Third Level is indirectly a mode of escape for Charley.

One can notice that Sam's letter to Charley is engulfed with series of mysteries. When Charley was fussing with his stamp-collection in the night, he comes across an envelope among his oldest first day covers. In a way it should not have been there, but it was there. He had not seen that envelope before. It was there because someone had mailed it to his grandfather at his home in Galesburg, Illinois and it had been there since July 18, 1894. The post-mark revealed that the stamp was a six-cent with a picture at President Garfield.

Generally, the first day cover has only a blank paper in the envelope but there the paper was written and signed by Sam. It was only addressed to Charley. Sam had written that he had found the Third Level. It means that Charley was correct about the Third Level. Further he had been putting up at Galesburg, Illinois for two weeks where people had been enjoying a romantic life. He asked Charley and Louisa to go there. They should keep looking till they found the Third Level.

It is rather much astonishing how such a letter was never noticed earlier. It is all the more surprising how Sam disappeared and nobody knew his where abouts. But Charley had doubts about his (Sams) presence in Galesburg. It is also mysterious that the letter is written by Sam and is addressed to Charley on July 18, 1894. It is also strange to note that Sam is not else except Charley's psychiatrist.