Behind Sanity

Chapter Twenty

                                                                    Behind Sanity 

                                                                  Chapter Twenty 

                                                                               1 

                It was ridiculous.  Absolutely ludicrous, really.  The large tower that stood before her – made of stone blocks, mind you – was drooping like a withering flower.  The top of the tower was bent downward so fully that it nearly touched the ground.  Somehow, the stone was still completely intact.

                 “So we will find the second die inside here?” she inquired, tilting her head to follow the curve of the tower.

                 “That’s correct,” Jack replied.

                 “How do you know?”

                 The one-time Knave dipped into his pocket, and without much trouble, he withdrew his fist again.  When he opened it before her, Alice was looking at an old, discolored die carved out of ivory.  It fit in his palm nicely, but even as Alice looked at it, she thought for sure there was room for two more.

                 “I found this one in the pocket of one the card guards who’d brought it here.  Imagine that!  He’d intended to keep it on his person for the duration of his stay!  Too bad for him that wasn’t very long, and so now I have it.  This one feels the other two.  It gives me a nice tingle.”

                 He pointed toward the drooping tower.  “Mark my words: the second die is in there.”

                 “Well why can’t you get to it?” Alice inquired.

                 “Take a moment and have a look at the thing,” he said with a tinge of exasperation.

                 She did, and she quickly saw the problem.  There was no entrance, only a single window turned up toward the sky – much too high for either of them to reach.  But just maybe if they worked together…

                 “There’s a window up there.  If you give me a boost, I might be able to climb up to it.”

                 She’d barely finished speaking before he’d lifted her up like a ballerina and set her on his level shoulder.  I didn’t realize I was so weightless, she thought, but forgot it quickly when she leaned forward to place her fingers between the stones.  He continued to hoist her up, being a bit careless with his hands.  She yelped in surprise when she felt a placement she shouldn’t have.

                 “I beg your pardon!” she shouted, glaring down at him angrily.

                 “Much obliged,” he responded without any shred of guilt.

                 She brushed it off with a huff and continued to climb up the wall.  Block after block passed beneath her as she moved up the rounded surface.  She climbed on even after her foot stepped free of Jack’s hand, and rejoiced when the fingers of her left hand gripped the edge of the elusive window.  With better leverage now, she managed to get herself atop the tower to peer down inside.