[Escape, Group]

  The Eastern Tower

  I was so tired after dinner, I didn’t even flirt with Frida, just went back to my room and collapsed on my bed. Sometime in the middle of the night I woke up and I heard the song my granddad always sang to me. It even sounded like his voice. I got up pulled on the cutoffs, boots and shirt and headed out my door, that definitely wasn’t Ray Charles singing “Hit the Road Jack.” I went down the tower stairs to the hallway, it was louder here.

  I moved quickly down the hall, trying to determine where the sound was coming from. When I got to the intersection, where the front door was, the singing was louder still, it was coming from the hallway I’d searched earlier in the day for the non-existent tower. There might not be a tower down here but there was singing.

  I checked each room as I went past, but all were dark, empty and silent. Finally I arrived at the last room in this hall, the singing was louder still, but this room like the others was dark, empty and silent. I walked past the room to where I’d stood in the morning, the blank stone wall glowed a golden hue. I put a finger out to tentatively touch it. Is it warm cold solid? As soon as I touched it, I somehow fell through it. I stood near the edge of a chasm, a rope and wooden bridge like you’d see in the movies, lay in front of me. The singing was louder here than in the mansion. If I wanted to find out if that was granddad singing, I’d have to cross that bridge.

  I’ve always been afraid of heights, so I refused to look into the chasm. I walked to the bridge, gingerly I grabbed a rope in each hand, put one foot out onto the bridge and very gradually allowed some weight onto the board. I was as frightened as I’ve ever been in my life. The bridge now held my full weight, on my right leg, I pulled my left leg forward and took a baby step gradually shifting my weight from one board to the next.

  That’s the way I crossed the bridge one baby step at a time, the singing continued, I was waiting for the rotten board to give way falling into the flowing water far below. It never happened. The bridge was well made and not rotten at all. When I’d almost made it to the other side, the singing stopped. I looked into the jungle I’d almost reached, but could see no one nor any animals too. I took a large step on to solid ground, I was across and safe, I turned to look at how deep the gorge went and could just see mists and hear water flowing hundreds of feet down.

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  Then I heard snapping sounds and the bridge collapsed into the mists, I was cut off. I couldn’t go back the way I’d come. I was committed now, but committed to what? I turned back around to face the jungle and where the singing had come from. I looked up and the sun was about half way across the sky. So it was around noon, but that was impossible. I had entered the tower in the middle of the night. Wait, I couldn't be in the tower, but somehow I ‘knew’ that I was in the tower.

  I get it. I’m dreaming. Aya with her talk of other worlds at dinner, I’d searched for the tower in the morning and in the middle of the night had found it. The song grandad always sang to me. This was a dream. I'd heard of other people who’d realized that they were in a dream, but it had never happened to me before. It was the most vivid dream I’ve ever had. I could feel the sun beating down on me, I could smell flowers blooming in the jungle.

  I love to travel, I’ve been doing it for years now, so why wouldn’t I dream that I was traveling. I kept moving in the direction where the singing had been coming from, even if it was a dream I still wanted to see grandad. Suddenly the jungle ended at a red bricked path leading up to a castle on a hill. A vast desert lay on the other side of the path. A dry hot wind from the desert made me even hotter. I started up the path towards the castle after what felt like hours. I was hot and thirsty and still had more than half way to go.

  I kept moving, I’d never been this uncomfortable in a dream before. I’d never been in a dream this long before. I was starting to get worried, maybe I’m not in a dream, this all just feels a little too real. Dream or awake it seems that I have only one way to go, my retreat had been rather rudely cut off.

  My mouth tasted like dust, that the hot winds continued to blow my way. If I don’t get water at that castle, I’m going to be in serious trouble. I still had at least a third of the way to go and I was slowing down, not on purpose just I felt that I was at my limit. There was a scarecrow about twenty feet off the path in the desert. A strange place to put a scarecrow. He was wearing a pith helmet, I wanted that pith helmet to keep the cruel sun from beating down on my head.

  It was hard and hot walking in that sand but I finally reached the scarecrow and grabbed the helmet. Putting it on my head immediately. Relief was almost instantaneous feeling cooler, my pace which had kept falling, reversed itself a little bit I think. Without the sun beating on my head I felt a little more hopeful of reaching the castle.

  Slowly but surely I came to the giant doors, using the heavy knocker shaped like a dragon. BANG, BANG, BANG.