"And how exactly do you get to this world in the sky?" Walters voice is full of skepticism. I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't already been there. Explaining the inexplicable is rather harder than it seems. How do you explain the color red to a blind man? I have to show him.
I pull Walter to his feet and away from the beanstalk's base.
As it reappears I smile and point to it. "What do you see here, Walter?" I ask calmly.
"Jess..." he starts but I shush him. He shrugs and plays along.
"I see the fields. I see that boulder. I see you."
"But no way to get to the clouds?" I say, pointing toward my destination.
He rolls his eyes at me, but plays along. "Nope. No magical ladders or towers giant eagles to carry me toward the heavens. Seriously, Jessa, if you want me around there are easier ways to get rid of me than this."
He's got a sense of humor. I know he's curious or he would have abandoned this a long time ago. But I still don't know how to help him see the beanstalk. Merely telling him it is there hasn't worked. I place my hand gingerly on the stalk, looking to my friend for a response.
Nothing. My hands close around the soft tendrils that wind around my beanstalk which provide hand and footholds for my climb. Still his smirk remains, clearly waiting for something to happen.
Frustrated, I pull myself away from the ground. I cannot help but smile to myself as I climb higher. The freedom that first step provides exhilarates me. The sky is calling to me.
But I have to stop. I grin down at Walter, eager to share my joy with him. His mouth hangs open in astonishment. Once again I have proven myself right. "See, I told..."
"How are you doing that?" He blurts at me.
Really, it isn't very difficult. Has he never climbed a tree before? "You just grab on to those and pull yourself up a..."
"You're in the air, Jessa!"
"I know I am. You don't expect to get to the sky without climbing up first, do you."
His arms flail wildly toward me. "There's nothing...there's nothing there!! How are you...what...what...how?" He can't see it. I must look like a devil to him. "Calm down, Walter. I'm coming back down."
He walks toward me again, his curiosity overcoming his awe. Too late I realize he's going to walk into the beanstalk and one of us is going to pay for it.
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