Chapter 6 - The Leap of Death (2)

Sinister woke up inside a very peculiar room. His vision swam and probing gingerly he discovered a painful lump at the back of his head. The last thing he could recall was turning his back on the voice in the alley. Clearly that was not something one did in the Town of Distant Relevance.

Although his vision still swam a bit, Sinister could see enough to realise that the room he was in was really very peculiar. All thoughts about his attacker vanished as he peered at his surroundings. The room, in fact, was so peculiar that it seemed quite normal. A round interior with a little table in the middle, a few chairs surrounding the table, cups and saucers, a few pots, all there.

Upside down. The whole interior was upside down. In fact, Sinister himself was upside down and that’s why he felt peculiar but it had seemed normal. By now Sinister had become used to the world of the Town of Distant Relevance and he supposed that whether a room was upright or upside down was really not relevant in the bigger scheme of things, along as the occupant was the same way up (or down) as the room. A sign close to a window caught Sinister’s eye. It said: “Welcome to The Leap of Death. Have a nice leap.”

Looking around the room Sinister could see no doors or exits. Only the window faced him. Quite an attractive face too, Sinister thought. Wait a minute! The window had a face, a real face, facing him, smiling slightly.

Well, I suppose the window had a right to face me, hadn’t it? Sinister muttered to himself. He quickly categorised this new experience along with all the others he had already had in and around the Town of Distant Relevance and when he spoke his voice was normal and cheerful.

“Hi! Nice evening to hang around inside!”

The window face did not reply but a slight frown indicated displeasure at such light-hearted chatter. Funny, thought Sinister, it apparently can’t speak but it can hear me well enough.

“Well, I suppose I have to jump out, seeing there’s no other way to leave. Do you, er, open yourself, or must I open, er, you?”

Now with a hint of sadness along the eyes, the window slowly creaked open and the sudden, bewildering, upside down world outside glared at Sinister.

His knees felt wobbly and his head confused. Then he recovered and looked at the floor. That was still firmly beneath him, or was it? No, think happy thoughts! Happy thoughts make happy people, that’s what Genius always said. Poor Genius! How long since they have left Blinkburg? It felt like years but it can’t be more than a day or two at the most, thought Sinister. A creak brought him back to his current conception of reality. The window was closing with a look that said ‘Oh well…’.

“No! No, wait. I’m jumping. Give me a moment to get over there.”

The window swung open again and the face waited expectantly. Here goes, thought Sinister, and started running towards the window. Without a second thought he flung himself through the window.