Kara stared up at the structure towering above her. This was her first stop in Pisa, and it was amazing. Standing at the bottom and looking up, it appeared straight, at least as far up as she could see. It seemed pretty solid, too. So, what was the problem? She could do this. It was only 251 steps and they were on the inside so it’s not like she’d be climbing around the outside of the tower, with a thin rail as her only protection against a misstep and plummeting to her untimely death. Really, Kara, get a grip. She shook her head and walked inside.
Kara took the first few steps carefully but soon found
a comfortable rhythm. There weren’t any
railings so after a while, she used the walls to add a little support as she
stepped. About 50 steps in, she began to
feel it a bit. She was able to slow down
a little but with others following, she couldn’t slow down too much. It was warmer inside than she expected. She
could feel her body warming up.
As she reached step 100, she felt a sudden cold
chill. Maybe she was overheating? She paused and looked up. Bad idea.
She felt a little dizzy but there was no stopping now. The voices behind her got closer so she
started climbing again.
Step 200. Not
much further. The voices were louder, but
she couldn’t walk any faster. Was it
supposed to be this warm? It felt like
an oven. The dizziness threatened
constantly now but she pushed it back and tried to think “happy thoughts”. It will all be worth it, just keep going.
Kara could see the light. She took her final few steps and came out
onto the top. Oh, ok, here’s the railing
but at least there is mesh covering the gaps.
Well, whatever. She made it! Yay!
Kara quickly walked towards the far side away from the
top of the stairs. She spread her wings,
closed her eyes and screamed at the top of her lungs!
“Whoa, Mum!
Look! It’s a turkey!”
Kara ignored the other tourists. It was her time now.
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