The Magic Lamp Part Three 'Beyond The Abyss' Since Vincent and Catherine had changed positions, Mouse had kept a very low profile, and believing that since the lamp had been thrown into the abyss nothing could alter them anyhow, Catherine had found it impossible to blame the boy. If anything, the fault lay in the joint decision with Father to discard the lamp in the first place… In fact, since the council had got to hear about it, a great deal of dissension had taken place...and save for the fact that Mouse had wished Paracelsus removed from their midst forever, no one was right pleased about the lamp’s disappearance. One afternoon, almost a month after it had all begun, Father was sorting through the many postcards Peter had brought Below, from the trips both his sons had taken, when Mouse entered his chamber. Father looked up and from Mouse’s obvious discomfort, Father expected the worst. “Mouse, what have you done now?” Father passed a weary hand over his brow. “Nothing yet,” Mouse replied, his lopsided grin showing Father in no uncertain terms that Mouse was about to say something completely and utterly outrageous. “Sit down, Mouse. Tell me what’s on your mind.” Catherine chose that moment to enter behind Mouse; she stopped when she heard Father address the young lad so, turning on her heel to exit and leave them undisturbed. “Catherine, stay.” Mouse had turned at the sound from behind. “Hear what Mouse has to say?” Her eyes caught Father’s, and she relaxed when he nodded and waved her to a chair alongside him. Wordlessly she came into the chamber and took it, sitting down to face the young man, who began to nervously shuffle in front of them. “Out with it, Mouse!” Father told him sternly, and Mouse started to speak out all of a rush. “The lamp...wasn’t the only wish... Vincent and Catherine...wished to find it again...might have happened...might be possible...maybe could find it.” Father tried to decipher the young man’s chaotic reasoning...he’d had years of practice and soon had it done. “You mean you might be able to find the lamp and undo all this...” He looked at Catherine, “mess?” Mouse nodded his eyes bright. “But Mouse, we threw the lamp into the abyss.” “I know.” “And the abyss is bottomless, it could go on forever.” “And it might not.” “No one knows that, Mouse.” The young boy’s idea was becoming more and more outrageous not to mention disappointing, but Catherine was still interested. Her eyes bright, she asked, “Mouse, what do you know? Is there a way to retrieve the lamp?” “Might be...” Her breath caught and held, and for the first time in many weeks, hope seared Catherine's soul. “How?” She asked breathlessly. From his pocket, Mouse produced a map. It was a proposed drawing of the abyss, spiralling through different levels of rock, down and down, Lord knows how far, but each level opened out onto the abyss, and Mouse pointed to them all in turn. “Might have landed here, or here, or here.” He tapped them with a finger one after the other. “Could be long way down, but then again might not be. Vincent and Catherine’s wish came true, maybe Mouse’s did too.” He looked up at her hopefully. Looking at it logically Father couldn’t fault it, but beyond the abyss? Why, that could be impossible, and no one had ever attempted to go that far down before; he didn’t even know if the way was open. “I have the metal detector,” Mouse ventured, as if that were the answer to everything. Father glared at Catherine. “You do realise, my dear, that due to that blasted gift you bestowed on Mouse that you are in this predicament right now?” Catherine actually smiled, revealing very white and very long fangs. Father was quite taken aback, he’d only ever seen those teeth on one other person, and suddenly he realised how much he had missed that side of his son. “All right, Mouse, if you think it’s possible then you must try. Go and see if your lamp can be found.” Mouse liked the sound of that — ‘your lamp’ it made it his. “I’ll go with you,” Catherine told the pair. “Catherine, no, it could be dangerous.” “All the more for two of us to go.” “No, Catherine. Vincent would never forgive me if something happened to you; besides, I will see that Mouse does not go alone.” “With all due respect, Father, something has already happened to me, and I am used to dangerous situations, besides which, I’ve missed risking my life. I need this adventure.” Father exhaled a deep sigh. “All right, my dear, you win, but there is one finality... We must locate Vincent first — if you and Mouse should be lucky and find the lamp, I don’t want Vincent being wished back to his former self in the middle of an aeroplane flight or something.” Catherine nodded — Father was right, but that would mean wasting more time, when it was going to take long enough to find the lamp as it was. “Tell you what, Father. Mouse and I will go, perhaps with one or two other members of the tunnel community, but we will not linger. We will go at once and not waste time, but we promise not to wish upon the lamp until Vincent is back home again.” Father agreed, albeit reluctantly; secretly he wished that Vincent was going on this trip with Catherine, for despite what she said, Vincent would never forgive him if something more terrible than that which already had should happen to her. *** *** *** Laying atop a mountain beneath a September sky in the Alps, Vincent sighed. “This is bliss, Devin,” his voice trailed away, making Devin look at his brother expectantly. “But?” Vincent inclined his head to his brother. “Does there have to be a but?” “It was in your tone, I got the impression that it was there.” “Yes,” Vincent hung his head. Outwardly he may have altered, but inwardly, his mannerisms were the same. To those that knew him well, he was still the same old Vincent. “Tell me?” Devin prompted, while playing with a blade of long, seedy grass. He snapped it from the root and placed one end in his mouth, laying back again to look up at the gorgeous blue of the sky. “I can’t help wishing that Catherine could be here with me.” Devin in no way felt offended; he had presumed days ago that Vincent wished she had been there to see the sights with him. “It is a most unfortunate turn of events, Vincent, I have to admit...but Catherine has already seen most of the world...and fair’s fair. Besides, it was her suggestion that you saw as much of it as you could while you could.” “I know, Devin, but that’s not why I feel so bad. Here I am enjoying all this beauty when I know that Catherine is stuck beneath the city feeling trapped. You forget, Devin — I know how Catherine is feeling.” “And how exactly is that?” “At first she felt relieved when I went away. That hurt until I realised that it was her way of coping with this problem, and then I felt her acceptance, and she has encountered some problems but has overcome them, and is slipping into her new way of life as well as can be. But Devin, it shouldn’t have to be like that. Catherine has a right to be free, she has a right to live Above...it is what she was born for...” Vincent hesitated, and again Devin prompted, “But?” “But...” Vincent found it so hard to say, "But if Catherine could be altered back to how she should be, then being a joint wish... that is in similarity, then I should alter back also...” He found the next painful to say, but managed it nonetheless. “...But Devin, I don’t want to revert back to what I was before!” “And you think that at the cost of Catherine returning to her former self that you would have to do so too?” “Yes.” Vincent sighed heavily. “Perhaps it wouldn’t be like that. Perhaps you could each have your wish. Perhaps Catherine could be re-transformed but leave you like this.” “Yes.” “But there is something else?” “Yes.” “Tell me.” Devin smiled, they seemed to have gone full circle, back to that question again. “Supposing Catherine reverted back to her former self...supposing I stayed as I am now...then Catherine might not...might not...” he paused, unsure of how to say it, but as always his worldly-wise brother was one step ahead of him. “She might not fancy you anymore?” His eyes twinkled with merriment. “That is a possibility.” Vincent spoke quietly, a trifle embarrassed. Devin laughed out loud. “I shouldn’t worry about that, Vincent! Why if the amount of girls that have followed you about this past few weeks is anything to go by, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about.” Vincent smiled ruefully. He’d had difficulty thwarting a great deal of attention by numerous women, something he could never quite get used to and had wondered very much on how Catherine might view all the attention he was receiving. Devin, on the other hand, was only too happy to help out when Vincent so obviously did not want to have anything to do with this female attention, saying that he would never be untrue to Catherine. Although he had to admit that even Devin had changed. Though he met one or two women for drinks in the bar, Vincent noticed that he never went so far as to date any one of them. He concluded that Devin didn’t want to leave him on his own or have him play gooseberry. His silence perturbed Devin. “But it’s not hoards of other women that concerns you, is it? It’s Catherine?” “Yes. How would she react to me staying as I am now?” Vincent bowed his head, so often wishing as he did so these days for his old curtain of hair to hide behind. He had allowed it to grow a little but it was still very short. “Together you would be able to see the world, together you could have your happy life,” Devin attempted, but could see it was not the answer Vincent sought. “What is it, Vincent?” Exhaling a deep sigh, Vincent then drew in an even deeper breath before continuing. “Outwardly, I am different, but inwardly...who knows...does my outward appearance mean that inwardly I am capable of reproducing someone like my old self, or someone like my new self?” Devin sat bolt upright. “Whoa! Whoa, Vincent! One step at a time...does this mean what I think it means?” Vincent grinned wryly, saying nothing. Wide-eyed Devin asked him, “You’d contemplate a future...that sort of future with Catherine now?” “Why not? I am now on an equal footing with Catherine...or I would be if she changed back and I stayed like this.” “Way to go, Vincent!” A short burst of laughter followed both of them, then Vincent continued. “I love Catherine, and she deserves to have all of her dreams come true, and I know that among those dreams Catherine wishes to have a child. But how can I be sure, when deep down inside I feel the same as I always did?” “That’s because you haven’t had enough time to assimilate the changes. You will, eventually you will, and the outer man will re-educate the inner person...assuming this is what you want?” Devin looked at his brother questioningly. “I don’t know. It is my inner person that Catherine is drawn to. And what of the Bond, what if we should lose it in time?” “It would be a small price to pay for being normal Vincent, and having Catherine live her life with you forever.” “Yes.” There was some truth in that. But never to know the emotions of each other again, Vincent didn’t want to think about that possibility. The beauty of their Bond was something he treasured. “Do you want to go back, Vincent?” “To the hotel?” “No. Home. Do you want to go home? We’ve seen the Seven Wonders of the World, we’ve been South of Oz and North of Shangri-La, perhaps it is time we returned.” “I never thought I would expect to hear you give up the chance to travel so readily.” Vincent smiled at him. “I’ve enjoyed every moment of it Vincent...showing you the world...it made my dream come true also... I could fulfil my promises made to you when we were boys. But I think it is time we returned, if you agree?” Vincent gazed up at the sky once again, knowing that it could be his last chance for doing so. If he went back, if there was a way to return Catherine to her former self, then he might have to sacrifice his new-found freedom for that to happen. He didn’t want to alter, but he didn’t want to prevent Catherine from having the chance to do so either. One way or another, a sacrifice had to be made. He nodded, albeit very reluctantly, and Devin visibly relaxed beside him. For the first time, Vincent wondered if he had been too wrapped up in his own way of life to notice if Devin had plans of his own that he had to get back to. “I expect you will be eager to return back to whatever it was we dragged you away from?” Devin grew silent, his gaze looking out over the mountains as if seeing somewhere far more distant. Then he began to speak. “There’s something you don’t know Vincent. No one knows.” Vincent waited, his gaze resting upon his brother’s face showing his interest. Devin went on. “You were right to mention that you wouldn’t have expected me to give up my chance to travel. Once that would have been true, but see, dear brother, you aren’t the only one in love.” Incredulous, Vincent cried, “You’ve found someone?” “Yes, she means the world to me, and I miss her.” “You should have said.” Instantly, Vincent felt terrible. He’d dragged his brother around the world and never knew he was keeping him from someone. “It’s okay, if I had of told you, you might not have enjoyed yourself so much, with thinking about me and Sophie.” “Sophie. That’s a lovely name.” “Yes, and there’s more.” “More?” “Yes. We have a son.” “You have a child? And you never told me?” “I’m telling you now, aren’t I?” Devin’s voice rose, and it wasn’t because he was cross with his brother’s accusations, more that he was cross that he had taken so long getting back to his family. Children grow so quickly, and his son might be walking already and he would have missed those first few precious stages. But Devin had known how important it had been to show Vincent the world, believing that he might not get another chance. Now though, Devin started to wonder if it had been worth his own loss. If Vincent was inclined to feel that he never wanted to change back, then Vincent had all the time in the world to see the world, so to speak. “What have you called him?” “Joshua. He’s ten months old.” “Soon to be walking,” Vincent mused, half to himself. “Yes.” “You must go back to him and Sophie...and you are right it is time to go home.” Devin could not help but notice how hard it was for Vincent to say the last...he felt for him, he really did...like a man going to his execution, or a blind man having seen the light being made blind again... That would be so painful. “I understand why you want to delay, Vincent...but you can’t stay away forever. You have your future to think about...one way or the other...and what if the way things are now, will be the way things will stay. Have you thought about that?” “I’ve thought about little else,” Vincent groaned. To think of Catherine, his dear sweet Catherine living the rest of her days looking like a lioness grieved him terribly. “Then could you seriously leave her alone like that while you saw more of the world?” “No. That is one of the reasons I am so reluctant to return. I doubt that I would find the courage to go away and leave her again. It would be very selfish of me, despite the fact that I used to tell her to leave me and see the world...this is different. Catherine has already lived this other life...I cannot expect her to accept this new turn of events indefinitely.” “All the more reason to share it with her. It’s time to go home, Vincent, like it or not; it’s the right thing to do.” “Yes.” Devin’s heart ached for his brother. It was a difficult situation, and one he was grateful not to have to endure. Whatever happened now, Vincent would have regrets, there were no two ways about it, the only all-win situation would be for both Catherine and Vincent to be normal human beings, but then would Catherine want that? And would all those others that loved him? Whatever happened, someone was going to have to accept some major changes. *** *** *** It was hard to hear your own voice against the sound of the wind. They had been travelling for five days, lower, lower, always lower. The cold was teeth chattering unbearable, and seemed to penetrate through the layers of clothing right down to the bones. Catherine had never expended herself like this before. A risk taker she might be, but this journey deep into the belly of the earth robbed her of her strength, her sanity, her courage, and every ounce of warmth she had ever possessed. What’s more, the further they went the less likely it appeared that they would ever find the lamp. Every tunnel they entered bordered the abyss, with winds sucking and hurtling in at them at amazing speeds. Cross winds that tugged at their tattered clothing, spiralling them around and around on the spot so that any handhold that could be grabbed at became the only thing to save them from being sucked away. It was like hiding under a bridge during the onslaught of a tornado, except that there was no end to it. Sleep was impossible. Only exhaustion allowed them to nod off while anchored with ropes and leather straps to outcrops of rock. With this in mind, Catherine could never imagine how the possibility of finding a magic lamp lying at the foot of any one tunnel would ever be likely. For surely it too would have been swept back inside the raging abyss? Still, a tiny spark of hope drove the four people onward. Jamie, Mouse, Catherine and Cullen. Slithering through hellholes into the unknown, harnessed to one another for safety, which in itself became a risk since the harness was known to become held-fast around outcrops of rock and almost hang the last or the first person in line. Still they continued on relentlessly as if on an expedition. It was so dark down here. They’d carried lanterns at first but the ever-present wind had blown these out repeatedly. They now resorted to the one torch that Catherine had been determined to bring, just in case they’d needed it. And boy, had they needed it. Thankfully she had packed replacement batteries. This thought of at the last moment, one of those things that people do as an afterthought and were forever after grateful that they did. Overlooking Mouse’s map at the end of the fifth day, they knew that they had entered the nineteenth level. It was nothing. The underground world went down as far as eighty levels, and not just levels, in fact as far as eighty stories, some one thousand, two hundred feet at least. Here some two hundred and eighty-five feet beneath the home chambers, it was becoming increasingly obvious that not one of them had the stamina to withstand much more of the journey and they would likely suffer for a long time on their return. Certainly all of them were sniffing with runny noses already, and Jamie had developed a rather bad sore throat and a hacking cough. It was the damp air and the dust that they were forced to breathe as the abyss whipped up winds in excess of five hundred miles per hour, throwing particles of rock and sand in its wake. This caused their lungs to feel as though they were on the verge of imploding, and the tight feeling in the chest just wouldn’t go away. Down here, their ears felt as though only repetitive swallowing would clear them for sound, as time and again they popped and hearing became difficult and painful. “Talk of twenty thousand leagues under the sea...” Cullen tried to laugh at their predicament one day. “At least they had oxygen.” Jamie had retorted gasping for air. “We should have thought of that,” Over the sound of the wind Catherine shouted back at her her. “We should have realised that even though the abyss provides wind, it is the variety intent on sucking us dry.” “Want to go back?” Mouse had cried; he would understand if they did. Jamie had come to mean a great deal to him of late and he didn't like the way she was suffering so on this journey. It worried him greatly. And though he wasn't certain, he thought perhaps that he loved her; just as Jamie had wished he would. “You ask that as if you’d continue alone?” Catherine told Mouse. He nodded. He would too. He was convinced that the lamp lay around the next corner, or maybe the next one. He would never give up until he found it. They might only be one more level away. “I have to go on,” Catherine told the others, “but Jamie and Cullen, I would understand if you wanted to return. You would have to go together, it wouldn’t be wise to return singularly, the same as it wouldn’t be wise to continue the same way.” Jamie and Cullen thought about it hard. The desire to return was so strong. “I can manage another level or two, if Jamie can,” Cullen told Catherine. Jamie nodded, just. She was being brave; Catherine knew it, but Catherine was worried about the young woman’s health. “Father would never forgive us if your lungs were ruined, Jamie.” Catherine turned to Cullen. “Please take her back, will you? Tell Father not to worry; Mouse and I will be fine.” Her words gave more encouragement than she felt and everyone knew it, but Cullen and Jamie were both visibly grateful for the chance to return. And so on the morning of the sixth day, just bordering the twentieth level, the four shook hands, hugged one another tightly and parted company. And Mouse and Catherine went on alone. *** *** *** Four days later Cullen and Jamie emerged from the subterranean level to find that Vincent and Devin had returned, except that Devin had gone again, leaving Vincent in a frantic state of mind. Jamie and Cullen literally walked in on the argument between Vincent and Father. “How could you let her go!” “Vincent you have to understand that Catherine needed to do this...if there is the slightest chance...” “But to let her go...Father!” “She isn’t alone, Vincent...with Jamie and Cullen...rest assured as a team they should be fine.” Overhearing Jamie looked at Cullen guiltily. Since their passage through the warmer levels, their breathing had returned almost to normal and though Jamie’s nose still streamed, she was feeling almost her old self again. Thus stepping through into Father’s chamber, her heart was very firmly in her mouth. Vincent spun around at the intrusion. “Jamie! Cullen!” He looked past the pair, hoping he would see Catherine and knowing by the Bond that he would not. “You left her!” He spat at them accusingly. “You left Catherine!” Jamie felt like retorting, ‘so did you,’ but refrained from doing so. When Catherine had suggested that Devin showed Vincent the Seven Wonders of the World, Jamie suspected that Catherine hadn’t meant it literally. Just her humble opinion, of course...she may have been wrong. “We couldn’t continue...Catherine insisted that we return. She went on with Mouse. Vincent, it’s cold down there.” Father stood and walked around to Jamie’s side, pushing her gently down into a chair. “Let me look at you, my dear.” Jamie might have felt better, but to a doctor’s trained eye, she looked anything but. Vincent paced the old worn carpet, knowing to interrupt Father in one of his examinations would not be taken lightly. “It’s as well you returned when you did, young lady, and I want you to get yourself to bed at once. In my opinion, any longer down there and you might not have returned at all.” Vincent did not want to hear this; it only emphasised the danger Catherine was in. “Show me the map, Cullen. I’m going down there. I must make Catherine see that this is sheer folly.” “You won’t do that, Vincent. She’ll not come back with you. Mouse is convinced that they will find the lamp, and Catherine clings to that hope. What else has she to look forward to?” Vincent slumped into a chair. Cullen was right. What else did Catherine, looking like that, have to look forward to? Why, her life might as well be over. “I’m still going to go. If she won’t return, I won’t pressure her, but I’m still going. We’re in this together after all.” Jamie said nothing. Father just nodded; Cullen was the only one that spoke. “Get some sleep first, Vincent, for believe me, you’ll need it. Catherine and Mouse, well they’ll be some, at a guess, twenty five levels down by now, about ten days journey, and with each day you travel, they will be getting that much further ahead. You will need to have plenty of stamina if you hope to catch up with them.” Vincent knew the truth of this, and suffering from jet lag he was already tired, but he couldn’t wait another moment. Right now he could gratefully sleep for a full day, but that would take Catherine another day further from him. “I’ll be all right,” he told them. “Don’t worry about me. Besides I can use the Bond to contact Catherine and have her wait for me.” That relieved Father. “Yes, all right, Vincent, but before you go is there anything Catherine or Mouse may be needing? Cullen? Jamie?” *** *** *** Armed with as much as he could carry considering the tightness of some of the crawl ways he would have to endure, plus more batteries and extra torches as well as more food and water, because Jamie had told him clean water lower down was scarce, Vincent set off a few hours later. He scolded himself on the length of time it had taken to prepare for the journey, but consoled himself with the fact that through the Bond he had made it known to Catherine that he was coming. He knew she would rest now, go slower and wait for him. Father saw him off. “Go with great care, and don’t take untold risks.” He told his son, unable to give up worrying about this unique man no matter his years. “I will, Father. Try not to worry.” “And bring Catherine back safe and sound.” Vincent met his parent’s eyes. “And as before?” It was a difficult subject to broach, Father had been unable to attempt it, but now his son had brought it up, he smiled. “Yes, bring back the old Catherine if you can.” Vincent nodded but could say nothing more; inside, though, he screamed ‘And what of the old Vincent? Should I bring him back too?’ Father never heard his thoughts, but he knew them nonetheless, and silently, deep inside where no one but he could hear Father affirmed, ‘Yes, bring him back too.’ For he had missed that old Vincent very much, far more than he cared to admit. But that was a selfish thought that must never be voiced. *** *** *** “Vincent has returned.” Catherine’s tone was flat without emotion. “To the tunnels?” Mouse’s excitement was real. “Yes. And he’s coming after us.” Again she spoke in monotone, but Mouse didn’t seem to notice. That his friend was coming on the journey with them delighted him. Jamie’s assumptions had been correct, though up until now, Catherine hadn’t truly stopped to think about her feelings. Now she was suddenly faced with them. Vincent had returned true, but his heart was not in it. Oh, he wanted to make certain that she was not in any danger, and his love for her hadn’t altered, but beneath all that there was something else. Already Catherine could detect that Vincent had come to love his new way of life and was feeling very much like a man on his way to his own self inflicted execution. Catherine knew that Vincent never had a selfish bone in his body, but she could not help thinking right now that for once he seemed to have uncovered one that had previously lain dormant, because she still believed that she could not alter if he didn’t. Yet she could not blame him really! How could she blame him? He had been given a life...a life for which he had dreamed and been denied all of his thirty four years so far. But the fact remained that in pursuing that life, that life he had now been given, he was leaving her behind...leaving her to suffer the aloneness that he had been forced to endure for so long. That to Catherine felt selfish. They needed to be together, to see it through together, not apart. How he could ever have expected her to leave him and follow the life she had been born for beat her. Well obviously he had been made of stronger stuff. Over the next few days, as Vincent picked up the pace with his stamina and longer strides and as Catherine and Mouse travelled at a slower pace and moved deeper into the earth’s core, the physical gap between them lessened. Now just three days apart, Catherine detected Vincent’s sudden flare of excitement. No matter the problems, the insecurities, the hopes and ambitions, love was drawing them in. Their love for one another was bringing them back together. And the thought of seeing each other again was suddenly thrilling and exciting. They were down to the forty-first level now. The air down here was of poorer quality than ever before, and Catherine was beginning to lose hope. She knew the futility of going much further. If they attempted it, they could die. Mouse, she knew, had said less and less these last few days, as his hope too had waned. She could see it in his eyes, in his stature; he was sorrowful, disappointed and extremely disillusioned. He’d believed in the power of the lamp, and he’d been certain that if three wishes were spoken all at once, they would have to come true, despite the fact that he’d had many others beforehand. But what he couldn’t understand was that he had wished his own wish before asking that Paracelsus disappeared forever, and if that could work, why not his... Why not his? “Mouse, we’ll go down one more level... and that has to be it. I’m sorry, Mouse... but I don’t think it would be wise... to attempt any further.” Her voice had become as a mere whisper, as breathing became almost impossible. Mouse nodded, his eyes as big as saucers, his own breathing laboured and harsh. His hopes had failed him, but he had to go on believing somehow. He had to do it. “It’ll be there.” He said to her, nodding his head, “has to be.” Catherine didn’t dare remind him that he had said this prior to the descent into each new level since they had travelled past the tenth one. She just hoped that this time he would be right. As it happened, the drop into the forty-second level was different. Both noticed it immediately. For one it was a larger opening, and for two as they swung themselves down through the opening, suspended by a rope tied to a rock from above, the chamber was quieter. The relentless roaring of the wind was not present here. Settling down to terra firmer on her end of the rope, Catherine waited until Mouse reached her side. As he landed there, already she could detect the change in him. “It’s here,” he told her with certainty in his tone, something Catherine had to admit hadn’t been present on every other occasion, when they had landed in a new level. “Where?” Catherine’s own excitement grew. The possibility that this time Mouse was right made a warm shudder of nervous expectation sweep through her. As on every occasion at each new level over the last two and a half weeks, Mouse unwrapped his metal detector, putting it together carefully, almost with kid gloves, and placed the earphones onto his head. Switching it on, he passed the detector from side to side in front of him as he walked. On previous occasions the bleeper had remained soundless, the needle moving only slightly, as various metal in rock had been located. Way ahead, Catherine recognised the swirling mists of the abyss, but there was no sound to it. It was eerie, ghostly, as if they had picked out its backbone and only the sight of its quivering flesh remained. Before the bleeper sounded, two pairs of eyes saw by the beam of the torch Catherine carried a glitter of light shining from the ground near the edge of the tunnel entrance that opened out into the abyss, and two hearts soared. Mouse dropped the detector, for once without care, and hurried forward, as the beam from the torchlight heralded his way. Throwing himself to his knees, he snatched up the lamp from where it lay on the sandy ledge, and clamped it to his heart, his tears falling swiftly blurring the gleaming gold to his sight. Stooping to her knees alongside him, Catherine’s heart was lifted, and Vincent’s heart three levels above her was deflated. He knew via the Bond that they had found the lamp. And now so near yet so far, he could only await his fate and wish. Mouse wasted no time; he knew the promises Catherine had made to Father, but he felt that they did not apply to him. Besides Vincent was Below now. Holding the lamp in his hands, he wished with eyes closed that Catherine and Vincent could be returned to normal. Then opening his eyes, and remembering that these things did not just happen, he hoped that over the next few hours he would see the changes for which he had wished. Then just to make sure nothing would revert back, he wished these changes forever. *** *** *** Able to rest for the first time in many a day, and content at heart, Catherine lay down at level forty-two, closed her weary eyes and soon fell into a deep sleep. Mouse intended to stay awake just to watch her, but found it impossible. As tiredness and fatigue washed over him he slept too. Three levels above, Vincent paced the floor before making the decision to complete the last of his journey to catch up with the two below, knowing Catherine to be sleeping. It took him all day, his abilities weren’t what they once were, and fingernails weren’t as adept as claws for scaling a rock face. And a month of doing nothing but travelling had weakened what muscles he’d had before. But at last he dropped himself down from the rope that Mouse had left behind onto the level he knew them to be, and skirting round, he detected the tiny beam of fading torchlight beside the sleeping pair. Walking across to them, Vincent could not take his eyes from off the slighter of the two huddled forms. Hungry for the sight of her, yet afraid of what he might see Vincent looked first at her feet, his gaze gliding up from firm boots to denim clad legs, up higher to waist level, higher again to chest level, seeing nothing to disclose that which he sought, until in sleep Catherine turned her face to him. Vincent gasped so loudly that Catherine’s eyes flew open... “Who’s there?” She scrambled to her feet, grabbing the torch at her side to shine it toward the figure looming nearby. “Vincent?” He was speechless, but more than that — holding his own hands in front of him he searched avidly, pulling up his sleeves frantically for any telltale sign that would signal the transformation to his former self, but there was nothing, at least nothing yet. Catherine reached out a hand to him, and stopped. As her gaze met the skin on the back of her hand, she too followed Vincent’s actions, grabbing her sleeve from the wrist and pulling it back to the elbow, she saw not fur but the same creamy skin she had grown up with. A hand reached up and touched her cheek, it was smooth, perfect. Catherine sank to her knees sobbing with relief. Slowly realisation dawned, and Catherine’s eyes rose to the man standing in front of her, accusation and disbelief in her tone. “You haven’t altered.” “No. Maybe it will happen though.” Vincent could hardly say the words, and even as he did he wished that he could be wrong. Catherine stood, walked the few feet up to him, and drew her arms around him. “I’ve missed you so,” she whispered. “I know. I’m sorry, but I...” he hesitated; what could he possibly say that wouldn’t sound selfish? “But the world is a magnet from which it is hard to escape. I know, Vincent; I’ve been there, done that, as they say.” “But you’ve never been there and done that with me.” Catherine gazed up at him, at his new perfectly ordinary but gorgeously handsome human face, and agreed. “No, I have never done any of it with you.” “Do you think I will alter back?” Vincent had to know, he needed to know above all else. “Surely it would have happened by now?” Catherine told him, aware of how he held his breath for her answer. “Maybe Mouse will know,” she offered by way of encouragement. Together they rocked the other sleeping form, unaware as they did so that beneath the blanket something fell from his hands. Mouse woke slowly, and then upon seeing two smiling but terribly anxious faces above him he came fully to his senses. “Vincent, you’re here...and Catherine!” His voice rose, “Catherine, you’re back.” “Yes, thanks to you... I thought we told Father we wouldn’t wish until we saw Vincent.” Mouse hung his head. “Couldn’t wait...sorry.” “It doesn't matter. I may not have been with you, but I knew the moment you had found the lamp and I just sat there wishing that I wouldn’t be reverted back to what I was until I felt you sleeping. I don’t think I have ever expended myself on wishing for anything so strongly in all of my life,” Vincent told them with a wry grin. “Well, it looks like that for once you were heard, for you are still the same,” Catherine told him. She wasn’t entirely sure that she favoured this new Vincent over the old, but she had to admit, she rather liked the endless possibilities they were now faced with in light of it. Suddenly, Mouse remembered the lamp and started searching for it. “It was here,” he told them as Vincent and then Catherine looked down with him. “What are we looking for, Mouse?” Asked Vincent. “The lamp. It was here.” Mouse scrambled to his knees searching in the sand around him. “Yes,” Catherine told Vincent, “I can vouch for that. I saw it in Mouse’s hands before I fell asleep. It can’t be far away.” They searched all around the place where they had been laying. “This is silly, there is nowhere it could have rolled, or fallen, this is so silly.” Catherine sat back on her haunches to stare at the area around them. “It’s gone again,” Mouse told them sadly. “It’s nowhere to be seen.” “I know, get the metal detector!” Catherine shouted and watched as Mouse jumped to his feet to run across to where he had left the machine. He switched it on, and though he held it over the spot where he had laid, nothing happened. “Battery’s dead,” he presumed. “No, it can’t be. Look pass the detector over the chain that holds my crystal, that will test it out.” Catherine unclipped it and held it in the palm of her hand as Mouse ran the machine over the place, and the bleeper sounded and the needle danced about. “See it’s working, but why won’t it find the lamp?” Mouse passed the detector over the ground, and making certain the earphones were in place properly, he asked for Vincent and Catherine to be silent while he tried again. Three pairs of eyes stayed on the needle, and Catherine cried, “There, it moved! Just there, Mouse, just there.” Her eyes lit up but Mouse she could see was doubtful. “It only gave a little bleep, Catherine. Can’t be the lamp. Must be some kind of metal.” “Dig it up anyway; maybe the lamp has fallen through a crack beneath the sand?” she offered; it was all she could think of. Laying the detector down again, Mouse used his hands to very carefully scrape away the sand, while Catherine shone the torch. Though the batteries were low and the light somewhat faded, at such close quarters they had enough light to see, but when Mouse brought forth a tiny replica of the large lamp, Catherine raced to her bag for fresh batteries. Installing them, she shone the light onto the tiny piece of gold held in the palm of Mouse’s hands. All three of them gasped and looked from one to the other. “It shrunk,” Mouse was the first to speak. “But how? Why?” Catherine shook her head with disbelief, but then this whole thing was unbelievable from beginning to end. “Maybe too many forever wishes,” Mouse ventured. “Shrunk it, you know, sucked it small.” “It’s a notion, but hardly probable,” Catherine told the boy. Vincent remained silent, his heart was racing, hoping...hoping... And he still hadn’t altered back to his former self, and suddenly something told him he never would. “I must have done it,” he spoke out loud. “About the time Mouse was wishing that you would be changed, I was wishing that I wouldn’t, and I was wishing that you would. And I was wishing that we could have our happy life and see the world together, to have children that looked completely human, to walk beneath the sunshine. Oh, Catherine, do you realise what this means?” Catherine’s eyes shone. “Backtrack, Vincent.” She spoke breathlessly. “Backtrack? What do you mean?” Catherine spoke slowly reminding him. “To...have...children...that...look...completely...human.” Her eyes gazed up at him filled with such hope and what she saw looking back at her sent her heart spiralling heavenwards on wings of eagles. “Oh, Vincent!” Unaware of what was happening, Mouse spoke as if to himself, “And all those wishes shrunk the lamp, and now it won’t work anymore.” Vincent and Catherine turned to him as one, “It will work, Mouse, I know it, but like you said, forever wishes made it shrink, and a little lamp will only grant little wishes from now on.” Vincent hoped he was right. Mouse wasn’t convinced, but he carefully placed the little lamp inside his best pocket. The one he knew had no holes in. Even little wishes were better than no wishes at all. *** *** *** In retrospect, they could have wished for a quicker way to get them back home, but they didn’t, and after almost five weeks since Mouse and Catherine had first talked about the journey, Vincent, Catherine and Mouse finally emerged from the lower levels and walked into Father’s chamber. In all that time, Vincent did not alter, and Catherine had resigned herself to the fact that now he never would. She would miss his old way, true, but the possibilities stretching ahead at having him fully human were endless and Catherine found she could quite get used to that. Father was surprised, but it took him a long time to come to terms with the fact that magic, myths and fairy tales do exist, and an even longer time to believe that the old Vincent would never likely return. That saddened him, as it saddened many, and a great deal more selfishly wanted to see the old Vincent return, but slowly, one by one, people saw it the way Vincent did, at how wonderful it was for him to be able to do anything, and go anywhere without limits. And so eight weeks after their return Vincent and Catherine got married, not Below, but Above in a Cathedral, with all of Catherine’s friends invited and all of the tunnel dwellers and helpers looking on. It was the grandest day of all their lives…but none more than Father cried so hard as he waved the happy couple goodbye as they left for their honeymoon. Tears of regret, tears of disbelief...tears for all the lost years...tears for the things his son had once been denied...tears for the fury of the beast...at the heartache his son had endured...the aloneness...tears for all those things. He couldn’t stop thinking of all the reasons for more tears until Mouse sidled up alongside him. “I wish you’d stop crying, Father.” Just a little wish...and it worked instantly. Father stopped crying, sniffed back tears of happiness and put one arm around the young boy’s shoulders. “Everyone cries at weddings, Mouse, it’s traditional.” Mouse knew that...but he also knew Father. “Where are they going?” Mouse wanted to know, as Catherine threw her rose bouquet and Mary caught it with a shy sidelong glance in Father’s direction that was missed by no one but the man in question. “I don’t know, Mouse.” Father told the boy as both watched the disappearing limousine negotiate the final bend as Vincent and Catherine’s happy life begun with them inside. “I do,” came a voice alongside, and both looked up to see Vincent’s best man and brother beside them. “South of Oz and North of Shangri-La.” “But I thought they’d both been there,” Father chuckled. “Yes. But this time they’re going together.” And just as Mouse wished it... Vincent and his Catherine lived happily ever after.