Kelley 1

Kate Kelley

Mrs. Sutton

English 2

18 May 2009

CHAPTER 24

A Light

It is not hard for him to obtain the key after accompanying Durdles to dinner in

his house. He brought the strongest wine he could find and gave it willingly to the

disheveled man who still clung to his dinner pack. When Durdles had passed out, Mr.

Jasper slowly moves the rags of what once was a coat to reveal the pocket that contained

the key.

‘Sleep well,’ whispers Mr. Jasper as he returns the rags to cover the man’s chest

again. ‘Worry not about this heavy burden now missing from your pocket. Instead

rejoice in the gain of a heavy flask by your hip of this strong wine.’

Mr. Jasper walks along the quiet road confident in his invisibility in the night.

And he has no fears of being followed because of the slow movements of the Princess

Puffer. She watches him as he walks in his mourning clothes with his head held high.

He is careful to avoid the quicklime as he has done many times before. Princess Puffer

takes note of his sudden change of path and creeps quiet on, keeping her distance from

the man.

Mr. Jasper returns to the crypt where he had wandered with Durdles on a late

night about six months ago. As he enters in the dead of night, he silently lifts the stolen

key from his pocket and furtively slides it into the lock. After he enters and relocks it
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from the other side, he lets the cold, heavy key fall safely into his pocket again. He

begins to climb the stairs that have been void of footprints for many weeks. The Princess

Puffer hesitates to approach the iron gate. She stops her shaking hand from reaching out

to test the strength of the lock in fear of rattling the iron and alerting Jasper to her silent

presence. She stifles a cough as she listens to the footsteps fade quietly. She waits and

gazes longingly up what part of the staircase she can see. Jasper continues climbing the

stairs with restored energy from his recent trip to London. The journey seems to last

longer and remains stronger in his mind each time the opium seems weaker.

He repeats to himself, ‘It’s over.’

He strikes a match against the cool wall to capture the mysterious flame that

hides always inside. He allows the arid torch to burn gaily before he takes another step.

The only sound to be heard is the crackling and snapping of the flame as it engulfs the

darkness of the stairwell and swells the confidence of Jasper’s timid spirit. ‘It’s over,’ he

whispers as he nears the door that has been untouched for two weeks. His last journey to

the crypt was burdened with heavy flasks of water and a bag of stale breads and rotten

fruit. He quietly turns the door handle to the room and enters. He stops to listen to the

weak, shallow breath of the once vivacious but now feeble youth.

Jasper kneels beside this dreary form and lifts the ring from the form’s finger and

whispers, ‘She was much too good for you. You didn’t love her madly. I devoted my

life to the gentle flower.’ The form painfully opens his heavy eyelids. The hunger has

driven him to a weak and lifeless state; now only a skeleton of a body, each bone can be

made out under the white skin. He tries to speak to Mr. Jasper, but his throat is so

parched he can only breathe in raspy rhythm. ‘Hush, my beloved. I will take care of her,’
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Mr. Jasper tells the shabby youth. Again the form opens and closes his eyes with much

strain. Mr. Jasper kisses the cool flesh of the man he once knew as his nephew. Tears

form without hesitation from the older man’s eyes. The tears form rivulets down his

cheek and flood the dry skin of the young man striving for life.

‘It’s over.’

The elder man stands up and blindly wipes the tears from his cheeks.

‘It’s over.’

A new flood of water drips down his face. As the splash hits the floor, it can be

heard above the shallow breathing of Edwin.

‘It’s over.’

He hurriedly rushes to the door and opens it without looking behind him. The

heavy eyelids open and close once more in a plea for mercy but the plea is neither heard

nor seen. The only sound now is the lock of the old door.

Mr. Jasper once again whispers, ‘It is over my beloved Ned,’ between the

drowning floods of tears and the sudden breaths. He places the ring on his finger as he

leans against the door to gain strength. The torch is held against the old, dry, wooden

door. He waits for the sound of the flame giving life to more flame. The sound is

haunting. Mr. Jasper cries aloud, ‘It’s OVER!’ and he hurries down the stairs.

Princess Puffer begins to feel the heat of the burning. She hides behind a tomb

stone unsure what to do. Stumbling blindly and tripping often, Mr. Jasper reaches the

gate. He grabs the key and forces it into the lock. The light from the burning tower glows

above him. He is hot, the flame inside him burns stronger and hotter and fiercer and

louder than the flame above him. The key turns and he runs out, leaving the key in the
 Kelley 4

lock. The burning tower acts as a torch as he fumbles through the field of headstones and

tombs. He runs till he reaches his own home. He pours himself a glass of the same

strong wine that he had earlier given Durdles. As the wine steadies his nerves, he

watches the tame, contained fire in his fireplace. The crackling and popping of the

embers and wood invade his mind. Even with the wine cradling his sanity and calming

his nerves, the sound does not allow him to think clearly. He pushes his desk as far from

the fire as possible so that the light will still reach the top. He pulls out crisp piece of

paper and scribbles his last words on it. He seals it and places it under his door where he

knows Mr. Datchery will find it in the morning. As he nears his door, he hears the

beginning of people rushing to see the mysterious light that engulfs the crypt.

Only Deputy sees the terrified Princess Puffer stumble terrified away from the

scene as the fire begins to spread. He follows her. She stumbles and finds her way

through the unfamiliar town to the KIN-FREE-DER-EL. She enters for the second time

in her adult life and drops to the ground, not knowing where to go or what to do. She

does not fully know what happened that night. Deputy overhears through her tears her

confusion. Knowing that he followed her unseen, he knows she is not lying. He knows

she is telling the truth and does not have anything do with the fire. He resolves not to tell

anyone what he had observed that night.

CHAPTER 25

Ring and Letter

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Rosa was delivered a letter. She opens it to find a ring. She recognizes the ring as

one belonging to her mother. She gasps and immediately tears fill her eyes. She reads

each letter and word on the page, forcing herself to continue to the next.

“My dear Rosa,

I hope you didn’t think you could escape my love. I knew where you were all this

time. I knew of you correspondence with Helena and Mr. Crisparkle. I know Miss.

Twinkleton is living with you this month. I even know of Mr. Tartar. You doubted the

power of love. Love knows no bounds. But love is not blind. No, love is what has

driven me to find you. Your beauty belongs only to the eye of my love. But you betray

me. I have never betrayed you. I would do anything for you. I have done everything for

you. I have done what has hurt me the most in the world. I am responsible for my dear

Edwin. My love for you is stronger than any family ties. It is stronger than reason or

control. But you have escaped the bind of love, for you have escaped control. I accept

that you are not mine. And with this, I write my last. Even when I lit the match, I loved

you madly. Even when I kissed his cool cheek, I loved you madly. Even when I listened

to the flame spread to the door, I loved you madly. Even as I write this, I love you

madly. Even when I will breathe my last, I will love you madly.

Always and forever yours,

John Jasper”

Rosa fainted and as she dropped, the paper remained suspended in the air for just

a second.