Page 11 - CAS- Book 1 - Autumn, Winter

10, 20, 30...
Fa gue set in as I took an unsteady breath.

So far so good. No demons, cannibals or unholy creatures from down be‐
low. Just me and myself to keep me company.
Piece of cake. I can't tell you how happy I was as I entered that last stretch
of numbers. I joyfully counted them aloud at each pla orm.

40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 44.

I stopped. 44.

I stopped and looked back down the stairs. It must have been mislabelled.

I con nued up.

44. One more flight. 44. And then down ten flights. 44. Fi een flights. 44.
And so it's been for as long as I can remember. So really, insanity isn't doing
something repeatedly and expec ng different results. It's knowing that the
results will never ever change; that each door leads to the same staircase,
to the same number. It’s realizing you no longer fall asleep. It's not knowing
whether you've been running for days or weeks or years. It's when the sob‐
bing slowly turns into laughter.

It was just supposed to be a stupid bet.

Just a stupid bet.

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