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JAKE TALKED THE SUN down

He told the with My Understanding of Truth and ending with the monstrous doorkeeper which had literally come out of the ork to attack hile interruption

When he was finished, Roland turned to Eddie, his eyes bright with a mixture of emotions Eddie initially took for wonder Then he realized he was looking at powerful excitement and deep fear His mouth went dry Because if Roland was afraid -

"Do you still doubt that our worlds overlap each other, Eddie?"

He shook his head "Of course not I walked down the same street, and I did it in his clothes! But Jake, can I see that book? Charlie the Choo-Choo?"

Jake reached for his pack, but Roland stayed his hand "Not yet," he said "Go back to the vacant lot, Jake Tell that part once "

"Maybe you should hypnotize me," Jake said hesitantly "Like you did before, at the way station"

Roland shook his head "There&039;s no need What happened to you in that lot was theever to happen in your life, Jake In all our lives You can reain It was clear to all of them that his experience in the vacant lot where Tom and Gerry&039;s once had stood was the secret heart of the ka-tet they shared In Eddie&039;s drea; in Jake&039;s reality it had been torn down, but in both cases it was a place of enormous, talismanic power Nor did Roland doubt that the vacant lot with its broken bricks and shattered glass was another version of what Susannah knew as the Drawers and the place he had seen at the end of his vision in the place of bones

As he told this part of his story for the second tiunslinger had said was true: he could re His recall i the experience He told the called Turtle Bay Condominiums was slated to stand on the spot where Tom and Gerry&039;s had once stood He even remembered the little poem which had been spray-painted on the fence, and recited it for theirth!

On his shell he holds the earth

If you want to run and play,

Co the BEAM today"

Susannah ht is slow but always kind; He holds us all within his mind isn&039;t that hoent, Roland?"

"What?" Jake asked "Hoent?"

"A poem I learned as a child," Roland said "It&039;s another connection, one that really tells us so we need to know still, one never knohen a little understanding may come in handy"

"Twelve portals connected by six Beaoing as far as the middle - to the Tower - but if ent all the way to the other end, we&039;d come to the Portal of the Turtle, wouldn&039;t we?"

Roland nodded "I&039;m sure ould"

"Portal of the Turtle," Jake said thoughtfully, rolling the words in histheeous voice of the choir, his realization that there were faces and stories and histories everywhere, and his growing belief that he had stu very like the core of all existence Last of all, he told the the rose In the totality of his recall, Jake began to weep, although he seemed unaware of it

"When it opened," he said, "I saw the htest yellow you ever saw in your life At first I thought it was pollen and it only looked bright because everything in that lot looked bright Even looking at the old candy-wrappers and beer-bottles was like looking at the greatest paintings you ever saw Only then I realized it was a sun I know it sounds crazy, but that&039;s what it was Only it was more than one It was - "

"It was all suns," Roland ht - but it rong, too I can&039;t explain horong, but it was It was like two heartbeats, one inside of the other, and the one inside had a disease Or an infection And then I fainted"

23

"You SAW THE SAME thing at the end of your dream, Roland, didn&039;t you?" Susannah asked Her voice was soft with awe "The blade of grass you saw near the end of ityou thought that blade was purple because it was splattered with paint"

"You don&039;t understand," Jake said "It really was purple When I was seeing it the way it really was, it was purple Like no grass I ever saw before The paint was just caed itself to look like an old deserted house"

The sun had reached the horizon Roland asked Jake if he would no them Charlie the Choo-Choo and then read it to them Jake handed the book around Both Eddie and Susannah looked at the cover for a long time

"I had this book when I was a little lad," Eddie said at last He spoke in the flat tones of utter surety "Then we moved from Queens to Brooklyn - I wasn&039;t even four years old - and I lost it But I remember the picture on the cover And I felt the same way you do, Jake I didn&039;t like it I didn&039;t trust it"

Susannah raised her eyes to look at Eddie "I had it, too - how could I ever forget the little girl with h of course it was my middle name back in those days And I felt the same way about the train I didn&039;t like it and I didn&039;t trust it" She tapped the front of the book with her finger before passing it on to Roland "I thought that save it only a cursory glance before returning his eyes to Susannah "Did you lose yours, too?"

"Yes"

"And I&039;ll bet I knohen," Eddie said

Susannah nodded "I&039;ll bet you do It was after that man dropped the brick on my head I had it ent north toI had it on the train I reus I didn&039;t want it to be Charlie, because ere supposed to go to Elizabeth, New Jersey, and I thought Charliefolks around a toy village or so like that, Jake?"

"An amusement park"

"Yes, of course it was There&039;s a picture of hi kids around that place at the end, isn&039;t there? They&039;re all sht they looked like they were screa to be let off"

"Yes!" Jake cried "Yes, that&039;s right! That&039;s just right!"

"I thought Charlie ht take us to his place - wherever he lived - instead of to ain"

"You can&039;t go hoh his hair

"All the tio of the book I even re, &039;If he tries to steal us, I&039;ll rip out his pages until he quits&039; But of course we arrived right where ere supposed to, and on tiine It was a diesel, not a steaine, and I re, that man Mort dropped the brick ontime I never saw Charlie the Choo-Choo after that Not until now" She hesitated, then added: "This could be my copy, for all I know - or Eddie&039;s"

"Yeah, and probably is," Eddie said His face was pale and solerinned like a lad " &039;See the TURTLE, ain&039;t he keen? All things serve the fuckin Beaoing down Read the story before we lose the light, Jake"

Jake turned to the first page, showed thean: " &039;Bob Brooks was an engineer for The Mid-World Railway Company, on the St Louis to Topeka run&039; "

24

" &039;AND EVERY NOW AND then the children hear hiruff voice,&039; " Jake finished He showed theht actually have been screaone down; the sky was purple

"Well, it&039;s not a perfect fit," Eddie said, "more like a dream where the water soh to scare me silly This is Mid-World - Charlie&039;s territory Only his name over here isn&039;t Charlie at all Over here it&039;s Blaine the Mono"

Roland was looking at Jake "What do you think?" he asked "Should we go around the city? Stay away froht it over, head down, hands working distractedly through Oy&039;s thick, silky fur "I&039;d like to," he said at last, "but if I&039;ve got this stuff about ka right, I don&039;t think we&039;re supposed to"