The World Above Read Online Free PDF Page A

doesn’t make much sense, but if he had ceased to breathe, I believe that I would know.”
    “All right, we’ll take it as a given that he’s still alive,” I said. “Alive and in control. He must have friends.”
    Jack made a rude sound.
    “Okay, perhaps not friends,” I said. “But surely he has allies. People he feels he can count on if trouble arrives. We have no one. We don’t
know
anyone. We don’t know what’s going on.”
    “Then that’s our plan right there,” Jack said, his tone triumphant. “One of us must go to the World Above, first to gather information about the current state of affairs, second to see if anyone might be persuaded to join our cause. It can be—what do you call it—a reconnaissance mission.”
    “You mean
you’d
be going,” I said.
    “So what if I do?” Jack countered. “I found the beans, didn’t I? I was the one who saw the chance and took it. You’d never have done that in a million years. You wouldn’t have given that old woman the time of day. Oh, you’d have been polite. No doubt about that. But you wouldn’t have listened. You wouldn’t have
wanted
to listen. You’d have kept right on going, and our chance to return to the World Above would have been lost.”
    “Why must you always try to put me in the wrong?” I asked. “Just because I don’t see what’s so bad about the World Below?”
    “I’m not trying to put you in the wrong,” Jack said. “I’m trying to make a point.”
    “What?”
    Jack dragged frustrated fingers through his hair. “You just said it yourself: You don’t see what’s so bad about the World Below. For the record, I never said anything was. But here’s the difference between us, Gen.
You don’t see what might be special about the World Above
. You don’t want to. You never even really believed it was real until now.
    “That’s why I should be the one to go. Because I want to. Because I’ve always wanted to. Because I believe in the World Above.”
    “Okay,” I said, trying to ignore the way his words stung. “Let’s say you’re right. I have a point too, Jack, and it’s just as good as any of yours. All you can do is gather information and come right back home. Nothing more. No getting distracted.
No adventures.
There’s too much at stake.”
    Jack’s face flushed. “I know what’s at stake,” he said. “Stop treating me like a child.”
    “Enough!” my mother finally cried, silencing us. “Both of you make good points. I agree with Jack. He is the right one to go. But I also agree with Gen. You must proceed with caution, my son.”
    She stepped forward and laid a hand on each of our shoulders. “This opportunity will be a challenge for both of you,” she said. “Though for different reasons. For you, Jack, perhaps because you want it too much. And for you, Gen, because you want it too little. Your heart is so tied to the World Below.”
    “What’s so wrong about that?” I asked, my voice small, even to my own ears.
    “Only this,” my mother replied. “It may be your place of birth, but it is not your true home, my Gen. That place must be the World Above. The World Above is the keeper of your past. Until you have seen it for yourself, you cannot know where your future lies.”
    “And in the present,” Jack broke in, “there is still the small matter of growing a magic beanstalk.”
    My mother laughed suddenly, the sound as bright and clear as the light on a summer morning. She caught us close to her in a hug.
    “My children, my children, what am I going to do with you?” she inquired with a smile. “One wants to drag her feet, while the other can’t wait to fly.”
    She released us, and we all took a step back.
    “Well, Gen? What do you think? What plan shall we make to satisfy Jack’s desire to grow a magic beanstalk?”
    “I think you mean
giant
magic beanstalk,” I said. “Which means we should call as little attention to it as possible.”
    “You can’t be serious,” Jack