[ WP ] Walking along the beach you find two staircases , one leading into the sky , and the other into the sea .

One day, while walking on the beach, I happened upon two staircases I had never seen before. One was white, pearlescent, and gleamed its way up into the sky. The other was some sturdy metal, greening a bit with algae. That second one led into a cavernous space that had opened up in the sea. 
 
 There was a man sat there, on a stretch of beach between the stairs, and I said to him “ Excuse me, sir. ” 
 
 He said “ How do you do? ” 
 
 I said “ I ’ m quite well, thank you. Only I am rather perplexed by these staircases. ” 
 
 He was a shorter man, with a little grey beard and small spectacles in front of his eyes, which were no particular colour. He hadn ’ t any hair on his head so his fingernails made a *ftt ftt ftt* when they scratched at his scalp, instead of a *skrk skrk skrk. * 
 
 “ What ’ s perplexing? ” He asked. He looked at the one that led to the sky, and then the one that led to below the waves, and he shrugged. “ Seems to me they say all you need to know. ” 
 
 I looked at them, and at him in his funny grey suit, and I smiled to show I was being patient. “ Well I ’ ve not seen them before, ” I said. I also gestured to them. 
 
 He blinked. “ Well they weren ’ t there, were they? ” He asked. “ Just got put in this morning. 
 
 “ Ah, ” I said. “ And why were they put in? ” 
 
 Now he was the one with a patient smile. “ Well you couldn ’ t walk up into the sky before, could you? ” he asked. “ Nor down into the sea. ” 
 
 “ And now I can? ” I asked. 
 
 “ Obviously, ” he said. 
 
 I stared at the stairs. 
 
 I am not one prone to adventuring. I like the edges of the sea more than I like the sea proper. It ’ s a rare day you ’ ll see me in past my knees. And the sky holds no allure, in my estimation. I have not, and will not, ever step foot inside of an aeroplane. Or on a zeppelin, should those ever become the fashion again. But I must admit that those staircases had me intrigued, had started a little itch in middle of my foot. I found myself licking my lips and contemplating a journey. 
 
 “ May I walk on them? ” I asked the man. 
 
 He gave me such a curious look. “ Not much point to stairs not meant to be walked, ” he said. I think it was that moment that I realized he thought me rather dim. 
 
 “ Well how far do they go? ” 
 
 “ The whole way. ” 
 
 I gritted my teeth and tapped my foot. “ Is it dangerous? ” 
 
 “ I expect they might be, ” he said. “ For the one, there ’ s a chance you could fall in and drown. And on the other, you might get caught on a breeze and thrown to the ground. ” 
 
 Somehow these potentials did not worry me so much. 
 
 “ Have you been? ” I asked him. 
 
 He laughed. “ Not yet. I ’ ll go as soon as I decide. ” 
 
 “ Can you only take one? ” I asked. 
 
 He nodded, and I was disappointed. And then I said, “ Well which should I take? ” 
 
 He looked first at the one that led to the sky, and then to the one that led below the sea. “ Depends on what you ’ re looking for, ” he said. 
 
 “ How do you mean? ” I asked. 
 
 “ Well, you take the one set, you ’ ll see colours and wonders and oddities never before spotted by human eyes. And the others, they ’ ll take you to a place of light and openness and peace like you could only hope to dream of. ” 
 
 “ They both sound quite nice, ” I said. 
 
 “ Can ’ t go wrong, ” he said. “ You going to take one? ” 
 
 “ I expect I will, ” I said. 
 
 “ Any idea which? ” 
 
 “ I ’ ll need to decide, ” I said. 
 
 And so I sat on that stretch of beach, and just when I had thought I had chosen, the man stood and waved farewell, and he chose the opposite. I have been sat there ever since. 

