[ WP ] `` He knew no one had lived to see what was beyond the cloud . But he kept climbing anyway . ''

Jack paused for a moment as he surveyed the massive castle in front of him. Outside, there was a beautiful goose and a pile of golden eggs, and next to it a harp that played the most beautiful melody Jack had ever heard, and beneath the walls of the castle, there were mounds of gold coins and crowns and jewels. 
 
 But Jack had no need for all these earthly treasures, fit for kings and fools. Jack looked upwards, to where the beanstalk wrapped around itself again and again into the next cloud, where it disappeared from view. That's where Jack wanted to go. Without another moment's pause, he jumped back onto the beanstalk and continued making his way up. 
 
 As he poked his head over the next cloud, he came across the most spectacular sight he had ever seen: a jewel larger than a man, even larger than a wagon and bigger than his house! But such earthly treasure were of no use to Jack, for the king and his men would simply take it for themselves. So he kept climbing, higher and higher, past another cloud and another cloud. 
 
 As he came up to the umpteenth cloud, he saw a beautiful fountain, with beautiful, naked women singing and dancing in the water. He made his way over, a little bit ashamed but a little bit thirsty, too. As he came close, the women turned and looked to him, shamelessly flaunting their breasts. But Jack was but a boy, about as close to suckling his mother's breasts as he was to having any interest in these women's breasts. 
 
 `` May I have some water, miss? I am awfully thirsty!'' Jack cried out to the women. 
 
 `` Come, Jack, this is the Fountain of Youth,'' they cooed back, stopping Jack in his tracks. He did not want any business with a Fountain of Youth, he wanted to be a grown-up! Scowling, he turned around and quickly ran back to the beanstalk, leaving the perplexed women doubting the appeal of their massive breasts. 
 
 `` Maybe they've gone out of fashion? I did n't think that possible...'' he heard one say to another as he reached the beanstalk. 
 
 Undeterred, Jack continued making his way up the beanstalk, past treasures that had never before been seen by man. But Jack wanted to know what was *above* the clouds, not between the clouds. So he kept climbing. And then, as he was getting too tired to continue, and starting to regret not grabbing a treasure or something from the delicious feast several clouds ago, he looked up and saw no more clouds. 
 
 In front of him, there was just a sea of whiteness, and in the distance, three men sat. Cautiously, for he had been warned of talking to strangers, not to mention those living in clouds, he approached them. Each man looked odder than the other, and each was more distinct in color than Jack ever thought somebody could be. The three were around a table that held a chessboard, with a game already in motion. 
 
 The eldest of the three sat at the table and wore white robes, and had a flowing white beard that blended into the cloud and made it seem as if the entire cloud was a continuation of this man's beard, and for a second, Jack felt like he was walking on a giant platform of hair. He was n't sure if this was amazing or disgusting. 
 
 The man across from him at the table was bright red in color, and had some unsightly horns and a tail. He huffed and puffed fire each time he breathed, and Jack felt his feet burning on the cloud which was now a reddish tint as he looked at this fellow. 
 
 The last of the three stood near the table, dressed in a long black robe with a sickle by his side. Jack shifted uncomfortable in this man's gaze, and felt as if he was standing on nothing. 
 
 `` Jack,'' the one in white spoke, `` we did n't think you would make it this far.'' 
 
 `` How do you know my name, sir?'' Jack asked timidly. The old man chuckled, and moved a pawn. 
 
 `` Jack, I am God. There is very little I do not know.'' Jack stared in wonder at this man who so many cursed and so many praised and so many died in discussions over. 
 
 After a moment, Jack turned to the other man seated at the table. `` You must be the devil.'' The red man nodded his assent, and swiftly moved a bishop to take God's pawn. 
 
 `` Check.'' The man in the long black robe took a step closer to Jack, but God held up his hand and the other two froze. 
 
 `` He is the first to have made it up here. He at least deserves an explanation.'' The man in black shrugged, and the devil nodded. `` Jack, this game of chess is your life.'' Jack frowned. 
 
 `` Why do n't I get to play then? Is n't it my life?'' God smiled knowingly and shook his head. 
 
 `` Very little is up to you, Jack. Other people, me and Lucifer here included, make the vast majority of your decisions for you. Your mother, your father, the king... they are all among the other people who make the decisions, but it all comes back to us in the end. When you started climbing this beanstalk, we figured it was time to make the final decision on your life.'' Jack did n't seem convinced. 
 
 `` Who's winning?'' The devil raised his hand and grinned. 
 
 `` If I win, little boy, you die, and my buddy here, Death, just has to touch you and everything will be in order.'' A tear swelled up in Jack's eye. 
 
 `` I do n't want to die. I'm just a boy. I want to become a man and have a family. Do n't let him win, please, Mister God.'' God looked at Jack with sad eyes and shrugged. 
 
 `` You see, Jack, now and then there are decisions that you can make for yourself. And at each cloud on your way up, you had a choice. At some you would have been rich forever, at others you would have never gone hungry again, and at others you would be young until your days were over. Each of those are things that all men wish for, and men have died for, and men will continue to die for. You ignored each of those, and made it here. You made your choice, Jack, now all I can do is play my best and hope I win.'' The devil grinned as his bishop took God's queen. Death stepped a little closer to Jack. A little too close for comfort, if being on the same cloud was not enough already. 
 
 `` Check m-'' the devil started, and Death lifted his hand towards Jack, who suddenly lunged towards the table, and grabbing the board, flipped it, quite literally, into the sky. The pieces fell everywhere, and God, quite livid now, stood up and slammed his fists into the table. There was a flash of light, followed by a massive clap of thunder, and Jack felt the world spinning and then he felt himself go crashing down until he hit the ground. 
 
 When he opened his eyes, he was in his room, with his mother and father by his side, applying a cold cloth to his forehead. Outside, a thunderstorm raged on, and it looked like the world was going to end. Jack looked down at his hands, blistered and cut from climbing the beanstalk, and as he looked up out his small window as the lightning illuminated the world, he thought he could see three men standing on a cloud, resigned to the fact that this boy had upset Fate, and that they would have to play another game when his time returned.
