The Fool was swept in the strong ocean currents. He was dragged across rocks. He could see land in the distance when he could get his head above the surf. His strength was getting sapped fighting the currents. He was having a hard time getting breaths of air. Maybe the Devil was protecting him from this.
He let go. He let the current take him. He still floundered, but not as bad as before. He could keep his head above the surface of the water mostly and get deep gulps of air.
He found a rock that jutted out of the water and climbed on it. He was exhausted. He lied there under the stormy clouds. He could see the faint spot of the sun trying to fight through, but the clouds were swelling and darkening.
He sat up and saw in the distance a giant tower. It sat on an island surrounded by the sea. He could see a strip of land on the horizon. The Tower was stone with a crown on top. It almost glowed. The Fool felt a tinge of hope as he inspected the Tower. He wanted to be in the Tower.
The Fool thought of his lack of a home. He had lived places before, but never felt like any of those places were home. He fantasized sometimes of having a place to keep his stuff and to want to go to after a long wander. He wanted a place like this tower.
He saw figures in the windows moving around. The waves lapped at the rocks the Tower sat on. It looked peaceful and safe.
The sky continued to darken. He stood up and saw a small rowboat at the bottom of his rock. He got in and decided to row over to the Tower. He untied the boat and pushed off. He got the oars locked and started rowing towards the Tower.
The sea began to swell. Rain began. The Fool thought he’d better hurry up since a storm was brewing. The boat was being lifted by the turbulent surf. Then a wave picked up the boat and dashed it and the Fool back on the rock the Fool started. The Fool scrambled up the rock to get away from the boiling sea.
He looked at the Tower and wished he could go there. He would be dry, warm, and safe from this tempest. The rain was falling hard now, coming from the side and hitting the Fool hard. The wind was blowing and threatening to carry the Fool out to sea. He could see the flicker of a cozy warm fire in the windows of the Tower.
A lightning bolt flashed in front of the Fool and it tore off the roof of the Tower. Bricks and mortar exploded into the air, showering down on the huge waves beating at the base of the tower. Another bolt shot into the open top of the tower and fire blew out the windows and up the top. People were diving out of the windows and were dashed on the rocks below.
The tower just fell over and into the ocean. There was nothing there anymore. Just the ocean. A place of so much hope and promise for the Fool was easily destroyed. The inhabitants were erased as well.
The Fool sat on that rock for a thousand years, or maybe it was one night, but the sea began to recede. After a long time, the sea vanished and a desert lied out before him. The Fool started walking.
He got to the remains of the Tower. It was foundation of about seven or so feet that stayed standing. He could see the bricks lying everywhere. He saw the skeletons of the people that jumped out of the burning Tower. It was now a ruin.
The Fool walked on and felt melancholy. He had watched so much destruction. He didn’t even know the inhabitants of this Tower but felt sick grief from watching them jump to their deaths. All he could do is walk on. There was no longer a Tower here.
He wandered through the desert. There were dead fish lying everywhere. Then the plants began to change. He could see palm trees. The sun was getting white-hot and baking the sandy ground below him. It was burning his feet.
He danced over to shadows when he could find them to let his feet cool. He was getting blisters. He scanned the horizon and saw what hopefully was an oasis and started for there. He hoped it wasn’t a mirage, but everything in this world is a delusion.