The Tower Of Loneliness

We may be wondering if Oscar's mother is worried.

She is. She has realised that Oscar has vanished.

Oh dear, says Em. Did you happen to see where he went?

Yes, says Vello. He went that way, on his bicycle, with Terence on the back rack.

Hmm, says Em. Will he come back here? Or should we follow him?

You know him best, says David.

It's not a question of knowing him best, says Em. It's what is the best course of action?

Does he have a phone? asks Vello. We could call him. Or trace his movements.

Of course not, says Em. He's only eight.

Does he know your number? asks David.

I think so, says Em.

They decide to split up. David will wait outside the ice cream shop.

Vello and Em will follow the unpromising trail.

.......

Forster M. Reed marches out of the ice cream shop. Bumps into David.

Lost them? says Forster M. Reed.

Not all of them, says David. We have lost the two youngest.

Not the Infant? says Forster M. Reed.

Yes if you like, the Infant, says David.

Then fear not, says Forster M. Reed.

He falls to his knees and starts praying.

(forgetting his knees are still wet).

O Lord! Let no harm come to the Infant. That is, I mean, to Yourself. Amen.

His prayers like sparks fly upwards, narrowly missing a crane.

.....

Why didn't you SAY something? says Em, to Vello.

I didn't like to interrupt the poetry competition, says Vello. I realise now that I should have.

Grgrr, grumbles Em.

By now they have reached Lake Geneva.

The fountain! says Em. Oscar would have headed straight for the fountain.

What odds that they've both fallen in?

......

Inside the grounds of the Palais de Nations:

Where can we find your mother? asks May Li. Do you have a room in one of these buildings?

Oscar looks blank.

YES! says Terence, looking. It's THAT ONE!

'That one' looks like a roofless red brick tower with a gaping brick doorway and an open brick window.

Simplicity itself, you might say.

Du Fu looks at his guide book.

This is the Tower of Loneliness, says Du Fu.

Are you sure you live there? asks Wang Wei. It looks more like a symbolic artwork.

Yes. says Terence. We live there.

They approach the Tower of Loneliness.

Oscar likes it. Yes, they might live there. They wouldn't need anything.....except maybe.... a bicycle.

Can we go back to the fountain? says Oscar.

Your mother will take you, says May Li. First let's find her.

They peer through the open door of the Tower of Loneliness.

No one there.

She must have fluttered out for a moment, says Terence.

GONE out, says Oscar. We'll wait. You guys can go now.

Du Fu, Wang Wei and May Li are beginning to feel slightly suspicious.