As the sea receded from the rock he sat on, the Fool saw the ruins of the Tower. It was a strong, tall tower one minute and the next it was lying in sandy mud. He decided to walk towards the ruins anyway, to see where he might go next.
He got about halfway there when people started showing up along a stone road that the Fool hadn’t noticed until then. It led to a bridge that went over a small creek that wound through the mudflats. The people seemed to be excited about something. They all were looking in the same direction, away from the bridge.
Out of thin air, a general or king of some sort on a white charger materialized and followed the path towards the crowd and the Fool.
The crowd cheered, The king has returned! He has conquered the barbarians and returned. A man with a trumpet blew long loud blasts.
The king trotted down the road and through the crowd of people as they held willow wands that they pointed at him. Some threw rose petals. This was a victory march.
Appearing behind the king were soldiers marching in uniformed columns. The soldiers created a percussive rhythm as they came down the stone path. They held shields and their spears stuck high in the air.
The Fool could hear the crowd talking about the king. They said he conquered the unconquerable. They said he led his soldiers to victory. He will soon cross the Rubicon, they said, and be the hero we need. The people loved the great king who marched down the road and over the bridge. He was going from one success towards the next challenge.
The king and the soldiers marched over the bridge. When the king and his horse got to where the Tower used to stand, they disappeared into the air. Behind him the soldiers marched through the invisible curtain where the king had gone. After the last soldiers passed, the people followed, and they disappeared as well.
All that was left was the cobbled stone road and the bridge over the creek snaking through the mudflat. In the distance a great blue heron took off from somewhere and glided off into the horizon, leaving the Fool alone on the old road.