My body gave a violent jerk as if struck by lightning, followed instantly by another wave of intense dizziness that felt like being sucked into a bottomless vortex. After a long while, I cautiously opened my eyes. Gone was the azure sky and clear river water; instead, the crowd before me lay sprawled across the ground in all directions, every one of them staring vacantly up at the sky like souls that had been ripped from their bodies.
Alice was fast asleep in my arms, though I had no idea when she had drifted off.
"I used a little trick to put little Alice to sleep. She's far too young to see a spectacle like this," came a familiar voice from behind. Muhammad had already resumed his usual swaggering demeanor, squatting on the ground as he puffed on a smoking pipe.
Chapter 29