[It works, for his speech is exuberant, leaving less room for any hesitations as the time passed. Half a bottle ago he wouldn't have answered, but it's only with a bitter laugh that he does now.]

Would you believe me if I said it was simply an overwhelming fear of heights? No? Well, alright. They took the figures of people I'd remembered, but not quite them. They were transparent, calling out, reaching, pulling when they got too close. They whispered all that I was, all I could be if I'd just let go. A manifestation of temptation, I suppose. The others had it easier- theirs were simply giant spiders.