The Spiral Staircase

Staircases, all houses have them. Some staircases are old and creeky, some are made from polished marble. I remember as a little girl, my parents had a spiral staircase on our beach property on the coast. I've always liked spiral staircases, winding up to somewhere and wondering what could be at the top? I remember pouring over those fairytale and adventure books and seeing illistrations of them leading up the princess's tower, or perhaps a secert hideaway for spies or pirates with false walls and traps. Some staircases lead to a fabulous treature or a dead end. Yes, the spiral staircase. I would pretend that the staircase was magical leading me to a fantastical world. Sometimes, I pretended that I was going to a tea party with fairies in a hollowed wood. Other times, I was on lookout from my observation tower and trying to see if I could see any pirate ships. Of course, to most it was a simple iron casted staircase but to me it was a gateway to a fantastical magical world.