Your alternate ending

**Rob_Marc** · January 10th, 2012

Another thing I would've liked to see in this book, is

**doowopgirl** · January 11th, 2012

I think the ending was perfect. I truly believe that EVERYTHING happens for a reason. So, by arbitrally changing one thing, you then have no control over everything else. Besides that, I don't think I could be satisfied with 'and they lived happily ever after'. No, the ending was perfect.

**sam peebles** · January 11th, 2012

The only thing I would change is that I would end the novel a few pages earlier than King did.

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**Danpd66** · January 11th, 2012

Sam that would have been brutal! I don't know how I would have felt if there hadn't been any closure with Sadie. I probably would have been more screwed up than I was with King's original ending.

**sam peebles** · January 11th, 2012

Haha. I agree Danpd that it would've hurt, but King's ending hurt me too. I don't know personally which one would've hurt less.

**MyWorld** · February 12th, 2012

I have been a King fan since the late 1980s with Cujo (or Fire Starter) being my first book. This is my first post and I am glad it is here.

Hindsight is 20/20 and it is easy to say, "If I were writing this book, I would end it this way..." Most endings are the authors and endings come when the opportunities present themselves. However, this being said, if I were writing this book, I would have...

There is always that conspiracy theory about Oswald - was he the lone gunman? As far as the book is concerned, I would say no. Jake returned several times and each time he saved, or tried to save, the Dunning family. Because the past harmonizes, there should be a second gunman, Harry Dunning (making Jake no longer his good angel) or Arthur Dunning (Tugga got killed twice, why not a third time). Jake sees both Harry/Tugga and Oswald, has time to fire only once (which is Harry/Tugga because he is holding the rifle out the window), and kills Harry/Tugga. This spooks Oswald who has his own weapon, fires at Jake, and the story resumes as Mr. King wrote it (Jake falling down, etc). Jake would feel bad that not only was Sadie killed but someone (Harry or Tugga) in that family he returned to save killed Sadie and Jake had to kill him. The past harmonizes.

**PrisonerNumber6** · February 13th, 2012

I'll be fair, I never expected to write one of these, however this idea just wouldn't go away. Whether that means bad or good is hard to tell, just cause an idea won't go away doesn't necessarily make it good. Anyway, my ending.

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The story follows the book up to the point where Jake returns from the alternate future he created. He exchanges words with Richard Lang, the Green Card Man. Instead of being passive, Jake grows more angry. He accuses Lang of starting this whole mess, something Lang admits to in a veiled way. The name Dr. Frankenstein gets tossed out at one moment. Jake wants to go back and save Sadie but Lang tells him it's wrong. Jake and Lang argue. Jake reaches breaking point and punches Lang down and starts to leave. Lang tackles him, they struggle. Jake...what?...Pushes him so that Lang's impaled on something? cuts Green Card's throat with bottle glass? Lang does it to himself saying, "Is this what you want Jake?!!! Jake says, yes, it is what he wants. Green Card cuts throat. Jake leaves, catches bus to Derry and kills Dunning then save C. Poulin. He makes his way not to Dallas but Las Vegas and manages to catch Sadie on the rebound from her divorce. It's not easy but he gains her trust, and love. He's a big boost to her confidence through her divorce. They get teaching jobs and Jake saves enough so that one day out of the blue he asks Sadie if she'd like to travel around maybe see the world.

Jake mentions it was the craziest idea he's ever had, even crazier than stopping Oswald. Jake knows he might be tempting fate, but something in him just says go for it so he puts the question to Sadie. She considers this question and at last decides yes and Jake books them a flight to Europe, this is around 1958 going on 59.

Cut to present day in Derry Maine. Jake and Sadie, older now but still hale and still very much in love (Sadie looking especially ravishing with an unscarred face), are making there way past the Derry Civic Center. On the Marquee reads the following.

Coming Feb. 19th One Night only Derryfest Presents The Beatles 56th Anniversary Tour. With Musical Guests Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler. Special Concert Broadcast presented by Rich "Records" Tozier's All Dead Rock Show. Special Exclusive Interview with Rich "Records" Tozier after concert.

Jake and Sadie look at the marquee then each other and smile. Sadie says she still has no idea how they could manage to be so lucky in running into them when they did. Jake admits he is too, he never knew the first thing about show business. They get in Jake's car and drive out of Derry. Jake comments that the place feels different from the last he was there, less haunted somehow.

As they drive away they pass through Lisbon Falls and Jake is overcome with nostalgia. He passes by Worumbo Mills and as he does, Jake sees someone on the sidewalk in front of the old building. As the car passes the man takes out an umbrella with he opens, then pumps twice in the air. The man then folds the umbrella and walks away, disappearing behind the Mill. Jake watches all this and sees the man look directly at him as he performs his actions. Jake screeches car to a halt Sadie is confused, wants to know what's the matter, Jake tells her to wait in the car. He runs around to the back of the Mill, looking for the Umbrella Man. He doesn't find him, but he does the man, but he does see the umbrella lying in front of the spot where the rabbit hole used to be. Jake thinks of picking it up, decides better, and walks off back to Sadie, and their life together.

So, what do you think?

**Pucker** · February 13th, 2012

Well . . . it's clear that the story already has an "alternate" ending. Several times (well . . . okay . . . twice, that I can remember) Jake drops the line "if there is a you" (meaning us -- the readers) while explaining the potential consequences of all his toublesome mucking about in the past, which would seem to suggest that the author was meaning, ultimately, to leave him in the past. I suppose it may have been some kind of obtuse misdirection that went right by me, but it looked for all the world as if -- as so often happens -- the story simply refused to cooperate with the author's original intent. Time-travel stories are tricksy business, though, and you risk a lot when you present your protagonist as a deeply compassionate man and then have him decide that his own personal happiness is more important than everything else in the world at the end.

As a reader, I think it works very well as written. As a writer, I would have had Jake make the same choice, but ended it without him ever learning anything about the consequences of that decision. It's a matter of personal taste, but I simply prefer open ends to neat, tidy bows on everything.

And they all lived happily ever after.

Bleah!

But I guess that's just me.