“No turning back, huh?”
“No,” replied Billy Jean Kidd, who was no longer playing the role of Heidi Hunt Ives. “Gaeta V, and perhaps Grand Theft Auto V along with it — left behind. We must move forward, beyond mainland.”
George looked around. “But what *is* this place?”
“Unsure,” she answered. “Could be Hana Lei. I suppose it has to be in one way.”
“And all of this because of the sandbox.”
“Yup. Must have been deleted on the other side, the Capitol City side, the *Gaeta V* side. And now all that is gone, I am feeling… sensing.”
“What of Marion?” the boy queries. “What of your friend Philip? Wasn’t he suppose to be your new daddy or something?”
Billy Jean Kidd paused, looked over at George. “Where did you say you grew up?”
“Beaver City, Oklahoma. My father practiced law there. I told you this already.”
“I just wanted to reinforce the, er, oddity.” But before George could ask what was so odd about it, she followed with another question. “Did it have a giant beaver statue?”
“Um, not that I recall. There was a giant beaver, but he was on a float. You see, Beaver City is host to the Annual Cow Chip Throwing Contest. The big beaver held a big cow chip in his hands. Now about the oddness…”
“And dunes,” Billy Jean Kidd interrupted again. “You said there was sand. I dreamt about sand night before last.”
“Sand dunes are there indeed. I use to play in them. Before the coming of the bugs. And then afterwards a bit. But not like before.” George scanned the surroundings again. He was eager to explore this city, whatever it was. “We have to leave the playground sooner or later,” he urged to the girl, tired of speaking about the past. He thinks of his father, and how much he misses him. But George was a special child and had another role to fill beyond family ties.
“Alright,” Billy Jean Kidd relented.
Hand in hand, they walk out of the playground and into the brave new world of… wherever they are. Could be Cleveland for all I know.
Sunklands 