Dali Park.
Tall matches tall, as tall as need be.
The (Dali) Tiger that got away.
What is he talking about beneath the cypresses in this wee woods of my Nawt Vaya Free State hillside parcel called Old Newtonia for now? Can’t quite make out the words.
Wait. I definitely heard something about pirates and a treasure map. Pretty sure of it.
Full circle, then.
Lily finds that old rowboat in her inventory and promptly rezzes it on the newborn ocean in front of *their* cottage. She tells Jack to hop in and starts to row for them, being the considerably stronger of the two and in better shape. “I promise in a month’s time we’ll be switching places,” he adds while plopping down in the boat’s passenger seat, rocking it forward. Destination: Jack’s work shed at the other pole, to see what needs to be moved to the cottage. And for another reason Lily and Jack aren’t telling their “children”.
Bendy, Prissy and visiting Tony Tiger see them off as they sail past Peter’s submerged grave. Seems like months ago that Peter used his own burial spot as a portal into the celestial sphere then *inside* the moon (as well as outside, of course) to merge with Dr. Mulholland at the Blue Feather cube. The world ocean became stable after that, not fluctuating in level and remaining translucent. But it was only 4 days ago. Time’s indeed a peculiar thing.
Halfway to their destination they also pass a waving Tilie and his new assistant Molly. “Don’t worry about us getting in your way,” the wise parrot says, knowing more of what’s going on than at least Bendy and Prissy. “And happy honeymoon!” she added. Both Jack and Lily blush slightly. “Take care, Molly,” says Jack in parting. “We’ll see you in a bit.” She and Tilie head away from the ocean bank to parts unknown.
They arrive at their destination. The new world sea ends here in this direction, filling up Big Crevice separating the work shed and Cardinal Tree, Molly’s former fixed place of residence.
“She’s made sure no one bothers us here, you know,” Lily states as she gets out of the beached boat and stares toward the dead tree with its now empty limbs. “This is *our* spot presently, our private area.” Jack rubs his chin knowingly. “She’s a sharp bird indeed. She’ll help Tilie greatly in continuing to maintain our moon. Gravity’s omni-directional now. Much easier task than before. Molly may even have time to attend night school at Crabwoo University, since all that’s opened up again. That would be exciting for her.”
“Cool,” says Lily. “I’m sure she’ll do well.”
They enter the shed. “Do you think it will fit?” Jack queries.
“Well, we’ll obviously have to move your globe out of the way,” Lily responds. They both stare at the red pins marking the limits of what Jack could see of the celestial sphere from this pole. “And then your thinking chair and the books,” Lily says, as she continues to look around. “Everything, really, *including* the cat.” She and Jack turn toward it.
“I’m not having that thing stare down on us while we’re…”
“… completing our world?” Jack finishes.
“Exactly!” exclaims Lily, joyously leaping upon his back and seeing the whole ball of wax now.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0001, Heterocera, Rubi^
The next morning Tony bade Jack, Bendy and Molly farewell as he continued his (to them) sideways journey around the moon, soon to be over, he claimed, as he circled back to the portal to his home world located in the next section called Farside. After watching him disappear into the drift that makes up the edges of any particular moon side, they moved toward the Cardinal Tree again and stood in front of it at an angle perpendicular to that of Tony’s exit. Both knew the time for dawdling was over.
Molly the parrot spoke up. “You will contact me, Jack, after you reach the next side. Tell me how Bart is. Tell me if Lily’s eucalyptuses are still visible just over the next edge at the South Pole. Tell me what is found on Minoan Radio. Yell and I will hear you. We may not be quite able to see each other but we will hear each other. If we speak loudly enough.”
“I will,” promised Jack. Molly had become what is called a “fixture” element, unable or unwilling to move beyond the side they had settled upon. Molly and Cardinal Tree: perhaps united forever now on the North Pole of the moon as an animal-plant composite. On the opposite side of this pole, across the divide of Big Crease, Jack was and still is in danger of becoming the same with his work shed, his celestial globe, his skynoculars. Animal elements attach to inertial plant and mineral elements through imprinting archetypes. Jack’s particular Achilles heel is the passionate pursuit of star mapping above all else. He cannot see a small part of the sky situated above the south pole on the opposite side of the moon and that is his saving grace. This would be directly above Lily’s residence; this drives him on. Once in motion around the sides of the moon you cannot stop until you circle back to the beginning, as in the Ouroboros. And Jack must always move in one direction and one direction only. North to east to south to west. Going against the grain of the moon’s built in physics leads to inevitable danger and extinction. Nectar, Ginger and others had learned that the hard way.
Jack and Bendy nod at each other and then walk forward in tandem. Molly watches them as their legs, torsos and finally heads disappear below the ground before they reach Cardinal Tree. “Goodbye Jack,” she says as tears drop from her eyes into the sand below. “Circle back as soon as possible.”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0001, Heterocera, Rubi^
The next day brought a visit from their good friend Tony Tiger, who travels the moon from side to side instead of up and down, like Jack and Bendy. These so-called “Sidewinders” have numbered only 3 as far as Jack could determine. There’s Tony, Jim The Eel, and, um, Nectar, who no one likes to talk about because of that terrible day they all had to watch him float off into space, never to be heard from again. Trampolines were never seen on the moon after that day as well, as Jack ripped apart the only known one piece by piece with his bare hands.
Among the two groups of moon travelers — horizontal and vertical — Bendy and Tony were especially close. Both were pets, for one thing, although Tony liked his master while Bendy did not (if you count both John Lockfry and Dr. Mulholland as one master, as Bendy started doing a while back when speaking to Tony and others). Tony talked endlessly about Lisa, and Bendy listened in rapt amazement. “She’s offered to send me to to college next year since my grades were so high among my class,” said Tony to Bendy this time in a new wrinkle. “Ringling Brothers school in the Earth state of Florida. But I had to turn her down. I’d miss *you guys* too much. And Lily. All the things I love about the moon.” Despite the differences in treatment, Tony, like Bendy, craved freedom in his heart, and escaped from his own master-pet existence back to the moon when possible. He entered through a portal and not a leap, however.
The below snapshot finds Tony and Bendy playing chase while number crunching Jack keeps a watchful eye on them from his shed to make sure things don’t get too roughhouse.
Afterwards, Tony gives Bendy more tips on his golf swing while Molly and Jack look on. Bendy dreams about turning the whole moon into a 6 hole golf course. Now all they need are some clubs, and a ball that won’t fly off the low gravity world when you hit it any sort of distance.
Jack gives it a swing.
Tony, who has the ability to turn anthropomorphic when needed, shows them how it’s done.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0001, Heterocera, Rubi^
Sunklands 