Part 14

BGM: Heartbeat SFX.



: "Even though they were young. . .to lose a twin brother. . . not to mention how their mother must feel."

: "At least Johnny had the beta-blockers erase the memories. Not like he remembers it, much."

: "Fuzzily unlinked, not erased. Somewhere in there, the aftermath of those memories probably lingered."

: ". . . What about their mother? I don't think she took the beta-blockers."

: "She seems to have gone a little cuckoo."



: "But if she then takes Johnny for Joey, what about Johnny himself?"


Eva pauses.


: "I don't like it here. Let's move on."



Johnny's twin brother, deceased since childhood.

: "Odd. . . It's not putting up a barrier anymore."

: "Don't jinx it."


No more tile games, so there’s that at least.






BGM: Having Lived




: “I mean really, it's just wicked awesome! I've already plowed through three books straight!"

: “What's it called?"

: “Animorphs. It's about this group of kids turning into animals to fight mind controlling slugs!"

: “Meh, I don't like that weird alien stuff."

: “Why not? It's great! Instead of going to boring school, they get to turn into tigers and maul big bad aliens! They're all like 'rawr rawr! RAWR RAWR RAWR'!!!. . And then they pick up lasers! And it's all 'pew pew! PEW PEW PEW PEW'!!! Pew pew pew pew pew pew pew--. . .”

: “Stop that."

: “Heehee."

: “Just watch, Johnny. . . one day, I'm gonna be a famous writer. I'll write the coolest novel on the block, and every kid will get my book for free. I'll make us rich, and buy both you and ma really big houses."

: “How would you get rich if you give away the books for free?"

: “Free for the kids . . . the parents'll still have to pay, of course!"



: “. . . What, you're still mad about the other day? Aw c'mon, I called first dibs on the train fair and square!"

: “What happened to your prize anyway?"

: “I gave it away."

: “To a hobo?"



: “. . . You know ma always favoured you."

: “Hey, that's not true!"

: “Remember last Christmas? And last Easter, and the time we went fishing, and-. . .”

: “Okay okay, you know what, you can have my train if you want!"

: “. . . Really?"

: “Yup!"

: “I mean hey, by your reasoning, she'll just get me another one, right?"


Johnny sulks for a silent moment.


: “Listen, Johnny . . . what difference does it make who 'owns' what? Everything that's mine, is yours too. I mean, we both get to play with it, right?"

: “. . . Yeah."

: “Right!"



: “You're like a part of me."

: “Oy, let's go confuse the neighbors!!"





: “Yes, in the rain! C'mon!!"



Joey's favourite childhood books.



Nothing more to do here…and there’s not much to say, either, except that Joey really loved his brother.

I get the feeling that they would have had a really strong companionship had he survived.




(NEW) BGM (NEW): World’s Smallest Ferris Wheel






: "Shall we look around?"

: "How about I look around and you just stand here?"

: "How about we continue speaking in the form of questions for the next hour?"

: "Quit blabbering and go already."

: "Aw, you ruined it."

I love the upbeat music tracks. They’re just so happy.



(Carnival Worker): "Apples, oranges, and tomatoes! We got it all!"

: "Wait a minute, tomatoes aren't fruits!"

: "Er, yeah they are. They are the ovaries of the plant and contain seeds. That's what a fruit is."

: "But c'mon, tomatoes?! We never ever refer to them as fruits!"

: "'We' who?"

: ". . . I happen to enjoy cooking in groups, okay?! Some of us take it very seriously."

I remember when I first heard about this. In fifth grade. Neil’s a little behind the times.

As exciting as fruit talk it, though, we’ve got a job to do.



(Johnny): "I want the train!!"

(Carnival Worker): "That's the only train left . . . do you want to exchange your prize for a teddy bear instead?"

(Johnny): “No, I just want the train . . . "

: "Now now, John, don't make a scene. Joey won it fair and square, didn't he?"

(Johnny): “But I won too! He just went first."

(Joey): “Heehee, it's okay, I'll let ya play with it too!"

: "See how nice your brother is, Johnny?"

: “. . . "

: "Okay you dumplings, don't block the stand, now! Come, let's go see what's over there!"





: "You're bluffing."

You know what, a game sounds fun. Let’s do that.

And not because we have to for the memory link or anything.



: "Whaca-wha?"

: "Whac-a-mole! You take a mallet and whack moles!"

To be fair to Neil, Eva doesn’t know what Whac-a-Mole is. The tomato thing isn’t so bad in retrospect.

: ". . . Isn't that animal abuse?"

: "They're fake moles, butthead. It's how people blew off steam before FPS were invented."

: "How primitive."

: "Yeah, it's pretty ghetto."

: "Where'd you read about it?"

: ". . . My grandpa was a fan."

(Carnival Worker): "Wanna play? Just hit everything on the head and you win!"

: "Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!!"

: "Uhh. . . "

(Carnival Worker): "Wanna play? Ya?"







This is exactly as exciting as it looks.





Hey guys, notice something on the screen that really shouldn’t be there?



I did slightly worse on Whac-a-Mole the second time recording this scene.



(Carnival Worker): "This one might just become a lawyer, and this one . . . a doctor!"

: "Oh my! C'mon, I'm getting both of ya treats!"

(Carnival Worker): "H-hey--. . . Where's my tip?!"



That gets us a link.



Unfortunately, we’re still one link shy.



We need to go check this guy out – which, mind you, is the inspiration for our current BGM title.

: "Can we ride it?"

: "Absolutely not!"

: ". . . Does it even work?"

: "Absolutely not!!"



: ["Don't know, don't care."]



Now we can cross the bridge.



Down to the south, there’s a memory link on this stage. I have no idea as to why it would be there – Johnny and Joey never mention it, so I can’t imagine why it’s worthwhile to his memories.

Speaking of Johnny and Joey, though -



(Johnny): "I can never understand you, Joey. How can you stand the taste of them? They're just so sour and. . . icky."

(Joey): "Sour and awesome is what you mean! Just try it!"

(Johnny): "Naw, I don't even wanna taste regular olives."

: "You should try at least one, Johnny. Who knows, maybe you'll like it!"

(Joey): Yeah!"





(Johnny): "I'm done, though. . . Can I go play?"

: "Okay, but only at the playground and not an inch too far!"



(Johnny): "No, it's mine . . . I won it!"

And there’s our last memory link.



Joey's favourite.

We’re not going to get anywhere without following Johnny, so let’s get on it.




BGM: World’s Smallest Ferris Wheel fades out.




Johnny’s heading off into the woods.








BGM: Moongazer








Pretty. Lord knows where he’s at with that little light pollution.



: "But let's face it, he could've also been eaten by a pack of tigers."

: "Tigers don't travel in packs, idiot."

: ". . . It was just an expression."



: ". . . Yeah?"

: "There was a hill outside of the city that we'd stay at. . . the same one every year. We'd watch the stars 'til daybreak. Well, I did, mostly. He just carried the telescope for me."

: ". . . Of course."

: "The thing was, though, ma didn't want me to stay up late. Grandpa always told her that we were just camping, and hid the telescope inside the car. That's all good, but when we got back in the morning, I had to pretend like I'd actually slept!"



: ". . .You're terrible."

: "I know."

: ". . . It's a shame, though, All these nice memories, lost and never found. . . and who knows how many more like it?"


BGM: Moongazer fades out.


: ". . . Well, as you say, just take it moment for moment, right?"

: "Mm-hm."

There’s a rustling sound in the woods to the left.





(NEW) BGM (NEW): Once Upon a Memory






It’s time for another HIGHLY RECOMMENDED VIDEO VIEWING. As usual, the normal format begins below.

CLICK HERE!















River, frightened, runs back the way she came.



: “I'm Johnny . . . What's your name?"

: ". . . You're at my spot."

: “Your spot?"

: “Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hog this place all to myself! Um, you wanna join me?"

: ". . . Are you here to watch the stars?"

: “Are you?"

The pair move up to sit on the log, and the scene shifts…



: "Did you know there were so many lights in the sky?"

"Yes."

: "Oh. . . Uh, I did too. You said this was your spot, right?"

“Only during the carnival."

: "Not a fan of the crowds?. . . Me neither."

: "Y'know, you still haven't told me your name yet."

“I'm not telling you. . . Everyone makes fun of it in school."

: "Why?"



: "Uh . . . Okay, then. Well, it can't be worse than 'John'. I mean, everywhere in the world, nearly everyone's named John!"

"Even in India?"

: "Probably!"

". . . What's wrong with that?"

: "Hm?"

"What's wrong with having a name that everyone has?"

: "Well . . . It's boring, I guess. I mean, if everyone has it, then what's the point?"

"I wouldn't mind. Just for once. . . to have the same name everyone else has. It's like those lights in the sky. . .they all look the same from here, but that doesn't make them any less pretty."

: "Eh, I suppose. . . What do you think those stars up there are anyways?"

"My dad said they're giant burning spheres of gas."

: "Oh, I bet he's just making it up."

"Why would he lie to me?"

: "Because, y'know, that's what grown-ups do. They make things up. Santa, Easter Bunny, kangaroos. . . stuff like that."



: "Like a constellation?"

"Yes."

: "Um, of other things. . . never tried a rabbit though."

". . . Do you want to make one?"

: "Yeah, we'll make the bestest constellation ever! Let's see who makes one out first!"

: "Okay, we'll start in three. Three, two, one, annnd sta--



: “Er . . . Where?"

"In the sky."

: "Um, but where in the sky?"

"Think big."

: "Eh. . . "

"Bigger than all the others."

: ". . . I don't know."

: "Wait a minute. . . Wait a minute!!. . . I SEE IT!!!"

"Tell me what you see."



"What else?"

: "And there. . . There're its two feet!"

"Yes. What else?"

: "And. . . And the moon!! The moon is its big round belly!!"



The scene fades back to them in normal format with them sitting on the log.


(NEW) BGM (NEW): Once Upon a Memory (Piano)




: "The stars, I mean."

: "I . . .I've never told anyone, but. . ."



: "Billions of lighthouses. . .stuck at the far end of the sky."

: "Wow, it must be so lively up there."

: "But it isn't. They can see all the other lighthouses out there, and they want to talk to them. But they can't, because they're all too far apart to hear what the others are saying. All they can do. . . is shine their lights from afar."

: ". . . So that's what they do. They shine their lights at the other lighthouses, and at me."

: "Why you?"

: "Because one day. . . I'm going to befriend one of them. "

A silent moment passes between them.



: "Oh, it's the prize I won from whac-a-mole! Did you get to play that game?"

: "I tried . . . but I'm too clumsy. What did you get from it?"

: "I got a . . . thing. I don't really know what it is."



: "It's some kind of a weird duck. . . beaver thing."

: ". . . May I see it?"



: "It looks so strange. . .I wish I could win one myself."



: "Eek, that's ma calling!"

River leans forward to hand back the platypus.

: ". . . Here."

: "You know what. . . keep it, it's yours."

: "Mine?"

: "Yeah, I can always get another. I don't like to brag, but I'm totally the best at that game!"



: "Yup. Will you?"

: "Yes."

: "Same place, same time?"

: "Yes."

















: "JOHNNY!!"

: "Coming!!"

: "Oh yeah, I forgot my hacky sack in the bag. You said you're clumsy, right? Maybe it'll help!"







: "Wait, does that mean--"

: "Don't tell me you didn't see that coming."

: "And here I thought this was gonna be an inspirational childhood dream story. . . I should've known that some girl would come along and turn it into a cheesefest."


BGM: Once Upon a Memory (Piano) fades out.




: "Wait, you aren't actually going to do it . . . are you?"

: "It's our job, Neil. . . it's what we are contracted to do."



: "Eva . . . "