London
“H onk that bong!”
Having just arrived, Carter Pillar stood over a police car in the middle of the streets of London, celebrating in the most provocative ways. Everyone in London had fallen asleep because of the Chessmaster’s curse, and only a few, probably immune to the curse, stood next to him.
When he’d first arrived, everyone was shocked with the sudden creepy silence in the city. Those who were still awake were in shock and grief, wondering who to ask for help.
But the Pillar, being the Pillar, had another point of view on the incident.
“Look at it this way,” he told the people still awake. “The city is all ours. We can do whatever we want. You will never have a chance to do this in this miserable and densely populated London again.”
“What would you have us do?” an old lady asked.
“Honk that bong!” he’d said, honking the horn of every car he came about.
“Honking is illegal!” the woman protested.
“And that’s exactly the point.” The Pillar winked.
It was only a few minutes before the others bought into his idea. Suddenly, Londoners went bonkers and began doing whatever was illegal.
Now the Pillar stood upon his limousine, watching them play golf and shooting balls against Parliament’s windows, honking cars, and singing loudly in the streets.
“Go to the CCTV surveillance cameras!” the Pillar demanded. “Get it all recorded. This is an event like no other!”
Xian, on the other hand, not having arrived in America yet, didn’t know where he was. He thought this was it, the place of freedom where he would be free to do whatever he wanted. So he took off his clothes and danced in the streets. At one point, he turned to the Pillar and said, “I love America!”
The Pillar didn’t bother correcting him. He turned around and began walking to the most desired and important destination in London, at least according to him.
“Where are you going, Cao Pao Wong?” Xian inquired.
The Pillar took a moment to answer. He seemed thoughtful, thinking about too many things at once, and then said, “Time to finish something I started, Xian. It’s all about choices, remember?”