XXXVI

We kept on: every day, a town. But something in the landscape we moved through didn’t match the snapshot of reality I’d filed in my head.

At first, I went inside the hardware stores with D, but it turned out my body was too big to play my old part. The centimeters that my arms and legs had gained in the past few years had made me invisible to those in charge.

I cursed the Great Carpenter again. If He could keep dwarfs and ponies small, He could have done so with me. But He hadn’t, and His decision had left me at a loss.

I had to have a think. So, instead of accompanying D, I decided I would wait for him outside.

When I asked him for the Kramp catalogue to bring myself up to date, he said they didn’t print them anymore. The little he sold, he sold from memory. That’s what he said.

I realized the situation was more critical than I had imagined, and, if I didn’t want the ground to disappear beneath my feet, it would be best to bring my trip to an end.

I still had a few memories in my head that hadn’t blended with this new reality, and I wanted to preserve them. So, I said goodbye to D, and gave him more slaps on the back, a hug, and a kiss.

I had a week left, and some money, so I decided to call S.