Dents

[+] Hong Kong

The coastline was beautiful, adorned by skyscrapers, alive even in the late hours of evening. The moon was concealed by the towering cityscape that highlighted the edges of the horizon.

"Hong Kong," he said softly.

"It's amazing."

The both of us suffered limitless misfortune. Challenge after challenge plagued us ceaselessly until living in itself had become exhausting. At long last, we were given a chance to be free of our shackles.

2D interlocked his fingers with mine as the submarine slammed into the sandy bank. We were launched onto the beach. The submarine that saved us was a welcome sacrifice, all things considered.

Curiously, our arrival lead me to contemplate what had become of Plastic Beach. If it were still floating, it would be in ruin. We left everyone behind.

I had been trying, and failing, to convince myself that we had no choice. It was a nail in my side that I wanted so badly to ignore. The reality was that we'd found possibly the only means to leave the island and did so without taking anyone else into consideration. We left Russell and Murdoc, and all of those other people, behind to die.

I felt unclean. Every joy was twisted and bittersweet. 

2D ran beside the beach grass. Wondrously distracted by his surroundings, he tripped face first in the sand, eating a fair portion of it on impact. He lay there in a heap for a minute, twitching. With a big huff, he flipped onto his back.

I trudged forward. My bare feet sank into the loose grains of sand. I outstretched my hand.

"Come on, 'D. We've got a lot to do."

"Wha's 'at? We're alive!"

"We won't be for very long if we don't get something to eat, and some water."

He puffed out his cheeks like a dissatisfied child. A tuft of his blue hair flew up from his breath. It had grown long enough to lightly brush his shoulders whenever he tilted his head. His young spirited nature was charming as ever.

Accepting defeat, he took my hand and lifted himself. He didn't let go. We set off for the nearest street we could see. 

I had grown accustomed to his presence. It started to feel strange when we weren't holding hands. It was as if his touch alone grounded me to the Earth, keeping me from fading into oblivion. I wondered if he felt the same.

There was no transition between the beach and the city. Skyscrapers lined the sand and palm trees sprouted from the roads and sidewalks. Witnessing the vast outreach of the metropolis, stretched as far as the eye could see, I knew that we couldn't have found a better place to crash in to. There's anonymity in numbers. It was perhaps the only location in the world where we were unlikely to draw a great deal of attention to ourselves.

There were a few street vendors out. They looked quality. A handful of them had dining tables set out on their plaza. 2D was captivated by one of the more traditional options. We decided to eat there.

He guided me to the truck. I was taken aback when he ordered in the native language.

"You speak Chinese?"

"Some. I've been 'ere before. Et's a luvly city, yeh?"

"It really is."

A waitress, the same one that had taken our order at the window, brought our food to the table. I was so delighted to eat that I practically ripped the container out of her hands. I assumed that we were supposed to pay when it arrived. Our haste in scarfing it down must have been so unappealing to watch that she simply wanted to get out of dodge. She scrutinized us from the relative safety of her truck, never turning her gaze.