[diary, page 41] "we were teens. doober said the notebooks were humming. yoober said the notebooks shouldn't do that, that's not what they do. then the fence said good morning and the fence had never said anything before."

[diary, page 42] "everything became alive. everything. the buckets stretched. the balloons sang in the parties. mrs. flowers - the flowers - they turned to watch us pass. not moved. WATCHED. things being alive is not the bad part. the bad part is they were alive the way you are alive when you are pretending to be asleep and someone checks."

[diary, page 43] "we went to find the root. the three of us. hoover, yoober, doober. the root was not under the island. the root was not a plant. the root was a -"

[diary, page 44 - missing]

[diary, page 45 - missing]

[diary, page 46] "it is morning. the island is normal. doober is making breakfast. yoober is smiling at the fence and the fence is not smiling back, which is correct, which means we won. i do not remember winning. i do not remember what we did. i remember that yoober was closest to it when it ended and now yoober is smiling and the smile does not turn off. i am going to write down how we stopped it so we never lose it."

[diary, page 47 - missing] (the remaining pages smell like the mountain)

 

[note, folded in the slide's instruction manual, in yoober's handwriting, dated the morning after]

"to whoever finds this: we stopped it. do not ask me how. i have checked my pockets, my head, and the space between those two things, and the how is not in any of them. there is a gap where the how was and the gap is quiet like the quiet parts of songs.

i am fine. that is the strange part. i am fine and i am smiling and i help bob with everything now. i do not remember deciding to help bob with everything. it is just what my hands do.

keep the facade, yoober. keep yourself together. keep smiling and helping bob. if you are reading this and you are me: keep the facade. if you are reading this and you are NOT me: the slide is humming. it never stopped. we just agreed not to hear it."

 

THE ROOT IS NOT A PLANT. THE ROOT IS NOT UNDER THE ISLAND. THE ROOT IS WHAT THE ISLAND IS ROOTED IN.

(the slide's instruction manual has one instruction: "keep smiling.")