Chapter 34: What Do the Paper Rabbits Represent?
As Jay advances, Johnny's memories shift from old age to maturity. Johnny stands by River's window, now terminally ill, with the stuffed platypus by her bed. Meanwhile, the floor is covered with paper rabbits.
"Fair enough, even after the surgery, there's still... So don't worry," Johnny tells River.
But River stares at him. "A white lie... You think it's a white lie, don't you?"
"No, I'm sure it's just..." Johnny tries to explain, but he's cut off.
"Enough... I don't like you lying."
"I've counted our assets and I know the real situation."
"Why are you trying to convince me to go against my will?"
River looks hurt.
Johnny, however, reacts with agitation.
"We need that money for your medical expenses, River!"
"I understand Anya is very important to you, but this... this is outrageous!"
"I mean, you don't even..." River interrupted.
"Do you know what would make me happy?"
As River and Johnny continued their conversation, Jay and the live stream audience finally understood who Anya was. In earlier memories, Johnny had revealed that Anya was very important to River. But what exactly it was, was not entirely clear.
Jay initially suspected it was the stuffed platypus, but now he had a new theory. The person named Anya was not a platypus or a person, but perhaps the lighthouse perched on the cliff. River, who could have been cured, insisted that Johnny use his medical treatment money to build a house overlooking the lighthouse, claiming it would bring her happiness.
"What's wrong? Are you wasting your life? A house overlooking the lighthouse is more important than your life!"
Jay felt his head filling with questions. So many questions filled his mind. At that moment, River, in the game, handed Johnny a paper bunny. It was that blue and yellow paper bunny.
"What is this?" River asked, looking at Johnny with hope.
Johnny was a little surprised, but replied: "It's a bunny, just like the ones you made before."
"And what?" River continued.
"And... uh..." Johnny was a little lost: "Well, it's made of paper."
"And what else?"
"It's yellow, and the rest is blue."
"Great, what else?"... River said enthusiastically.
Johnny, completely unsure of River's intention, changed the subject and said he had written a song and wanted to play it for her. It was the same song "For River." River laughed and, jokingly, said it was a rather cheesy name. The memory was still present, and Johnny was worried.
He faced a dilemma: he had to treat River or continue building his dream: a house by the lighthouse. Johnny, in the game, faced a difficult decision, but Jay, the entire live stream audience, Neil and Eva, everyone in the game, understood that Johnny, in the end, had followed River's wishes.
But why?
Johnny's conversations with his friends, Isabelle and Nicholas, revealed crucial information. Anya, just as Jay had imagined, was the lighthouse on the cliff. This lighthouse was also where River and Johnny got married. But it was completely baffling!
Why was River so obsessed with this lighthouse? And her conversation revealed crucial information: River might be suffering from some kind of illness, and the origami rabbit seemed to be one of the symptoms. But why was River so obsessed with the lighthouse? And what exactly did this paper rabbit mean?
"F***, I don't get it!" Jay's face was full of confusion.
Meanwhile, live stream comments constantly flooded the screen.
"My brain is running out of capacity."
"CPU overloaded!"
"By the way, what does this paper rabbit represent?"
"I have a feeling something is very wrong with this game!"
"Hurry up, boss! Keep going!"
"+1, I think I know what happens next!"
Clearly, the audience was just as curious about the game's subsequent plot. They also wanted to see how the game would resolve these questions.
With the passage of time and memory, Johnny and River became younger and younger. The two had romantically embraced under the lighthouse named Anya, hoping for a future full of longing.
But the only baffling thing was that River kept folding paper rabbits, bringing the blue and yellow bunny to Johnny and asking, "What is this?" Remembering how she had been asking Johnny the same question even when she was seriously ill, the confusion only deepened.
'So, what does this rabbit represent?'
'Oh my God, it hurts!' Jay recalled, scratching his head, tormented by curiosity.
And what illness did River have? Countless questions ran through his mind. His subsequent conversations with Nicolas and Isabelle revealed more about River. Isabelle and River shared the same illness. It was this illness that made River's speech so strange, so confusing, that it was difficult to understand what she was trying to say.
"So River suffers from a condition that prevents her from expressing herself clearly and has social difficulties?" Jay speculated.
With that reason, all of River's strange behavior is explained. Why did River keep asking Johnny about the rabbit? Why did she let Johnny throw the sandbag at Anya and then risk her life at the edge of the cliff to observe? All of this has an explanation.
Because River suffers from a mental illness, she cannot express her thoughts clearly and can only use hints to express her deepest desires.
But even though he understands, new problems arise. That is, what does the rabbit represent? Why does River feel a special affection for this lighthouse called Anya, and is even willing to give her life for it?
'Is it because this lighthouse is where she and Johnny got married? This doesn't make sense!'
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