Stone reached for vine, vine curled to stone. When they touched, creation shuddered—rivers carved new paths, mountains clothed themselves in forests, and the sky blazed with light. Yet they could not remain entwined, for the weight of Thalen’s stones would crush Q’elva’s delicate vines. So they parted, though their love endured, etched forever into root and rock.

The road has carried Elias to the Toll Booth at last — but the price it demands isn’t measured in coins. As the Hitchhiker warns and the Taker waits, Elias must decide whether true adventure lies beyond the barrier… or within the journey that brought him here.

This is the exciting conclusion to the 3 parter, “A Funny Thing Happened”. You won’t want to miss it.

The neon flickered in the storm: GATES MOTEL.
Inside, the innkeeper slid a scorched ledger across the counter.
“Secrets,” she rasped. “That’s the price here.”
Elias gripped the pen, the laughter of strangers rattling the walls.
The book seemed to breathe, waiting.

The first screen lit up:

“May 17th, 2016. Riverside Park. 6:42 p.m.”

My breath caught. The golden hour. The day he proposed.

Then the second screen appeared:

“Payment Due: Every memory of his voice.”

I thought about it for less than a minute. His laugh. His good-morning rasp. The way he’d say “Hey” like it was the only word that mattered. All of it gone.

But I could make new memories. I’d hear him again. This was fine. This was worth it.

“Yes,” I said.

The arm lifted. The road shimmered.

The sound of his voice began dissolving before I’d even reached the horizon. Each note fading until it was like trying to remember a language I’d never learned.

Like a mirage an old Pontiac slowly lurches forward, unsure if I too am a mirage in this booth.  The Pontiac comes to a halt.  The driver’s a woman, late thirties maybe. Sunglasses, lipstick, funeral-black dress. She rolls down the window and stares straight ahead. She doesn't speak.

I slide open the panel.

“Arm.”

She doesn’t argue. Just shifts in her seat as if rethinking every decision that led her here and slowly stretches out her arm through the window like it’s a toll ticket.

The Diviner hums. One drop of blood, and it begins.

How far would you go to claim your heart’s desire? Enter a universe where you can go everywhere you want, and every when. Welcome, to the Toll Booth Universe.