[ brb this is river making a mental note to go bother steve about this someday as she picks up the yellow spade. there's a sort of floatiness about her behavior, as there always tends to be - she observes the spade closely ( she likes the color; it reminds her of sunshine and kaylee ), even testing the weight of it before gripping the handle and finally going to her side of the garden box. 

she watches wanda work for a moment after that, tracking the movement of her hands so that she can start mimicking them with her own. the soil is cool, damp, and full of critters, and something seems to soften in river. ]

Feels like real dirt but it can only grow fake vegetables. It's a paradox within a paradox - it's paradoxical. 

[ the horizon doesn't make logical sense; it doesn't really have to. river thought it sounded like fun when she couldn't reach it, but ever since they woke up from the dream... she lifts an earthworm with one careful finger, watching the way it squirms aimlessly after being removed from its natural environment with an almost detached expression. ]

You're supposed to accept that Abraxas is real, that the Horizon both is and isn't, and magic makes it all possible. But a lifetime can be a lie and you won't be hungry when you wake up, anyway.

[ if she sounds a little somber, it's because she's been struggling with this for a while. how can they claim that anything is truly "real?" istredd said they simply must to continue living, but it's not exactly a satisfactory conclusion. ]