Striking first, after we all separated our boxes into grids of 16, I claimed one of the middle squares of my own box.
Going next, Oliver observed the boxes for a while before pointing to a square diagonal to mine. Then Ralph pointed to Oliver's middle square, and we all looked down to mark all the claimed boxes. An O for Oliver, R for Ralph, and D for me.
One by one, the squares were marked off, and each box only had a couple of squares left each. Then, after a long period of square-marking, we finally entered the action phase. Flickering his gaze between all three boards, Oliver narrowed his eyes as his eyes flashed with silent calculations. The whole time we had been playing, Oliver had obviously been randomly marking squares near both of us. Unfortunately, what he didn't know was that he was setting himself up for failure.
Throwing his hands up in what was obviously a 'any move is better than not moving' gesture, Oliver chose one of the squares in my box. Unfortunately, in his haste, he made a fatal mistake, and Ralph followed with a direct strike to the jugular.
"Ahh!?"
Clawing at his hair, Oliver exclaimed as he leaned back in agony. Then, as we erased Oliver's marks from the boxes, we saw him jerk back up and observe the two of us play.
"This game is just so confusing."
Hearing his groan, I couldn't help the smile that crept up my lips. Despite his title of being a 'genius', Oliver was nowhere near as arrogant or hateful as I had pictured. In fact, with his habitual and maybe unconscious anxiety, I felt that he was the closest person I could relate to.
Filling up the three boards again, Ralph and I battled it out silently with feigned attacks here and unconsciously hidden traps there until we filled up the last spot and had to call it a tie.
Erasing the marks on the sand, the three of us switched to a less mind-intensive puzzle game for Oliver's sake. However, as the three of us were clenching our sticks, ready to make the first move, I heard my mother's voice shout from outside the door.
"Boys! It's lunch time!"
Putting aside our clean sand boxes, the three of us slowly stood up and exited the room. My mother, who was at the doorway of the kitchen, gestured at the bowls on the table before heading deeper in.
Sitting at the table, the three of us took the bowls into our hands and stared into them. The soup in the bowls were clear, with a slight salty aroma that teased our nostrils as it floated up in the form of steam.
Taking a small sip, I could feel the water-like soup flood my mouth and enter my throat. It was hot, and it warmed me up as it made its way down. And just like the smell, the taste was so diluted that if you wanted to know the taste, you had to close your eyes and focus on it. However, after drinking this faint soup for the past nine years of my life, I could immediately pinpoint which simple ingredient my mother had used to make this soup.
Closing my eyes to taste the refreshing hint of mint mixed with the slightly sour root grown in Dara's garden, I couldn't help the small smile that floated onto my face at this nostalgic taste. Opening my eyes, I turned to my mother to praise her for the soup when I saw her staring deeply into her reflection on a pot.
Noticing my gaze, I saw her head flick toward me as she gave me her best reassuring smile. However, that smile was cracked, and it was obvious that whatever my father had told her before he went had shocked her to her core.
Putting on a face of contemplation, she turned her sights back to her reflection, and I continued to observe her as I downed the rest of the soup. Suddenly, it was almost as if I was tasting a bland water concoction.
While observing her from the corner of my eye, I suddenly caught a movement from the other side and tilted my head. Eyes landing on Oliver, his mouth was tugged down, his brows furrowed, as he stared at the bowl in his hands. Making a slight face of disgust, Oliver suddenly realized both Ralph and I were staring at him, and he covered up his distaste with a smile.
As I moved my eyes away, I saw him silently grit his teeth as he poured the whole bowl down into his stomach. Then, with as little of a reaction as he could make, he closed his eyes in hopes that the taste would disappear on its own.
Chuckling quietly to myself, I gave Oliver a 'sympathetic' smile before turning my attention back to my mother.
Too absorbed to notice the scenes happening at the table, I saw her beautiful eyes reflected on the pot. Those familiar, clear irises were currently clouded over with the remnants of a brutal war between herself and something darker. Swirling within her eyes was a shadow that seemed to reach out its long tendrils, sucking the light out and replacing it with something cold and hard.
Narrowing her eyes, she blinked for one second, and I saw the shadow being pushed back by a new contender for the war. Unlike the self that had been swallowed up, this new challenger was much much more cruel. With claws as sharp as obsidian, it slashed through the darkness and quickly repressed the darkness. Forced to retreat, the darkness screamed out in grief and agony at its new enemy. It cried, pleaded, and ultimately, when the new void cut it into small strips of pure, insidious black, it blamed the void before disintegrating into ashes.
Glancing at the void from the corner of my eye, I saw it flicker to me once it was done squashing the darkness. From within my mother's eye, I could feel it beckoning to me. Calling me to come closer and touch it. Be infected by it. Then it smiled.
"Dan?"
Snapping out of my hallucination, I turned to face Ralph's concerned expression as I inconspicuously wiped the cold sweat that had formed on my palms.
"Yes?"
"Are you alright?"
Shooting a look towards my mother, Ralph then subtly gestured to my clothes.
"You're sweating."
Looking down, I could see blobs of sweat staining my shirt. Grabbing the hem, I flapped it to speed up the drying process and gave Ralph a weary smile. Thankfully, after seeing my expression, he chose to let it go. Although the reluctant look on his face and the brush of his hand on my thigh seemed to suggest that he would only keep quiet for now.
"Boys, I need to go somewhere. Could you help me watch the house?"
Walking away from the pot, I saw my mother put on a fake smile as she walked past the table. Looking into her eyes, I saw that same darkness taunting me with a smile on it's abyss-like face, and I could feel my hair stand on the ends as my mother passed me by.
Feeling ill-at-ease with that smile, I shot out my hand and grabbed my mother by the arm, halting her in her steps toward the door.
"Oliver?"
A little surprised, I saw the faint spark of light rekindle in my mother's eyes as she met mine. Then, purely on instinct, with barely a thought on my mind, I got off the chair and launched myself into her embrace. Feeling those hands wrap around me, I steeled myself and tilted my head to gaze into her eyes. The void was still there, although lighter than before, and I could see confusion overtake my mother's vision at my action.
"Be safe out there."
Spouting an excuse, I buried myself in her arms again and gave her the warmest hug I could muster. Then, when I felt the heat being transmitted back with a tight squeeze, I felt a strong wave of relief wash over me.
Separating, I waved goodbye at my mother as she headed out of the door. Her posture was less gloomy, and the smile that bloomed on her face was genuine. The best thing, however, was that the void was no longer residing in her eyes. Although the light no longer shone, the still gray that was left behind put me more at ease than the darkness or the void.
I gave a sigh, turned around, and grabbed my bowl from the table. Following my actions, Oliver and Ralph trailed behind me as we all placed the bowls in the sink to be washed when my mother came back.
Walking over to our room, I opened the door, and headed in first. Taking the sand boxes, I arranged them as they were before, and gestured for the two boys to sit down. Behind me was Ralph, who stared at my face for an extended period of time before releasing a weakly relieved smile. Towards that end, I couldn't help but smile at him and squeeze his hand in reassurance. I was truly alright now.
Once Ralph sat down, I turned to Oliver. On that pale face of his, I could see a slightly meaningful smile being directed at me. His lips were tilted to one side, and I could feel a sort of pleased emotion radiating from them. As if he was impressed by something that I had done. Meeting his gaze, I saw those obsidian eyes stare back at me. No, they weren't truly obsidian. Compared to the void that I saw, Oliver's eyes were slightly lighter. And more purposeful than that overwhelming abyss.
Blinking, I couldn't help but widen my eyes to give Oliver a 'what is it' look. Seeing that, I saw him subtly shaking his head as he forced his lips to straighten. Although I could still feel the joy bouncing off him.
Squinting his eyes at Oliver, Ralph showed a confused expression on his face before rolling his eyes and straightening out his sandbox. This action immediately caught the attention of Oliver, who reigned in his satisfaction and rolled his eyes back. Preparing our sandboxes, the three of us started a news game as we put the series of events that occurred at lunch behind us. Throwing my mother's look and the void to the side of my mind, after sticking a mental note to it, of course, I stared intently at the board and focused on the game. Reaching out with my stick in hand, I made the first move and marked an area on the sand.
At least in a game like this, there is no such thing as death or suffering. There was only one thing. To win!