Jane and I walked side by side, our steps uneven... With the night air brushed against our skin.
Neither of us spoke, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Just the kind that lingers between two people who don't need to fill the quiet with words.
The alley spilled out onto a street where a familiar house stood among the rest.
It wasn't the biggest house on the block, but it stood out– not because of wealth or grandeur, but because of HISTO■Y.
A house built long before I was even a thought.
A house passed down, lived in, worn by T■ME and the hands of those before me.
It belonged to my father's grandmother once. When she passed, he inherited the walls, but not the wealth.
That went to his sister.
[ Their contact has not been built well, so communication between them is vague. ]
Even with the difference in status… my father never complained.
He was the kind of man who worked with what he had.
Day and night, hands calloused from effort, feet tired but steady.
And maybe that's why, despite everything, we were HA■?Y.
Not the kind that comes from having more.
But the kind that comes from warmth.
From meals eaten TOGE■HER.
From a home that NEV■R felt empty.
From a father who STAY■D.
[ Maybe that's why we lived an almost perf■ct life. ]
———————————————————
7:10 PM.
The night was alive. Laughter, chatter, and the sound of enjoyment.
I don't know if people came for me or if the smell of food pulled them in like a magnet. Maybe both –
Among the guests were my cousins. A whole mix of them.
Some way older....
Who's already looking at us younger ones like we were some entirely different species.
And some way younger...
Too caught up in their iPads, screens reflecting in their eyes stuck in their very own world.
[ This is what we call – The iPad Kids ]
"..."
I should be the one to talk to them first... That's what an "older" cousin does, right?
But looking at them, stuck in the overwhelming amounts of dopamine... has decided not to.
"..."
Let them stay where they were, heads bowed over glowing screens, fingers swiping, tapping, lost.
[ ..... ]
Before I could drift too far into my thoughts, a voice cut through the noise... calling my name.
It was The Game Host.
I felt a small pit form in my stomach.
They were looking right at me. Expecting me to get up, and participate....
To be part of whatever was happening.
I wanted to refuse.
To shake my head, to laugh it off, or maybe even pretend I was busy.
But those eyes.... so many of them --watching me, waiting.
I swallowed hard.
I slowly turned my head, looking for an escape. Looking for her.
[ Jane. ]
Maybe she'd save me and distract them long enough for me to slip away unnoticed.
But then—
She was there.
Not watching or waiting
But standing.
Forced into the game just like me.
Her face didn't show much. Not excitement nor dread. Just quiet acceptance.
Like she already knew there was no way out.
"....."
[ Musical Chairs. ]
That was the game.
A game of timing and luck.
A game where someone is always left standing.
When a music plays. We'd circle the chairs.
And when it stopped?
Someone would be eliminated.
————————————————————
[ ..... ]
I scanned my opponents.
'Flippp— most of them were kids.' A sudden thought bursted out of my mind.
Not all, but still—either the most competitive (cheating) little gremlins you'd ever meet or the ones just there because their parents forced them.
Either way, it wasn't gonna be easy.
[ ….. ]
"Hey, umm… we have to win now, right?"I whispered, leaning slightly toward [ Jane ] as we stood in line, waiting.
She turned her head, staring at me with the most unimpressed look I'd ever seen.
"Well, what do ya think?" she said flatly. "Losing to a bunch of seven-year-olds isn't on my 2025 Bingo Card."
I snorted, covering my mouth to muffle my laugh. "Well, isn't it time to change tha—"
The game master's voice blared through the mic, cutting me off.
She sounded pleased with the number of participants, and therefore announced the game to.....
———————————————————
[ Begin! ]
[ The music started to kick in. ]
And we started moving.
♪ If only one day, you'd see through my eyes,
The weight of the world, the truth in the lies.
If only you'd hear what silence won't say,
The echoes of dreams that faded away. ♪
[ ..... ]
Around and around, feet shuffling, eyes darting.
Then.....
Music stopped.
A chair was dragged, and someone fell.
I turned just in time to see one of my cousins–eliminated.
The game continued...
"....."
More rounds.
....More people out.
The numbers kept shrinking until....
[ Five players left. ]
[ The music played again. ]
♪ If only this life could speak in my place,
Would it beg you to stay? Would it ask for your grace?
Or would it just falter, a whisper, a sigh—
A story unfinished, a last, quiet… goodbye? ♪
[ ..♪..~..♪.. ]
I shifted on my feet, keeping close to the chairs, calculating my move.
One step, two steps —
Then silence.
I reached for the nearest chair-
Too late.
Someone had already thrown themselves into it.
And just like that, I was out.
[ Darn it ]
I let out a long sigh, lowering my head to avoid attracting any more attention.
"That was so embarrassing…" I muttered, resisting the urge to disintegrate on the spot.
Then, almost instinctively, my eyes flickered to [ Jane ].
Still standing.
Still in the game.
[ ...… ]
And judging by the determined look on her face–
She wasn't planning on losing.