God's Game

CHAPTER 4: Ice Creams with Annoyance

CHAPTER 4

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I've only done bleaching twice my entire life and both times my father and I finish, there's always ice cream after. There's not much to bleach 30 kilometers within Hustasia, the cities near our empire have been already bleached.

Personally, I find bleaching very fun. You raid abandoned cities that was nearly destroyed or left inhabitable when the gods arrived a hundred years ago for resources and the fun part is you'll never know what you'll find. One time, I found a teddy bear with a few drops of blood in one of our bleaches and a few washes later, that teddy bear is now part of my collection.

Of course, my father isn't one to look for teddy bears, he looks for metals, food, wheels, anything that still can be used and brings them home. He also enjoys bleaching that's why he does it often. Every time he comes back after the trade of resources, he brings us ice cream.

Right now, this chocolate coated vanilla ice cream tastes like heaven after a few days of laying in bed all day. The sun shines mightily while we sit in a bench at the Hustasian Park.

As I lick the chocolate off the vanilla ice cream I admire the statue at the middle of the park; a statue of Lord Levi. It's a beaut that all this time, it was so accurate.

"What are you thinking?" Ahry looks at me. She has chocolate and vanilla linings on her mouth. "Admiring the Lord who healed you, eh?"

"We all admire him, Ahry. I was just lucky enough to get a visit from him." I say proudly.

"Shushh. You know what mother said, you can't tell anyone about the other night." She lowers her voice.

About the other night. I remembered that night so vividly. I remembered the visit from Lord Levi and my dream. My dream that felt like a nightmare, I reminisce my bloody face that is engraved in my mind. Staring into Ahry reminded me of her bloodied picture in my dreams.

"Hello? Hustasia to Nicolous." She snaps her fingers in front of my face and I was immediately dragged back to reality. "What are you thinking? Come on you can tell me anything."

I looked away and back to her. I hesitated for a second, thinking if I should tell her about the dream. Among all of my siblings, I trust Ahry the most because she understands me the most. It's just a dream. I thought to myself.

"I had a dream. After Lord Levi healed me, that dream... I was a farmer selling in the market right by the wall and you and father and Alexander came through the wall..." I stopped and looked at my melting ice cream. The sticky sensation of the melting ice cream felt like blood as it drips down my skin.

"And then? Do you want to continue or at least lick your ice cream? It's kinda dripping in your arm." Ahry once again pulled me to reality.

"Oh sorry" I finished off my ice cream and wiped my hands with the cloth mother gave us.

"So you were saying?" Ahry finished her ice cream as well and throws the stick into the bin beside the bench. She wipes off the vanilla and chocolate lining on her mouth.

"Oh right uhm.." I mentally debated whether I should tell her or not. She might spill it to father or mother or she might say 'psshh, you're worried about that? I'll protect you!' She'll probably do the latter but I'm worried she might accidentally or intentionally spill it to mother and father, which is the least likely scenario to happen.

As if on cue, father waves to us from across the park. The meeting with the high council must be over. Ahry and I wave back and Ahry's face lit up when she noticed father brought along her pet dog.

"HIBISCUS!" She shouts as the golden retriever and labrador breed or goldador, as we call it, comes running towards her and father followed shortly behind. Hibiscus licked the few sticky spots from Ahry's ice cream off her face and Ahry plays along with a giggle.

"You two, go home before sun down, alright?" Father points at the both of us and gives us a slingshot to play with. "Don't point at windows or at people, okay?"

We nod. "Is the meeting going to drag on for that long?" Since father let us play outside the temple for quite this long, that means the meeting is not yet over. Usually, their meeting only lasts for 3 hours, but it can also last for days.

"Your mother and I have a few things to tackle with the council as per Lord Levi's instructions before going over the Festival of Burgeon, 'till then enjoy yourselves here okay?" Father gave us pats in the heads. "Arla is at home stitching while Alexander is training swordsmanship. If you want to join them, you may."

"Yes father, but we would rather be kids and enjoy the park right now." Ahry said with a bit of sternness in her voice. Father sighed and nodded. He knows Ahry would only do swordsmanship and not stitching.

"Alright. I'll leave you two to it okay?" We nod in unison and father turns around and walk away.

"Hey do you want to play by the river?" Ahry stopped playing with her dog and looks at me.

"Of course." She said with a smug look on her face as she stands up from the bench. She then starts running— sprinting towards the river with Hibiscus following behind her. "Last one to the river is a stupid cunt!" She shouts as she run.

"No fair!" I yell back as I followed behind her.

—

Thwip the slingshot goes as Ahry releases the rubber that propelled the stone forward. The stone made a splash in the river.

"Mine was farther." She boasts to my face. Dang it, I lost again. I hung my head in shame. "You know what to do, brother."

I put my hands together and reached them out to her. She smiled and I look away hoping that it would lessen the pain. A loud clap was heard when she slapped both my hands with brute force. I hissed in pain and Ahry is on the grass laughing.

"You enjoy that don't you?" I try to shake off the pain in my now reddish hands.

"Yes. You should've. Seen your. Face." She said in between laughter.

"That's it!" I couldn't take it anymore so I joined her in the grass and started tickling her. Her laughter overpowered the crashing of the water in the river.

"Wow, you two enjoy rolling in the dirt like cows do, don't you?" Our laughter was interrupted by the curly-haired girl whom Ahry hates so much.

"Well a b***h like you enjoys barking, don't you?" Ahry rebutted with a smug look on her face. Ahry has found pleasure in teasing Kanna ever since she put a gum on her hair. She said she couldn't stand her and that Ahry had to cut her hair the way it is right now because of her.

Kanna rolled her eyes and opens up her wooden fan that blowed her curly hair. Kanna is the daughter of the richest family, the Hudsons, here in Hustasia making her the brat of town.

"Oh don't stare at me. Go on, roll over like cows." She makes a gesture that signals us to go on as she continues to sway her fan on her face.

"If you're only here to annoy us, please leave, Kanna. We're kinda having fun." I tried to make her leave before she gets into a fight with Ahry again. The last time they fought, Ahry was grounded for a week because she threw mud at Kanna's silk dress.

"Oh no, I'm not here to annoy anyone. I'm here to pass  my time while I wait for my father. He's in the council, as you two know." As the richest family in Hustasia, his father is part of the high council that makes decisions for the empire.

"Why here? Go to a nearby cliff and jump off to pass your time." Ahry crossed her arms.

"I want to watch animals. Hustasia isn't Thanatos, we don't have a zoo so I might as well watch the both of you." Kanna said in a very sarcastic tone. To be honest, there are times when her attitude gets into my nerves.

"If you want animals you can go to your family." Ahry coldly replied

Kanna laughed at the thought. "Sorry I only prefer wild animals like you." She smirked "You know I love it when rabies is spewing out of your mouth when you're angry at me."

"So you're here to annoy us?" I asked. She really is a prick.

"Haven't you been listening? I said I'm here to watch wild animals roll on the dirt. So go on, roll." I crossed my arms at her reply and saw Ahry's jaws were clenched and that her hands were white.

Kanna laughed at the look on Ahry's face. Her laugh is the most annoying noise I have ever heard. It's like hearing a fork being scraped on a plate but worse.

Ahry whistled a tone and Hibiscus came up behind her growling. Kanna continued on laughing with her hand on her stomach.

"Ahry.. don't.." I tried to stop her. I know what she's going to do next.

Kanna's laugher amplified when she saw the concerned look on my face. Ahry looks like she is ready to breathe fire.

Ahry whistled another tune and with that, Hibiscus lunges forward biting Kanna's hand. Kanna's laughter was soon replaced with a high pitched scream and Ahry's angry face lit up with a loud laughter.

I mentally face palmed. We are in so much trouble.