The Ranch

Happy Holidays (8)

Tih stands between all the men, aloof and pasty white. His eyes are fixed on the distant horizon and the sun starts to set and the sky changes colors.

Andreas swims over with interest in the famous legend. He makes his analysis.

~~~~

Paralyzed in the face department.

Cold but, soft?

No, not cold, but an incongruity, something's off.

And not soft. No, soft. Soft and...squishy.

~~~~

Andreas holds Tih's face, squishing his cheeks. "They looked soft but I didn't really think- oh how wrong I was." He laments grandly.

Phillip slaps his hand away, but also feels tempted. He takes the boy's hand and squeezes the squishy paws of the little boy. He feels content.

Tih gets kneaded into bread by the group for a bit before Sinclair puts an end to it as he watched from the sidelines with embarrassment for too long," It's time to get out. We don't want anyone fainting on us, now do we?"

"Yes yes." They lead Tih out of the onsen and give him his yukata and sandals. Now it's time for a late lunch, early dinner. This time, someone asks for a tea set and a variety of leaves.

"Oh what kind of tea is this?" Andreas pinches a bit of hojicha and sniffs it.

"Green tea, but it's roasted." Sinclair answers patiently.

"What's that?" He points to the matcha.

"Green tea, but it's powdered."

"Is that also green tea?"

"No, that's Jasmine."

Dinner consists of a dish of appetizers, soup, sashimi, a boiled dish, grilled wagyu, tempura, chawanmushi, rice, and a sorbet for dessert.

At night they hang out in the karaoke room, play table tennis, and partake in a few rounds of mahjong. Overall, Sinclair won by a landslide in mahjong, Tih in table tennis, and Casanova and Phillip continued to compete in singing, no one better than the other by a large margin.

Some stay up late into the night, some roll out a futon and sleep early. Tih wanders around outside. The moon lights up the surroundings, the snow glistens under it. The temperature has dropped.

Tih spots the silhouette of someone sitting on top of a boulder. He walks around the side to see the person clearly. Phillip's face is illuminated by the moonlight, snow sits atop his hair. He stares off into the darkness in a daze. He didn't hear Tih's footsteps in the snow, because Tih didn't make a sound.

Tih hops on the boulder and sits next to Phillip. Only then does he notice Tih's presence, but his eyes fixate on the darkness ahead. He speaks, maybe to Tih, maybe to himself," We have to stay here till we're fifty. That's enough time to get married and have kids. Even before coming here, I knew I was...attracted to the same sex, so it's fine for me, but the others-

It's always made me feel guilty. They have to make a decision that I don't have to make. It's not fair for them... but nothing on this island is fair. I know I should get over myself. I have my own problems to deal with, but...

Sometimes I wonder if I deserve to be in a relationship. I know it's stupid, but it eats at me. What if my partner isn't...like me? What if they're settling for me because it's the best they can get? What if they come to be disgusted with me? What am I supposed to do when that happens?

But...is that really my fault? Would I want to be with someone that thinks that way about me? I- I just want to be happy." Phillip blinks and snaps out of it.

He turns to Tih and makes a sad smile," Thank you, It's nice having someone to talk to. You're the only person I can let my guard down around, and it's not because you're mute." He softly nudges Tih and chuckles.

The two lay on their backs and watch the stars and snow fall. Phillip breathes in deeply.

~~~~

It feels like a weight has been lifted off my chest for the first time in a while.

Heh...it's a nice feeling.

Thank you, Tih.

~~~~

They get back inside before they catch colds and slip in futons that have been laid out for them. The futon warms Phillip's cold body and he drifts off to sleep.

In the middle of the night, after everyone's asleep, Tih shuffles silently out of the futon and opens the paper screen door. He walks downstairs, the only people around are the cleaning staff. Tih slides the door and a burst of cool air fills the doorway. He steps outside, closing the shoji.

It's silent at night, more so than in the day. Cheer and chatter can barely be heard in the distance by Tih. The boy crosses the snow silently, making his way through the mountains until he reaches the tallest peak on the island.

There's no snow here. Actually, the snow stopped a while ago. It cut off like a straight line drawn across the mountain range. It was perfectly aligned.

Tih plops himself on the peak and stares straight up. His hand stretches out to reach the stars in the distance. It only touches air, yet he keeps his arm up. The light he's trying to grab disappears before his eyes, replaced by the surrounding blackness. Tih blinks. He tries again. This one doesn't disappear nor enter his palm.

The child brings his hand back down. He looks at his palm, tracing its creases. His lips part," ĵ̶̨̙̻͖̱̒͆̂̈́̓̃̂s̸̛͙̀̅̇̿̈́̓͆͝͝ŗ̵̛̬͎̥̟͚͙̦̥͙̖̩̘̘̆́̒͒̂̔͌̂͛̋̔͠͝ḣ̵̻̝͉̥̣̜̤x̶̮͖̰͙͑̑̽̔̽̾͑̾̋̽̕͝͝į̶̛̟͉͍̲̑̔́̀̍͛͐̍̀̈̌̋͂͘͜ͅ." He spends hours speaking in demonic tongue, only closing his mouth when the sun rises. The words are hazy in his mind, but he can close his mouth when he wants to now.