Author Games: Ace of Spades

Quarterfinals: Dawn Everhart

The darkness which had fallen across the Milena Seble was unsettling, for it was as black as the night sky without the guiding light of the shimmering stars. It seemed as if the room had been drained of all colour, becoming the shades between black and white. It was if a plant, once blooming with youth and life, had wilted. The leaves had turned dry, curling as they shrank until there was nothing more than the crumbles of its existence. Their green which had once glistened like an emerald's sparkle had died, and as the leaves shuddered in fear, their colour became darker and duller until it was as black as the ashes of a fading fire.

Dawn Everhart knew that she too, was losing her glimmer. The light inside of had burned out, and the joy it had once emitted had been swept away. While she knew that her old fire could not burn again, another one could be ignited. It would flare with the light of novelty, for it was still young with years of light ahead of it. Dawn was still young, and she too, had so much ahead of her. She wanted a new life, one where her memories were locked away in the folds of her past. It would be in a place where she needed not gamble for money, and a life where her mother would stand by her in a healthy condition. All of it, everything she had ever wanted, would become hers by the end of the night.

As Dawn stepped into the dark room where the next challenge of the night awaited, she found the lights around her flicker as they brightened. She could see her surroundings clearer, but Dawn's eyes were on only the center of the room. They were where a metallic table sat, its sleek framework glistening in the slightly dim lights. It was almost as if the table was a lake of melted silver, shimmering in the night's moonlight. She stepped forward, her flats silent upon each impact to the tiled floor. As she reached the table, she found herself dragging her fingertips across the surface. The metal felt cool under her skin, almost like the refreshing waters of a lake. Dawn could see the silver caving in as a liquid metal, melting under her touch to become something else.

The briefcase which laid atop the table was what had caught Dawn's eye, for it dark surface seemed to shine within the lake of silver. It was as if a shriveled leaf amidst its verdant companions in the net of lively green which protected a tree from above. It was the one sliver of darkness in an entire bundle of beauty; it was the one that would always be different from the others. On top of its dark coat was a picture frame in which vibrant colors swirled to create a vivid photograph of all those who remained alive after numerous games of gambling. They were all different; it seemed as if they were the clouds which ruled the sky because each had been shaped to be someone unique. Above it all was a piece of paper, stuck to the objects beneath it like a leaf fastened to the ground by the rain's pure water.

Would you rather leave this casino as the sole survivor but with all the money you desperately need, or leave the casino with all the remaining players alive but as poor as you were when you came in?

    The scrap of what used to be a sheet of white seemed to be so small and so insignificant, yet its words held an important choice, one that would change the perceiver's life forever. The words which Dawn had just read spiraled around her, and she lost herself within their meaning. She was but a guide like the stars, for she was rather the blackness of the night itself- lost within the luminous beauties which speckled it. But as she reached for the words in desire, the true definition surfaced to the top of the lake. She comprehended the tiny creations of art as reality dawned upon her. The choice was seemingly simple, yet the difficulty to choose seemed to weigh so much more.

    Mother's life, or the lives of my friends?

    To Dawn, her mother meant the world; she was the world. It was as if she was gold, the kind that was so precious that the possessor could not let it be seen in fear of it being stolen. Mother's life was more treasured than a family heirloom which was centuries old. Mother was valuable to Dawn, perhaps more than anything she had ever seen. To choose to take the briefcase which held so much money meant that her mother's life would be saved. Dawn would never have to fear the possibility of losing the person closest to her heart. It was her strongest desire, the only one she had ever wanted- to hold her mother's hand for eternity.

    At the Milena Seble, Dawn had made a number of friends. Some had supported her when she thought she had lost it all, and when she thought she was at the end. Only two had been by her side the entire time. Sushi and Cupcake were like two peas in a pod, and they had showed Dawn the true meaning of friendship. It shone with so much brightness, perhaps almost as much as the love shared between a mother and her child. Dawn had learned so much from the pair, and she was proud to call them her friends. To choose the money and her mother's life would mean to lose the only two friends who were as pure as the faith Dawn had in them. It would mean to carry the burden of their deaths until the end, shackled to guilt's unbreakable chains. Dawn would never be able to cope knowing that she had made the choice to end the lives of so many, those she called her friends among them.

    Choosing the money would save her mother's life, and give Dawn everything she had ever wanted. Yet, it would mean living with unbearable guilt that was sure to ruin it all. Choosing to save all those who remained meant letting all of the eight others live. It would mean that Dawn would not have to cut the wings of all those who wanted nothing more than to explore the freedom of their lives. Yet, it meant losing her mother, the only person in her entire life that had mattered. But Dawn knew that Sushi and Cupcake were true friends, and the bond they held was pure. She could not let them die because that meant she would be choosing to not water a young plant that had yet to blossom. It would wither without the liquid, and the drought would threaten its survival. It would kill it, and Dawn knew she could not do that to her friends. She could not do that to any of those who remained, because she knew all of them had a life ahead of them. Some longer than others, but a life nonetheless. Dawn could not take that all away from them; it would be an unwashable sin as there was no water pure enough to cleanse it.

    Dawn knew what her mother wanted, but yet she knew it was a difficult decision to make. Most would call her selfish if she chose to take the money to save her mother's life because she wanted to keep her loved one alive. Yet deep inside, Dawn did not know what would happen to her if she chose the others over her own mother. If the woman who she grown up with, the person who she loved the most, left her forever, she did not know how she would react. She was a young woman, and she still had so much to learn. She was still a young adult bird with yet more growth ahead of her. But until then, she would stay under the caring wing of her mother because she knew it was a place where she would be safe. She could have left her mother long ago and flew away, but she had not. It was because she cared, and perhaps, it was also because she was afraid. She feared the decisions she had to make and all the responsibilities she had to take on as an adult. She was, and would always be, her mother's daughter.

    "Mother..." Dawn whispered. "I... I need to build my faith sometimes. I have to believe that you will understand. You are everything I have ever wanted, but sometimes a change is due." The young woman's voice was soft and almost melodic. It was as if she was a bird soaring through the sky and crossing boundaries. She was looking for a change, and she believed enough to fly higher than ever before. She had enough faith to go farther and push herself; she knew that believing was the key to becoming.

"I love you Mother, I have and always will. I know that you will be okay with my decision, because it's the right thing to do. You taught me to do what's right, so that's what I will do. I promise to try new things, because I know sometimes changes are for the better," Dawn paused as she glanced at the photograph in front of her. She picked it up, her fingers curling around the smooth wooden frame. "I have to prove to myself that I am a real adult and that I can make decisions by myself. I have faith in you to guide me, and that you will show me what's right even though I may never see you out here." Dawn raised a hand to the outer world, using her exposed palm to indicate all around her. "But you'll always be in here." Dawn's fingers coiled as the formed a fist. She pressed it against her chest, tapping above her twice with soft pats.

"You have to take me as I am, and I believe you will. I have faith, and I hope that you do too," Dawn's voice had risen by the slightest, and it was almost as if it was fluttering like the wings of a growing bird. Dawn was lighting another fire inside of her, different from the one which had been there before. It held memories of her past, but it also held parts of her future. It was old, but it was also new. Its flame was growing as it burned brighter. It was the result of a choice and many other things, but above all, it was a start. It was a beginning to a promising day's dawn.