Just A Game

Part I of II

"But it's just a game!"
"No, I do not want to play with you! I'm sick and tired of your stupid games".
The little boy crawled beside me, slowly raised his finger, and started continuously digging it into my side, urging me to play.
"For god's sake, can't you play by yourself?" I quickly slapped his hand away before he made any damage to my ribs.
"Of course not silly!" He exclaimed. "Someone has to win, and the other has to lose, rememb...wait..." realisation hit him hard, and he looked at me with a smile forming upon his face.
"Are you scared?" He suddenly burst into hysterical laughter, and started running around me madly, repeating the phrase 'You are scared' in a childish manner, teasingly. All the while, I was trying my best not to lash out at him.

About three weeks ago, my parents bought my brother a peculiar board game, known simply as 'Ragnof'. Basically, the goal of the game was to defeat Ragnof, a presumed evil spirit, by claiming his playing piece, shaped to look like a tall, slender and pale creature in the middle of the board. Whoever defeats him first is the winner, and whomever loses, well, is 'murdered in his sleep by Ragnof the Terrible' as my brother said. I, obviously, never believed in any of his strange superstitions, nor had I ever played the game with him, due to his absolute ill behaviour. Whenever he plays against anyone, he would just mock them for the entirety of the game. However, when his opponent nears victory, he would throw a giant fit, in fear of Ragnof who'd come for him while he's asleep, forcing whoever is against him to intentionally lose in order to keep him quiet. This has made my little brother a selfish, greedy, egoistical brat who cares about nothing but triumph, and never accepts defeat.

I finally grabbed him by the collar after minutes of him circling me wildly, and I made his eyes parallel to mine.
"Fine. I'll play" I said with a small, sly smile.
His eyes suddenly lit up, and he grinned from ear to ear.
"Then get ready to lose!" He claimed ever so confidently.
I took no note of his bold remarks. All that was needed was for me to beat him. Only then would he stop annoying everyone and bragging about his so called 'victories'.
We sat on a small mahogany table in our living room. My brother started setting everything into place; laying out the board and dividing the playing pieces between us, all the while smirking mischievously, adamant that he was going to be the inevitable winner in the end.

After studying the board for a short time, and swiftly skimming the game rules, it became very clear to me that defeating Ragnof wasn't much of a hard thing. A bit of decisive thinking was the only thing required to win.
After making sure everything was prepared and in place, my brother sat down opposite me. Still smirking.
"Ready?" He asked.
I simply nodded.
"Then I'll start first!" He took one of his playing pieces, and made his first move. I analysed his move. Not bad. I sat pondering about my response, lightly tapping my finger on the table, until I finally carried my piece and placed it on my desired spot on the board.
Out of absolute nowhere, my brother started laughing. I sat there, utterly confused, wondering what on earth I did so early in the game that could've made him laugh. He didn't even seem to stop. He just kept on giggling and giggling more and more.
I leaned in my chair, rolled my eyes and didn't say a single word. 'You're not even good' I thought. 'You would take ages playing, only to unlawfully win at the end'.
After he calmed down, and his session of hysteria was over, he looked over at me. I could see he was still trying to muffle his giggles.
"Are you sure you're going to win like this?"
I furrowed my eyebrows at him, agitated.
"Whatever it takes"

We shared countless turns. With each passing turn, I neared closer and closer to Ragnof's piece, whereas my brother made no significant progress in reaching the intended goal. Slowly, he began to realise the amount of trouble he was in.
"B-b-but you can't do this!" he stammered. I only grinned and kept on playing, casually moving my playing piece into the middle of the board. It was the penultimate move. I was on the verge of claiming Ragnof.
At that instant, hot, fat tears began rolling down my brother's cheeks, dripping onto his shirt and onto the table.
Without warning, he stood up in a moment of pure rage, knocking down his chair and flinging his playing piece at the nearest wall.
"NO! I MUST WIN!"
"Oh, would you just shut up?" I snapped, standing up in turn. He looked taken aback by the sudden outburst, his cries now quiet whimpers.
"It's already late and you've made enough ruckus! Take your piece and continue".
Shamefully, he knelt down to pick up the piece he had violently thrown. With his now shivering hand, he put it in it's original spot, and carefully pushed it one square forward, his last move in a game he had already lost from the start.
I only snickered. "Done? Alright...boom".
Ever so delicately, I used my playing piece to gently knock down Ragnof's. It was over.

My brother's eyes soon widened in absolute horror, his tears now pouring heavily like a brook on his emotionless, childish face. His body was still. Silent. Unmoving. Like a living corpse in front of me. His eyes became fixed on the ground, and after what seemed like hours, he finally lifted his head and they looked at me.
Dark. Cold. Dull.
Mere empty orbs in his sockets. A shiver ran through my spine as their gaze didn't look at me, but through me, and through my soul.
I gulped. Did defeat really affect him this much? I predicted he'd only cry; definitely not this.
His lips didn't part, and his mouth did not speak. Silence. I carefully stood up, tidying up the game and returning everything into the box, with his eyes following my every movement. He was watching me.
"Aren't you supposed to get up and go to your room? It's already past your bedtime" I carefully said.
He did not reply.
All he did was stand up gently, not even tucking in his chair, and walk slowly to his room at the end of the dimly lit hallway. The door to his room made a creak that echoed throughout the house as it opened, and he slowly entered. Just before he shut the door, I could see his figure turn around and look at me from across the hallway, yet this time he spoke.
He only whispered, but in the stillness of the night I heard him utter four words.

"I shall always win"...

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Part II will be coming up on the 14th of April