PAWN—part 10

( Blue's perspective)

I glanced nervously at the sky. I was the only one had not moved yet. It had to be my turn soon. Looking back at the adventures—or misadventures more like— that Green, Red and Yellow had experienced, I had a sense of foreboding.

Wringing my hands on the hem of my skirt, I bit my lower lip. We all watched the dice with dread. Once again, it was someone's luck being tested, another person would have to move. That person would be me.

The dice moved as though there was an invisible force manipulating it. As it tumbled about the trees and bushes, its dots seemed to dance and mock us. We were the little pieces in a game. I glanced at Yellow and Red, as I asked Green," Are you able to see the die? "

"Yeah, it's right in front of me, why?"

"It's in front of us too."Yellow piped.

Red just stared at it with scorn. He must have felt like I did. I didn't like this game one bit.

"That's strange. I can't see you guys." Green pointed out.

Neither could we see her.

Finally it stopped. "Five dots. Is that the face you are looking at too?"

"Sure is." Yellow replied, he was obviously perplexed.

I looked back to the clouds, and I saw it arrive, the gloved hand. Gently it lay by my side, like a tame beast, its blue satin beckoning to me, welcoming me with an open palm. I stepped in, I had to go with it anyway. It was probably better not to mess with the hand. I sat in the middle of the palm, and it lifted me off, to a patch of concrete land next to Yellow. Square 5.

Like the rest, I received my task.

"Blue blue blue
Don't feel so blue blue blue.

Calm calm calm
Keep calm calm calm

Oceans oceans oceans
They will come."

"What does that even mean?!" I shouted incredulously.

"Now remember, the clue is in the poem somewhere...maybe it's something to do with the repetition?" Yellow thought aloud.

As he talked, the scenery around me changed. A small platform seemed to appear out of thin air. It was made out if wood, and it was not very colourful, but what striked me the most was the blood stained ground in front of it, and the loose noose that swayed in the gentle breeze. On the platform stood five totem poles, with flat tops. As though, one was supposed to put something there.

Yellow could see everything, and his jaw dropped slightly.

In front of the totem poles was a trough, where there was barely enough space for me to squeeze between the totem poles and the trough. I peered inside. It reeked of rotting, moulding wood. Reaching in, I fished out something wooden. A wooden letter, "K". On it, it was carved, "Are you ready for a game of Hangman?"

"Guys, it's hangman." I told them," help me out here."

"How many blank spaces are there?" Red spoke for the first time in quite a while. I looked at the totem poles. "Five, I think."

"Will I die if I get it wrong?" I glanced at the noose. The tears were coming back again. I couldn't help myself every time...

"Don't be silly, Blue. Lets focus on completing this, ok?" Green tried to comfort me.

"Now, I've been thinking, the poem must have something to do with the answer, and its five letters. If it has to do with repetition, it must be —" Yellow deduced, but then he was cut off.
I saw his lips moving but he was just cut off.

"Wait, I'm sorry what did you say? It must be...?" I tried to get his answer again.

"I said it must be —. Can't you hear me? You should be able to.."

Once again it was blocked out, like a gap in between teeth, an empty space. A hindrance.

"Blue, I think Yellow is on to something. It's —! It's definitely —!" Green gushed excitedly.

I burst into tears. "I can't hear it! I mean..I can hear you guys, but whatever Yellow's answer is I can't hear it!" I began to wail about the hopeless situation I was in.

The blue satin hand passed over me, and dropped a note that dilly-dallied its way down, like a calm dove flying over a stormy turbulent sea of emotions.

When it landed, I rushed over to pick it up, hoping to get an easy answer.

"Now, now, try it yourself. To know answers is no fun. ;)"

I breathed in deeply, only to exhale in short agitated breaths from sobbing. I had no choice but to try my luck. With no other clue other than the poem, I decided to jump to the first word of the poem. My name.

"B.."

"What are you doing? No, say—" Red urged. I began to ignore their futile attempts to pass on the answer to the puzzle.

A strong gust of wind threatened to throw me off balance. I could barely open my eyes. Thunder crashed and the sky turned an ominous grey. Then, it began to pour. I looked at the noose, trying to keep my eyes open against the wind. It swayed hard, but there was nothing else there. Just an empty coil of rope being thrashed about by the wind.

Well. Weather was always quite unpredictable.

"L"

Rain had begun to drench my clothing. I waited for something to happen, waited for the letters to appear. There was nothing at the noose, so maybe I had not gotten it wrong.; but if I got it right, where were the letters supposed to be? Just then I noticed that the water was at my ankle. I looked down. How could this be? I began to take my first look at the surroundings after rain had begun pouring. Water was rising at an alarming rate. The floor was concrete, it couldn't absorb water, but..but shouldn't the water flow out?

For a moment, I forgot about the game and focused on whether I was going to die. The water was about to touch my knee. How could I have forgotten about the invisible border my friends faced? I couldn't escape—and neither could water.

"Blue! What's happening? There's a storm overhead you but it's not over us. It just appeared, quite spontaneously.." Red yelled, over the sound of the wild winds blowing about me, chilling me to the bone.

"When? When did it appear?" I yelled back, shivering and wading my way through the water with much difficulty."

"After you said B!" Yellow cried.

"Are you okay?Perhaps it's the punishment, Blue! You have to get it right!" Green urged.

As if I wasn't trying. I really didn't know the answer.

"U!" I yelled, hoping it would be right. The rain poured even harder, it was nearly at my waist, and inching up on me as every minute passed. I thought hard about the poem.

"Oceans—they will come. This must be the ocean they were talking about. They told me to keep calm, and not to feel blue. So I should follow the poem right?"

I breathed in deeply, and thought hard about what the answer might be. I racked my brain and had searched it in all corners, twice. Nothing came to mind. The water reached my shoulder. I became flustered again. I didn't even bother to stop the tears of panic that streamed from my squinted eyes, adding to the choppy waters that had nearly submerged me. It was now at my neck. "E!" I shouted the last letter of my name, hoping for the best.

The rain stopped abruptly. 2 Es appeared at the last two totem poles. I was safe! I had to get it right this time.

A five letter word. With two Es at the back. Yellow had said that it had something to do with the poem. About repetition. Repetition. What did the poem repeat?

"Blue, blue,blue. Calm, calm, calm. Oceans, oceans, oceans." I whispered to myself. Hoping I would get some inspiration. The words. There were three of them. They were repeated three times consecutively. Three. Three!"

It was at that eureka moment, I shouted to the sky, to whom it may concern, hoping to stop this trial on me, " THE ANSWER IS THREE!"

"Yeah! You got it!" Yellow, Red and Green cheered, as the words, "T", "H" and "R" appeared. The water seemed to have been drained slowly by an invisible force, to a drain that nobody could see. The platform, the totem poles and the noose faded away slowly. The whole area seemed like nothing had happened before. The strong wind had reduced itself to a mere wisp of moving air, that played gently with my hair before disappearing altogether, the trial was over. The grey clouds swirled away and revealed a red sky it had been hiding, a rosy, happy blush, contrary to our fear and nervous emotions.

The sun was setting and soon it would be night.