The Golden

(transition-arrive: "dissolve")[The sky [[changes|Jane]].]

(transition-depart: "dissolve") [Play as [[Garrett]] Play as [[Jane]] ]

(set: $Garrett to (color: #c78a0a)) (enchant: ?Page, $Garrett) =><= (live: 3s)[(stop:)[#The Golden]] (live: 5s)[(stop:)[(transition-arrive: "dissolve")[[...|Outside]]]]

(set: $Outside to (background: #9fb0b1))(enchant: ?Page, $Outside) [The sky (color: #c78a0a)[changes.]]

(set: $Jane to (color: #c78a0a)) (enchant: ?Page, $Jane) =><= (live: 1s)[(stop:)[#The Golden]] (live: 3s)[(stop:)[(transition-arrive: "dissolve")[[...|Inside]]]]

The sky changes. You can tell because the light – barely impeded by the blinds you've drawn over all the windows - is golden where it filters into [[the house.|Inside House]]

This house has three floors, and you are on the third. You stand on the balcony, leaning against the railing with one hip and looking down. The house is spread out around you, below you. To your left, the living room – red couches, glass tables, a rug that looks like the ocean floor. To your right, the dining room. No wall separates it from the living room. A small set of stairs leads down into the kitchen, which you can't see from [[here.|Inside House 2]]

Slowly, your father inches open the door that leads onto the deck. Golden light floods past him into the house, silhouetting him against the bright outdoors. "Garrett?" You hear him hiss. "What are you doing out here?" A (link: "pause.")[pause. Some mumbled words you can't make (link: "out.") [out. And then Garrett, your fifteen-year-old brother, comes stumbling in through the doorway, nudging his way past your (link: "father.")[father. "No worries," your father says, sounding like he has a lot of worries. He shuts the door. Silence descends with a *whoosh* as the sound of the ocean is muffled. Garrett notices you standing on the balcony and starts, like you've scared him. Well, you have been staring. [[Say something.|Hello to Garrett]] [[Go into your room.|One]]]]] (set: $good to it + 1)

You go to light the candle on the bedside table. There is only one match left in the matchbox. You strike it, quelling the faint prickle of alarm. Someone will have some. There were some in the kitchen yesterday, weren't there? (link: "Light the candle") [(set: $candle to 1) The candle illuminates the room, casting a harsh, flickering warmth over everything.] You're still [[cold.|Slippers]] You're still [[hungry.|Go down.]]

(if: $candle is 0)[You look for your grandmother's slippers, but it's too [[dark|Matches]] to find them. You stub your toe on a bedpost.] (if: $candle is 1)[You slide your cold feet into your grandmother's slippers. Marvel, as you do every evening, at the softness of their white fur. This is your grandparents' bedroom. Was. Well, it's yours anyway, for now. You're still [[hungry.|Go down.]]]

[["Hey."]] [["Why are you looking at me like that?"]] [["What's it like out there?"]] [[Decide against saying something and go into your room.|One]] (set: $good to it + 1)

Garrett, standing with his face tilted up toward you, gives you a weird look. "Hey?" You feel like he's mocking you. You frown. [["Whatever."]] [[Go into your room.|Two]] (set: $good to it + 1)

He frowns up at you. "Like what?" "Like..." you trail off. Vocalizing your thoughts sounds exhausting. "Never mind." His eyebrows draw together. "Okay, fine," he says. He stomps off into the (link: "kitchen.")[kitchen. "Come down, Jane," your father says. "If you're still up for the game, let's do it while we still have the light." "Okay," you grunt. [[Go down.]] [[Go into your room.|Two]]] (set: $good to it - 4)

Garrett looks away, still with the weird look on his face. He shakes his head a little, and then he goes into the kitchen. Your father frowns up at you. "Come down, Jane," he says. "If you're still up for the game, let's do it while we still have the light." "Okay," you grunt. [[Go down.]] [[Go into your room.|Two]] (set: $good to it - 1)

You descend the steps onto the second floor, onto the first. Go into the [[living room.|Living Room]] Go into the [[dining room.|Dining Room]] Go into the [[kitchen.|Kitchen]]

He's quiet for a long moment, so long that you start to think he's not going to answer you. But then he says, "The sun is setting." You imagine it. It's been many weeks, you think, since you've seen a sunset. [["Oh."]] [["Yeah, obviously."]] (set: $good to it + 1)

Garrett peers up at you, as though trying to interpret your response. "It's nice," he says. [["Cool."]] [["Well, lucky you, I guess."]] (set: $good to it + 1)

He looks caught off guard for a moment, and then his face hardens. "You could go outside too, you know," he taunts. "There's nothing to be afraid of." "Garrett." Your father frowns. "That's not true, and you know it. You should'nt have been out there at all." Garrett shrugs him off. "Whatever." He shuffles down the stairs into the (link: "kitchen.")[kitchen. Sighing, your father looks up at you. "Come down, Jane," he says. "If you're still up for the game, let's do it while we still have the light." "Okay," you grunt. [[Go down.]] [[Go into your room.|Two]]] (set: $good to it - 2)

He nods, and then looks away from you, effectively ending the conversation. "Come down, Jane," your father says, as Garrett traipses down the steps into the kitchen. "If you're still up for the game, let's do it while we still have the light." "Okay," you grunt. [[Go down.]] [[Go into your room.|Two]] (set: $good to it + 1)

There are fewer windows in here, and it's grown too dark to [[see.|Matches]] And without the sun helping to warm the house from the outside, it will be [[cold|Slippers]] soon. You're [[hungry|Go down.]], too. Better go downstairs before Garrett eats the food you have left. (set: $good to it - 1)

Of all the rooms in this house, this is the one that reminds you most of years past. You've been coming here to visit your grandparents since you were a small child. It's a small room, sharing space with the dining room to your right, and thus rather simple – two [[couches]], a [[table]], a [[TV]]. But it's well-decorated – your grandparents really went all-in on the seaside theme. Go into the [[dining room|Dining Room]]. Go into the [[kitchen|Kitchen]].

A pack of matches sits on the table next to a pair of candles. You allow yourself a small sigh of relief, glad to know you haven't run out yet. (link: "Light the candle") [(set: $candles to 1) The candles become warm spots of light, a centerpiece for this grand dining table.] [[Go into the kitchen.|Kitchen]]

Your father is fretting aloud about how little food there is in the cabinets, while Garrett shifts popcorn kernels around in a pot on the gas stove. "It's okay, dad," Garrett says. The first *pop* goes off. Garrett shuffles around, sliding his socks on the wood floor. The sounds of your father's fretting continue. Another *pop*. "I'm making popcorn," Garrett adds, superfluously. "Popcorn isn't dinner," your father says. *Pop.* "You at least need some protein or something." *Pop.* "Or some fruit, or-" *Pop-pop-poppop.* He frowns. "I was going to go to the [[store]]."

Noises drift up toward you. Muttering, clanging, the sink running. Your father emerges into the dining room, stumbling up the steps. "Garrett?" he calls. [[Wait for Garrett.]] [[Go into your room.|One]]

On the couch nearest to you, there is a small, pouch-like pillow made made with rough, tan fabric. You pick it up, burying your nose in it to smell the familiar lavendar scent. The embroidery digs into your face – you know well what it says, and don't need to [[look.|Living Room]]

The glass coffee table holds only the [[puzzle]] you left unfinished, and a [[map]] of [[California.|Living Room]]

It's been dead for weeks. For awhile there, your father spent every evening fiddling with it, but he's finally let that go, thank [[God.|Living Room]]

It is a Christmas-themed puzzle, and it had been missing a piece. A pivotal piece, at that – someone's head. You looked at the headless body - only a red woll coat left to represent the person, two presents cradled carefully in their arms - and took the whole puzzle apart again. It's weirdly sad, but you're seventeen, you don't get sad about puzzles. At least, not in real life. It seems like the kind of personality detail you might have invented for your college application essay - which was, in fact, about puzzles, of all the idiotic things. *Once,* you'd have said, *I finished a puzzle, only to find that it was missing a piece. I was momentarily disappointed by the setback, but I’m a problem solver, so I cut a new one out of cardboard and repainted the design based on the picture on the puzzle box. I didn’t let anything stop me from [[success!|table]]*

Your father abandoned this map about a week ago, but it still bears the evidence of his fears. Huge regions highlighted, circled, scribbled over in red [[Sharpie.|table]]

"Store?" You say. They both look up at you. "What store? You can't go out there." "No store," your father agrees quickly, "no store. You're right." The kitchen is crowded with the three of you standing in it. [[Try to get Garrett to leave.]] [[Suffer in silence.]]

You radiate your frown outwards, hoping your brother will leave. Garrett is waiting for his popcorn. If he notices that you don't want him there, he doesn't acknowledge it. "Do you still want to play Spot It?" Your father asks, tentatively. Before you can respond, Garrett reaches forward and turns off the (link: "stove.")[stove. “I don’t think it was done,” he says, but he takes off the lid anyway, releasing the smell of salt and butter into the air. You feel something clawing at the inside of your stomach. You watch as he pours the popcorn into a nearby bowl, deposits the hot pan in the sink, and shuffles toward [[you.]]] (set: $good to it - 2)

"Do you still want to play Spot It?" Your father asks, tentatively. Before you can respond, Garrett reaches forward and turns off the stove. “I don’t think it was done,” he says, but he takes off the lid anyway, releasing the smell of salt and butter into the air. You feel something clawing at the inside of your stomach. You watch as he pours the popcorn into a nearby bowl, deposits the hot pan in the sink, and shuffles toward [[you.]]

You have to squeeze into the doorway to let him past and wince as he crowds you out of his way. The heat of him, his towering frame, his sweaty scent, briefly overwhelm you, and then he’s gone. You release a breath. Just a second ago, it seems, your brother was a kid. Almost a pet, or a plaything. You don't know exactly when this *maleness* began to radiate out of him. You wish you could shut it—him—up into a box, contain him, somehow. You can hear him moving around in the room behind [[you.|Dinner]] (set: $good to it - 1)

Your father, oblivious to your discomfort, opens the cabinet nearest to you for what seems like the tenth time. You follow his gaze. The cabinet contains only a box of cereal and a bag of brown sugar. [[Take the cereal.|Cereal]] [[Take the sugar.|Sugar]]

You squeeze past him to take the box of cheerios out of the cabinet. It's alarmingly light in your hands. "Good," your father says, with a furtive glance back at the lone bag of sugar. "Good, get some food in you." You feel a little bad that you've left him only the brown sugar, but you know he'd want you to eat. You go into the [[dining room.|Eating Cereal]]

You squeeze past him to take the bag of sugar out of the cabinet. He frowns at you. "Sugar? You don't want anything more substantial?" "I'm not hungry," you lie. "This sounds good, I guess?" "Oh," he says, frown deepening. "That's-" "You should have some of the cereal," you add, as nonchalantly as possible. "It's gonna go stale anyway." You can see he's conflicted. "It's all we have left," he protests. "That's okay," you say. "We'll go to the store tomorrow." It's an empty promise, and you both know it. But he takes the box of cereal anyway, humming under his breath. You go into the [[dining room.|Eating Sugar]]

Garrett is sitting at the table, shoveling handfulls of popcorn into his mouth. Sit [[next to him.]] Sit [[across from him.]] Sit [[at the head of the table.]] (set: $good to it + 1)

Garrett is sitting at the table, shoveling handfulls of popcorn into his mouth. You resent him for it - why should he take the popcorn, leaving only cereal and sugar for the rest of his family? Sit [[next to him.]] Sit [[across from him.]] Sit [[at the head of the table.]] (set: $good to it - 2)

He gives you a surprised look as you slide into the seat next to him, the old chair creaking beneath you. "Want some popcorn?" He offers the bowl to you. You take a handful, gratefully. Your father emerges from the kitchen, holding the Spot It box. "Are we still wanting to [[play|play 1]]?" he asks. (set: $good to it + 2)

He glances once at you as you slide into the seat across from him, the old chair creaking beneath you. Then he looks back down into his popcorn. Your father emerges from the kitchen, holding the Spot It box. "Are we still wanting to [[play|play 2]]?" he asks. (set: $good to it - 1)

You sit at the head of the table, the old chair creaking beneath you. Garrett doesn't even glance in your direction. Your father emerges from the kitchen, holding the Spot It box. "Are we still wanting to [[play|play 3]]?" he asks. (set: $good to it - 2)

Without waiting for anyone to respond, he sits down next to you. "All right, guys," he says. "Let's do this." He begins to divide the cards up into three stacks, leaving a single card face-down in the (link: "middle.")[middle. You watch, feeling the ready sparks of competition break through. It's been awhile since you've played this, but you remember the quickness, the thrill of it. Look down at the card in the middle, find the object it has in common with yours. *Slam it down*. And [[again.|Play]]]

Without waiting for anyone to respond, he sits down across from you. He smiles at the pair of you, as though pleased to see you sitting next to each other. "This is good," he says, "I'm glad we're doing this." He begins to divide the cards up into three stacks, leaving a single card face-down in the (link: "middle.")[middle. You watch, feeling the ready sparks of competition. It's been awhile since you've played this, but you remember the quickness, the thrill of it. Look down at the card in the middle, find the object it has in common with yours. *Slam it down*. And [[again.|Play]]]

Before anyone can respond, he takes a seat next to Garrett and opens the box. "Jane," he says, "you'll have to move [[closer.]]"

He hands you your stack of cards. You study the top one. You know that when the card on the table is flipped, you'll have to find the object it has in common with your card. Your card contains a black padlock, a (color: purple)[purple pair of scissors], a (color: green)[green question mark], a (color: red)[target], a (color: yellow)[smiling sun], a clock, an igloo, a (color: orange)[little orange man]. "Are we [[ready]]?" he asks.

You do, allowing yourself a begrudging little noise. He begins to divide the cards up into three stacks, leaving a single card face-down in the middle. You watch, feeling the ready sparks of competition break through your annoyance. It's been awhile since you've played this, but you remember the quickness, the thrill of it. Look down at the card in the middle, find the object it has in common with yours. *Slam it down*. And [[again.|Play]]

"Yeah," Garrett says. He flips the card in the middle of the [[table.]]

It's chaos - it's just images flashing in front of your eyes - and then Garrett shouts "SKULL!" and slams his card down on the table. "Fuck," you say, despite yourself. You stare at the new top card, and the items on it: [[Maple Leaf|Wrong]] [[Skull and Crossbones|Wrong]] [[Padlock|Correct]] [[Yin and Yang|Wrong]] [[Bomb|Wrong]] [[Cactus|Wrong]] [[Paint Spatters|Wrong]] [[Clown Head|Wrong]]

Sure that you've found the item in common, you go to put down your card, but suddenly realize you were wrong about the match. *Shit,* you think, hand freezing in midair, and then Garrett puts down another. "Clown!" he cries, triumphantly. Gritting your teeth, you stare at the new card: [[Lips|Wrong 2]] [[Clown Head|Wrong 2]] [[Balloon|Wrong 2]] [[Igloo|Correct 2]] [[Zebra|Wrong 2]] [[Dog|Wrong 2]] [[Anchor|Wrong 2]] [[Water Droplet|Wrong 2]] (set: $good to it - 1)

"Padlock!" You shriek, slamming your card down on the table. "Yeah!" Garrett cries, on your behalf. You throw a quick glance at new card in your private (link: "deck:")[deck: Lightning Bolt Target Balloon Igloo Zebra Dog Anchor Water Droplet And while you're looking, Garrett puts a card down with a little *whoop* of joy. You're briefly annoyed with him, but quickly quell it, remembering his good (link: "sportsmanship.")[sportsmanship. You look at the card he's put (link: "down:")[down: [[Ghost|Error]] [[Lips|Error]] [[Snowman|Error]] [[Sunglasses|Error]] [[Moon|Error]] [[Scissors|Error]] [[Exclamation Point|Error]] [[Fire|Error]]]]] (set: $good to it + 2)

You're wrong again, and this time your father gets it, shouting "LIPS! LIPS! LIPS!" until Garrett has to yell back, "We get it, dad!" His card is now top of the pile. Desperate to make a good move at least once, you look frantically over the new card: [[Ghost|Error 2]] [[Lips|Error 2]] [[Snowman|Error 2]] [[Sunglasses|Error 2]] [[Moon|Error 2]] [[Dolphin|Error 2]] [[Exclamation Point|Error 2]] [[Fire|Error 2]]

"Igloo!" You shriek, slamming your card down on the table. "Yeah!" Garrett cries, on your behalf. You throw a quick glance at new card in your private (link: "deck:")[deck: Lightning Bolt Carrott Balloon Clock Zebra Dog Anchor Water Droplet And while you're looking, Garrett puts a card down with a little *whoop* of joy. You're briefly annoyed with him, but quickly quell it, remembering his good (link: "sportsmanship.")[sportsmanship. You look at the card he's put (link: "down:")[down: [[Ghost|Error]] [[Lips|Error]] [[Snowman|Error]] [[Sunglasses|Error]] [[Moon|Error]] [[Scissors|Error]] [[Exclamation Point|Error]] [[Fire|Error]]]]] (set: $good to it + 2)

You stare down at the card in confusion. None of the images seem to match with your card. You look back and forth, and back and forth, and when you look up, your brother is looking at you, your confusion reflected in his eyes. "I don't see anything," he says. "Do you?" [[Ghost|Error2]] [[Lips|Error2]] [[Snowman|Error2]] [[Sunglasses|Error2]] [[Moon|Error2]] [[Scissors|Error2]] [[Exclamation Point|Error2]] [[Fire|Error2]]

"There has to be something," your father says, a desperate note creeping into his voice. "Every single pair of cards should have one thing in common! We should be able to see something!" But as the seconds stretch on, nothing appears. You look from your card to the middle and back again, but can find nothing in common. Across from you, Garrett puts his card down. You look at each other [[again.]]

"I was thinking," Garrett says. "I was thinking we could go out to sea." Your heart, which has been incessently pounding for a minute or so now, seems to lodge itself in your throat. You have a lot you want to say to that. All you say is, "How?" "There are kayaks," Garrett says, "in the outdoor closet." You stare at him. "You want us to *kayak* out into the Pacific [[Ocean]]?"

(if: $good is > 5)[Garrett stares at you for a moment. Unperturbed by the incredulity in your voice, he says, "Yes. That's what I [[want.]]"](if: $good is 5)[Garrett stares at you for a moment. Unperturbed by the incredulity in your voice, he says, "Yes. That's what I [[want.]]"] (if: $good is < 5)[At the incredulity in your voice, you see him shut down, face crumpling. "I know it's dumb, he says. "It wouldn't work." You all realize at the same time that it has grown (link: "dark.")[dark. Garrett stands up abruptly. "I'm tired," he says, and it sounds like the truth - the exhaustion is clear in his voice, the drag of his syllables. "I'm going to go to bed, okay?" He stands up, and then you stand up, as though having taken an order from him. He frowns at you. You aren't able to take it anymore. You turn away from them and move, move across the room – there's the door, right there – and then you're through it, their calls of protest far behind you. Into the cold [[night]].]]

And so you (link: "go.")[go. Out the front door, ignoring your father's cry of protest behind you. First, you go left, around the house, down the alley with the jagged little stones underfoot - into the closet with its rusted metal door, where the bright orange kayaks are kept. They're heavier than they look, but you'll drag them out as a pair, down the steps to the beach, where you'll rush out ot meet the waves. And then you'll row out, out, out, carried by strength you did not know you had in you and (link: "then –")[then - Since you were a child, you've looked out to the horizon and seen the shapes floating out in the distance. You used to think they were something magical, mythical, until you learned - you're not sure when - that they are oil rigs, anchored to the ground, drilling into the (link: "earth.")[earth. But tonight, you'll see them for what they are - the sparkling outlines of pirate (link: "ships.")[ships. And you'll find them, these ships that sit permanently on the horizon. These ships that have been waiting all this time. (live: 10s)[(stop:)[[...|Opening]]]]]]]

The air buffets you gently, and you stand your ground, the deck's coldness seeping into your toes. You haven't seen the ocean at nighttime in many weeks, you think. Haven't seen the ocean in many weeks. The oil rigs that sit on the horizon are clear, lit up - they look like they do in your childish memory. Sparkling outlines of pirate (link: "ships.")[ships. It's the smell that hits you first - that thick, dark, telltale smell, the one you ran south from. You feel yourself still. The wind is strong. Very strong. Maybe it's being carried to you from a great [[distance.]]]

But then you see it. You see it growing somewhere up ahead on the beach, around where the sun sets. A second sun, rising to meet the night. It's small but unmistakable in its glare, its goldenness, its overwhelming light, and as you watch, it grows. And [[grows.]]

(if: $good is < -8)[The dirty, summery smell carries over to you. You let it flood your lungs, standing very still on the deck, and then - in a burst of feeling - you begin to run. You run from the deck, down the stone steps to the beach, your bare feet smarting against the already-cooling sand. And then you're sprinting. Sprinting toward the light. It grows, and you grow, and as you run faster - faster - you can feel it. The heat. The heat on your skin. Still running, you close your eyes. (live: 3s)[(stop:)[[...|Opening]]]](if: $good is -8)[The dirty, summery smell carries over to you, and you - alone on the deck - are very still. (live: 3s)[(stop:)[[...|Opening]]]](if: $good is > -8)[The dirty, summery smell carries over to you, and you - alone on the deck - are very still. (live: 3s)[(stop:)[[...|Opening]]]]

You stare down at the card in confusion. None of the images seem to match with your card. You look back and forth, and back and forth, and when you look up, your brother is looking at you, your confusion reflected in his eyes. "I don't see anything," he says. "Do you?" [[Ghost|Error2]] [[Lips|Error2]] [[Snowman|Error2]] [[Sunglasses|Error2]] [[Moon|Error2]] [[Dolphin|Error2]] [[Exclamation Point|Error2]] [[Fire|Error2]]