Kiyokazu Lazar POV –

  I took the cube from my mother's hand and rolled it idly between my fingers. The small wooden block felt cool against my skin as I rolled it. A lazy flick of the wrist, and it slipped from my grasp, tumbling off the table and landing with a soft thud on the wooden floor a few steps away.

  "Oops." I was already rising from the sofa. "It fell. Let me go get it."

  I walked over slowly, bent down, and picked the cube up. As my fingers closed around it, I turned my hand just enough so only I could see the top face. Then I rotated the cube to the green color. Safe. Exactly like my mother had done earlier.

  I straightened and stepped back toward them. "It's green," I said.

  My mother narrowed her eyes at me, lips twitching like she was fighting a smile. She knew.

  "That doesn't count, Kiyokazu," Sarah cut in, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. "Come on, throw it again. Properly this time."

  "What do you mean it doesn't count?" I asked, holding the cube up between two fingers. "It landed on green. I'm safe," I said, pointing at the cube.

  "We couldn't see anything!" my mother protested, arms crossed. "If I can't see it, I can't be sure. Throw it again."

  I glanced from one to the other. "But you did the same thing, Mom, and we believed you."

  She laughed softly. "That's different. I'm the adult. I would never lie. Now sit down and do it right."

  "Sarah." My mother's voice called.

  She turned her gaze toward her, and so did I.

  "Are you in favor of him rolling the dice again?" she continued. "Since we couldn't see on what color the cube stopped, we cannot be 100% sure."

  Sarah nodded.

  "Yes, Aunt Maya."

  "Then it's settled. You will throw it again, Lazar, so no more questions."

  "Ehhh…" I sighed slowly, dropping back onto the sofa between the two of them. The cushion sank under my weight. I opened my palm, stared at the cube for a second, then gave it a proper toss onto the low table.

  It rolled across the wooden table, wobbled, and stopped.

  Green.

  "See?" I said as I picked the cube up and handed it to Sarah on my right. "Should've just trusted me."

  My mother shook her head, still smiling. "You surely are lucky, son."

  Sarah took the cube, rolled it between both palms, then flicked it onto the table. It spun, bounced once, and landed.

  Red.

  "Oh no," she murmured, sinking back and turning to me with a half-smile. "You got to ask me a question."

  She sat there waiting, long brown hair spilling over her shoulders. Her turquoise eyes shone, and as I watched them more, I slowly remembered what happened back in the forest—her hair brushing my face, our hands touching, her laying on my chest. It forced me to look away from her.

  "What's wrong?" she asked, pulling her brown hair behind her left ear.

  "Nothing," I replied quickly. "I was just thinking about what question to ask you."

  As I said that and looked at the wooden table, I felt a few gentle taps on my back. I turned around—it was my mother; she was tapping me with her elbow, a smile on her face.

  "Is it really just that?" my mom asked, still tapping me on my back.

  Beauty… A sudden thought ran through my mind. What is this feeling I feel?

  "Yeah, it is, Mom," I answered, looking at her.

  "Come on, ask the question already. We don't have the whole day," she added.

  "Okay, okay, will you let me for a second, Mom? I can't focus like this."

  I cleared my throat and looked down at the cube. "Did you have fun walking through the forest today?"

  She hesitated to answer my question, then shook her head slowly. "No. I'll never go back there again. Even though… some things there were nice."

  Hmm? Something got her attention over there, it seems after all. And what kind of things over there were nice to you? I asked.

  "This is more than just one question, Kiyokazu. I can't answer that."

  My mother leaned in.

  "Actually, Sarah, I would also like to know what you found beautiful about the forest."

  Sarah's cheeks flushed just a little. "The lake. The white snow everywhere," she answered fast.

  "Is that all?" my mother added.

  "Yes. Everything else was just… anxious, I'd say. Quiet. It felt like I was a mouse in a maze, trying to find the exit."

  She handed the cube to my mother. My mother took it, but her smile had dimmed slightly. She rolled it once, twice, then tossed it gently.

  It landed on blue.

  "Oh come on!" she laughed, throwing her hands up.

  "Can I throw again?" she asked, already reaching her hand for the cube.

  "No!" Sarah and I said at the same time.

  We looked at each other for a second, then she started laughing. My mother grinned, clearly pleased.

  "Blue means I answer two questions—one from each of you," she said, settling back with a proud look. "So give me the best ones you could possibly think of. I'm ready."

  Sarah and I exchanged glances. The room felt warm again, the fire popping softly in the background.

  She sat there, proud and ready, as Sarah and I made our questions. A few seconds passed, and she already started to tease us.

  "What's wrong, youngsters? Hard to make some questions?"

  "Okay then, when you are in such a hurry, let me ask you a question, Mom."

  I went first. "Mom… are you trying to get me to admit something now?"

  She shifted on the sofa, suddenly uncomfortable. "What do you mean by that, Kiyokazu?"

  "I asked my question," I said quietly. "Just answer it."

  She adjusted her position again. "No. Why would I?"

  You are so predictable, Mom...

  I just stared at her face.

  The fire crackled again.

  I glanced toward the window, but there were only snowflakes that fell lazily from the sky.

  "Okay then, my question is done," I said. "Sarah's question is next."

  Sarah leaned in, closer to me, ready to ask my mom the question.

  "Tell me, Aunt Maya, if you are so worried for Kiyokazu going to the forest, why do you let him go there?"

  Great question, I thought. Even I want to know the answer.

  My mom looked away from us, staring at the shaggy carpet below, not saying a word. After a few seconds, she finally answered.

  "I don't know, Sarah," she answered confusedly.

  "What?"

  "I guess that's the right thing to do, isn't it?"

  "No it's not!" she shouted. "Especially if you are worried for him."

  "It's dangerous out there, Aunt Maya. You know that way better than me," Sarah said, leaning closer to Maya. As she leaned closer, her hair moved around, and some of her hair managed to get closer to my nose.

  "Achoo!" I sneezed, interrupting them.

  They both stopped and looked at me, stopping their conversation. Staring at me with confused looks, I'd say.

  "Sorry, just continue," I said, brushing my nose with my hand.

  "You got cold as well from the forest. Next time bring some jacket with you, not just a sweater," Sarah added.

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  "I will, don't worry about that."

  "Anyway, it's your turn again, Kiyokazu," my mom said.

  I leaned closer to the table and took the cube with my left hand. I shook my hand two times and threw the cube on the table. It rotated for a bit and stopped.

  Green again.

  "This is not happening. You are cheating," my mother complained.

  "This is not fair," Sarah added as well, clenching her fists.

  "How can I cheat here?" I asked them.

  "You both saw I threw the cube completely normally. I didn't do a single thing."

  I glanced at Sarah, then at my mom. They both had the same reaction—fists clenched, staring at the cube that lay still on the table.

  What's wrong with them? Why are they getting so frustrated about this?

  "Next turn you won't have so much luck," my mother added.

  I just nodded to that, watching as Sarah grabbed the cube and threw it on the table. It landed on red color again. Another question.

  She turned around to me and waited for my question.

  "Have you ever wished to go to school instead of studying from home?"

  Sarah leaned back on the sofa and looked at the ceiling of the house. She stayed in that position for a couple of seconds, lost deep in thoughts.

  "Sarah?" my mother called her, breaking her thoughts.

  "Ha?" she turned her head.

  "Umm… the question? Will you give us the answer?"

  "Oh yeah, I will," she said, putting her hands on her legs.

  "Actually, I did many times before. But always when I thought about it, I thought about other things," she answered, looking at the carpet.

  "And what is it?" I asked.

  "That I would not be happy over there. Always when I thought about that, I always thought that I wouldn't get friends over there. That those people will not accept me, and that I will find it difficult to fit into society."

  "Would those accept me, how I act, how I speak, since I studied from home unlike them who were years with each other."

  As she gave her answer, some not-so-nice feeling rose within my body. I couldn't tell what it felt like, but it kept rising as she kept saying more words.

  "Okay, Sarah, that's enough. If it hurts you to speak about this, then just don't," my mom said.

  "You could've asked her some different question, Kiyokazu."

  "How is this my fault, Mom?" I complained. "She didn't need to answer it like this. She could've just said yes and that's it, Mom."

  "That's not how it works, especially with women, son…"

  "Let me go get the juice from the kitchen. Be right back."

  My mom stood from the sofa and went to the kitchen to grab the juice and glasses. We were sitting alone on the cozy sofa. I looked at Sarah; she was again lost deep within her thoughts, not looking so happy.

  Maybe she is right. Maybe I shouldn't have asked her this question.

  "I am sorry for asking you this question, Sarah," I said, breaking the silence between us.

  "Eh," she said confusedly, breaking out of her thoughts.

  "You don't need to be sorry, Kiyokazu. This is the game of questions after all. You asked and I answered."

  "But there is one thing that I want to ask you," she said quietly.

  "I'm listening."

  "Would you like to go to the school like everyone else?"

  "Huh? Would I like to go to school?"

  "No, I don't," I answered.

  "Why?"

  "Why would I even go there? After all, I've been studying from home for the past years. Why would I change it now?"

  "If someone was in not so good a position—let's make an example: if someone close to me was in some bad situation, for example you, my mom, or anyone else from my family or close to me—and I had to go over there, then I would."

  "But like this, if someone asked me, I would not."

  I turned my gaze to her; her ears were slowly turning red.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing."

  "Who wants some apple juice?" my mother's voice asked, coming from the kitchen.

  "Me," we both said.

  "Okay then, just a second."

  She came out of the kitchen holding a tray in her hands with three glasses full of apple juice. She approached us and placed them on the table.

  "Here you go," she said, sitting back on the sofa.

  "So whose turn is it now?"

  "It's your turn now, Mom," I answered.

  My mother took the cube quickly.

  She rolled it between her fingers a few times, then tossed it.

  Green.

  "Yeah, this is it!" she bragged, looking at Sarah and me.

  "It's your first time, no need for all that," I said.

  "You jealous?"

  "Nah, I'm not. Everything good." I reached my hand for the cube.

  "You'll get blue now," she provoked.

  I ignored her, shook my hand three times, and threw.

  The cube rolled across the wooden table, hit Sarah's glass, and stopped.

  Blue.

  "Hahaha, what did I tell you," my mother laughed.

  "It seems my luck ran out."

  "So whose question shall be first?" I glanced at both of them, leaning back on the sofa.

  "I'll go first," my mother said. "Is it okay, Sarah?"

  Sarah nodded her head a couple of times.

  "Thanks. Then, Kiyokazu, let me ask you something."

  "Go on."

  "Would you be the first to admit feelings to someone else?"

  "What kind of feelings are you talking about, Mom?"

  "What do you mean by that?" I said, confused.

  "Love feelings, of course, son. What other feelings could you admit to someone else?" She put her hand on her forehead like I was hopeless.

  "It seems that even with all your knowledge you can't put two things together."

  I looked at her, then at the cube lying on the wooden table. I shifted my gaze across the room as I thought about my answer.

  Deep down, I felt something. I couldn't tell what it was, but some feeling came to me. In my mind, I could see a big forest opening before me, with a path leading straight forward. At the end of the path stood something. It was about my height, standing there.

  A shadow watching something I couldn't see.

  A silhouette? I thought at first.

  Before I could even begin to walk toward it, I was pulled out of my thoughts.

  "Kiyokazu, hey."

  They called.

  "Mm? Yeah?"

  "Answer the question already. Where did you wander off to?" my mother said.

  "Sorry about that. What was the question again?"

  "Would you be the first to admit feelings to someone else?" Sarah asked.

  "Well… you see, I don't know how to answer this honestly. But I guess if we're talking about love feelings… if I love someone, then maybe I would. So yeah? I guess."

  My mother leaned forward. "So hypothetically speaking, if you had feelings for Sarah, would you be the first to admit it to her?"

  "WHAT!!!" Sarah screamed.

  "Aunt Maya, what are you talking about?"

  "I asked my son, Sarah, not you. Why did you get so upset all of a sudden?"

  "Yeah… I-I can see that, but why did you say it like it's a normal thing?"

  "That's because it is, Sarah."

  "Isn't it?"

  "No it's not!" she screamed.

  "Well, Kiyokazu, answer the question already." My mother changed the focus back to me.

  It caught me by surprise.

  What is this question? I thought. I looked at Sarah. She was staring patiently at me, waiting for my answer.

  Her turquoise eyes were shining bright. It seemed like two stars were looking at me. Again the memory from the forest not so long ago came to my mind. I could feel my body getting warmer, my heart beating faster the more I thought about that scene.

  As I watched, she moved her gaze toward the glass full of juice on the table. I watched as she took the glass with her hand and took a sip, her brown hair covering her face. I could see her lips, her eyes, her nose—everything.

  As I blinked once, she was already looking at me again, waiting for my answer.

  "Yes…" I said weakly.

  "I would confess them." Heat rising within my body.

  Wait a minute, I thought. Doesn't this sound like I confessed my feelings to her right now?

  "KNOCK" "KNOCK" "KNOCK"

  Someone was knocking on our front door.

  "Anyone in there?" a man's voice called. A familiar voice.

  "Coming," my mother replied.

  As she rose from the sofa and stepped toward the front door, I felt my sweater being tugged on my right. It was Sarah. She was looking at the ground, long brown hair covering her face.

  "What is it, Sarah?" I asked.

  "Do you really mean what you just said?" she asked quietly.

  "What?"

  "T-that you would be the one to confess feelings…" she said shyly.

  "Yeah. I did."

  As I answered, a cold breeze brushed my face. I looked ahead and saw that my mom had opened the front door. Standing outside was Keigo, my father, still in his work clothes, back from work.

  "Honey! Welcome back!" my mother greeted him warmly.

  "It's great to be home," his tired voice answered.

  "Why are you so early today?" my mother asked.

  "A long story short, honey, I helped some merchant whose chariot wheel broke on the path. I fixed it and took him to the Sarten village. When I came back toward the Kinuki bridge, all approaches were blocked by the Nivalis army."

  They both stepped into the living room. His short white hair stood out, and his presence filled the space. He glanced toward the sofa and noticed me and Sarah.

  "Hi, son," he said.

  "Oh, look who we have here. Hello, Sarah."

  "Hello," I replied, while Sarah greeted him and waved her hand.

  He stepped closer to the sofa and sat next to me.

  "Ooh…" his tired voice exclaimed.

  "You tired, Dad?" I asked.

  "Ehhh… Not so much, honestly," he replied.

  "Are you hungry, honey?" my mother asked.

  "Not really, thanks."

  "By the way, Sarah, is Marco at home?" he asked.

  "Yes, Uncle Keigo. He told me he's got nothing to do today."

  His gaze shifted from Sarah to the table. He noticed the wooden cube lying there.

  "What were you playing?" he asked.

  "Some game of questions Mom made up," I answered.

  "By Mom?" he said, surprised.

  "Don't you think you're a bit old for games?" he asked, looking at Mom.

  "Old geezer, where is your youth?" she replied.

  "There's always time for games, right? You have to make time for games."

  "You're right," he said, getting up from the sofa.

  "Okay then, I'll go to Marco for a moment."

  "You're leaving already?" Mom asked.

  "You just came back."

  "Yeah, I'm going to borrow some tools from Marco. The roof isn't going to fix itself, haha."

  "Well then," he said, turning his head toward us.

  "See ya, kids."

  "See ya," I replied.

  He went to the front door, opened it, and left the house while we stayed inside.

  "So then, shall we continue with our game?" Mom asked.