麻豆社

By Niamh Kathleen Gorham

From the moment your life is conceived to the second before it ends two allies sit opposite sides of a floating table rolling a dice. How many times does your own life appear in the game?

Fates flowing hair frames her slight features, a weightless shimmering cloak swirls behind her in the light breezes of wind, her azure blue eyes twinkle like stars In a midnight sky,Fates cheeky and mysterious laugh sounded like soft waves lapping against pebbles.

Death in comparison sits in his black cape wrapped around his bleach white chalky bones, his eyes are as red as the break lights on a car in a dark country lane. His laugh sounds like nut shells being smacked against each other as his teeth chatter.

They pair play their game in the floating clouds too high for eyes to witness . A sphere hangs between them, it glows as if it were the sun and is made from the clearest of crystals.A dice had not been thrown yet so the glass remains murky.

The two are playing a game of wit and cunning, a game to them as monopoly is to us, but this game is for humanity's life and death.The game can never truly be won by either but a chalked up score board floating in the recess of each player eye tells you Fate is currently In the lead.

Death rolls his tattered coal dice first.The orb instantly clears to show a red headed three year old girl ,her face splattered in freckles wearing an pink sparkly dress hosting a dolls tea party; the girls delicate hand pops a green grape Into her mouth. Instantly the girls skin turns pale, her pupils shrink, a look of panic spreads but no sound escapes her open mouth. Fate turns away, she hates the death of the young. Death casually chalks up a win In his minds eye.

Looking back Fate tosses her dice Into the air and holds eye contact with Death, she waves her hand over the orb and giggles. Time means nothing to the gods, the Orb shows the girls mother three months after the tragic accident. Fate knew she couldn't of saved the child, but the incident could prevent the deaths of hundreds of others. Points chalk up faster than Death could count, Confused Death glances at the orb to see the child's mother holding a safety pamphlet "The cut your Grapes campaign". Death snarls

Next theImage of a man appears on a high ladder cleaning his drains. Fate rolled first this time, the score was low. The ladder slipped; you can't win them all , Deaths teeth chattered- one point was added to him.

Death rolled, the image flickered to an person reading a short story. The title of the story came into focus on the orb, the word Monopoly can clearly be read. My pupils dilate, my skin prickles...I hear the slow clatter of dice rolling...Do you hear it too?