Chapter Three

The house was lively, entertaining, complete, and full. It wasn't to be compared to the previous months that I engaged in reading novels so as to remove all signs of boredom. I was so happy to see my brothers and dad again. I stayed near my dad and engaged in some silly conversation with him, in which we laughed heartily. I imagined an orphan's life without a parent every day of their life. It was pitiful experience, that I would never imagined myself in. An experience where there was no one that they could depend upon, if not for a guardian who could exploit them to the very peak. Then I imagined how nature endowed me with my lovely and sweet brothers, who could lay down their lives for me. It was fascinating to imagine.

Whenever my dad was sleepy, I would allow him to take his rest and then run to meet my brothers in their room. When I got to their room, I observed all of them staying miles away from themselves, pressing their phones. No chatting to one another.

"Brother Dan," I called.

He looked straight at my face with no word coming out of his mouth.

"I want to stay with you guys," I suggested.

"Come and stay; this is also your room. Feel free to come whenever you wish. Dan echoed out.

I smiled.

The room was built in a square shape. The wardrobe was placed at the back of the door on the right side.

2.5 metres separate the wardrobe from the bed. A reading table with a big mirror hung on the wall was placed opposite the bed, with travel bags at the side of it. The room was always sparkling and neat.

I sat down on the bed. My eldest brother stopped pressing his phone, taking a cursory glance at me.

"How are you coping in school?" he commenced, putting off his phone.

"School has been amazing," I answered.

"Your grade? I hope you smashed it?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Maybe," I warily answered.

"Oh, so you were not at your best this term?" he asked, his mood flipping to a drily one.

"Check it out on your phone; it is online," responded I.

"Haven't you checked it?"

"I did," I confirmed.

"Then why don't you speak? Do you want your school website to sucking up my data?" he spoke out vehemently.

When I noticed, he was angry, probably because of the manner in which I answered his question.

"I'm sorry, Brother Dan," I pleaded.

"Then what was your grade?"

"My grade was awesome; I was the overall best student in the department."

He smiled. I knew that was his expectation. Around last year, he called me and told me that I had a brilliant brain. He especially admired me for that reason.

Pylyp patted me on the back immediately after hearing my result, and I turned back to know his reason for doing so.

"Keep making our family proud," Pylyp responded.

"I will," I replied, smiling at him.

"If I were to be in college today, I would defeat all my rivals," echoed Ivan.

"That's always your statement. But during training, he is the first to get tired." Pylyp attacked him.

Dan burst out in laughter.

"I don't blame you, Foody, for being the only one to beg after training. There is never a day you wouldn't beg. Why can't you be ashamed of that?" Ivan retorted back at him.

"Oh, do you think I can be ashamed of what gives me pleasure?"

Dan and Ivan burst out in laughter.

"Besides, I didn't beg today." Pylyp continued.

"Today hasn't ended just yet. Just watch out."

"I am better off with a fatigued person who can never be sure of killing a single enemy."

"You? Have you ever faced one?"

"But I am one hundred percent sure that I would do better than you."

"That is why you are the elder brother."

"Oh, this is where it showed that all your dad's effort in trying to allow you to learn in school was all in vain. According to the commander, there is no such thing as a blood link in military service. But your small head won't interpret it. This is because you were probably dosing off when they thought you in school."

"Please stop throwing abusive language at each other." I pleaded with them.

"Oh, stop this," Dan ordered. "Don't you recognise that your younger sister is here with us?"

"Wasn't it Pylyp who started it?"

"I said stop." Dan commanded.

Then a perfect silence ensued, and they all went back to their phones and began punching them. I became like a stranded figure, staring at each of them as they pressed their phones. I was perplexed and wanted to start a good dialogue that wouldn't wind up with nasty words. I stared around the room, thinking of what to say, but it all looked like ideas were going down the drain. I cast my mind back in time to past instances from other days to see if there was anything that may spark a dialogue. Nothing was sprouting up. I wanted to leave the room, since there was nothing to chat about. Probably meet my mum and engage in a chit-chat conversation with her. But chatting with my mum was totally boring. Then I relaxed back on the bed.

"How were you and Mum faring when we weren't around?" Ivan broke the silence.

Finally, a conversation had begun, and I spoke to myself.

"If I decide to take you to school on the 9th of this month, I hope you will not grumble or nag at me." Pylyp said this in a laughable tone.

"I wouldn't," I said.

"Okay?" Pylyp echoed.

"Yeah," I responded, "it would be fun."

Pylyp smiled at my statement.

The conversation ended abruptly again. I was perplexed with the incessant end of a conversation. I looked at the wall and saw my brothers in their soldier costumes, placed on a portrait. I smiled to myself. If not for anything, I am protected from being maltreated or bullied by anyone. Frightened, I remembered the words of our president speaking last night when he dismissed all the allegations that a war might happen. I felt cold from my head to toe immediately as I imagined the speech being said by our president.

"Bro Dan," I called, petulantly, "did you hear the statement made by the president yesterday?"

"Yeah," he said, "it was strange, right?"

"Yeah! But before that speech made by the president, we've been hearing about the threat our neighbouring country issues every time. Now that you guys are in the military, have there been any rumours?"

"Rumour?" he said, irritatingly. "Maybe, just maybe, but I am not quite sure of that."

"Of what?" I asked.

"I mean war. We've been into rigorous training, but our commander hasn't predicted any war that would happen yet."

"I pray war doesn't happen."

"Nothing of that kind, my lovely sister," Dan assured, "Our president was a comedian before. I think he wanted to make fun of his New Year's speech."

"But it keeps popping up on the internet every time."

"Don't dwell on evil thoughts or imagination," Dan warned. "Before a war started, we would have known ahead."

"But do armed robbers expose their day of operation?"

"Girl, this is not literature. This is reality; the country that gives us threats isn't full of armed robbers." Dan said.

"Okay?" I answered, in a rather distorted form, "What if a war happens now?"

"We are fully prepared to fight."

I felt despondent after his statement. I wanted to cry. I read about the Second World War in novels and books, and I knew the context of war and the spelling of it figuratively. I imagined a war with missiles. Books taught me that missiles could travel more than a thousand miles and hit their target accurately. I got scared thinking about missiles traveling far just to kill people. It made me wonder why humans are so cruel to each other.

"Did they tell you how a missile works in training?" I asked Dan.

"Yeah, but that is not our field. It deals with the air force and the naval force, but they gave us an inkling on how it works."

"What is it all about?"

"Is this what your teacher taught you in school?" Pylyp said.

I looked at him and smiled.

"No, I read them in novels and on the Internet."

"You are too inquisitive. Do you want to join the military?"

"No," I said, "I want to know more about my family's occupation."

He laughed and summoned me to bring the chessboard out of the wardrobe located near the bed. I eagerly brought the chessboard. I was always addicted to playing chess. I loved it with all my heart.

I gave the chessboard to Dan. He collected it and then dropped his phone on the bed beside him, and opened the chessboard, holding all the games in his hands. He arranged his game, while I arranged mine. He chose the white game, while I chose the black game.

I kicked off the game by drawing a pawn forward. He also did the same thing. I brought my knight forward from his zone. He dragged another pawn, adjacent to the queen, out of its zone. Then I brought out another knight to cover the space left by the pawn, which was already out of position.

He looked at me and smiled.

"It looks like you are going all out in an offensive and aggressive manner. Make make sure you are willing to sacrifice an important piece."

"Maybe," I said.

He smiled and continued the game.

He pondered for about two minutes before he brought out his bishop, which runs on the dark square box, at the back of his knight. I studied his move. I predicted his next move and how I could block it. If I didn't move my knight, brother Dan would sacrifice his bishop to capture it. Losing my pawn to remove the bishop wouldn't be a big deal. I thought.

I took the risk by leaving my knight there, and I dragged out my queen from her position and kept it at the front of the king.

"Thank You," My brother appreciated it, as he took my knight out and then I took his bishop away. He laughed.

"The last thing I would do is take that beautiful queen away."

"Probably when I see there is no more way, then I will give up and allow you to take it, and then you checkmate me."

"Never give up," he uttered boldly and courageously.

"There are times when all means are working against you, and there is no way to run from it. At that time, the best thing to do is to give up."

"You die with a spirit that you never gave up. Never give up until your last breath."

"I am not a soldier, and I will never be one," I said, in a rather sarcastic manner.

He took his knight back to its original position.

"Do you think you will win the game by playing defensive?" I asked, reading his game.

"When you lose one on the battlefield, then retreat and come back energetically and with full morale."

"I'm too sorry to say this," I shamefully said.

"Go on, we are in a game," he summoned me to speak out my mind.

"That is a cowardly attitude, always running back and then giving your enemy the chance to hit you hard."

"Oh, you ran back for cover, and be smart about that." he said.

I laughed ecstatically.

"Then I would teach you the hard way." I spoke out courageously.

"Oh, okay, if you can move a square inch to my box without being hurt, then draw forward."

I looked at him with a deadly smirk on my face. He blinked his eyes and smiled at me when I stared at him.

I was angry with his last statement. I wanted to prove it was wrong by bringing out all my powerful weapons to attack him. But I had to be smart with the risk I was about to take.

I took my queen a square inch forward, still with the same vertical line covering my king. He pushed a pawn staying at the front of his left rook into a square box. I looked at his game deeply. Brother Dan was always the one who gave me headaches when playing chess with him. A move from him was always dangerous and could scatter all the ideas you had earlier set up. I still managed to beat him, with high spirits, a few days later. But today was a different scenario. I pushed another pawn of mine out of its recent position. He dragged his pawn in front of the king, a square box forward, threatening the next move of my pawn, which I had just dragged out. I needed to protect the pawn from any sort of danger by bringing out my bishop, which runs on the white square lines. He brought out his knight, whom he had earlier taken back to a new position. I was scared all of a sudden. I quickly brought out another pawn to threaten the position of his knight. He moved his knight, took my pawn, checked my king, and also opened up an attack on my rook. I couldn't do anything again; I was helpless; none of my weapons could kill him. The only weapon that could remove the danger instantly had been taken out. I had to move my king after it was checked, and then he took out my rook.

I laughed.

"Do I still have a coward's attitude?" he asked, staring straight at my face.

I was speechless.

I had to go out to attack him. But each time I went nearer to his territory, he took my game away, coming out of his zone in a tactical and strategic approach. Until he devoured my queen.

"Checkmate," he said.

"Congrats." I said it while smiling and biting back all my words.