Game on

"First of all, don't you dare feel guilty about forgetting them, after all you were very litttle when they passed on. Secondly, it's impossible for you to forget them even if you tried because though they hang loosely in the mind the heart holds them more closely than the most precious of jewels. You know what, I'm going to show you something in my notebook." Elias said with all honesty.

Ruby replied with a squeaky voice filled with excitement,"you're really going to let me have a look at the black rose garden of secrets?Yes!"

Elias chuckled sofly. This was the nickname Ruby had given to her brother's notebook since it had a black background with a very vibrant red rose on it and she would always see him scribbling something in it but he never let her see what was written on the inside. She moved closer and paid attention to everything in that moment when Elias opened to a page with little butterflies drawn on the black pages, there was a title; the Caterpillar. After reading it to her he went on to explain the reasoning behind his little poem," i remember when i was younger, i don't exactly remember how young, there were these boys at school who often ridiculed and made fun of my appearance, calling me ugly and all sorts of names. I didn't mind them at first but as time went on i developed an inferiority complex. I stopped being lively, i barely talked to anyone, eventually i became rageful and soon enough our mother caught on to the sudden change, questioning the reason for it. When i told her she looked me in the eye and said that she loved me no matter what. Even if i was the most hideous thing in the world her love for me would never fade because her love transcends beauty and time. With that she hugged me tightly and i her, with tears running down my face. That's when i learned the lesson of the Caterpillar which is that beauty may be important but love is worth so much more, especially self love. But i didn't write this poem then, this notebook wasn't given to me till my eighth birthday and it was the last gift i got from them before they passed. I didn't know what to do with it for a long time till grandma gave me the idea to write poems to my parents seeing how i missed them and how their death influenced me and also my thoughts and feelings, anything at all i felt i needed to remember or just random thoughts. When i finally decided to do it grandma and granpa both died. I found them in the couch one afternoon, grandma had her head on grandpa's chest with their fingers intertwined and both of them were smiling with the sun shining on their aged faces. It hurt but when i remember the look on their faces i couldn't help but hope for an end like that. That was the inspiration for my first poem, though like all the others it's not the best, it means the world to me."

"Wow, how come you almost never tell me these things?" Ruby questioned.

"Well, because i didn't think you neeeded to hear them just yet. Anyway, as i was saying it doesn't matter if your poem isn't good even, what really matters is that you write from your heart just like i do everytime you see me scribbling away.

As the stars twinkled on as did they till they fell into the arms of morpheus but only after they were done.

The new day welcomed them with gentle kisses of sunlight and a cool, gentle breeze setting the stage for the morning routine of the Rhode siblings. Elias cooked a small breakfast feast for them to enjoy and told Ruby that he had a surprise for her to which she begged to be told but she knew all to well that her brother's lips were sealed tighter than the lid of the secret formula so she relented. As they left their apartment building they met Mr. Devin the owner of their apartment building. Mr. Devin was a friend of their parents and a crucial help after their grandparents died. He even insisted they live in one of his biggest apartments free of charge but Elias refused choosing to pay for what he could afford for which he gained Mr.Devin's utmost respect.

Ruby greeted Mr.Devin and walked on ahead.

"What are you up to kid, going to work?" Mr. Devin asked.

"No Mr. Devin, i actually took a month off from work. I'm going out to make some final arrangements for the surprise I've planned for Ruby when she gets back from school." Elias answered.

"Really, how did you manage to get a monthly leave of absence?" Mr.Devin asked,"by the way what is the surprise?"

" firstly it wasn't easy and secondly..."

He looked around to see if Ruby was gone and she was so he told him. He had gotten his sister and himself game pods and not just any game pod, the newest most advanced nanotech game pod made by ROSEVELT Inc, one of the biggest companies to exist in the galaxy. Mr.Devin frowned and questioned how he could afford such an expensive item and two of them no less. He even began to suspect that the boy was involved in some criminal activities. Elias calmed Mr. Devin down explaining that he had a lot of money saved up after all he'd tried a lot of times to buy a virtual reality game for his sister because it was all she ever talked about and he had taken a 'small' loan from the bank.

Mr.Devin sighed knowing very well the loan wasn't small in the slightest and told him that he didn't need to borrow from the bank and he could just ask for any amount from him, after all their father saved his life a long time ago. Elias tried to politely refuse but Mr.Devin wasn't taking no for an answer and he relented seeing that he had rejected so much of his kind proposals before. So it was decided Mr.Devin would take care of the cost of the game pods, also he secretly contacted all the places Elias worked and told them that he would be away for a while. After getting to know the caller all of them agreed all too quickly.

Elias quickly ended his conversation with Mr.Devin remembering that his sister was waiting for him and made his way outside to his hovercraft in which Ruby was waiting with a pout. He got in and speedily drove off before his sister got mad. After dropping her off at school he went to the Rosevelt inc. to finalise everything and headed home to wait for them to come set it up.

The company's workers showed up a short while after he did and took less than 2 hours to set up and calibrate both game pods. Originally they looked like miniscule dark blue cubes that built themselves into a sort of bed like capsule. After the workers were done they left and Elias put on his helmet and jumped in for a test drive before Ruby closed from school. As he laid down the capaule door closed and the interior lit up with a redish hue and his mind sank into darkness in a few seconds but awoke shortly after, in a empty white space which went on as far as the eye could see