corrinesbell | 146. Cube

146. Cube

It's been six years.

Maybe I should just stop counting after this. Is it worth it? All that stuff about seven years...

[Sheena remembers her last 'anniversary' with neutrality, but the fallout with a hard grimace and clenched fists.]

There'd better not be some stupid statue anywhere this time.

[locked to Albert Silverberg]

Hey. Up for a talk?

[[ooc: Six long years ago I joined this silly game. I can't wrap my head around this and I have lived it. You guys are amazing.]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well one thing I was told about statues, is that they aren't for you they are for others. Perhaps it can be an inspiration that survival is possible even in this place.

Overall, we're pretty good at survival. Most people, the thing they're surviving for is so they get to go back home. When the people in charge recognize that you've been here forever it really kinda stings.

Sometimes being reminded of things is just a pain, but it is both pain and pleasure which make us who we are. I hope that you will remember the good times you have had over the years as well today.

[That...that isn't what she expected to hear from anybody at all.

It kind of chills her out. Brings out a weird and uncomfortably-content feeling. There were good times, and good people, that would not have come to be if not for those six years.]

Um. Thanks. ...Really, I mean it. That's really wise.

[He smiles a bit on his end of things]

You're welcome.

[Sheena is so derailed she can't even continue her rant. Where was this guy when she was totally losing it?]

Um...so I've been meaning to say this, but if you want your old job in the tea shop back, you can have it.

[Forgetting that he probably doesn't remember it was his shop to begin with.]

Oh, I used to have a job in the tea shop did I? Seems like something I would do.

[A job in a tea shop should keep him occupied. He'd only be drinking tea and doing the same thing anyway, may as well serve some people at the same time]

I accept. I've been meaning to bring some of the bags of tea I won to the shop anyway. Quite a few different blends.

[He'll be keeping his own stash as well of course, but he is willing to share most of it]

A really, really long time ago, it was your tea shop, except it was somewhere else, instead of up here. I'm not saying go back to owning it again but...well, the whole thing was kinda your idea, until you left.

Well, if it has been running for so long, I believe it is in quite capable hands. If you have other tasks you'd prefer to be doing, I could certainly work towards handling more of it, but I wouldn't want to deprive something which may give you purpose.

Trust me, I don't really have anything better to do around here. But I definitely don't mind if you work here too. From what I remember, you really know a lot about tea.

Well, that sounds like an agreeable arrangement to me.

[He grins on his end]

Hahaha, guilty as charged!

If you work for me, you get all the free tea you want, too.

Oh yes? Free tea certainly does sound better, though I think free anything usually sounds pretty good as well.

Well everything's free here, no matter who you are. People still always get excited about the free tea, though.

Well, it is always pleasant to enjoy certainly. Do you happen to have Pai-sho boards at the place?

I'm not actually sure. What's "Pai-Sho"?

It is a game, and much more than that. A way of life. It goes quite well with having a cup of tea.

[She realizes she may be digging a hole here, and like she needs any more of those in her life, but]

How can it be a game and a way of life at the same time?

Those who master the game know that it requires a pragmatic approach, a willingness to accept different styles for different situations, and to always seek to educate others of these.

For those who are well acquainted it can also serve as a way to communicate.

A way to communicate?

[Sheena knows a fair handful of secret ways to communicate and this one is just as intriguing.]

Is it the kinda thing you can teach somebody?

Yes.

[He smiles to himself]

Like many things in life, it can be taught.

[She regrets not talking to this guy more in the past. Regrets it a lot.]

So...will you teach me?

Of course!

[You can hear the enthusiasm]

Teaching someone Pai Sho would be a wonderful way to spend some time. When is good for you?

It's not as though I'm really busy or anything. Any time is good, especially if I can learn at the tea shop. Sometimes it's totally dead in here.

Very good. I'll come by with something we can play on.

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