We had made our way into the arcade. It was the same arcade that my sister and I had visited once with our parents when we were kids. I swept my gaze across the room. Even though it's been nearly 11 years since I last been here, everything was the same as I remembered it.
As I continued scanning the room, my eyes narrowed on a particular game. It was… the same game I played the last time I was here. I felt a bitter smile creep onto my face, but I shook it off. Without looking at my sister, I asked.
"Hey, do you wanna play on the basketball machine?"
My sister followed my gaze, her eyes landing on the same machine. A hint of familiarity shone in her eyes, along with an empty smile. My sister nodded timidly.
"Ya… that'd be nice."
We both slowly made our way towards the machine. The balls were still a vibrant orange with black stripes, the hoop still had a slight downwards tilt to it, and the net was as ragged as ever. Everything should have been the same, but it felt like something was… missing.
I reached over for a ball and picked it up with my hands. The ball should have been the same, too, but it was much lighter than I remembered. A hollow breath escaped my lips.
Time flies…
"Hey, do you remember when we came here with Mom and Dad?"
My sister's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. She ran her finger along the edge of the machine, seemingly in a daze. No, that wasn't it; she was doing the same thing I was. A faraway smile breached my face as I replied to her.
"Ya, I remember that we really wanted to play this game, but we were kids and couldn't get a single ball in. We sucked…"
Lily let out a faint laugh, staring off into the distance, and I followed suit. My vision blurred as my ears rang, blocking out all noise. Yet, the sound of laughter echoed in my ears. It was the same laugh I heard all those years ago. It was… me. I slowly closed my eyes, my hand still gripping the ball.
We didn't have much money to spare, which meant we couldn't play too many games. Looking back, that was probably all my parents could achieve. They told us to choose our games wisely, and I decided to go for the basketball one. I tried a round of it and couldn't get anything in.
A soft smile formed as I continued to reminisce.
That day… is one of the happiest days of my childhood that I can remember. It was a day when we all felt like one big happy family.
***
"AGAIN, AGAIN, I WANT TO GO AGAIN!"
I begged in a loud voice. I was extremely frustrated that I couldn't get anything in. Ending it on a loss always put a bitter taste in my mouth. As I continued throwing a fit, my Mom crouched next to me and patted my head.
"There, there, why don't you just play something else? There are plenty of others to choose from."
She said softly. Her smile was so gentle, so pure… but it also felt strangely foreign. I didn't fully understand why at the time, and as a kid, I didn't really care.
"NO! I don't wanna play anything else! I want to play this one!"
I crossed my arms and looked away, standing my ground. I wasn't going to give up until I scored at least one point.
My Dad, who was carrying my sister in his arms, came up to us and put her down. I flinched, instinctively bracing myself.
I-I'm going to get hit. He's going to hit me again!
I shut my eyes tightly, waiting for a searing pain to force them open. But… it never came. I kept one eye closed and hesitantly took a peek at the outside with the other one. I saw that Dad was crouched down next to me, a beaming smile plastered on his face. Both my eyes went wide, and my breath caught in my throat.
"Then, let's have a competition!"