The smooth sailing had lasted for a long time, long enough that I had once thought life would continue peacefully like this—that the wonderful life I had long dreamed of, "eat, sleep, tease the kids; go to work, get off work, tease the kids; feed the birds, walk the dogs, tease the kids; loaf around waiting to die, tease the kids," had finally arrived. But one morning, Tawell stirred ripples in my once-peaceful life with a report.
That day, I was playing Chinese chess with Little Crow. The pieces were Figurine Crow God and wild Ding Dangs, these little things dressed in miniature armor and uniforms as they served as chariots, horses, generals, and pawns on the board—it looked strange, but it was one of the girls' favorite pastimes.
I directed a wild Ding Dang forward one square, then watched the figurine Little Crows and wild Ding Dangs on the board erupt into a crackling brawl. In the end, the figurine Little Crow who should have been captured according to the rules instead relied on her superior martial skills to kick the wild Ding Dang off the board... Don't be surprised. That was simply how chess worked in our house. Though other people were playing, who won and lost on the board depended entirely on how well these little girls could roughhouse. I really had no idea how I had managed to play this game with Little Crow so enthusiastically for so long.
Just then, something stirred in my heart, and Tawell's somewhat hurried voice came through the Spiritual Connection. "Your Majesty, there's news from the other shore. It came from the ancestors."
"What is it?" I could tell something was off in Tawell's tone and realized this was not the sort of "household" matter from the past few days.