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Reason: Tamsin please review


Tamsin: I have been writing my own go fiction, called A Cautionary Tale. On this page I would like to begin another go story, which all deshis can add to as they wish. Please don't delete other people's contributions, but do feel free to amend typos and other small mistakes. Please try to keep within the spirit of the story, too (if you do digress from the plot, try to keep it related in some way!).


Introduction

Old Ron Bellinger, 2 dan, hated playing go with chess clocks. In fact, he loathed it almost as much as he disliked playing with children or with women. Yet, here he was, on a cold, wet November night, playing speed go with Lucy Wang, great-niece of the legendary Caitlin Wang.

Damn! Not another fight! What was it with this child? Didn't she know when she was beaten? He had been trying for 15 whole years to win the Manchester Go Championships. Alright, so he had been tied into a four-way play-off for the title, but this was still his best chance yet. Now, if this little brat would only resign as she should in this position!

On the next table, Gary Rogers, 3 dan, was up against another very strong child, Tim Young, 2 kyu. Gary was heartily wishing that the rules of the tournament had not compelled him to give Tim a 4-stone handicap. If Tim Young was really just 2 kyu, then, quite frankly, Gary was a Dutchman!

The spectators crowded around both boards. The excitement was palpable. For a long time the Manchester go scene had been quite homely and small, but now there were two kids who really could play -- and then some. One of these was already a minor celebrity, being quite closely related to Caitlin Wang, honorary Kisei Meijin, the strongest player the world had ever seen.

Lucy cut yet again. Ron had never seen so many groups on a go board, all competing for life. He checked the position again, trying to weigh the value of each group. Finally, he felt that he had it measured. What was more, he began to see a path to killing, beyond all hope of resurrection, the biggest of Lucy's groups. The more he looked, the clearer it became. At last, Ron Bellinger, the Manchester Meijin!

"Sorry, Mr Bellinger," whispered Lucy, "You have lost on time."

"What?" snapped Ron, "Pardon?"

"You have lost on time."

"Oh damn! Bugger!" Ron cried.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, right, I damn well bet you are."

And with that, Ron snatched up his coat and stormed out of the club, muttering incoherently about "spoiled brat" and "it's alright if you're Caitlin Wang's niece" and so on. Lucy looked stunned, and then began crying. Her mother went to her, and took her to a corner of the room, and hugged her to calm her down. Meanwhile, her father, John, started after Ron, but was stopped by another of the spectators.

"Leave it, John," said Trevor, "He's just a sour old tosser."

"I can't have him talking to my girl like that," John replied.

"Well, I don't think we'll be seeing much of him for quite a while, now, anyway. Come on, let's go to the bar, and I'll get you another pint."

Meanwhile, Gary Rogers restarted Tim Young's clock, having paused it during the commotion surrounding Ron Bellinger's loss on time. The room became quiet again, but no less tense.

Chapter One

"Hurry it up, won't you?" exclaimed Lee Young, elder brother of Tim Young. "If you take much longer, we'll miss our chance to get a good view of the fireworks."

It had been a particularly hot day. The Young household was still warm and stuffy as the afternoon shadows lengthened. The house had sat empty of occupants, until two brothers decided to go home to change and freshen up after helping out with the family business.

"... I'm trying to find my shoes..."

"Look. Just slip on some sandals, and let's go."

"What's the hurry? We've done our chores. We can see other fireworks tomorrow when we go to grandad's house."

"That's not the point. Because I was made responible for you, I need to know that you are safe."

"What do you mean? -- Oh, you're going to visit your girlfriend again."

"She's not my... Your sandals are here by the door. Put them on."

"What if I don't want to go?"

Lee uttered a groan. "If you don't listen to what you older brother has to say, then I'll tell mum and dad and uncle and aunty and grandmother and grandad how you don't deserve the money."

Emboldened by possability of receiving less in his little red envelopes, Tim raced to the door. In mismatching socks and shirt halfbuttoned, he was ready in ten seconds.

The brothers made their way to the heart of town on foot as the dusk began. The wind carried scents of food and flowers as it wafted by. The atmosphere was merry as they progressed past gatherings of people. Each one larger than the last. Inevitably, Lee led the way to a certain house and knocked on the door.

"I knew it." Tim spoke.

"Just shoosh. Be quiet. Only use your mouth for smiling."

Lee knocked at the door again. It swung open to reveal an attractive girl the same age as Lee. When she caught sight of him, she couldn't prevent a little grin appearing at the side of her mouth.

"Do you want to see the fireworks?" Lee asked.

"Yeah. That sounds great." she replied. Then asked, "Who's this?", gesturing to Tim.

"Oh. This is my Brother Tim."

"Nice to meet you Tim. My name's Anna."

Tim just stood there smiling and nodding his head for good measure in an attempt to annoy Lee somehow. There was a breif pause.

"Let me ask my mother. I'll be back soon."

The door closed again. Lee looked at Tim. Tim looked at Lee. Tim hoped Lee was annoyed. Lee hoped Tim wouldn't embarass himself again for his own sake.

When the door reopened, Anna seemed slighty different than usual. Lee couldn't quite tell what it was, but she seemed a bit more formal than before. Tim could immediately tell that she had changed her shirt and straightened her hair.

"I can only stay out 'till ten." she sighed, "Dad's intent on taking us fishing tomorrow morning."

"That's no problem. We can still catch some of the fireworks before midnight."

With Anna and Lee in the lead, they all made their way to Chinatown.

The bustle on the street was amazing. It seemed that this year, everyone was a part of the celebrations. A few shops were operating past regular opening hours for some extra patronage. Merchants were set up in various arcades and malls selling cheap, mass produced novelty goods and incense and t-shirts and jewellry and etcetera.

They were watching a Lion Dance; performed by the local martial arts hall. Tim couldn't help being bored in an otherwise action packed setting. Simply because Lee and Anna were so engrossed in eachother's company.

Spying a man playing a go board with a crowd of onlookers, Tim decided to investigate.

Chapter Two


This is a copy of the living page "OpenGoStory" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2012 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.
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