To Win, Simply Play

The whole place must be disarmed. The knives in the kitchen, they must go to the neighbors. Scissors are not allowed. Even the paper has to be hidden. Owen can’t seem to get on with his music practice. It is difficult for him to hear the violin; his thoughts are noisy. He picks up his instrument and plays for a moment and suddenly something new shows up in his head: another thing that Luca could possibly use against herself. Luckily, there have already been several nights of frenzied fighting over who could get the nearest available implement of destruction first. Obviously, the kitchen knives were the first to go. Even small things such as staples and thumb tacks from the desk drawer, they have already fought over those. Owen must be alert to these things. Whenever he encounters a physical object anywhere in the place, he considers it for its ability to be used as a weapon of any sort at all. Suddenly, everything seems potentially deadly. Owen prays she doesn’t think of the windows. Windows are expensive. He gives up his instrument.