"Play a game with me."
The Old man said while bringing out a deck of cards from his worn out clothes.
Dexter looked at the old man and wanted to reject him, but after checking the time on his cell phone, he decided to play at least, a game with the old man, since it will take some time before reaching the urban area of the city.
"Just one game okay." he said while asking "what game are we playing?"
"Old Maid, the last person with a card loses." the Old man replied while shuffling the worn deck, his hands moving like spiders.
The old man removed one queen at random setting it face down on an empty seat close to them. "The buried, maid" he said "Twenty-five cards each. Discard your pairs." he said again while handling 25 pieces to Dexter.
Dexter feeling a little entertained by the whole scenario, decided to prove himself and not lose face in front of this old man. As they compared cards, his hands were trembling slightly while the old man hands were as steady as a rock with no show of any panic expression on him. They both discarded pairs in silence.
"Young hands first," the Old man said, fanning his cards. "Draw."
Dexter reached in and pulled the Seven of heart. No pair. He offered his own hand, and the old man drew the five of spades. No pair.
The game continued
Dexter drew and discarded, drew and discarded. Sometimes his luck held and he found matches. More often he accumulated odd cards that are now sitting heavily on his palm.
By the fourteenth round, Dexter had shed many cards, while the old man cards seemed to grow more not less. His hands were endless, his face unreadable.
Growing a little suspicious Dexter accused, "you're hiding cards."
"Am I?" the Old man's voice was dry leaves.
Round twenty-seven. Dexter drew the queen of clubs and froze. He already held the queen of diamonds. No pair. The old man drew next and paired his own queen of spades with a queen of hearts he produced from somewhere.
Dexter watched as the queens vanish into the discard pile and felt sweat trickling down on his neck. Already realizing he is in a disadvantage.
Roun thirty-three. Dexter finally paired his last two cards and sat back, empty handed. "I've won."
The old man turned over the buried card. Queen of hearts. "In two-player Old maid, the empty hand takes the maid. The game continues."
Dexter drew the queen of hearts from the table. One card. He offered it. The old man drew it, held it, produced no pair. Offered his hand in return.
Dexter drew. Not the queen. A king of spades. No pair.
The game became a trap. The four queens cycled between them, never pairing, never resting. Dexter held fewer cards but they were visible, vulnerable. The old man held many, hiding the queens among them like wolves in tall grass.
Round fifty. Dexter eyes burned. He drew and offered, drew and offered, and always the queen of hearts returned to him.
"You could end this," the old man said.
"How" Dexter replied, his eyes still focused on the game.
"Make a mistake. Draw wrong." said the old man.
Eyes twitching. Dexter replied back, "I don't make mistakes."
The old man smiled displaying his yellow teeth.
"Everyone makes mistakes. Young people just make them faster."
Round sixty-one. Dexter held four queens. The old man finally revealed he had collected the other four legitimate pairs from careful play. He laid them down. All queens accounted for.
"Except," the old man said.
Dexter looked at his hand. Empty. He reached for the buried pile, drew—
Queen of hearts.
He offered it. The old man drew it, and this time his hand was empty too. He reached for the pile, drew—
Nothing. The pile was exhausted.
"The last card," the old man said, "was already drawn."
Dexter looked down. The queen of hearts sat in his fingers. He had never let go of it. The old man's hands were open, palms up, showing nothing.
"The Old Maid is not a card," the old man said, gathering the deck. "It is the holding. The clinging. You never learned to let go, so you never stopped holding."
The train was nearing the urban city, but there was a stop to be made for those getting down from the urban entrance.
Dexter while holding the the queen on his right hand finally laid back on his seat, and understood that he had lost.
The old man left the card with him, stood, and walked to the exit of the train saying, "see you around, Young one."
He didn't look back at Dexter, ask his name, or even care to interact with him than what had been done. It was like the reason the old man came on the train, was to exactly play the Game with Dexter. The train stopped at the urban entrance and the old man dropped with the other passengers dropping, without saying any more words.
The train continued it movements into the urban area.
Not long after the train started it's movement, and the exit was closing up. Three men in black, a tall and fit. walked into train. They were putting on nose-covers their eyes like eagles, first scanning the segment of the train they entered first, before making movement.
From the way they walked. You could immediately tell, they were either from the military, or some special forces or something.
The first one in front to make contact with a passenger, immediately brought out a badge, for identification, and a picture of some civilian, then started to ask questions. The two behind wasn't idle either they all spread out doing as the first man did, bringing out an identification badge and a picture of a civilian. The passengers, they already make contact with were all shaking their heads, seeming not to recognize the person on the picture.
It wasn't long before a man in black reach my position and ask away. His eyes piercing and voices smooth and steady, the ones that derives authority and respect.
"I'm from the special agent office, and it's our job to protect starlight city and its legal civilians from harm and danger " the man in black said while showing me his badge. The badge was black with star shapes decorating it like a star in the dark night and a text SAO. For short special agent officer. In the middle
With a swift motion he showed me the picture after the badge and asked "Pls Cooperate with me! In any way do you know this man?" looking in my face to confirm some sort of reactions. I shook my head not having recognize the person in the photo. The question didn't stop there though.
"have you in any way, come into contact with a man resembling the person in this photo? If yes. It is in your safety to let me know now." Seeing as I still showed no reactions, he adjusted his suit from the bend and said.
"The man on the photo is a high level terrorist. If you make contact or see such a person in the future quickly call the police. It's for your own safety."
The men in black continued on their task moving from segments to segment on each train.
I listen to the music while waiting for the train, to reach the next stop.
.......
While exiting the train at the urban area center. I noticed the queen card still being in my hands. 'How interesting' I thought. While vividly remembering the old man smiling face and then something hit me.
'Wait the person on the three black mens photo kind of resemble the Old man. Could it be the old man's son?'
I joked in my mind.
Then after taking three more steps I stopped, cold sweat forming on my back. My imagination and fantasy thinking clashing wildly and creating scenarios and possibilities.
"could the terrorist in the photo actually be the one disguised as the old man just to come play a game with me!?." I muttered to myself.
Having reached this conclusion. Dexter urge to immediately throw away the queen card, rose from his heart like crazy, but he quickly suppressed that thought.
'wait, I might actually just be overthinking stuff, how can there be such a coincidence huh? It's just me overthinking again. that is what it is.'
scratching his head while laughing out loud like a mad man Dexter gained attention from the crowds again. Some where even looking at him and distancing themselves, like he is some phsyco.
"Tsk. Human." He muttered, composed himself and continued to his working place.