Leaving the glass corridor, we followed the porthole passage on the seventh deck toward the elevator bay. The sea breeze had turned chilly, blowing from the deck's end. I pressed the elevator button. The doors opened; the light for deck fourteen was already lit.
As the elevator rose, Tsukago took out the squirrel from her light pink bag and cradled it in her arms. The squirrel's bean-black eyes watched the floor numbers flicker, its tail dangling from the crook of her elbow.
"This girl wants to play games."
"Then play."
The elevator doors opened. I pushed open the door. The bass from inside slammed out, hitting my chest.
Tsukago followed me in. The air was thick with sweat, popcorn, and the metallic smell of old machines. The arcade wasn't crowded. The bass thumped in our chests, and someone over by the dance machine was laughing.
The floating interface lit up.
"Darlings, today we're at the Hercé Arcade." She raised the phone high, letting the camera sweep across the ARCADE sign made of neon tubes.
[chat] Arcade
[chat] Used to love these places as a kid 🎮
[chat] What's Daughter playing today
The claw machine area was at the very back of the arcade. A row of machines stood against the wall, the plush toys inside glowing warmly under the lights. In one machine were round squirrels holding an acorn, their fluffy tails sticking up.
Tsukago stopped in front of that machine. "This girl wants that squirrel."
I glanced at her. "Put in the token yourself."
"You catch it for me. This girl can never catch one."
I retrieved a few tokens from the Lingguang Armlet and dropped them into the slot. The machine lit up, the claw clicking into its starting position.
I gripped the joystick, eyes fixed on the squirrel inside the glass, adjusted the position, and pressed the button. The claw descended, its fingers opening, closing around the squirrel's body.
It lifted, but halfway up the grip slipped, and the squirrel dropped back down, rolling to rest near the prize chute.
"So close."
"No worries, try again. Make sure you've got it lined up." I inserted another token.
This time I adjusted the position several times, nudging it forward a bit, then a bit to the left, then pressed the button. The claw dropped down, its fingers gripping the squirrel securely by the waist.
It lifted, shifted sideways, and released over the chute. The squirrel tumbled into the prize bin with a soft thud.
Tsukago bent down and pulled the squirrel from the chute, hugging it to her chest. She held it up before her eyes, staring into its black bean eyes for a moment.
"Sister is so amazing."
[chat] Wifey is a pro 👏
[chat] Daughter only knows how to act cute haha
[chat] That squirrel is so cute 🐿️
She flipped the squirrel over and examined the acorn it was holding. It was brown, with a tiny white highlight on it. She touched the highlight with her finger, then flipped the squirrel back to face herself.
"This girl loves lychees the most. From now on, your name is Lychee."
I took the squirrel from her hands and turned it face down. Its belly pointed up, legs stiffly sticking out. Tsukago reached over and flipped it back around so it faced her.
"This girl likes it this way."
I stood to the side. "What should we catch next?"
"This girl still wants that pink dolphin."
I glanced at the pink dolphin machine in the corner. Besides the dolphin in the center, the rotating platform held a few other plushes.
A boy had tried three times and caught nothing before an adult dragged him away by the arm.
In the corner of the claw machine area, I had already inserted a token and was ready to work the joystick, but my gaze had strayed from her. I was looking at a man in the corner of the claw machine area.
Young, around twenty-five, in a dark jacket. He stood next to a machine but wasn't looking at it.
He was looking at his phone. The screen's glow lit up his face. He hadn't slept a full night in a long time. His other hand was in his pocket.
The arcade was noisy, but he seemed sealed off in another world. The phone was his only light. He was scrolling through a list of job postings, stopping on the recruitment page for some company.
——The claw in this machine, it's just like the hiring system. It lifts you, then drops you.
I pulled my gaze back and pressed the button. The claw descended, grabbed the pink dolphin, but the grip jittered. The dolphin swayed in the air, then dropped back onto the platform.
"Didn't catch it."
"Mm, this one really is tricky. We'll try again later." She kept her voice light, like she was sharing a secret.
I pulled a small paper packet from my deep wine-red bag. A pale yellow powder was faintly visible inside. I cupped the packet in my palm and checked my reflection on the phone screen. Then I walked toward that man. As I passed him, my fingers gave a tiny flick. The packet slipped from my hand, the pale yellow powder drifting out and settling on the back of his neck and collar. The powder was so fine it was nearly invisible under the lights, but the man involuntarily scrunched his neck and reached back to scratch it.
"Feeling more awake now? Way more refreshing than scrolling on your phone! This girl here will help you dust it off?"
Without waiting for an answer, I reached out and lightly brushed the powder from the back of his neck with my fingertips. My nails grazed his skin, and his shoulders tensed up.
He froze, his scratching hand falling. "Thanks." His voice was a little hoarse.
"Waiting to hear back from a job application?"
He nodded. "Been applying for months. Nobody replies."
He said he checked his email every day. Same interface, same emptiness.
Tsukago edged over, the squirrel in her arms. She held it up before him. The squirrel's bean-black eyes stared at him, its tail dangling from her elbow, fluffy.
"Lychee says, waiting is so hard."
He looked down at the squirrel plush, its round little head, its acorn, its black eyes staring back at him.
"I check my inbox every day, refresh the hiring apps. Same thing."
Tsukago fished a token from her light pink bag and held it out. It shimmered silver in her palm, faint scratches lining its edges.
"Play one round. Even the machine is telling you to try again."
He hesitated, then took the token and walked to the nearest claw machine. Inside were a few colorful little octopuses with round eyes and curled tentacles. He inserted the token and gripped the joystick, his fingers a little stiff. He pressed the button. The claw descended, its pincers swiping past an octopus, catching nothing.
"It's okay. Next time will be better."
He took his hand off the joystick and shoved it back in his pocket. This time his fingers weren't rubbing together. "Thank you." He turned and headed for the arcade exit. As he walked away, his shoulders were less rigid than before. His phone was tucked in his pocket. He didn't take it out again.
I stood by the claw machine, watching his silhouette dissolve into the arcade's light and shadow.
The corridor was quiet for a long while. The arcade's glow fell on the dark red carpet. Tsukago leaned in.
She was still holding the squirrel, its tail dangling from the crook of her elbow, fluffy.
[chat] What was Wifey just doing
[chat] Who was that guy
[chat] Daughter is so gentle, giving away a token 🎮
[chat] Hope he finds a job 🙏
I walked over to the pink dolphin machine and dropped in another token. The claw descended, this time firmly gripping the dolphin by its tail. It lifted, shifted, and released. The dolphin dropped into the prize chute. I fished it out and turned it over to look at its belly. There was a tiny tag on the pink plush fabric.
I stuffed it into Tsukago's light pink bag, right next to the squirrel. The dolphin's tail poked out from the opening, pink, like a sliver of sunset.
"Next stop."
"Mm, next stop." She caught up.
She followed me out of the arcade. The moment the door closed, the thudding bass was cut off behind us. The corridor held only our footsteps and the distant sound of waves. The arcade's lights flickered once through the glass door and went dark, like a phone screen waiting for a message.
She glanced back. The pink dolphin machine was still rotating, an empty spot on its platform. In the corner where that man had stood, a few cracked plastic tokens lay on the floor, glinting in the light.
I walked half a step ahead of her, not turning around. She stuffed the squirrel and the pink dolphin deeper into her light pink bag.
At the end of the corridor, beyond the porthole, the sea had calmed. In the distance was the silhouette of a cargo ship, its outline blurred by a thin mist, only a single white light moving slowly.
I watched that light.
"Sister, what are you looking at?"
"That ship."
"Where's it going?"
"I don't know. But it just keeps moving."
She didn't ask anything else. She just rested her face against my arm.