Cosmic Racquetball

Once Upon a Time God created the perfect game—Cosmic Racquetball. It was a variation of the game racquetball, only the balls were real to life. God created the 4 walls sky blue and beautiful, the ceiling was just as beautiful with recess lights that lit an unusually large court. The floor sparkled with shine.

In the beginning God created two players, Able and Cain. They played with joy. The real to life balls would go and go, bouncing off the walls indefinitely until stopped by the players. The game which could continue indefinitely till stopped by the players, brought joy to Able and Cain. The conversations after the game with the creator brought joy to the creator. The game wasn't limited to two players. It only started with two players. A third player arrived.

"Just call me 'Rep, that's short for the Racquetball Reptile', he said. I'm the champ around here. That's why I use this ball." Rep brought his own ball. Only his ball was not the same. It was black. "Here, try it." When Able hit it a puff of smoke came from the impact, the ball shot toward the wall leaving a smoky trail. When it hit the wall it left a black inky smudge. It left a mark wherever it hit. At first this novelty brought joy to the other two players. It was different. Since you could watch this ball's trail, it was easier to track, at least at first. During one game, Rep's ball traveled in it's own shadow trail and disappeared against the black marks left on the wall, and to Cain's surprise, hit him in the face. It smarted and left a sting. Strangely when the ball hit his skin it not only left a mark, it also left an odor. Cain rubbed his face and found a black inky substance rubbed off onto his hand. The black inky stuff stunk. From behind him hiding in the shadows Rep snickered. Cain, not seeing Rep, thought it was Able laughing.

Cain suddenly felt another strange feeling in his face, a rush of heat filled his face, he felt a strange feeling in his heart toward Able whom he thought was laughing. Cain picked up the black inky ball and walked into the shadows himself. Meanwhile other players had joined the game. Each of the players had a white ball to play with. Cain waited till Able was playing with another player. From the Shadows, Cain with a strange feeling in his face, and a strange feeling in his heart, and the odor of black ink still clinging to him, took the black ball out of his pocket and aimed a shot as hard as he could from the shadow at Able's distracted face. Able was struck by the stinking ink ball. In fact the force knocked him down. Able was shaken so badly he had to leave the game. Able's partner helped him off the court. Though Cain didn't see Rep, Cain's face had a smirk that mirrored the face of Rep.

Revenge

When Able's partner returned he noticed the odor of the ink on him. The black ink which didn't seem to have an odor until it contacted skin left a trail of black and a trail of odor which clung to Able's playing partner. Then Able's playing partner's face got hot, and his heart felt strange, very strange. He had seen Cain take that shot. He had seen the smirk. He felt hate for Cain.

That day the game changed. People began to turn their white balls black on purpose by rubbing it in the black inky substance that was now accumulating throughout the court. People didn't seem to enjoy the game anymore. The creator of the game, couldn't stand watching. The game was no longer the same game he created. It had been perverted. The creator no longer stayed to talk with the players after the game. Since he wasn't there, the players didn't like leaving the court even though the court became more and more violent. There were very few white balls without black ink smudges on them. More and more black balls were flying all around the crowding court. They left their black stains everywhere. Smoky shadows were growing. Though normally the court would have been large enough to accommodate every player, the growing dark shadows made the lights dim, and the increasing stench from the ink hitting flesh was stifling. People had a hard time breathing. The whole court was changing. The court was bringing out the worst in people. As they had a more difficult time seeing, they got hit more often. After being hit, people played more furiously. The harder they played the more difficult time they had breathing. Though more players entered the game, many had left the game unable to play again. People were constantly hit in the face, which would make them want to hit the other players. It seemed nobody was playing with white balls anymore. All the white balls had become inky.

Luminator

Then a new player came on the scene. He said his name was "Luminator." When he first arrived everybody stared at him. He didn't have any ink smudges on him or his clothes. The light reflected off of him. The smoky shadows weren't as dark where he stood. The players who noticed this wanted to play where he stood so they could see the game better. They hoped this would help them avoid being hit so often. Luminator offered to play. Just as he offered, someone hit him with a black ball. The ink dripped from his face. Everyone expected him to pick up the black ball and hit it back. He did pick up the black ball, but he didn't hit it back. He put it into his pocket where you could see the ink stain his bright clothing, then he pulled out from his other pocket his white ball. The people were surprised to see a white ball. It had been so long since they had seen a white ball without a smudge. This player began a new game with his white ball. Where His white ball hit the wall a black spot was removed. His white ball while untainted, absorbed the ink somehow. He caught the ball up again and touched it to someone else's face and it absorbed the black ink, it removed it. Seeing that, others joined Luminator, in his variation of the game. When they played with his ball laughter returned, and the dark feelings they were so used to, left them. The game was slowly removing black off the walls. Spot by spot, black was absorbed by Luminator's ball, everywhere it hit.

People were having so much fun they didn't even notice that as Luminator's ball was absorbing the ink, the whiteness of his clothes was being smudged spot upon spot. His clothes dimmed rapidly. The black was transferring onto Luminator. Although those who were playing Luminator's game began to look brighter, Luminator began to play as a wounded player. He played slowly, staggering, dark smudges were all over him. Everybody stopped and stared when suddenly he fell to the ground. Those gathering saw that black ink covered him, from head to foot. Just then Rep stepped out of the shadows with a smile, and he and Cain carried the fallen player off the court. He dumped the white ball with its owner outside the court and shut the door. Then urged his friends to keep playing.

The onlookers were sad. Especially those who had played with Luminator. The new game that brought such hope and joy had come to an end. The old game began again to rage on around them. The smelly black inky balls were undoing all the cleansing progress the new game had made. Those who had played with Luminator didn't want to play the old game. In fact, they didn't want to play at all without Luminator. Every time they saw a black ball they kept thinking of Luminator, and the black on his face. They didn't want anything to do with the black ball. Yet, they began to be hit from every direction by them. They were dazed.

Play Ball

Then the door opened again, and to everyone's surprise, Luminator returned to the Court. His face glowed even brighter than the first day they had seen him. Now there was no mistake, light was actually coming from his face. Smoky shadows cleared away from where he stood. Those who had played with Luminator gathered in a crowd around him. He spoke to them and gave them each a white ball. He said it was their turn to play his game with others. He said, "You may have my joy now. You may play my game now. The game will be hard as you absorb the blows as I absorbed them. The ink will hurt. Absorb the blows anyway. Absorb them and send your white balls out. Whatever you do, do not send the black balls back out. Put them into your pocket. Keep sending your white balls. Do this and you can play my game on the new court with me where there is no ink, and the joy of the game never ends." Then as Luminator left the court, he said, "I'll see you after the game."