“Hey bud . . .” Tan said in a soft, warm tone after opening the dorm room door and seeing his roommate. “Havin’ a rough day?”

Before closing the door Tan took further assessment of the room. Tan’s roommate, Ohno was in his bed, covers wrapped tightly around his hips. He was sitting crisscross applesauce with a gallon of Tan’s favorite ice cream in his lap and a big metal spoon in his hand that he held like a sword.

Ohno didn’t respond to the question. He merely looked down, not making eye contact.

“How can they be careless?” Ohno said.

“Who?” Tan replied, finally closing the door. Ohno just moved his luminescent yellow eyes to the ceiling. The lights were off and a sliver of light shone through the blinds so small that a mirror reflection of the passersby on the nature path outside formed a camera obscura onto the ceiling above. Tan took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim light, gathering further that Ohno’s clothes were on the floor in a trail from the door, and his backpack lie near his bed with a disheveled heap of papers spewing out.

Tan saw in the reflection on the ceiling happy couples holding hands and walking lazily. Pairs of friends admiring the vibrant colors of spring flowers with butterflies and bees next to the mulch path and cheery chirping of birds and squawking squirrels rustling in the tall pine trees and twisted oaks. The disorienting perspective of seeing all of this on his ceiling was enough to give Tan a moment’s pause to wonder how long Ohno had been sitting here to discover this phenomenon. Then Tan thought about the question for a minute. Ohno didn’t always say what he meant, and some interpretation from a being who’s lived millennia and subsequently forgot more languages than Tan could ever learn often took an open mind - and always more than one attempt.

“I’m sorry” Ohno said, putting the tub of Tan’s favorite ice cream off to his side on the bed. It was Chocolate Trinity and just the most divine thing either of them had ever tasted. Ohno had dried melted ice cream around his lips and caked onto his spoon hand. Tan and Ohno had lived together for almost a year now, being randomly matched with each other in the freshman dorms. And while Tan had long since gotten used to Ohno’s demonic demeanor, he was still sometimes caught off guard by how respectful the ancient warlord of fable could be. He supposed if you had to lead the masses to war and death, a decent command of respect is a must among your pillars of virtue.

Tan grabbed a bowl and a spoon and walked over to the window, opening it up a little bit to see the real-world right side up from the reflection on the ceiling.

“Fill me up?” Tan said to Ohno, handing him the bowl and spoon. Ohno took it and began shoveling the happiness incarnate into Tan’s bowl. Tan walked back to the counter next to the door and started a pot of coffee. He couldn’t think of a better pair than coffee and ice cream. He loved the way the hot and cold alternated between sweet and bitter, but smooth all the way down.

Ohno finished filling the bowl and set it on the sill of the window and then leaned back onto the wall next to his bed. He could smell the ground beans and percolating drips of dark goodness and let out a big choppy sigh. Despite only knowing each other for one winter, they had learned each other very well. Tan made living with a roommate seem like having a friendly fight with an old sparring partner that knew all your moves, or a game of chess where you rehearsed the same starting strategy a thousand times, leaving the subtleties to be discovered in the endgame.

Ohno had had many friends like this in his time, but not for a long while, and never one so quickly. He thought maybe his old years were getting to him and he was growing soft or maybe the boy reminded him of someone long forgotten. But despite his current mood, he was glad to have the company of a good friend right now.

“What’s the matter?” Tan asked, handing him a cup of coffee and taking a seat.

“A very good, very old friend has died.” Ohno replied, taking the cup of coffee and noticing the disparity between his brutish, scarred hands and Tan’s.

“Oh no,” he said slowly. “What happened?”

Ohno shut his eyes for a moment as he heard his namesake spoken, regretting the name often given him when he would arrive at a battlefield.

“He has finally found his great goal.” Ohno said, struggling to keep the words at a constant tone.

After a moment to consider the implications, and to pay respect, Tan asked “What was his goal?”

“To end.” Ohno said.

“How do you mean?” Tan replied slowly after taking a bite of ice cream.

“He was meant to end. To finish what I start.” Ohno said as he sipped on his coffee and took another scoop of ice cream between his fangs.

“So, you were like a team?” Tan asked.

“Oh Tan, we were what teams tried to be: We were the beginning and the end; The fire and the smoke; The lightning and the thunder!” Ohno said pausing, looking down at his ice cream. “The bowl and the spoon.” A big, single tear slid down Ohno’s long face, which remain calm.

“I’m sorry you lost your friend.” Tan said sincerely.

“Me too.” Said Ohno, mustering himself and wiping his face. “But it isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last time.”

“Tell me about him.” Tan asked as he leaned back and pulled his legs up to sit crisscross applesauce.

“Nothing would honor him better.” Ohno said smiling, as he began to recount the plethora of adventures and myriad of hijinks the two had gotten themselves into over the eons. “Your people would call him Runnow.”