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It was nice having the house all to yourself. Carnistir wasn’t going to use the chance to pull pranks as Tyelkormo would have done, he was just glad that no one would disturb him while he was busy. Well, father was at home, but in addition to taking care of baby Atarinkë, he had a meeting with Nolofinwë. Besides, he wasn’t in the habit of annoying Carnistir. Mother was working, and Carnistir’s three older brothers had sneaked off to somewhere. Carnistir sat in front of his table and looked at the shiny, colorful shapes scattered over it. Father had made this toy for him. He called it Bricks, but there were other shapes too. Round and angular, oval and cubic; there was everything. It was beautiful, and best of all, it had been made especially for Carnistir. Not for Maitimo, not for Makalaurë, not for Tyelkormo. Not even for baby Atarinkë. For him. Father had said that it was possible to make anything with it. Carnistir had already made a flower, a lion and a tower. He had made a few small castles. Now he was going to make a big one. He started by putting a few gray squares together. The foundation was ready, but he couldn’t decide how to proceed from there. He scratched his head. Father was droning on in a distant chamber, like a thunderstorm behind a closed window. It was interrupted from time to time by Nolofinwë’s clear voice. At one point Atarinkë started crying. Father sang for him, and Nolofinwë hummed along. Carnistir took a few rectangles and put them vertically to serve as walls for the castle. He heard footsteps in the corridor and sighed. At first, he thought it was one of his brothers returning, but the face that appeared at his door belonged to his half-cousin Turukáno. Carnistir almost rolled his eyes. Had Nolofinwë had to bring one of his sons with him? There went the pleasant day Carnistir had envisioned. He decided to pretend he hadn’t noticed Turukáno for as long as he could and continued to raise the walls of his castle. It didn’t last long.“Good afternoon, Carnistir,” Turukáno said very formally.He sounded exactly like his father. Carnistir snickered. Turukáno always acted and talked like Nolofinwë, probably to compensate for the fact that he did not look like him at all. Both of Nolofinwë’s sons greatly resembled their mother. Carnistir’s father sometimes made snide remarks about it when he was in a very bad mood, but recently he had stopped, as he’d noticed that Maitimo would press his lips in a thin line and look miserable whenever he did that. Carnistir only nodded in response to Turukáno’s greeting like his father did when someone he considered annoying attempted to make conversation.“What are you doing?” Turukáno inquired. He had invited himself into Carnistir’s room. His half-cousins apparently had no sense of personal boundaries. “Nothing,” Carnistir muttered.“What is that?” Turukáno asked, pointing at Bricks. His eyes were wide and shiny, but thankfully he was polite enough not to touch what didn’t belong to him. Carnistir did not like Turukáno. He was Nolofinwë’s son, and worse, he spent all his time with Findaráto. Carnistir liked Findaráto even less. Everyone was in love with him. He was younger than Carnistir, but he was oh so talented. He could sing, he could dance, he was polite and well-behaved, his smile lit up the palace. Blegh. Maitimo and Makalaurë were fond of him too, but Maitimo was also fond of Findekáno, so he didn’t count. More worrisome was Tyelkormo’s friendly disposition towards their half-cousin. Even father had smiled once when Findaráto had come up to him, shaking his stupid golden head, and had given him a wooden swan.But Turukáno was looking at the shapes with his mouth slightly open, and Carnistir felt that his reverence deserved an answer.“It’s a toy,” he said.“Oh,” Turukáno said, “I have never seen anything like it.”“My father made this,” Carnistir said proudly, “It’s called Bricks. You can combine these shapes and make anything you want.”Turukáno’s eyes went even wider. “What are you making?” he whispered.“A castle,” Carnistir said. “It does not look like a castle,” Turukáno observed.Carnistir glared. “I only just started. Now be silent and let me work.”It was his polite way of telling Turukáno to get out, but apparently, his half-cousin wasn’t smart enough to understand. He did shut his mouth, though, and watched Carnistir arrange the shapes with an awed expression. The castle started growing slowly, but as soon as Carnistir reached the roof, one of the walls collapsed. Carnistir banged his fist on the table, but lightly, so the rest of the construction wouldn’t fall apart.“If you put this small piece here, the walls will hold better,” Turukáno suggested.Carnistir glared harder but had to admit that Turukáno had a point. He followed his half-cousin’s advice. “You can use this triangle here,” Turukáno said, a little bolder.Carnistir nodded. The castle was coming along nicely. It was going to be huge, with many high towers. Carnistir took a star and attached it over the gate. “Where do you think this piece should go?” he asked Turukáno, taking a hexagon. Turukáno pointed to the roof. “It will be a base for a tower,” he said.“Good idea,” Carnistir said, “This other tower can have a pentagonal base.”Turukáno grinned enthusiastically. In his excitement, he reached for one of the shapes but snatched his hand away before Carnistir would manage to yell at him.“Sorry,” he said, “The blue triangle would look great over there.”Carnistir didn’t answer but put the triangle where Turukáno wanted it. A few finishing touches and the castle was ready. Carnistir couldn’t believe how big it was. “May I please make the pool?” Turukáno asked quietly.“The pool?” Carnistir said.“I thought the castle would have a pool in front of it,” Turukáno explained, “Like grandfather’s palace.” He looked pleadingly at Carnistir. “I promise I will be careful,” he added hurriedly, “I will not break anything.”Carnistir hesitated, but Turukáno had helped him make his biggest castle so far and had not annoyed him much in the process. “All right,” he said, “But careful.”Turukáno nodded eagerly. His hand was trembling a little when he brought it to the pieces. He gasped when he touched a blue pentagonal plate, then took a deep breath and put it in front of the castle. “This is water,” he explained unnecessarily.He took five grey rectangles and attached them to each other around the pool. After that, he found a small, narrow, ridged cylinder and put it on the water. “Here is the fountain,” he said, grinning. He took a step back and inclined his head to a side, looking at the castle. “It is very pretty,” he said.Carnistir also grinned. It was indeed pretty. They stared at it mesmerized for a while.“Now let’s pull it apart,” Carnistir said.“What? No! Why?” Turukáno said, distressed.“So we can make something else,” Carnistir shrugged, “We can make a giant or-or a ship. Let’s make a ship!”Turukáno looked unconvinced but nodded reluctantly. They dismantled the castle and were just starting on the ship when Nolofinwë’s voice rang out in the corridor. “Turukáno, where are you? We are leaving.” Turukáno sighed and slid down the chair. “I have to go,” he told Carnistir.Carnistir nodded. Turukáno had a good eye for the game, but Carnistir could make a ship alone. Turukáno cast a dejected look at Bricks. Carnistir felt his pain. He hadn’t got to make anything except the pool, and the pool wasn’t that important. Carnistir looked at his cousin’s trembling lower lip and rolled his eyes. Turukáno was such a baby.“Wait,” he said.He took the wooden box where he kept the shapes and quickly arranged them inside. Then he thrust the box into Turukano’s hands. “Here,” he said.Turukáno looked at him in shock. “What?”“You may take it,” Carnistir said, “Father will make me another set.”In fact, he wasn’t exactly sure that father would, but Turukáno didn’t need to know that.Turukáno stared at him like the dumb baby he was. “Really?”“Yes,” Carnistir said. He thought about telling Turukáno not to let Findaráto play with it but decided against it. Not like Turukáno could say no to Findaráto. Turukáno's eyes were huge. For a moment, Carnistir was worried that he would start crying, but Turukáno did something worse. He smiled brightly and hugged Carnistir with one arm, holding the box with the other. “Thank you, cousin,” he whispered.Carnistir muttered something, but even he didn’t understand what. In any case, Turukáno's smile didn’t fade. Nolofinwë called him again, and Turukáno ran away with one last glance at Carnistir.Carnistir watched him go and slumped down on the chair. He looked at the clean table in front of him with longing, regretting his generosity only a little.