Once I Had Dreams

[chesspolitik]

For Anatoly, the summer days had begun to blur together in an unchanging pattern. He got up, ate if there was something in the cupboard and then made his way to the Russian cafe that was his second home of sorts. After copious amounts of tea and perhaps a blini or two pushed on him by the grand old lady who was a co-owner of the place, he walked over to the park and joined the group at the outdoor chess tables. When the light began to fail, he wandered around the city for several hours before returning to the cafe and whatever the special of the evening was. He stayed until closing and then, only then, did he return home to sleep.

It was not an exciting existence but it was all he could manage at the moment. The chaos of the past few months had left him with a desire to simply exist without complications or feelings – to, in short, be the thoughtless automaton that Trumper had often accused him of being. If he didn’t form connections or friendships then perhaps the city would leave him out of whatever nonsense it had in mind. This would no doubt work as well here as it did other places but until he was forced to admit otherwise, he chose to believe this would work.

All that said, he did have to admit that the best part of the day was when he was surrounded by his fellow chess enthusiasts. He was happy enough to be surrounded by people and even to indulge in idle chatting with his opponents. His only rule was to keep the topic light and free of weighty topics – people wishing to have in-depth conversations were invited to choose another table.

This particular afternoon, he had arrived at the park to find that his favorite table had been claimed by Mischka, a particularly obnoxious man who, in Anatoly’s opinion, was neither as talented a chess player nor as charming as he thought he was. They had clashed a few time before and rather than give Mischka the satisfaction of reacting angrily, he simply chose a different table and meticulously began to set the board.

He was idly rolling the white bishop between his fingers when a shadow crossed the board. He stopped fidgeting and looked up with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. “Ah, hello,” he said.

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[openagain]

Susie often crossed through the park on her way to a particular grocer she liked. While it did not remind her of any home she'd ever had, there was a certain peace she found in it on these warm, sunny days. The peace was threatened a bit by the tension she felt, brittle sparks of harsh red amid soft, lush greens.

In the middle of it all, was a familiar face, a man whose name she could not recall but whose kindness she did.

Approaching him, she smiled warmly, asking, "Do you mind playing with a novice?"