A Quiet Opening

Leaving the house behind, I walked down the brick lane toward the neighborhood park. Beneath an oak canopy stood a heavy concrete chess table, its surface grooved with an etched playing grid. I rested my carved staff against the stone bench and stepped up onto the cool slab. In the outer rank rested a solitary wooden pawn, chipped at the rim and forgotten by past players. With both paws, I gripped its smooth, aged base and nudged it two deliberate squares forward across the line. It settled neatly into the square, patient and resolute under the midday sky.