(Shadows)

By Jakob Konger

read the suite from the beginning

(shadow)

(The two old men hardly reacted to the shadow, except maybe to spend less time considering moves in the game of Sorry! they had been playing, a game which the older of the two had snuck into the country some years back and which, in his novice understanding of the game’s language, he called Sorrow!. They were near the end of their third round of Sorrow! when the shadow fell over the table they played on—a grey stone table set against the wall of what had once been the university. Both knew the shadow signified their death. The younger of the two drew a 7 card from the top of the deck and moved his furthest red pawn around a corner of the board. There was nowhere else he could have moved the piece. The existence of the card at the top of the deck required the choice. Never before had he played a game as good as Sorrow!. He had neither to plan his moves ahead based on their consequences nor worry what his opponent might do to harm him. No, in Sorrow! every card was a gift. Every card moved him closer to where he’d have liked to go. When the shadow quickly fell over the board then, he had no desire to stop the game. He could die either running or playing a game he loved, so why not enjoy the time he had? He wanted nothing more than to win his final game. What an end! To die so happy! As the shadow lowered over the two of them though, the wind from its propellers blew the cards from the top of the table and slid his pawns in all directions on the board. There wasn’t even time for him to hold the board in place. He’d never know who’d won his final Sorrow!.)







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