Ali circled the small house at the end of the lane. It was getting dark. He noticed an open window. He climbed up a pipe and peeped in. It was actually a bathroom ventilator.

Ali, 16, was of medium height and thin. He slipped in easily through the ventilator. The bathroom door was open and he went in. The room was dark. Suddenly there was an explosion. Startled, Ali jumped back.

“Rajesh...?” He heard someone call. Then there was a click and one corner of the room was bathed in soft light. As Ali watched, an old man on a cot raised his hands and let out a loud sneeze. The sound echoed through the room and Ali realised that this is what he had mistaken for an explosion.

“You are late,” the old man said, looking in Ali’s direction and blinking.

“I sat on my glasses and broke them. Now I am half blind! See, I have set the chessboard for you.”

Ali didn’t know what to do. Should he vanish or should he try to get his hands on to something? The old man looked harmless and there seemed to be no one else in the house.

“What happened, Rajesh? I know it is late. But beta, you know I wait for our game the whole day.”

Ali picked up a rickety chair and sat across the table on which a chessboard was placed. The old man peered at the pieces.

“I can barely see them.”

Ali picked up the table lamp and bent its head. The light now fell on the board.

“Ah, that’s better,” said the old man, picking up his knight.

In the slum where Ali lived, there was a cycle repair shop. It was owned by Yadav, who was crazy about chess. He had taught Ali the basics of the game. And now Ali considered himself a good player.

“Rajesh, you seem to be improving,” remarked the old man. But by now Ali had lost his queen and both the knights.

Soon the old man exclaimed, “Check… and mate.” He clapped his hands. Ali looked at his opponent’s beaming face.

“I truly enjoyed myself today. What about another game?”

Ali grunted and began re-arranging the pieces. “I have to beat him,” Ali thought, as he played his first move.

***

“Who are you?” Ali heard a sharp voice behind him.

He turned around to see a well-built man standing near the door.

“I... ” Ali stammered. The man advanced swiftly, and before he could move away, grabbed him by the collar.

“Answer me!”

“Rajesh, who is this fellow with you?”

“Come on, Baba! What nonsense are you talking? I entered seconds ago and found you and this rascal playing chess. And you ask me who this fellow is? And where are your specs?”

“I… broke them, beta. When I saw this man, I assumed it was you.”

Rajesh shook Ali and growled. “So you are a thief? Don’t you have any shame, breaking into a helpless old man’s house?” He slapped him hard. Ali felt as if he had been kicked by a mule.

“Rajesh beta... I don’t think he has stolen anything. He only played chess with me. In fact, after years I played with someone who really knows the game.”

To be continued

Illustrations:
Onkarnath Bhattacharya