Charlie was worried, I could tell.
I knew Charlie better than anyone.
When I asked him what was wrong,
He hesitated a long time before answering.
"We may be moving away, " said Charlie.
Those words hit me like a kick in the
chest by a horse's hoof. That had happened
to me once, and this felt the same.
"Why would you be moving? " I asked
when I finally found my voice.
"My dad just lost a huge sum of money,
and I don't think he can pay what he owes."
"Even worse, it may be just my dad who
is leaving. He may be leaving me and
my mom behind. I dreamed last night
that he was in a U-Haul truck, all alone."
"That's because you and your mom
would follow in the car, Charlie."
"Logical, except in my dream I could
see the car being towed behind
the truck, and it was empty! "
"How did he lose the money, Charlie? "
"He bet a huge sum of money
that I would beat Bobby Fischer in that
simultaneous exhibition up in Ogden."
"Why would he do that? You had never
even played before! How could he
expect you to win? "
"My dad thinks I'm a genius, " he said.
"And I should have beat him, too.
I had a forced win in seven moves, but I
pretended not to see it and offered
the draw. Bobby snapped it up! "
"Why on earth didn't you just
beat him when you had the chance? "
"Because Bobby's ego couldn't take it.
I could see it in his face. I knew he
was losing one other game, and I
just couldn't do that to him! He could
never take losing to a fourteen-year-old."
"He was only fourteen when a lot of
other people lost to him, " I said dryly.
"That's different, " said Charlie, but I
really couldn't see how.
(To be continued)
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Really enjoying The Seer where was I? Should have checked your site much more. busy is no excuse