Sunset in a Cup
Carl D Jenkins“Life is so…” I look up and into the eyes staring back at mine. So clear. So cold. I let go of the words I’ve said so many times before and study the board before me. I know I am only talking to myself.
Click. Slide. Another of my pieces gone. I am red this time.
I look behind the figure across from me at a stack of tables against the far wall. My mind wanders to the first time I ever played checkers. My younger brother had found the game in our uncle’s closet. We had unrolled the rubbery fabric on the grass and played until the wind ripped it away, flinging the pieces into the meadow. Uncle replaced the missing piece with a silver half-dollar and never scolded us.
I slide a piece forward. The glass feels cold as I reach through it, but I must. I do not qu
