The Rubber Knight

The repair stand is under a big oak tree in the park. It has a pump, a rack, and six tools on thin chains. Every Saturday, Rohan works there for free.

He is sixteen. He likes the job because people talk to him while he works. They tell him about their bikes, their jobs, and sometimes their lives.

Next to the stand is a small wooden table. A chess board is painted on the top. A cloth bag holds the pieces. Anyone can sit down and play.

Today, a tall boy sits at the table alone. His name is Garrick. He comes every week. He plays against whoever walks by, and he almost always wins.

Garrick opens the cloth bag. He puts the pieces on the board one by one. Then he stops.

"One white knight is not here," he says.

Rohan stops pumping a tire. "Are you sure?"

"I counted twice." Garrick holds up one white knight. "There should be two."

"Maybe it fell in the grass."

"Maybe." Garrick looks at the board for a long moment. "It matters today. I move to another city tomorrow. This is my last game here."

Rohan puts down the pump. He does not know that. Garrick is a quiet boy, and he never says much about himself.

"Who will you play?" Rohan asks.

"You." Garrick smiles a little. "You always say you cannot play. So I want to teach you one last time."

Rohan laughs. "I can play. I just lose."

"That is the same as not playing." Garrick sits up straight. "Can we start at six? After you close the stand?"

"Yes," Rohan says. Then he hears himself say more. "And I promise you a full board. I will find the knight."

The words come out easily. Only later does Rohan feel how big the promise is.

At ten o'clock, a woman brings a bike with a broken chain. At eleven, a man needs a new brake cable. Rohan works fast. But he keeps looking at the grass around the table.

At noon, he starts to search. He walks around the oak tree. He looks under the bench. He looks in the bin by the path. A wasp chases him away.

At two o'clock, he asks a girl with a dog. She does not know of any chess piece. At three, he asks the man who sells ice cream. The man laughs and says he sells only ice cream.

At four, Rohan sits on the grass. He feels tired and a little silly. A chess piece is very small, and the park is very big.

At five, he checks the clock on his phone. One hour left. He has no knight and no idea.

He looks at the repair stand. Tools hang on their chains. A box of old parts sits on the rack. Brake pads, bolts, a bent pedal, a rusty bell.

Rohan picks up a rubber brake pad. It is black, small, and heavy. It is almost the same size as a chess piece.

An idea comes to him, and it is a strange one.

He takes the small knife from his bag. He sits on the stool. He holds the brake pad in his left hand. Slowly and carefully, he cuts a long neck. Then a nose. Then two small ears.

The rubber is hard to cut. His hand hurts after five minutes. But the shape starts to appear. He makes a bigger body at the bottom. He makes a flat base so the piece can stand up.

At ten to six, a boy asks to use the pump. Rohan gives it to him without looking up. He is too busy with a small rubber nose.

"What are you making?" the boy asks.

"A horse," Rohan says. "I hope."

"It looks like a rabbit."

"Thank you. That is kind."

At six o'clock, Garrick walks across the grass. He carries his school bag over his shoulder. He sees Rohan sitting very still on the stool.

"Did you find it?" Garrick asks.

Rohan opens his hand. On his palm stands a small black knight. It is not very beautiful. One ear is longer than the other. The nose is crooked.

"I could not find the white knight," Rohan says. "So I made a new one. It is black, but it is all I have."

Garrick looks at it for a long time. He does not smile. Rohan feels sick with worry.

"It is the wrong color," Garrick says.

"I know."

"And it looks like a rabbit."

"A boy already told me that."

Garrick takes the rubber knight. He turns it around in his fingers. Then, very slowly, he starts to laugh. It is a big, loud laugh. Rohan hears it for the first time.

"You promised a full board," Garrick says. "And you kept your promise in a way I did not expect."

"Is it okay?" Rohan asks.

"It is better than okay. Every knight in a normal set is the same. This one is yours. Today, it is white." Garrick puts it on the white side, where the missing knight goes. It looks small and strange there, but it stands well. "You play white. Black is mine."

"I know how the knight moves."

"Then show me." Garrick pulls out a chair. Rohan puts one finger on the knight. "It goes in an L shape. It is the only piece that can jump."

They sit. The sun is low. The shadow of the oak reaches across the table. Rohan puts his hands on the board, nervous but ready.

Garrick nods at the board. Rohan picks up the rubber knight. He lifts it over the pawns and makes his first move.