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.
修车摊就在公园里一棵大橡树下。摊上有一只打气筒、一个架子，还有六件用细链子拴着的工具。每个星期六，罗汉都在这里免费干活。
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.
他十六岁。他喜欢这份活儿，因为人们会一边看他干活一边跟他聊天，说说自己的自行车、自己的工作，有时还说起自己的生活。
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.
修车摊旁边有一张小木桌，桌面上画着棋盘，一只布袋里装着棋子。谁都可以坐下来下一盘。
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.
今天，一个高个子男孩独自坐在桌边。他叫加里克，每个星期都来，跟路过的任何人对弈，而且几乎每次都赢。
Garrick opens the cloth bag. He puts the pieces on the board one by one. Then he stops.
加里克打开布袋，把棋子一颗一颗摆上棋盘，然后停住了。
"One white knight is not here," he says.
“少了一匹白马，”他说。
Rohan stops pumping a tire. "Are you sure?"
罗汉停下给轮胎打气的手。“你确定吗？”
"I counted twice." Garrick holds up one white knight. "There should be two."
“我数了两遍。”加里克举起一匹白马，“应该有两匹的。”
"Maybe it fell in the grass."
“也许掉进草丛里了。”
"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."
“也许吧。”加里克盯着棋盘看了好一会儿，“今天可不行。我明天就搬去另一座城市了，这是我在这里的最后一盘棋。”
Rohan puts down the pump. He does not know that. Garrick is a quiet boy, and he never says much about himself.
罗汉放下打气筒。这件事他完全不知道。加里克是个安静的男孩，从来不怎么说自己的事。
"Who will you play?" Rohan asks.
“你要跟谁下？”罗汉问。
"You." Garrick smiles a little. "You always say you cannot play. So I want to teach you one last time."
“跟你。”加里克微微一笑，“你总说你不会下，所以我想最后再教你一次。”
Rohan laughs. "I can play. I just lose."
罗汉笑了。“我会下，只是总输。”
"That is the same as not playing." Garrick sits up straight. "Can we start at six? After you close the stand?"
“那跟不会是一回事。”加里克坐直了身子，“我们六点开始好吗？等你收了摊以后。”
"Yes," Rohan says. Then he hears himself say more. "And I promise you a full board. I will find the knight."
“好，”罗汉说。接着，他听见自己又多说了一句：“我保证给你一副完整的棋。我会把那匹马找回来。”
The words come out easily. Only later does Rohan feel how big the promise is.
这话说得很轻易。直到后来，罗汉才感觉到这个承诺有多重。
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.
十点钟，一位女士推来一辆断了链条的自行车。十一点，一位男士要换一根新的刹车线。罗汉干得很快，可他总是不停地看桌子周围的草地。
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.
中午，他开始找。他绕着橡树走了一圈，看了长椅底下，翻了小路边的垃圾桶，还被一只黄蜂追得落荒而逃。
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.
两点，他问了一个牵狗的女孩，她没见过什么棋子。三点，他问了卖冰淇淋的男人，那人笑着说他只卖冰淇淋。
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.
四点，罗汉坐在草地上，觉得又累又有点傻。一颗棋子那么小，公园却那么大。
At five, he checks the clock on his phone. One hour left. He has no knight and no idea.
五点，他看了看手机上的时间，只剩一个小时了。他没有马，也没有主意。
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.
他望向修车摊，工具挂在链子上，架子上放着一盒旧零件：刹车片、螺栓、一只弯了的脚踏板、一只生锈的车铃。
Rohan picks up a rubber brake pad. It is black, small, and heavy. It is almost the same size as a chess piece.
罗汉拿起一块橡胶刹车片。它黑黑的，小小的，沉甸甸的，大小和一颗棋子差不多。
An idea comes to him, and it is a strange one.
一个主意冒了出来，而且是个怪主意。
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.
他从包里拿出小刀，坐到凳子上，左手握着刹车片，慢慢地、小心地削出一条长长的脖子，然后是鼻子，再是两只小耳朵。
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.
橡胶很难削。五分钟后，他的手就疼了。可形状渐渐显出来了。他在下面削出一个更大的身子，又削了一个平平的底座，好让这颗棋子能立住。
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.
差十分钟六点，一个男孩来借打气筒。罗汉头也不抬地递给他，他正忙着处理一只小小的橡胶鼻子。
"What are you making?" the boy asks.
“你在做什么？”男孩问。
"A horse," Rohan says. "I hope."
“一匹马，”罗汉说，“我希望是。”
"It looks like a rabbit."
“看起来像只兔子。”
"Thank you. That is kind."
“谢谢，你真好心。”
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.
六点整，加里克穿过草地走来，肩上挂着书包。他看见罗汉一动不动地坐在凳子上。
"Did you find it?" Garrick asks.
“找到了吗？”加里克问。
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.
罗汉摊开手。他的掌心里立着一匹小小的黑马。它不怎么好看，一只耳朵比另一只长，鼻子也是歪的。
"I could not find the white knight," Rohan says. "So I made a new one. It is black, but it is all I have."
“我没找到那匹白马，”罗汉说，“所以我做了一匹新的。它是黑的，但这是我仅有的了。”
Garrick looks at it for a long time. He does not smile. Rohan feels sick with worry.
加里克看了很久，没有笑。罗汉担心得心里发慌。
"It is the wrong color," Garrick says.
“颜色不对，”加里克说。
"I know."
“我知道。”
"And it looks like a rabbit."
“而且看起来像只兔子。”
"A boy already told me that."
“已经有个男孩这么跟我说过了。”
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.
加里克接过橡胶马，在指间转来转去。然后，他慢慢地笑了起来，笑声又大又响。罗汉还是第一次听到。
"You promised a full board," Garrick says. "And you kept your promise in a way I did not expect."
“你保证过给我一副完整的棋，”加里克说，“而你遵守诺言的方式，我可是怎么也想不到。”
"Is it okay?" Rohan asks.
“可以吗？”罗汉问。
"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."
“何止可以。普通的一副棋里，每匹马都一模一样。这一匹是你的。今天，它是白的。”加里克把它放在白方一侧，放在那匹丢失的马该在的地方。它在那儿显得又小又怪，却站得很稳。“你执白，黑棋归我。”
"I know how the knight moves."
“我知道马怎么走。”
"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."
“那就走给我看看。”加里克拉出一把椅子。罗汉伸出一根手指按在马上。“它走‘日’字形，是唯一能跳过去的棋子。”
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.
他们坐了下来。太阳低低地挂着，橡树的影子横过桌面。罗汉把双手放在棋盘上，有些紧张，却已准备好了。
Garrick nods at the board. Rohan picks up the rubber knight. He lifts it over the pawns and makes his first move.
加里克朝棋盘点了点头。罗汉拿起那匹橡胶马，抬起来越过那排兵，走出了他的第一步。
