the art of naming the night

Chapter One: Sonata in the Night.

Autumn 2022.

A light drizzle falls from the grey sky, gently wetting the city streets.

It's autumn, and occasionally, one can see pedestrians without umbrellas hurrying by, covering their heads with their hands.

In the narrow alley of military and civilian homes, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy sits opposite an old man under the awning of a small supermarket.

Outside the awning, the whole world is dim, the ground soaked black by the rain, leaving only a dry patch under the awning as if it's the last piece of pure land in the world.

The boy has a clean face and clear eyes, dressed in a simple school uniform.

In front of them is an old wooden chessboard, under the red sign of "Fortune Supermarket".

"Checkmate," says the boy, Sergio Q., as he stands up, leaving the balding old man sitting in place.

"I can still..." the old man says reluctantly, "It's only been thirteen moves..."

Sergio Q. looks at him calmly and says, "No need to struggle."

The chessboard is filled with imminent threat, the final moment of trap and dagger revealed.

The old man tosses the chess piece he's holding onto the board, conceding defeat.

Sergio Q., as if no one else is there, walks to the supermarket counter, takes 20 dollars from the change basket under the counter, and puts it in his pocket.

The old man curses as he watches Sergio Q.: "Every day I lose 20 dollars to you! I just won 20 dollars from Old Li and Old Zhang this morning, and now it's all lost to you! The fortune teller said I would live to seventy-eight, I'm only fifty now. If I lose 20 dollars to you every day, how much will I lose?"

"But I also taught you chess to win back your dignity from them," Sergio Q. puts the money away and sits back down beside the chessboard, calmly responding, "So, you're not at a loss."

The old man mumbles, "But what you've taught these two days is all useless."

Sergio Q. looks at him and says, "Don't talk about yourself like that."

The old man: "???"

Annoyed, the old man resets the chessboard and then hurriedly says, "Alright, alright, let's review the game."

At this moment, Sergio Q. suddenly lowers his head.

The time that just passed seemed to replay in his mind.

The bishop at the corner, the house forking the queen.

But that's not all.

There was also the uncle who walked past them while they were playing chess, carrying four freshly bought sesame seed cakes, the just-baked cakes exuding some steam, fogging up the clear plastic bag with a layer of white mist.

A little girl in a white dress walked by with her umbrella, her small leather shoes adorned with two beautiful butterflies.

Above the sky, the drifting rain fell into the alley, crystal clear.

At the end of the alley, the No. 103 bus flashed by the narrow entrance, with a woman in a beige trench coat running towards the bus stop with her umbrella raised

The sound of footsteps, the sound of rainwater flowing into the drain covers by the road, these noisy sounds made the world seem exceptionally quiet instead.

Sergio Q. never forgot all of this.

This peculiar memory was a talent Sergio Q. was born with, as if he had casually pulled out an archive from the long river of time and then read the images stored on that archival tape.

Sergio Q. picked up a chess piece on the board.

The old man was fully focused on the chessboard, and this review after each game was also part of the gambling agreement: Sergio Q. was responsible for teaching chess, and the old man would learn after losing money.

This scene was somewhat eerie; the youth did not have the humility and shyness that should be shown in front of an elder, but instead, he was more like a teacher.

When white play d4, you play e5 sacrifice your pawn. If white take it then knight c6, white knight f3, black queen e7, white bishop f4 keep defending the e5 pawn. we play queen b4, white queen d2, black queen b2 ......

Sergio Q. moved the chess pieces step by step.

The old man didn't even blink his eyes; the opening moves were all normal, but he couldn't figure out how, by the sixth move, even though he had captured the opponent's pawn, he suddenly found himself in a losing position.

"England gambit is to develop their queenside knight to c6, hitting the e5-pawn and following it up by either focusing on development or setting up a trap."

Sergio Q. said quietly, "I watched the game you played with Old Li in Wenchang Park the day before yesterday. He loves to use d4 opening, you can beat him easily with using this opening."

The old man's face showed a hint of joy.

But then he suddenly asked, "If it takes me a week to beat him, how long would I need to learn chess to beat you?"

Under the rain shelter, Sergio Q. seriously pondered, "Did the fortune teller say you could live to seventy-eight...then it's too late."

The old man's expression froze: "If you talk less, maybe I could live to seventy-nine... Hey, shouldn't you be at evening self-study right now? Why did you get off school so early today?"

Sergio Q. thought for a moment and replied, "I'm waiting for someone."

"Waiting for someone?" The old man was momentarily stunned.

Sergio Q. stood up and looked out at the alley outside the rain shelter, his gaze drifting in the rain curtain of the alley, without answering any further.

The old man said, "You're so good at chess, why don't you participate in a chess competition? Didn't you say you were short of money? Winning the championship also earns you some."

Sergio Q. shook his head: "I just have many chess manuals memorized in my mind, it's fine to play with you guys, but I would show my inadequacy against a real master. My path isn't here; chess is just temporary."

"All memorized in your mind..." The old man sighed: "I used to think that having a photographic memory was just something made up by others."

The rain slowly stopped.

At this moment, the old man noticed Sergio freeze for a second.

Following the young man's gaze, he happened to see a couple walking towards them with a little boy.

The middle-aged woman was wearing a refined trench coat, holding a cake box tied with a beautiful purple ribbon in her hand.

The dim world couldn't hide the joy on the three people's faces. Sergio Q. turned and left, leaving the old man sitting under the rain shelter in front of Fuli Supermarket, sighing softly.

The middle-aged woman saw Sergio's back; she called out Sergio's name, but Sergio, without turning his head, disappeared at the end of the alley.

The walls on both sides of the alley were old, and after the white paint had peeled off, patches of mottled red bricks were exposed.

The person, Sergio was waiting for had arrived, yet he no longer wanted to wait.