170. A Game of Chess

It was a sunny, Sunday afternoon in the park. As he had done so many times before, the old man sat down at a picnic table and opened his chess board. While he was arranging the chess pieces, a young man appeared.

He smiled at the old man and said, "Let's play a game."

The old man said, "That would be delightful. I most often play against myself, so having a real opponent would make the game so much more enjoyable."

The young man set down, and they began playing.

Suddenly the old man felt something. He looked up and saw that the sky had become cloudy and gray, and that there was a chill in the air. "That's odd," he said to himself, then he turned his attention back to the game. He moved his bishop to protect the queen.

While staring at the board to decide his next move, the young man said to the old man, "Do you think much about dying?"

The old man replied, "Often."

"Why is that," asked the young man.

The old man said, "The answer is obvious. An old man like me has less time to live than a young man like you."

The young man said, "Actually I'm quite old. I just don't show it."

"Yeah right," said the dubious old man.

A cold wind began to blow. The young man seemed oblivious to it, but the old man shuddered and wished he had brought a jacket to the park with him.

The young man continued with his line of questioning. "Are you afraid of death?"

"No," the old man replied, "But I have concerns about dying."

"What do you mean?" The young man asked.

The wind was howling now.

The old man steadied himself from the wind and said, "Well, dying is often quite difficult to deal with. Not many of us die in our sleep, which is sublime. You go to sleep and then... you don't wake up. Dying for most of us involves suffering, suffering from illness or injury that can last for years. Often it's a gradual decay from day to day to day - suffering from day to day to day. Death, on the other hand, is merciful. It ends all suffering."

The young man said, "Oh, I see what you mean." Then he moved his knight and said, "Checkmate."

The old man looked bewildered and said, "How did you do that so quickly?"

The young man smiled and then replied, "That's what happens when you play with Death. It's time for you to come with me."