Bodin was a few years older than me, but painfully shy. I met him when we were still young. He looked stiff as a board and hardly said a word.
I wasn’t having that.
“Who are you?” I demanded in my tinging youthful voice.
“Bo-Bo-Bodin.”
“Bo? Or Din?” I teased.
“Bo…din.” He chewed his lip and shifted nervously.
“Well, Din,” I caught his hand. “Let’s go play.”
“Bo…”
“I don’t care.” I d**g him behind me. Taking him to a chessboard.
“Do you know how to play?” I pulled out a chair.
He gave me a long look. “N-no…”
So I spent the next several months teaching him how. Until he substantially improved. Though I always still won.
His father and mine were close friends so he was around a lot. A fact which I didn’t mind as I often found things to mentor the meek boy in.
***
When I was abou
