The Will of the Man by Liubomyr Vovnianko

“The job is done!

However, we covered the wood with a varnish that leaves behind a rather specific odour that is not harmful to health. Most people prefer to cover it with some additional material. What would you prefer to do? We have both different types of wallpaper and brick-like plasters,” said the builder.

The man walked into the newly built room to understand more precisely what the builder was asking him. Suddenly, his lungs were filled with an unusual but extremely familiar smell. Yes, it was the smell of varnished wood. “Very strange.”

“How could I know it?” the man began to think. Without warning, his consciousness drew attention to an old stream of memories that had almost died in the infinite amount of life data.

“I know!” the man shouted in his head. It was the same smell that had come from the probably similarly varnished wooden chessboard in the man’s childhood.

He immediately recalled all the weeks he had enjoyed playing chess with his grandfather, who had taught him the rules of the game:

“E4!” says the grandfather, starting the classic opening with white moving the centre pawn forward.

“E5!” replies the little boy (this man as a child) with his move of his central black pawn…

It was probably 30 years ago, or even more. Unfortunately, the grandfather is no longer alive, but the man still plays chess, online, thanks to an app on his phone.

“So, what material do you want me to use to finish the wood?” the builder reminded us of his presence for the second time. He wanted to finish this area today, so he could move on to his next client in another city.

“Nothing. Leave it as it is, I'm fine with it,” the man finally answered, not yet fully recovering from the maelstrom of forgotten memories.

The builder looked at the client in surprise, because this was a very unusual response in his experience.

“Whatever” he thought, “Everyone has something on their mind. Anyway, this man is the one who pays. It's his will.”

The smell of the varnished wood began to lose its sharpness over time, but the homeowner was happy he decided not to cover it completely at that moment.