CHAPTER 3: PAWN OF GREAT PRICE

THE MAGNIFICENT PIGLETS OF PIGLETSVILLE

In his grandfatherly way, McPorcinski addressed Willie with a warmth that wrapped around the lad’s reluctance. “Ye needn’t stay lurkin’ in the shadows, laddie! Every table yearns for camaraderie; just over there, a seat seems to beckon yer name!” Willie hesitated, with doubts still weighing heavily on his shoulders. Not unlike his first grand steps to the bench, buoyed by an exhilaration of navigating through the murky clouds of Anywhere into the sunlit horizon of Somewhere, these steps toward the table seemed to stretch across an eternity, each stride marked with uncertainty yet laced with determination. Corresponding to the ever-greater exchange of Anything for Something. Finally crossing into their inner circle, his heart pounded a tune of eagerness and apprehension.