In retrospect it was a blessing that I was out of town that day.

The call came in at 4:55 PM. Where was grandmaster Orange? The school is about to open for classes and he wasn’t there. My heart fell to the floor. He was always two hours early for work.

I knew there was something terribly wrong. The next four months were about to unfold as the worst of my life.

♠♠

November 2, 2022