Bus Journey, 1972.

Bus Driver
Lady 1
Lady 2
Young man
Young boy
Older friend
Bus
A bus is on its way from the west end of town, through the center, stopping by Laugardalur and to the outskirt of town. It is the so called number four route.
By the sea, a few stops into the journey, a woman comes on the bus, she is carrying a handbag, which hangs loosely, one could even argue nonchalantly on the shoulder and a carrier bag of what one can presume, of fodd. She sits down on the fourth row, there are many empty seats, but she chooses the one next to another lady.
No one is talking, although after a couple of stops, a conversations starts. A gentleman has gotten on the bus and sits down behind them, he seems like a young gentleman and is eading a book, by Halldor Laxness a book about old and new times. Apart from that the bus is empty, it is still early hours on a Saturday, the weather is not bad.

After a silent moment, where the wind has stopped beating the windows, a conversation starts.
Lady 1: Have you been to the Chess?
Lady 2: Yes of course, have you?
Lady 1: No I don't really know the moves? (rattles with her handbag and looks out of the window while the conversations continues) Did you enjoy it?
Lady 2: Yes, of course, the tension was so high (her eyes lit up and a big smile is on her face) that some people spent the whole day and perhaps the whole Championship without saying a word.
Lady 1: The old man, in the pharmacy on the corner of the lake, said that in the youth Icelandic Chess Championship there was so much pushing and shoving that one could hardly get one's ten drops of coffee(shaking her head in disbelief).
Lady 2: Well one had to expect the most of the nation at a moment like this, no? (with a firm and decisive voice)
A child and an older friend have now entered the bus, empty handed and they sit opposite the two elder ladies. the child is well behaved and the older friend does not stop talking about strategies and other occurences.
Lady 2: Me and everyone I know support Spassky.
Lady 1: Oh yeah?
Lady 2: Yes we find Fischer kind of rude and just plainly a strange man.
Child: My brother likes Fischer and wants to be like him and compete in the next World Chess Championship, he has collected EVERYTHING (moving his hands in the air in one and another direction) to do with the game and emulates all his movements on the chessboard.
Lady 2: Good on him.
The child and older friend get off at the central station, the one that is opposite the Police station with a clear view of Esja, the mountain which brings the winter coming, little snow has started to top the mountain, the view is clear and crisp.
Lady 2: I can see Fischer is a very economic player, this enormous ability to win by pressure, there is little creativity in his chess, it is much more pragmatic.
Lady 1. Hmmmm (rattling once again with her handbag).
Lady 2: While Spassky seemed a little bit nervous for a bit, it was like Fischer was psyching him. I like Fischer’s fighting spirit though, well it is both his weakness and strength. He is almost child like (enjoying the moment of Chess talk). While Spassky has a more all round, universal style of playing.
Lady 1: For the Soviets though, chess was part of life, but I am certain Fischer carried a certain burden, don’t you think?
Lady 2: He seemed under a tremendous pressure in the last games, especially after Fischer had demanded they go through the rooms looking for devices. He was so paranoid, was he not, after all what did they find:
Lady 1: Two dead flies. I heard that on the radio news.


The bus after a small break at the main station, continues its journey, by now a new man has go on the bus.
Younger Gentleman: Spassky (dressed in a very classical black raincoat, carries a briefcase, a serious looking man) will win tonight (surprising the ladies with the comment, which is very very firm in its tone).
Lady 1: How can you be so sure of that?
Younger Gentleman: The old lady in the west end of town, you know the one living just by the old harbour, dreamt it last night.
Lady 1: Oh then it must be true (with formal tone in her voic.e)