**THE 'MIND' GAME**

My dad decided to take us to kuala lampur during one of my vacations. We were very excited as can be expected.The tickets were for a week's period.:))

We stayed in a very luxurious and famous hotel called the Renaissance. The Renaissance is located in the heart of the Golden Triangle, a short stroll from the Petronas Twin Towers. It is a 5-star hotel in Malaysia, featuring two wings with a state-of-art convention centre. There were loads of things to discover at the hotel like the Olympic-size pool surrounded by lush palm trees, the large variety of cafes, the fitness centre and most importantly our spacious rooms, which includes high-speed internet, a safe, a mini-bar and plush-bedding.

We had a lovely dinner at one of those cafes that night.
(I won’t mention the name as I can’t recollect it.)
We had spent the day visiting some of the hotspots of Malaysia. When we made it back home , it was night and we were all terribly exausted. There were two rooms. My brother and I slept in one room while my parents slept in the other. I rushed toward my bed,dying to get some well-deserved sleep!:)
                                                                                  
I felt the solace of the plush- covering of my pillow and then all I could remember was visualizing complete darkness. There was an undying darkness that approached my insights, as though forcibly.
I was in a quagmire.

The white‘queen’ moved diagonally and pierced the black‘knight’ within complete safety bounds. I was petrified. My side would lose eventually. Defeat was inevitable. I,being the ‘king’ took a step diagonally. Towards the black centre. The white ‘knight’ forked me and our only hope, the ‘bishop’ together.Was escape possible? Would I ever see my family again? Abstract thoughts about life and death flushed acrossed my mind. I had to move in order to save my blessed arse. And that’s what I did. I moved toward the white centre.

I suddenly felt as though I came to my senses.I saw red and green squares arranged alternately, taking the form of a chess board. I banged my room door. It wouldn’t open.I banged my parent’s door next. I was desperate to get in and back to sleep. I was scared to the bone. I banged again and again,like a madman. A security guard appeared in the scenario.He shouted,his voice like that of a drunk,”hey boy! You stay here?”. I nodded, slowly. He demanded sharply, “how can I believe ya?”.He had the master keys.

 The ‘bishop’,my only hope,was destroyed,right in front of my eyes. I saw the blood. I was disgusted. I felt weak. I had escaped. I had escaped near death. But I was hurt at the sacrifice made at my cost.

I woke up and was glad to find myself on the same spongy bed with my brother on the other bed. I was ,moreover, glad that it was all just another nasty dream in a blissful vacation. I took a bath and we had some delicious coffee together. My mother suddenly started a topic that I found hard to digest. She shouted out to my dad in tamil, “  You know,there was this madman ringing the bell and banging our door,making a huge racket.” My Dad just shrugged it off and laughed. I sat at my chair, unable to take in another sip of coffee. I just stared at mom, as though frozen still. It suddenly  dawned on me that I had imagined the green-red mat arranged neatly across the corridor to be a chess-board. That wasn’t all,my dad then said in tamil, “ It seems a security guard collapsed all of a sudden and passed away at around 3:45am in the night. It must have been an heart-attack. He was old and drunk anyway.what do you guys think?”. There was no response. No one bothered to reply. For me things were different-I COULDN’T reply.

Firstly,I was sleep-walking.                                                                                      
Secondly, I have no idea how I could get back in my room without the keys, or my brother actually opening the door.                                                                               
Thirdly,there was most probably a death right in front of my eyes.
Fourthly,i really don't think he had a heart attack!
i still don’t know what exactly could’ve happened. It’s a mystery to me.
My mind was playing games with me....