Samsaara : Devadoot

Through the Looking Glass

In the garden I saw Omar at the usual place getting beaten by the older guardians in chess, as usual. Why he continued playing that game despite having little to no skill in it, I had no idea.

However, his doggedness was certainly admirable. He sat there with his hand on his forehead while his side of chess board dwindled in population.

When he saw me he let out a sigh of relief and stood up and said, "Oh man! You came too soon; I was just about to use a secret move to defeat Ojisan here."

The old man of Japanese descent replied in a heavily accented voice, "The only way for Omar-kun to win this match would be if I had a heart attack."

The people in the garden all laughed as Omar got up from this place and said, "Okay, you guys have shown me my place. I do have some work to attend to."

I looked at the board and saw the last few of Omar's chess pieces and noticed a camel staring diagonally at the old man's queen. It looked appetising and I couldn't help myself. I walked up to the board and took the queen out while sacrificing my camel.

"Dang-it!" exclaimed the old man. I turned around to Omar and said, "Now you have a chance," and pulled Omar by his hand and said, "Let's go."

As I was walking away I heard the old Japanese man call out to me, "Oye! Finish the game before you go."

I replied, "Sorry man, we've got some work to do."

I dragged Omar along with me and said, "You are supposed to show me to my room."

"Yes yes, but we don't need to walk there," he said while pulling the core out of his robe pockets.

He opened an Ethereal gate and walked into it. I followed him inside it. We both ended up in a little room about double the size of my room back in Mumbai.

Omar said, "Well this is it. That door is the restroom. You will find everything that you need inside the wardrobe."

"Thanks man," I replied.

He said, "See you tomorrow at 8 A.M. sharp."

I nodded and he walked out of the same Ethereal gate we had stepped in from. I walked around the room and looked into the wardrobe. It had all the essentials which I would need, like toiletries and a change of clothes. It was a bare room, coloured eggshell white: just a door for the wardrobe and another for the restroom.

Sort of like a blank canvas which you can personalise in any way. In Omar's case he personalised it into a messy modern art. Again there were no windows attached, nor did I see any light fixtures, but the room was well lit. I closed the door to my room to get some privacy. Behind the door was another door. I tried to pull it open but it seemed locked. I was far too tired and hardly inquisitive as to what lay behind that door. So I just let it be.

I needed a shower before I fell asleep so I took the robe off and gathered the towel and a bottle of shower gel from the wardrobe and went for a shower. After the shower, I went to bed which was just the right consistency. Not too soft and not to rigid, perfect to Goldilocks-standards. Being too weary to stay up thinking and planning I fell asleep early.