A GAME OF ORIENTS

“Are you going to do it or not?”

The words kept bouncing off the walls of Ernie Kashogi's mind at an alarming rate. It would have been easier to pin the blame on someone else but when you have a history of rotten luck, it’s not that simple. He raised his head and noticed that the scenery had not changed; The room was still poorly lit. The faces were still everywhere and nowhere. There was still blood on the floor...

 

Kashogi was a good guy. No, that may not count for much but it was true. A character who rarely got into trouble and when he did, always found a peaceful way out. He was cautious by nature and never did anything without weighing the pros and cons. That’s why even he could not understand how barely winning the lottery and a free trip to Bangkok he had boarded a plane and headed to the east of the globe. 

It wasn’t till he landed and got his bags from the airport that reality washed over him: he couldn’t speak the language. His rush to buy a book ironically titled “Bangkok directions for foreign dummies” proved futile.  Ernie pulled out the little map that had come with the airplane ticket and it still had the same directions on it and at the top of the green folded paper, four words had been traced out;

“The path to follow”

He flipped it over and the bottom left section screamed “The sun rises in the East!. Stay the course!!”. 

Kashogi was just about fed up with the whole exercise: He had taken a rash decision for the first time in a long while, landed in a city with a language he didn’t speak and now passersby thought he was crazy for talking to a piece of paper. Whatever the case, he had to make a decision

“Well, if they can’t understand my language, then they’ll have to understand the language of money”

After finally getting some directions to a hotel and having a sign language battle with the lady at the counter, he paid for a suite and decided to turn in early.

 An unfamiliar sound woke him up by few minutes past midnight so that was the end of sleep. He stepped out of his room and began walking through the hotel only to notice so many rooms left open with sheets and belongings strewn everywhere. After a while, a pattern began to emerge and Ernie followed it all the way to a door with the words “Gratitude” marked over it. It seemed bolted from inside but after giving it a slight nudge he was able to open it. He wished he hadn't...

The room had black walls with ruby water pouring down them. Silent whispers echoed around but he convinced himself it was just the wind. Sitting alone at the table was a man dressed in a suede tuxedo and a peak cap fiddling with a deck of cards. Without looking up, he spoke to Ernie

“You finally made it” he said with a green plastering across his face “I thought the city would have taken you in”

Ernie still couldn’t take his eyes off all that was around him “What is all this? Where am I?”

The figure at the table dropped the cards and motioned for Ernie to have a seat “Well, we’re going to play for human souls and it’s a game of win or lose”

“How will I know if I’m winning?”

“Well…” the man with no name ruffled his hair “the human whose soul you win is about to finish this story. Don't you find this game funny?”

Ernie didn't. With a sigh, Ernie Kashogi made his second rash decision of his life. He knew the land of the orients was not a good place to be but alas it was free. He sat down at the table but before picking up the cards he turned his head, stared off into space, hoping it was going to be more than a game of luck and uttered four words;

“Thank You for Reading”