Picture this, one day you wake up in a small hole, dug down around a metre deep. You lay there, staring upwards, the day was silent, with the grey clouds blanketing the sky. A gust of wind soon interrupts your mindless thoughts, and you begin to shiver. Wearing nothing more than a thin plain white shirt accompanied by a pair of grey sweatpants and a black hoodie, you begin to twist and turn in that hole of yours to find any sort of comfort or warmth. With no luck you stand up to look around only to find a short stocky man, holding a shovel. He wore a chiselled chin pairing with a bush-like beard, he asks you what you were doing. Wishing to make light of the awkward situation you try to lighten the mood by replying “a whole lotta nothing”. Staring blankly at the man you eagerly await his response to what you feel like was a great joke. To your relief, he let out a long hearty laugh and offers a hand which you gladly accept and manage to pull yourself out.
You look around, to your surprise the empty looking day was actually filled with wonders, to your left was the deep blue sea which reaches out for what seemed like an eternity and to your right was a beautiful orchid decorated with many beautiful trees, or well was beautiful as the leaves scattered on the floor like a mosaic, leaving nothing but the bare skeletons standing. The man in his gruff thick Russian accent points towards the trees and tells you to find the greatest tree in the orchid.
While you slowly trudge through the barren soil, your eyes dart left and right, up and down, there was nothing special about the place yet, you were entranced, the aromatic scent of the morning dew enticing you. She grabbed your hand and began to waltz, her every move charming you further into love. However, to your annoyance another gust of wind soon broke your trance, sweeping her off her feet and carrying her into the evening sky. Leaving nothing but a cold spear to your heart you, in a desperate attempt to warm yourself up begin to sprint.
A useless attempt, you think to yourself as you shiver, clutching your knees while trying to regain your breath. Once ready, you look up at the gate in front, the scarred wood triumphantly stood exclaiming its longevity through the years with old with green vines dangling like ornaments on a Christmas tree. You slide through the small gap between the two doors to find yourself standing before the sea of trees, from the exterior it seemed nothing more than a humble orchid, but this was amazing, it was like you left to the land of oz, however, instead of being swept away by a tornado you found yourself in a hole, how boring you think to yourself. You take 3 steps forward before you hear someone yell out, on your left a tall lean man began waving his book around. You walk up to the gentlemen and nod, he seemed like he was in his 60s, wearing a deep navy-blue suit accompanied by navy blue pants. He asked you if the Russian man also sent you here to look for the greatest tree to which you nod. You peer behind him to find a tall yet frail tree with nothing more than the bark remaining. You point to the tree on his left which was clearly much larger and alive and ask, “why not this one?”. The man simply shrugs, leans back on the tree and simply replies, “I mean, every tree is beautiful, you just got to just pick one”. Unconvinced by the man’s rather philosophical response, you begin walking deeper into the orchid in pursuit of evidence to prove the man wrong.
On the floor were pieces of broken yellow bricks which you safely assume was once a road, just follow the yellow brick road you think to yourself and you begin to slowly pace yourself down the winding route. The path seemed to never end with the next turn revealing nothing but trees. Disappointingly, the yellow brick road did not lead to the Emerald City and once again you at the end of the road, find yourself standing in front of the blue-suited man.
“Any luck?”, he grins while flipping through the pages on his book.
You shake your head, and the man stands up and extends his hand, “The names Ivan, Ivan Poly”.
You take his hand and reply with a firm handshake to which he invites you to sit down. Before you, a board game you have never seen was standing on the plain red carpet. It was some mixture of chess, Jenga and monopoly. You in a desperate attempt to piece the three completely different games into one, ask Ivan how to play.
“Well, it’s simple really, first it’s my move”.
“Your move?”
“Now, you roll your dice and move your pieces, here like this”.
“Wait this seems like a normal game of chess, what’s the dice for?”
“Well depending on the dice roll, you acquire certain properties and build your tower.”
“So, it’s all luck?”
“I guess you can say that”.
You stare intently at the game trying to work your mind around the rules, he however ignoring you, continues to play, rolling, moving, and his tower began to grow.
Finally, after a few minutes of silence, a gust of wind ran by and kicked the monumental tower he worked so hard to build.
“Oh, and one more thing, try not to knock the tower down”.
“Now what?”
“It’s your move”.
“Sure, is a lot of rules”.
“I guess so”.
“This doesn’t seem like much fun”.
“Doesn’t matter if it’s fun or not, it how you play the game”.
“Games are supposed to be fun though, this just seems like a chore”.
“Most games are fun, but this is THE game we are talking about, you play to win, not for fun”.
“Let’s go do something fun then, how about catch?”.
“Oh, come on it’s been 60 years, we got be nearing the end somehow”.
“Fine, but when does the game end?”
“I’m not sure exactly”.
“You’re not sure?!”
“It’s been too long, I forgot how it ends”.
You sat there in a daze, Ivan hasn’t finished the game nor is it fun yet he plays it. You begin to rub your temples processing every word in your conversation and finally, your eyes widen. It was like the lightbulb on top of you finally lit, you understand now. You feel a bit idiotic though, not only did you lose the argument, but your dignity as well.
“There’s no place like home”.
Ivan smiled and nodded his head as a final goodbye, and you leave returning to what you call home.
The hole you woke up in was now gone, replaced by a small sprout peeking up out of the barren ground. You lay down once again and stare upwards, towards the sky. The clouds were dancing through the evening sky. The sun, using the sky as its canvas began to paint an orange and yellow hue over the clouds. Once again, the icy wind began to rise, but this time, you seem not to mind, you greet your old friend with open arms and wait. Surely enough your thoughts begin to drift, and you find yourself falling into a tranquil slumber.
