The Hall Of No Escape: A Dream Or A Reality?

By Yatin Phatak

It was a hall of an overflowing crowd. A crowd of humans. Reds, Yellows, Blacks, Whites. Most of them were the Sumos, The Big Shows, The Great Khalis, The Mark Henrys, and The Undertakers. They were all standing on top of each other, walking on each other, crushing each other. They filled the hall from wall to wall, from floor to ceiling. The hall was enormous. It was bigger than an elephant, taller than the Burj Khalifa, and louder than a thunderstorm. But the people were not making any noise. They had noise cancellation earbuds in their ears, but they were not listening to anything or anyone. They had closed their eyes, but they were not blind. They were not seeing anything. They were all silent, except me.

I was different from them. I was not fat , tall, and muscular as them. But I had a special ability. I could bend my body in any way I wanted. I could sit on myself. I could curl up into a ball, and twist my body into any shape. I was the only one who could do that. And I was also the only one who was reading a book in the hall‌, sitting on myself.

The name of the book was "Sky has no limit" by Andy Bhindra. I bought it last year in the discount shop. It was a random pick. Actually, at that discount shop, it was a unusual experience there. One should pick up a book and tell it to the table guy. The table guy would announce the name of the author of the book, and he would appear. The point here is that the author himself handed it over to me.

"Hey, you look like someone who likes a good challenge," he said to me with a sharp face and a confident smile.

"Uh, sure, I guess," I said, not knowing what he meant.

"Well, then you should read this book. It's about a game that has no rules, no boundaries, no endings. It's a game that will test your limits and push you beyond them."

He handed me the book and blinked at me.

"It's signed by me, by the way. Just in case you become a fan."

He walked away before I could say anything.

I looked at the book and took in the smell. Hmm.. It sounded interesting enough. I decided to give it a try.

Now I was on page 99 of his book. The line I read and stopped at was "Games don't need to have endings. But your game has."

When I read that line, I felt irritated and shut the book.

How on earth could he say something like that!

I opened my eyes.

And there he was.

Mr. Andy Bhindra himself.

He was standing right in front of me, just an arm's length away.

He looked very serious.

He put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed it hard.

It pained me deep.

He put his other hand into his jacket pocket and took out a gun.

He put the gun into my mouth and shouted: "I told you your game has an ending!"

And he pulled the trigger.

And he shot.

I experienced a blast of pain in my head.

I sensed my body falling down.

Then I felt nothing.

The moment when I woke up, I could not help myself but scream.

No one could hear my voice.

I laughed aloud.

I had ended up in the prison reserved for the most wanted criminals.

My room was actually a prison hall.

A hall of an overflowing crowd...

By Yatin Phatak