And,

He thought he had won the endless game,

The game of chess we began long ago

On the west bank of the river Godavari

At the point, it poured into the Bay of Bengal,

He had captured the central pawn,

And in a way neutralized the Queen’s Gambit,

He forgot an opening move does not always

Decide the outcome of any game,

He had yet a lot more to learn.

And on my part,

I watched the great river rapidly flow,

Towards the turbulent sea and lose itself,

Praying for the same kind of end for me,

I folded in three all of my unseen dreams,

Closing my ears tight, I shut out all sounds,

I saw my friend loudly celebrate his win,

I did not share his false belief,

I folded the chessboard for its safekeeping.

There were no fresh challenges to meet.