It was nightfall in the African savannah, and Leo and Siniret just wanted to get back home safely. The darkness and the looming shadows cast by the trees had turned the lands around the lake into a much more dubious and dangerous place.
Determined to make it back in one piece, Leo and Siniret made their way to the edge of the lake, where the denser foliage from the trees grew in depth. It was the only way to get to the other side and back, they concluded, and so with a deep breath and a determination, the two of them stepped into the thick foliage that was so dense it felt like the night itself was enveloping them.
But then something unexpected happened. As the couple made their way through the foliage they soon realized they had strayed into an area with danger they could never have anticipated. It was a clearing with long-abandoned chess pieces from a game long forgotten.
"We should leave," Siniret whispered to her lion companion as she stared fearfully at the life-sized wooden pieces. But like it or not, they were stuck between a rock and a hard place; where the figures were blocking their only path to safety.
In a moment of desperate bravery, Leo suggested a plan to clear their path. He proposed that they use the remaining pieces that had been abandoned to make a specific pattern on the board that would help them gain entry to the other side.
The couple gathered and cautiously arranged the pieces in a way that correlated with chess strategy. After a few moments of solemn silence, it worked: the wooden pieces parted just enough for them to gain access to the other side of the lake.
Leo and Siniret grabbed each other in joy and ran fast as they could to the security of the other side. Taking a much needed rest, they were met with the reassuring sounds of the waking savannah in the early morning light. Checkmate. They had done it.