The brilliant light through the only window in the room fell on his eyes arousing him from his restless stupor. He squints trying to get used to the light, it almost blinding him, but then again permanent loss of eyesight was the least of his worries.
The night had gone by in a trance, his mind entrapped in the fantasies of freedom, living and imagining a life beyond these four walls. Interspaced between these were, were moments of fear and despair, shelling out reality to him, which was both jarring and traumatic. It frightened him. His life, his loneliness was destroying him, crushing his heart mind and soul. Everyday he felt is was growing closer to insanity and loosing grip on reality. He was unable to handle a life of darkness and solitude, with no hope of a future of freedom.He wanted back his freedom, he wanted to roam the streets as a freeman .
' FREEDOM, FREEDOM, FREEDOM, FREEDOM'
His mind had remained transfixed on it throughout the night. He had reached a point in his life that he could no longed accept that this is what his life was going to be, he needed to alter it. He had thought about those sunny days on the hills, those drives in the countryside, long walks in the park and wondered if he could ever have them all back. He thought about his friend, the night he died, and almost relived the seconds that decided his destiny, and left him in this place forever.
The irony of life glared back at him. He had spent his life fighting for the freedom of his people, and now he was fighting for his own. He wondered if things would have been different, had he and his friend not gone to that meeting that night.'But it did happen, and now i'm trapped here forever', he had thought bitterly, driven to tears of despair and anguish. That was when he had made up his mind that it wasnt to be, that he wouldnt live a life of imprisonment, that he would go in search of a heaven where he would be free. Out of desperation from the crevices of his mind, had trickled in the PLAN, the simple yet most beautiful one, the one that was to be his stairway to heaven. He spent the entire night thinking through the plan and had clearly chalked out his actions and reconsidered their repercussions.
His eyes were used to the bright light now, he decides to get out of the bed. He sits at the edge of his bed and stares around at the plain walls of this 'room', home of the past 5 years and his resolve to free himself only strenghtens. He smiles, wondering what his friend would say had he heard of the plan....
Once again as he thinks over the plan, a little fear seeps in. He starts thinking whether he could really pull it off. What if, he chickened out in the last second or something went horribly wrong and he ended up in a state much worse than this predicament right now. All he needed to do was kill, but as easy as it sounded, in reality would it be so easy? His conscience pricks him a little. What he was going to do was cold blooded murder. Was freedom so important that he had to take a life ? He is very confused. He tries to clear his mind of thoughts and focus on the problem at hand and mentally motivates himself to muster the courage to carry the plan through.
The plan was simple enough. There was to be a knife and he was to use it. As he was a political prisoner he had a few rights that normal prisoners did not. Once a week , he would get fruit and with that would come a knife. The guard would bring it . So getting the knife was simple enough. And then, just use the knife. One swift move and it would all be over. The knife would be plunged, death would be instantaneous and freedom would be his.. It was a simple straightforward plan and there were to be no mistakes. He cautioned himself that once he started out on it , there would be no turning back.
But it all depended on the guard bringing the knife. The wait was agonizing for him, but he thinks what are a few minutes of pain against a lifetime of freedom. He wonders which innocent guard was to come today and thinking about the guard made feel guilty again. The guard must have set off from home with something else in mind, and thanks to him , the guard's life was going to change forever.What right did he have to condemn another man's life? HE pities him, he wonders what would become of him . He mentally apologises to the guard and convinces himself that he had no other choice.
He whiles away his time, thinking about the night which brought him here. That also had a knife. He did not use it then. Someone else had used it to kill his friend and he had been blamed for it. But now he faced a lifetime of imprisonment for a crime that he never commited. He found it funny that he did not commit a murder when he was sent to prison, but he was going to murder someone when he getting out. He laughs to himself..The thought of being free makes him happy again. He thinks about the things in the outside world he loved before he had been imprisoned. The lullabical rhythmic chirping of the birds, the sounds of the wave and the smell of the sea, the smell of mud after the first showers, the shining stars and the enchanting moon, the large endless fields and orchards, the lust green countryside and.......
A click is heard and it snaps him out of his daydream. Creaking, the door is opened , and more light crawls in the room as the guard walks in with a fruit and knife as promised. As he places it on the table, the guards eyes meet his. There is a lingering question in his mind. The guard turns, the prisoner gets up to pick up the knife..
Another click is heard. The door closes. The guard has left. The prisoner looks down at the knife and smiles. The time had come. So swift is the slice of the knife, so swift would be death..His gateway to heaven had opened.
The dagger had reached the killer's pocket.....
