The PrisonerA Story by Neeharika NeehuStory of a prisoner who desires nothing but freedom,does he get it ,read on to know moreThe Prisoner (Short
story) A ray of light nor a breath of fresh air were allowed inside
the thick walls of the prison cell. It was square in shape and six by two feet
in size, the walls were made up of strong concrete, it was always hot and dark
inside the prison cell. It was located inside a tunnel, so that it was not
easily located, there were no other cells located in the tunnel. Jason was an Indian soldier, held captive by a terrorist
group. He was sitting in a huddled position with his head against the wall, at
the right end corner of the cell, his skin was pale, and there were bruise
marks near his eyes and on his hands. He was only left with his trousers, which
was also beginning to tear off. He was becoming weak physically, there was no
fat left in his body, and all that was seen were his bones. There was another inmate with Jason in the cell, in the
years of his captivity Jason never saw his face, but heard only his voice. All
Jason knew of his inmate was that he was held captive just a few months back. They were supplied with food two days a week. But in the
past few months Jason never had a morsel to the least. “I don’t have any clue what time is it, is it day or night,
spring or autumn what is it?” questioned Jason’s inmate, in a weak voice. “I have forgotten my wife’s beautiful face, or the taste of
my favourite food”, there was a hysterical laugh, with dry cough at the end. “How does it feel to bask under the sun, how is it to be in
the company of friends, or the very least the taste of freedom, how can anyone
forget these? Maybe a few more days in this cell, we may forget who we are
actually” Jason sat quietly not responding to his inmate’s words, he
was lost in thought. All that Jason desired at the moment was freedom. The prison gate opened with a creaking sound, and food on an
aluminium plate was placed. Both of the inmates did not even bother about it,
and it was already surrounded by rats, their squeaky sound was heard. “You know maybe the rats are becoming stronger than us” he
was laughing again. The click sound of the prison gate lock was not heard. “Do you think he’s locked the gate properly” questioned his
inmate out of curiosity. Jason got up, with the support of the wall, he was weak and
could barely walk. With the support of the wall Jason was walking slowly
towards the prison gate, he could feel that his inmate was behind him, and also
the rats that ran across his feet. He stumbled a bit, but somehow made it to
the prison gate. He pushed it lightly, and the gate opened, his inmate
screamed out of joy and excitement “Yes man, we are free
at last yes”, there were tears in his eyes. There was hope, and this hope was
enough to give strength to Jason. “But wait a minute, what if the prison guard is coming back
to check” questioned the inmate. Footsteps were being heard, Jason was holding the aluminium
plate in his hand and was standing in an upright position against the wall and
he pushed the prison gate a bit more, he was waiting for the prison guard. The guard realized from a distance that the prison gate was
opened, his gun was not loaded, he took out few bullets from his pocket, and
was trying to load his gun, but it was difficult for him in the dark. As he
fumbled a bit to load his gun, Jason on the other hand sensed that the prison
guard was not making a move, with all his might he smashed the prison guards
face with the plate, bent his torso and kicked his stomach hard with his knee.
The prison guard fell on the floor hard, his gun too had fallen far of him and
Jason kicked him onto the face again. Jason was gasping for breath, he was weak in his knees and
doubted if he could make it. “We need to make a move fast or the guard may come to his
consciousness” his inmate informed him. Jason nodded “Freedom, freedom, we are going to be free! Look over there
a ray of light” words of his inmate echoed across the tunnel. Jason gathered his strength and took light steps, he fixed
his eyes on the rays of light, with great difficulty he came out. His eyes
blinked a few times, to get adjusted to the light, he was barefooted and could
feel the hot sand and he took a step forward, held his hand above his eyes and
looked around. Heaps and heaps of sand all around, it was a dessert. The sun was right above his head, in a distance he saw a tar
road laid in the middle. “So this is how it feels to bask under the sun” told his
inmate spreading his arms. “If we can make it across the road, that will be our
freedom” told his inmate anxiously staring right at the road, he was standing right in front of him, he was
wearing an army dress, with black boots, he appeared to be muscular and strong. His inmate was walking very fast, while Jason was taking
small steps, the hot sand burnt his feet which made it more difficult for him
to walk, his bruises too were aching badly as they were exposed to the sun
after a long time. “Come on, faster we are almost there” his inmate voice tone
was now stronger. Jason felt that he was being followed and took a look back,
it was the prison guard, and he was walking fast, with his gun pointed at
Jason. “Oh S**t! Run man run, he’ll shoot any moment now” His
inmate shouted at him, turning his face back, Jason saw his inmate’s face for
the first time in years. And somehow felt something was not right. There was a bullet sound and it missed Jason’s leg. Scared
Jason took steps quickly, he was taking long breaths. While doing so Jason’s eyes were fixed on his inmates face,
suddenly he stopped walking and stood there just staring at his inmate. “What the hell are you doing, come on, he is back of you”
his inmate was shouting, Jason stood stunned and bewildered as he realized that
his inmate was looking like Jason himself before he was captured. “It’s been two years man”, Shouted the inmate “This is how you were two years back, see this, this…” his
inmate took out a photo from his back pocket. “This is how beautiful your wife was, you had three
childhood friends, and your favourite dish was fish curry, freedom the taste of freedom, it’s just right across
the road come on” his inmate was pointing across the road, his eyes were read. Another bullet was shot and it hit Jason right below his
knee. Jason jolted and held the knee with his hand, he was limping and moving
forward, blood was oozing out of his wound, he stumbled upon a stone and fell
hard on the ground and was trying to crawl forward, he felt the hot sand on his
palms and on his bare chest, which was burning his skin. The pain of his
wounded leg too was unbearable. The prison guard was just right behind Jason, he lifted his
head to see his inmate or his own reflection. “So this is how I was two years back” Jason spoke looking at
his own reflection. The prison guard saw that Jason was speaking to someone,
but found none. The prison guard aimed at Jason’s back, and shot at it. “Aaahhhhh!” shouted Jason in pain. He faced the sky, taking short breaths, and holding his hand
onto his wounded back, he saw the gun pointed at his head, and he knew this was
the end, he coughed and blood spouted out of his mouth. He saw his wife’s
smiling face taking its shape on the blue sky, even though he had reached the
threshold of his pain, somehow he felt that he was at peace. Freedom it came to
him at last. Bullet was shot into his head, and he died seconds later. © 2015 Neeharika NeehuAuthor's Note
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StatsAuthorNeeharika Neehubangalore, IndiaAboutAm new to writing,am just writing my thougts as they come to my mind,i use simple language.Am not good in english ,so sorry for the mistakes. And you can know who i am easily from my storie's poem's. more..Writing
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