They were there. They were always there. Through the 4cm thick shiny silver metal door, they could be seen everywhere. Their omnipresence was inevitable part of this building. Those people with fine blue police suits, revolvers, and long metal batons were always watching those with black and white striped clothes who were inside the cells. Their hatred was evident in their eyes, but that didn’t matter.
My name is Lechecin. I am in room 413. Twelve years have passed since I came into this jail. I’ve been here for a long time, but I still cannot detach my feeling toward my wife and my children. I still miss them and think about them everyday. My family photo is the only thing that makes me able to sustain this horrible life. Without my photo, I think I might go crazy. Other prisoners said that was just stupid, but it is not my fault that I cannot control my emotion, and that was my usual life.
Desire to escape from this jail is already gone. The ubiquitous policemen have already driven out these desires. Also, the prison is a terrible labyrinth that no one has ever achieved to escape. Other prisoners all agreed on that. Maybe that is why other people call this prison horrible. All the prisoners just live in here like a robot. No hope and no feeling. They just work in the field enthusiastically. Maybe I was the only person who hasn’t given up hope and has feeling toward my family. I wanted to forget about them since I came here, but that is not easy.
I worked very hard today. I don’t understand why, but just worked hard. At first others looked at me curiously, but soon they ignored me. One day, I was having lunch with a prisoner next to my cell as usual. His name was Compano. I was very close with him because he was not like other prisoners. He was like me. He also had a family outside the prison. He told me that I was quite abnormal today. I just ignored him.
I worked very hard all week. While working hard, I felt bleakness in my mind. But that didn’t matter. That felt better. After finishing today’s morning work, I ate lunch with Compano. Today’s lunch included pork which had some blood, but I just ate it. Abruptly, Compano told me that he misses his family, and told me his memories with his family and how happy he was. He stopped talking when the lunch was over. Then he suddenly left me. I couldn’t understand why he was behaving like that, but as usual, I just ignored him.
That night I couldn’t sleep well. I couldn’t understand why. Nothing aggravated me and I had the usual same day, but I couldn’t sleep that night. Then I stood up and looked at my family photo. At that moment, I found that I had completely forgotten about my family for a week, or maybe two weeks. Then I thought about things that Compano told me today. Then I realized how happy I was when I was with my family. I promised myself that I will escape from this prison and meet my family.
Compano died. I didn’t see his body, but the guards told me that he was shot while trying to escape. I imagined about his family. Tons of tears would be flooding in his house. Then I promised myself that I will never make my family sad. But since his death, loneliness from my deep mind started aggrandizing. Maybe this was due to similarity between me and him, and because he was the only person similar to me. All the other prisoners felt like antisocial people and made me feel isolated from others. But I didn’t care. I was only thinking about a way to escape from this hell.
From the distance, I heard the loud announcement, “Prisoner in the cell 413 is missing. All the guards need to search him as soon as possible……” I felt relieved. I was already about four kilometers away from the jail. While going to my home, I kidnapped one man to steal his car, clothes and money. I shaved my beard and mustache, and cut all my hair. My face was less hairy and less scary. I looked like a normal person. I looked different.
After a few hours of driving, I reached my house. I was so happy. The house didn’t change at all. It was the same house. Wooden door and red tiles were the same. The garden was still green. I couldn’t stop smiling. I ran. I ran toward the house. I opened the door quickly. I shouted my wife and children’s names. But something was not right. It was too quiet. The house was messy. No one answered me. No one was there. But Television was turned on, and I heard,
“One woman and her two children suicided yesterday due to the loneliness from the lack of her husband, and the police found that the husband, a prisoner in the jail, has escaped today….”
Then I heard two shoots. I saw blood on the floor, but I was not shot. It was Compano. He was shot to save me.
This is the second draft of my short story.
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