She
The Pain was unbearable. The shimmering cloud that used to envelope us once the drugs took effect was gone now. We were in her domain now. In pain’s control. She tickled us with her cold tormenting tendrils until death became a necessity rather then a wish and even death mocked us. It came tantalizingly close to us but never once inside our reach. Helpless, we woke to pain and slept to pain. This never seemed to change.
We had nowhere to go. We were incarcerated in white walls where the doctors came to give us drugs to try and ease the pain. But now it seemed that even all the morphine in the world could not satiate her lust for our screams and the biggest problem was that even the doctors didn’t do anything to put us out of our misery. They just heard our screams through the door and grieved for us. What good was their grief if it only coaxed her to punish us more? In our lives it seemed that pain was an entity that had fused together with us, forever.
But there were those rare moments when our minds cleared for a bit; when she rested for a while. It was in those moments that we made our great plan.
********
“We must get away from here”, Rahul whispered through his parched lips. “I know a way”
“Tell me something I don’t know”, I replied in a faint voice.
“And what great plan is that of yours? Please feel free to enlighten me,” My sceptical tones did little to discourage him. After all, how could two cancer patients escape from a hospital?
“There is a staff break at 4:30 P.M in the afternoon. That is our chance”.
“The wardens can’t take breaks. Simone will surely catch us”
“No she won’t.”
“How?”
“We sedate her with the drugs that she takes to room 25 every afternoon.”
I looked up hopefully but he answered my unasked question.
“Not fatal”
I subsided and in my disappointment resorted to anger and sarcasm as all animals do. For surely were we not slaves of the dominant she. Were we not pigs of the jungle? Pitiful humans who worshipped her and paid tribute to her through our screams. A fissure in god’s perfect earth, where the just and good received their awards and the vile creatures were smote by him. Time had turned me bitter. Bitter and Blasphemic. And my regret and hate was what kept me alive through the pain. Oh! How I wish I were never born.
I shook my hands in sudden anger and vehemence towards Rahul but this ended when she sent a little message to my right arm in the form of terrible pain. I could almost feel her cold breath on my cheek
“Please don’t interrupt me in my sleep again will you, honey?”
And I replied, “Yes dear.”
“What?” Rahul asked.
“You have lost your mind Rahul .this flimsy plan. It will surely fail” was all I could muster to speak.
“What do we have to lose”
To that question I had no answer.
********
“I still can’t believe that I am doing this. There are a million and one potholes in your great plan, Rahul. Someone will catch us…”
Rahul was uncannily quiet during my ramblings.
A tingling sensation went up and down my right arm: A herald of her real tempest.
“We must be quick. There is little time till she comes”.
We stepped out in the corridor and sure enough we heard the sound of Simone’s high heels on the white floor. We hid around the corner and waited for her. She was coming closer and closer.
Click. Click. Click.
Rahul prepared himself for the leap but at that exact moment- as she turned around the corner- another sound came.
Click. Tap. Click. Tap.
She was not alone.
Rahul’s eyes widened with surprise as he jumped towards the syringe in her hand and I followed suit. As the warden and the nurse prepared to scream, I shot my hand out and punched the nurse in the nose. Meanwhile Rahul sedated the warden, quick as a bullet.
“Only three more corridors to go,” Rahul said.
My heart sank.
It was in the second corridor that the real trouble came. We were stealthily heading towards the 3rd corridor when a janitor appeared around the corner. As soon as we saw him, the look on Rahul’s face convinced me that he had had a heart attack. Small beads of perspiration ran down my face but all the janitor said was “Good Afternoon Sahib ”
“Good Afternoon” I replied in tones of relief. As soon as he turned round the corner we broke into a fit of giggles.
The fire escape was very near. The fire escape to our freedom. At that moment she woke up.
At once I felt terrible, insurmountable pain racing up and down my right hand. Then, a bell sounded.
The staff break was over.
“Just a little more,” Rahul said through gritted teeth, looking longingly at that door.
I looked at the door with great desire. Just as a child looks at a box of cookies he isn’t supposed to touch but as in the case with the child, the counter was too high.
At that moment a swarm of white coats appeared around the corner and as soon as they saw us they rushed towards us. Energy suddenly flowed through my veins. It was the thought of spending an eternity with her that did the trick. I grabbed Rahul’s hand and rushed through the fire escape, letting him go only when I had thrown us both over the railing.
At that moment I actually felt her leaving me. Oh! What eternal bliss. It seemed that time had slowed down, as me and Rahul fell towards the ground.
I looked at Rahul and said ,“You know we are probably going to hell for doing this”
“Can’t be worse than she can it”
In great joy we started laughing. Our whole bodies heaved as we laughed freely since the past 20 years. The church bell tolled. Everything turned to silver and we….
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