THE PRISON

THE PRISON

[1]

The arid air strokes over his face. A drop of sweat is dripping down his forehead. A blow of damp air suddenly pats his square face. His broad forehead crumples. The rugged hand quickly wipes away the dripping sweat.

“Arghhh..!”

“It’s getting hot here!”
Ah Hoy grumbles as he settling down on his solid bed. A concrete bed made up from stone occupied his rotten cell. Chu Long pats his wide shoulder, a stare directly fells upon a pair of withered eyes. The shriveled old man retreats.

Chu Long is much older than Ah Hoy. In fact he is considers as veteran among the tenants in that Avalone Prison. Both of them share the same circumstance, which is dwelling in the same cell.

“Hey old man!”

“Mind your business!” He shouted.

A silence resides the cell.

Ah Hoy gets to his feet heading towards the sinkhole. He turns on the water. A heavy flow of gushing water creates a sound. Sometimes the rustle sound of the rats making their ways somewhere in some parts of Avalone Prison becomes a part of Chu Long’s routine.

Ah Hoy splashes water to his square face. He rubs thoroughly his rusty face from the labor work earlier.

“Meal’s time!”

“Meal’s time!”

An echo is coming from outside his cell completely diverts the occupants’ of the cell number 113 attention. Ah Hoy sharp eyes pointing towards the cell’s opening. Chu Long observes

“This trash again!”
     “How long are we going to chew on this junk!”
     “Garbage!”    

“You skunk!”

“You fool eat your meal!” One of the guards shouts from a far.

“Shut up!Bite your trash!”

Changing the position of his rifle, that tough guard yells out loud and mocks the prisoners of Avalone Prison. With his fierce face, he frowned.

Ah Choi gets on his feet. A strong blow falls upon the sturdy table in the dining hall. Both his hands reside the edge of the table. The food scattered. The water spilled. Then, the scene followed by a dripping sound of water coming from the pouring water. The routine recycled, the same old routine replays.

Chu Long stands up. He opens his pace and then stops.

“Cool." 

“Relax, young man.” 

“Lets eat.”

*****

“Daddy, how could you!”

“Murderer!”

“Murderer!”

“Murderer!”

Ah Hoy opens his eyes.

“It’s just a dream.”

“Another bad dream.”

He keeps repeating it over and over again.

“This is just another nightmare!”

“Arghhhhhhh…..!”

The sound of grunting filled the number 113 cell.

“Another bad dream, huh.” Chu Long asks as he sweeps his floppy eyes. The groan wakes him up.

“Shut up old man!"

“You know nothing!”

Chu Long alters his body position facing the wall and continues to sleep again.

“Good night then!” Chu Long says before he vanished into sleep again.

“Mei Lin.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Daddy is guilty.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

“I’m sorry.”

“….with this, the Court has decides the defendant Man Hoi Lam is found guilty of killing the deceased Lin Siu Ha. The defendant is sentenced for lifelong in prison….”

                                                                                                                                                                 

The scene vividly comes alive in front of Ah Hoy’s vision. A crystal clear drop of water occupies his blunt eyes.

“Siu Ha!”

“I’m sorry.”

Lin Siu Ha’s face floats around his thoughts. He sees her brown eyes. She has a pair of small eyes, a pair of lovely eyes. There is nothing in this world that can describe how much he misses her. Her smiles always cheered up his life. Her smiles always meet him in front of the door when he came back home. Her smiles never faded.Her smiles always accompanied his mornings. Her smiles always greet him even though he returned home drunk. Her smiles are always there for him. She is always there for him.

Her smiles have that magical touch. They are the one that caught his heart years ago. They are the reason he falls in love with her at the first sight. They are so warm. They melt his heart. She melts his heart.

He yearns for her scent. Now the only scent he used to sniff every second is the scent of an old man and the scent of loneliness.

Everyday this prison reminds him of her murder. The scent of her blood pinched his nostrils. Every time he tries to forget, it came back haunting him.

The concentrated bright red fluid is dripping from her stomach. She was there, that little girl. Crying alone.

“Mommy!”

“Mommy!”

There is no sound of her anymore. No more laugh. No more smile. Nothing at all. She is gone forever.

“I’m sorry Siu Ha.”

“I love youuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!”