Note: This didn't get published in Spark Magazine.
As the clock
struck 7, the guard open the doors of the cell. He had seen many prisoners
before, but none like this one. He went to him and told him. “It’s almost time.
Do you have any last wishes?”. The man turned and had a look at the guard with
a smile. “I do have one. I’d like to hoist my nation’s flag and salute it one
last time.”
The guard
wasn’t surprised. This man was different. He had not seen anyone else go
through what this man had gone. This man could smile after everything. The
guard retorted “This will be difficult. You know how your nation’s flag is
treated here. Do you need anything else?”. The man replied calmly “Sir, you
very well know that I don’t need anything else.” “Ok” the guard replied, “Let
me check with my boss” and went out of the cell locking the door.
The man
looked at the guard as he went out of the cell with his smile intact. As the
guard disappeared from his view, his smile started diminishing as his thoughts
came around. He turned away from the camera in his cell. His thoughts started
to go to his family back in his homeland, his parents, wife and son. They
didn’t know what exactly he did for a living. All they knew was that he had a
new job where he had to travel extensively. The details of his job were a
secret which had to die with him. He didn’t even know whether his family knew
about his capture and what he had underwent. He started wondering how they will
get to know what happened to him. He had lost the count of the days since he
was captured and didn’t know where he was lodged. Only thing he knew for sure
was that he was in enemy’s hands and he couldn’t give up any of the secrets in
his head. They tried breaking his bones, resolve and will. He kept up his
façade as much as possible. All his pain was masked by his smile. The enemy
should never feel this weakness.
Slowly, his
thoughts went to his wife and new-born son and light tears started to engulf
his eyes. As he wiped his tears, he started to think about they will cope with
his absence. Will the endless wait break their resolve? Will they ever have
closure about his fate? His mind started to wonder how his son will grow up
without a father. Is this all worth it? He knew that he still has a window to
give out the secrets and his fate can change.
As this
thought came about, the guard came back to open the cell door. He quickly
gathered his thoughts and got a smile on his face. The guard said “You are
lucky. My boss has agreed for your request and everything has been arranged.”
The man’s smile widened, and he spoke happily “Thank you sir. Thank you. You
will have my eternal gratitude.”. “Ok. It’s time. Let’s go. Are you ready for
this?”, the guard asked earnestly. The man replied happily, “Yes sir. I’m all
set”. The guard slipped on the handcuffs onto the man’s wrists gently. The man
joined the guard with the others and enthusiastically walked with them.
It was a
pretty long walk. The man felt the gentle breeze on his face. It’s been a while
since he got out of the dark cell. He enjoyed every bit of it and moved towards
his destination. It was a long dark passage with few incandescent bulbs, which
lit some of the pathway. Once they crossed the passage, they reached the room.
It was big room with some light only over the stage. As his eyes spotted the
stage, he thought of the occasions in his life where he wanted the spotlight,
and he could finally see that he is in the spotlight. The guard led him onto
the stage and removed his handcuffs. Once on the stage, he could see his
beloved nation’s flag and he saluted it enthusiastically. He was all smiles.
They had fulfilled his last request. He has done what he could for his nation.
Now, the enemy won’t get a chance to know his secrets. He can now be happy for
the rest of his life. He stepped close to the rope. The guard tied his hands
and put a black hood over his head and the world went dark. The noose was put
around his neck. He was all smiles inside and waited for the inevitable.
Suddenly, a
pair of hands came out and removed the hood from his and ropes around his hands
and the room was all bright. There was a person standing in front of him. He
looked familiar. He had his hands out and started talking “Mr. Ram – I’m the
director of our organization. Hope you remember me from the pictures in our
office. All this was a test to check your resolve. You have passed with flying
colours. You’ll now be promoted.”
The man thought “It is true. Some secrets are
worth keeping”.