The Captive - Episode 1

CLINK. CLANK. CLINK.CLANK….was the only sound she heard in that dark room in the centre of it was suspended a high watt bulb, the only source of the light in the entire room. A toilet seat was fixed to one end of the wall with a tissue paper stand next to it. The other side of the toilet seat was a hook to which was fastened the metallic chain, the other end of which was locked into her leg, at her ankle. Her movement was restricted, but she could lie on the bed, and she could reach to the toilet seat. She was unable to reach out to the planked wooden door, neither the opposite wall facing her bed nor the other side wall.

Today, she was bleeding. It was almost 20 days that she had been held captive. It was time for her periods. She needed napkins. She was waiting eagerly for the food and water to be brought out to her so that she can ask for the napkins. And so there he was. She was given a fresh towel, a bucket of water, napkins and a bundle of tissues. She also got a fresh dress, a pale cream gown like a hospital dress which fit her exactly exposing her legs from her knees.

The hot water rub on her body felt like heaven, her muscles and nerves relaxed. After she was done rubbing her body with the towel wrap, she lied on the floor, coiled like a baby in the womb. There were no tears today. But there was pain. Loads of it. So much felt that her body had become numb to the pain. It was like getting accustomed to it, knowing that there will be more and more.

She stared at the wooden roof. Twenty days she had spent in this dark, shabby room staring at the ceiling. How did she survive so long? With her bleeding, she won’t be surviving too long now. There were 90 percent chances that she could be killed.

Her eyes lingered on the wooden ceiling. A piece of wood caught her attention. She wanted to have a close look. She moved her bed a bit to the front. There was a plastic stool which she placed on the bed. She climbed on the stool to reach out to the floor. A low-level floor and she was 5.7, she stood on her toes and managed to separate the small fragment of wood out.

An unexpected burst of moonlight hit her face. She saw the shining stars through the small opening. It felt divine to have a fresh breath of air and to see the filament of light and the sky and the stars after twenty days. It was the first time she saw outside light other than the bulb in her room. She slept on the floor and stared at the sky through the small opening with the piece of wood that she tore out lying next to her.

And then she had an idea. She did not have much time. She had to do it fast. Before he comes. She climbed on her bed, and placing one hand on the bed as support, she scraped the small wooden piece against the metal of the bed. She did not stop until the one end of it was sharp, sharp enough to cut someone badly, and if applied with proper force, it could kill someone instantaneously.