The Club

Everybody is here for something. For something they have done or believed to have done. But nobody speaks about it here.  

‘T’s just the way it is, inside the club it don’t matter anymore’, says Kaka. They call this a club. It reeks of mold and desiccated pee. But they love it here. Kaka says they’d rather be in this one than any other.  

‘Best one’, he says, ‘with a friendly neighborhood. You are lucky. Otherwise, a pretty plump like you is gonna be a feast. They may covet you, alright, but sure as hell, they’ll not ride you. Very religious place’. 

Kaka is a sagely soul. He took it upon himself to get me used to the place. I have been here for a week. I can still remember vibrant hues of life outside. He warns me that it is dangerous to have such visions. He says that I should phase over fast otherwise the suffering could be immense. Kaka says that his phase-over happened suddenly on a fine day when he was working in the kitchen. It was like a magician moving his magic wand across from left to the right transforming the penitentiary into a club. He swore it happened for real. He could see the penitentiary to the right of the wand and the club to the left. After that day, after the wand moved the entire circle, he never saw the penitentiary again, and all his sorrows died. With profound love, he pulled me closer and whispered, ‘If you want to phase-over faster, I have the right herb for you. Only for you, I share. No cost. Don’t want you suffer.’ 

We were sitting at a table in the dining hall on the second floor that day when he told me his revelation. It was a crammed hall with twenty steel benches screwed to the floor, arranged in two rows. One side of the hall was covered in grill and was the only place in the club from where one could get a glimpse of the world beyond the barbed fences. The sun rays filtered through the iron grill windows onto my plate. There was roasted chicken breast and hamburger that day. The wind was chilly and brought with it the reek from the toilets. There were three others at the table, including Kaka, gorging at the food. I took a bite of the hamburger, but the reek wouldn’t let me have another one. I left it on the plate and looked up. A young boy, probably in his twenties, sitting in front of me looked into my eyes and pointed his finger at the chicken breast. I pushed my plate towards him. His eyes glistened as he pulled my plate towards him. I was surprised that Kaka did not even object, let alone pick up a fight with the boy. It is a tacit agreement among the members of the club that no one shall seek or claim others food.  

‘Morty’, He said, extending his hand to me. I shook his hand and did not care to share my name. 

‘You know’, He said, ‘What I miss the most?”. I nodded across.  

‘The trees, you seem them?’ He pointed to the trees outside the window. I felt it strange. I would have understood if he missed something outside the Club. But these trees were inside, and we sat under them every evening. Must be the effect of the herb, I thought. But he continued.  

‘You know, the wall, the air, the clouds, the sky. Isn't this place beautiful?’, He said.  

I was sure that it was the herb. He took two quick bites of the hamburger, closed his eyes and slowly chewed it. He seemed to enjoy every bit of it. I looked at Kaka for his reactions. But he was busy gorging on his food. Unlike Kaka, this boy was not gorging. He was enjoying it like a gourmet enjoying a Michelin star dish. He took his time to complete my plate, thanked me and left. He was a tall man, over six feet tall and built like a footballer.  

After he left, I asked Kaka what his story was.  

‘He will be out tomorrow’, Kaka said.  

I felt jealous of him. I wished I had not shared my plate even if I had to throw my burger and chicken into the trash can. From tomorrow he was gonna be a free bird, something I could only wish for, but never get. Kaka and the likes have resigned themselves to their fate and the only solution to their predicament, they figured, was to not wish at all.  

‘I thought none of us would ever be out’ I asked Kaka.  

‘Yeah, but he would be out of everywhere. Going to the special room, tomorrow.’ Kaka replied dusting the crumbs of bread off his shirt, and casually added, ‘I made the chicken. It is a pity you did not eat.’ 

My head swooned. I looked across searching to get a glimpse of the boy again. But he was gone. I would never see those glistening eyes again. For a moment I looked out at the tree outside, not beyond the fence, but within the penitentiary. I understood what the boy meant. I took a deep breath and was glad for it. The birds, the sun, the sky, the clouds. What if I could no longer see them tomorrow? I wondered how beautiful a place I was in. I looked down at my plate. There were only left overs of the chicken breast, a couple of bones with their edges chewed. I picked them up, closed my eyes and chewed them slowly. Kaka was right. It would have been a pity if I had not tasted it.  

I looked around and finally saw the club. I walked up to Kaka and whispered to him, ‘I found my magician, Kaka. I can see the club. It is so beautiful’. 

Kaka smiled and said, ’We’ll all meet Morty again, Pretty, but not in the club, somewhere beyond where we really belong’