HEARTS ON THE RUNWAY.

HEARTS ON THE RUNWAY

“You got to be released today you know?” says the warden on duty

“I’d hold a party just immediately I’m out of here” Mason replies with an aura of obvious excitement. The wardens on duty are busy frequenting each cell room holding segmented discussions with inmates. Ordinarily, the wardens are always tacit and formal in their relationships with the prisoners. Today is quite different because some prisoners are about to be released.

Activity at the lupillian correctional facility is in full swing. There is even a new case that involves a middle-aged man who is been tried and convicted of fraud. He is to serve a five year jail term here. The man could be seen wearing a sleeveless top upon a baggy pale-looking blue trouser. He is still handcuffed and is walking in front of two policemen. It has been a really busy day for everybody at the facility because prisoners who have completed their sentences had to follow some official processes for their release to be regularized.

The formalities for Mason’s release had been completed, upon serving a three year jail term he is due for release. There are other prisoners who are due to be released on the same day. After signing his discharge papers, Mason heads right back to bid farewell to his former inmates shaking hands and hugging. These past three years he has spent here has brought about some form of unintentional bonding.

Mason had developed a core friendship with other inmates. They had form the prison quadrant which had Mason, Fraiser, Campbell and Jan. Fraiser was brought in for attempted murder, Campbell has been the longest serving prisoner here. He came in four years before all the other guys. He was convicted of certificate forgery and an accomplice to an assassination case. Jan was the latest addition amongst the group. He was also the youngest among them and was also convicted of robbery.

Some days, they would share their individual experiences-what brought them to the prison. They would rue an action they took or did not take. At the end, they would advice each other on what to do whenever they regained their freedom. They would sit and envisage the kind of lives they would live when their stay in prison was over.

After Mason had bade farewell to all the guys he was leaving behind he hoped they too will regain their freedom some someday. He is happy to have back his normal life having spent the last three years in confinement. He tries to gather the pieces of his life once more and hopes to get back on his feet quicker than anyone will expect. “I am a tough man” he constantly tells himself. Although he had regained his freedom, he promises to break as many hearts as possible.

He has given up on love and believes that there is no true love anywhere in the world. His past experiences has taught him that true love is only but an illusion. He now learns to wake up to the reality that he is the only person who can love himself as good as he would love to. “Not any woman....none.” he says to himself.

Six months after his release from prison he jokingly behaves like he has “Fallen in love” with Liza who works as an auxiliary lawyer in a law firm in his city. Liza is extremely gorgeous and chic. She clearly loves Mason and hopes things will click when they want it to but Mason had opposite intentions. He knew from the start that he was just playing games and as a matter of fact the relationship hit the rocks within three months. Mason ended the relationship abruptly when Liza got pregnant for him. He felt he just wasn’t ready to do any fatherly duties neither to be turned to a man that could be held back by the rigours of marriage. "No, not anymore." he assured himself.

Mason wanted other ladies to pay heavily for the heartaches he’s suffered in the past from women he felt he loved and also from women he thought loved him. I couldn’t understand why he was always made the victim in the ruins of his past love experiences despite the fact that he considered himself the ideal man for every woman. On an occasion, he had to go under the rain to beg his estranged wife to return to him. Mason and his wife had separated on the grounds of loss of affection. All these bitter experiences had made him a changed man- he had changed into a treacherous and chronic heart breaker. He believes in had suffered so many betrayals even from trusted fellows and so cannot afford to continue in “weakness.”

Just two weeks after he had jilted his relationship with Liza, he initiates another affair with Joan. “you are the best thing to have happened to me” he kept telling her. Joan would grin with suppressed excitement”. Only if she knew all was a farce. Mason played along in the relationship with Joan for six months. By now, she had become so drawn to him. She felt she had found someone in her life- a lover, friend and confidant.

While Mason was still dating joan, there was another Alissa in the picture. He was confidently double-dating. Mason had always known that with his good looks (6ft tall, fair, chiseled face, well-developed abs and a wounderful physique) he would always have any woman he ever wanted. He had successfully been playing along with the two women and has equally succeeded in keeping one out of the knowledge of the other. “you are really a bad guy” Marcus his friend and colleague at work sarcastically tells him. “I’m good like that” Mason would reply with some sort of bloated confidence. He continues to hop from one relationship to the other. He feels his best years are still ahead of him and so there would be no problem if he chooses to have fun while toiling with other people’s emotions.

Before he went to jail Mason had been working for Granxit Consuls. He had worked in the company for two years. He was an easy-going dude. Everybody loved his jovial yet very professional disposition. He had fallen in love with Bartha- the secretary of the company and had managed to keep it secret from every other worker at the company including his friend Marcus. It was against the rules of Granxit Consuls for staff to be discovered to have any amorous relationships amongst them. The rule was made with the rationale that romantic relationships among workers would have negative effects on the performance of staff. With the full knowledge of this standing rule, they had planned to quit the job at the end of the year in order to get married.

Everything was going smoothly for the duo of Mason and Bartha. Although they had a thing for each other, they were very professional when they were within their working environment. Outside Granxit Consuls, they were inseparable lovebirds. They usually spent the weekend together at Mason’s house. Bartha was a clear definition of an introvert; she enjoyed the comfort of staying home. Hers was a small world that rotated around work, her mum and Mason. Mason was the stark opposite. Some weekends he would spend golfing with the guys or partying away into the midnights. It was even a surprise to Bartha that her boyfriend would perfectly combine those frivolities and work perfectly without suffering any casualty.

Some weekends were usually spent yachting and sightseeing. They had successfully struck a balance between work and pleasure. Some Friday nights, Bartha would be forced out of her shelf to follow her boyfriend to parties. They would storm the club in couple mode and would dance and drink together all night after which they would return home to pass the night. It appeared they were the perfect match for each other. Only if their company rules would allow them make it public. 

Marcus’ birthday finally came around and all the staff of Granxit Consul had gathered to celebrate the “birthday boy”. The celebration was grand and even the hierarchy of the company had thought it wise to celebrate Marcus Chris on his birthday. Marcus was the longest serving staff of the company and many other workers were recruited based on his recommendations and approval. He was quite intelligible, professional and cool-headed. Everyone in the company found him worth celebrating. 

At the party, Mason got drunk to stupor and was out of balance. He had obviously let his guards down. His colleagues at work didn't know him as a heavy drinker. After Marcus' birthday party, he was Nick named the "Bottle Doctor". He needed to be drove home by Mark the company’s sales rep. The thought of where Bartha was didn’t even cross his mind and since nobody knew they were having an affair, no one really cared if they were supposed to have gone home together. Marcus later convinced Bartha to spend the night with him since he had driven her home. When they got home, Bartha would feel the warmth of Marcus' house. She got comfortable but she didn't know there was something in the cards. Marcus had always been pestering her on for it- but she had been reluctant to give in. She loved Mason and wouldn't imagine doing anything that could hurt him. All that didn't matter at this point. Marcus is a go-getter and sure knows how to get whatever he wanted. He navigated between cajoling and coercing her until she gave in. She cheated on Mason with his friend Marcus. Marcus felt this was the only birthday gift he would receive from Bartha. He felt Bartha was indebted to him because he was responsible for her rise to the position of the secretary of Granixt Consuls.

The following day after Marcus’ birthday was a day off for workers in the company. Mason and his girlfriend had thought it wise to go sightseeing. Mason took his girlfriend’s phone to take a picture when a message that read “Thanks for an amazing experience last night”- it was from Marcus. After some disjointed arguments with Bartha trying to explain what played out at Marcus' house, Mason feels outplayed and outdone. Even if that was to happen; it shouldn't be with his friend. "This was a clear case of betrayal" he had thought to himself. He physically attacks his girlfriend on the grounds of infidelity. He wouldn't think through what had just happened. He allowed his emotions to get the better part of him. He felt totally betrayed by two people he had so trusted. The fact that what happened was against the company's standing rule made it even a harder pill to swallow. Bartha had sustained deep injuries from the attack and was absent from work for three days.

The news of their relationship was now public as against their wish. The row had succeeded in giving them an unwanted publicity. It came to the fore that they had flouted the standing rule. Marcus was later dismissed for gross misconduct while Bartha’s treatment costs was taken up by the company after which she was equally dismissed. Mason was charged to court and was later convicted of battary and is sent to the Lupillian correctional facility to serve a three year jail term.