FREEDOM - THE STORY

Freedom
The morning still felt like night inside the dark room of Nasha, she woke up to see the same things and do almost the same things daily. She wished so badly that she could just go out and see the world. It was her 22nd birthday yet it felt like she was still 10 years old. She laid on the bed waiting for the routine knock of her dad on the door, he knocked as soon as she said zero, "can I come in Dear?" he asked, she smiled and sat up, "yes Daddy" she said in excitement, her father was the best Dad in the world though she had not met any other father apart from hers but she believed he was the best no matter what. She smiled as he entered her room, "happy birthday Dear" he said happily, "thanks Daddy" she said and hugged him. He was holding a cake in his hand, "I made it myself" he said proudly, Nasha tried to look surprised even though that was the same thing he did every year since she could remember, "Wow!! Isn't my Dad so loving" she said and collected the cake from him, she tasted it, "it's lovely" she said and they hugged again, "Dad.... " she started blinking her eyes in fear of what he was going to say, "yes Dear", "can I just go out.... Please, just once.... I want to see how it looks like out there" she said, her Dad became angry as expected, "how many times do we have to go over this Dear, do you want to hurt someone else?" he asked her, "no Dad....", "then drop this, I'm only protecting you from hurting your feelings because if you hurt someone else you would never get over it" he said, "you could stay with me Dad... ", "Enough!!" he shouted at her, she stepped back in fear and he left her room.
She broke into tears after he left, she knew he was only trying to protect her because of her mental illness. The same mental illness that had caused her to stab her mum mistakenly when she was ten years old. Though, She couldn't remember any of it, she felt so guilty for what happened that she felt so bad for still wanting her dad to take her outside. What if she hurt her Dad or someone else, maybe a little child, she would not be able to live with it. She looked at the time table pasted on the wall, her dad had helped her to write the time table when she complained of being bored at home. Though it had helped her when she first started following it and it had been fun but it became less interesting daily till it became boring again. It was Monday and the first thing to do was personal grooming though that was the first thing everyday. She thought of her mother and how beautiful she looked, though she was happy that she didn't remember what she did, she was sad that she could not remember her mother at all. After her personal grooming, she had tutorials online with her tutors. She was studying business administration online and she had classes till 3pm. Her online class was the only fun thing she did including playing games, she switched on her laptop and a message popped up on her whatsapp but she knew better than to reply. Her dad had made it clear she must not join any social media because it might increase her urge to go outside. She watched the video for her class and played her favourite game, scrabble, she got tired of playing and went back to her bed. She was lying on her bed when her maid entered to clean the room, she wished the maid would speak to her once but instead of speaking or replying, the maid would always point up . Nasha always wondered what the maid meant, "you won't even tell me your name............" Nasha said playfully, "okay, today is my birthday and I am 22 years old. Which means I have been here for like 12 years.... I think so because Dad said I've been here since I was 10 years old. I wish I wasn't mentally ill, I wish........  I wish.... Mum was alive" She said as hot tears trickled down her cheeks. The maid opened the door and left. Nasha felt so bad after she left, she felt lonely again though the maid didn't talk to her, she was satisfied with knowing someone was listening to her.
Kayla broke into tears after closing the door behind her, she sobbed silently because of the words of her mouth that had been locked. She wished she could say just a word but she couldn't, she did not know what to do so all she did was hoped that a chance would come for her to express herself in a way that would not make use of her voice.
         The morning came just like other previous mornings, Nasha woke up and stayed in bed for her dad to knock. After he knocked, she stood up and asked him to enter. After he entered, she went on her knees and begged him to forgive her for her inconsideration the previous day. He smiled and raised her up, "you know I love you" he said, "yes Father" she replied, he pecked her on the cheek, "what would you love today, ask for anything that would not have to do with going outside" he said smiling, she thought for few seconds then spoke, "I would love to read a novel" she said, he hugged her again, "I would tell Kayla to get you one" he said, "thanks Daddy" she said, "enjoy your day" he told her and left before she finished saying goodbye. She was happy she was going to be doing a new thing today after a long time of doing the same thing over and over again.
It wasn't until noon before Kayla brought in the novel, she placed the book on the table and left without saying a word to Nasha. Nasha knew that was her routine, she opened the book and instead of finding the words of the book, she saw printed pieces of paper, she read the first line, "this is from Kayla, don't act too surprised because your Dad has a camera in the room and he watches you every moment. Nasha, this is the opportunity I have been waiting for a lot of years, I have been working in your family for 25 years now. Your Mother was the kindest woman I ever knew in life, she was so nice and generous buy your father is the direct opposite, Nasha, I am sure that by the time you finish reading this story, you would be able to remember what really happened that night on the 17th of December, 2006" Nasha closed the book in fear, 'was she hallucinating this or was it actually real?' she thought within her, she didn't want to believe whatever Kayla wrote but she also wanted to know the truth and it was like Kayla knew more than her father ever told her. She opened the book and continued reading, "on that fateful day................................................................................................................................... I am very glad you know the truth now" Nasha closed the book and dropped it on the laptop, she tried so hard to keep her body from shaking but it just continued shaking incessantly, she walked to her bed and wished what she had just read was a total lie but she knew deep down that it was the truth. Tears welled up in her eyes, she wanted to cry so badly but she couldn't because she was being watched.

The outcry from the other room woke Nasha up, she stood up from the bed and walked to the door. She tried to turn the knob but her hands were shaky, she knew she had to take a bold step but all the same she was scared. The outcry increased and this time she could hear the sound of someone hitting another person. She knew her dad was hitting Kayla again, she just had to help Kayla. She swallowed her fear like the saliva in her mouth and opened the door, she ran to Kayla's room and could hear her cries loudly. She grabbed the mop stick at the door and entered the room. Her Dad stopped hitting Kayla immediately and the room was silent for few seconds like someone dropped a bomb, "I remember" she said looking straight into his eyes, "What are you doing here Nasha?" he asked looking surprised, "why Dad..." she started, "go back Nasha!!" he shouted, "So I won't hurt anyone?" she hissed loudly and continued, "You made me to live like a fugitive for 12 years because of what you did then you gave me the biggest yoke ever in life.... The yoke of guilt, for years I lived believing that I was dangerous and I killed my mother but I didn't. Kayla told me everything Dad.... You're not even worthy of that name, she wrote it all and I didn't believe her because I didn't want to, but I started dreaming about the incident till I got all of my memory one afternoon and I remembered how you killed mum because she didn't want to live with a monster like you then you made it look like I did it by mistake and hid me in your house for years. I remember how you shoved me aside and made me to hit my head on the wall that day which made me to lose my memory...... Tell me why Dad..... Why!!" She shouted, Shawn became angry, his whole body vibrated, he picked the chair up and threw it at her but she weaved it. He took out a gun from his pocket and moved closer to her, "you shouldn't have known.... ", she threw the mop at him but he caught it. She closed her eyes as he came closer, when he got to her front, she heard two gunshots and opened her eyes to see blood.
 She knelt on the ground and cried bitterly, as she looked at him with sadness and happiness in her eyes. Kayla ran towards her shouting Nasha's name but Nasha could only hear one voice, the voice of her mother the day before she died, "I'm going to do a brave thing to day Nasha...... But I want you to know that I love you" Kayla hugged Nasha tightly but Nasha just sat there looking at the man that was meant to be her father but became her terror. She heard Kayla calling the ambulance....
It was very brief signing papers and writing their statements with the cameras that her Dad had planted in each room. Kayla and Nasha sat in the station after writing their statements and the short debrief. Nasha stood up, "I want to go out Kayla" She said breathing fast, "why Dear.... It's raining" Nasha said, "I need to go out" she said, Kayla looked at the policewoman at the counter, "can I please get an umbrella?" she asked, "yes ma'am" She said and gave Nasha an umbrella beside her. Kayla showed her how to use the umbrella and Nasha dashed out after saying a quick thanks to the policewoman. She went out and ran as fast as she could, she felt like she was locked up for years and now she was unlocked. It was time to celebrate her freedom, she stood in the middle of the road and panted after running for some minutes. She placed the umbrella at the side and twirled her hair in the rain, she believed the rain could wash away all the pains she endured for years and the memory of 12 years. She stood there in the rain forgetting all her troubles and not thinking of what was ahead of her but focusing on the Freedom she had just gained.