Chapter 6: The World of Prisons

Clack, clack, clack.

Ting!

"YOU KILLED THE SENATOR!" Kiefer shouted at me, but also retreated when he saw my face.

He....was like me....

We were both imprisoned. If you looked at me from the other side, wouldn't I look the same as him?

My Mom used to say, how unlucky that I was born as a girl. My Dad used to say how unlucky he got a girl and wished I was a boy instead. No matter how hard I studied, or how much money I can provide to my six younger siblings, I could never measure up to their expectations....

Because I am a woman....

As a girl who longed to be free, I wanted recognition, so I sought the truth. I gave up the fantasies of love and life altogether because my family comes first--even if I was their last. If someone said I should go and crawl through the road with needles, even if I end up wounded and losing my limbs, so long as I survive....

I will fight for my freedom.

I took up law so no one could underestimate me because the law is above all, and justice is blind...

And yet here I am, yielding to power, ambition, and fame. With just a press on my shoulders, I easily kneeled to those who had authority and money.

When will I be recognized as a woman?

"Mr. Kiefer...." I said softly, trying to talk him into sense. I took out a box of orange chicken and placed it just between the bars on the floor.

Kiefer looked at me without any thoughts. His lips trembled, and he cried, "I did not kill him. I did not kill him...."

A step. Just one step forward. I reached out my hand to his face and caressed his cheek. "I know", I whispered as my tears formed in my eyes.

Slowly, his hands slid down the bar as he sat on the floor and still crying. "I did not kill him, I did not kill him..."

"Kiefer....I believe you. You said in your film, no one believes a kid because they are young. But they always hold on to the truth. So to let the world know the truth, you must free your world....

"And be reborn. Your words, Kiefer. They were your words...."

Kiefer's eyes slowly gained light and life in them.

Yes, those were the eyes that gave life to people who never had a life like me. When no one else had patted my back for doing a good job, when no one else wiped my tears whether it was in joy or sorrow, and when no one else told me that my world is valuable and could be shared with the world....

"You...saved me before. When no one believed in me, you spoke to me through your film. So now..." I cupped his face. "Free your world, Kiefer, and be reborn. Help me save you...."

Within the confines of the hallway and his cell, only these cold metal bars are in between us.