6 THE CURSE NAMED TIME

The funny thing about time is that it cares for nobody and nothing. It does not matter what you want; time simply doesn't care for anyone's wishes, wants or desires. You could wish for it to go slower than a snail, or faster than that superfast express with damaged breaks, but the fact of the matter would still remain that time just doesn't care what you want. Time has its own pace, its own cycle, and its own way of moving through our lives.

At times, it may feel like time is flying, or is going as freakishly slow as possible, testing your patience invariably, but that's just a myth. Time doesn't alter its pace for anyone or anything. It does what it wants, with no interference of ours whatsoever in the matter.

Of course, time flying by with golden wings is always the preferable option of the two, especially when stuck in an unwanted situation like I was currently stuck in, wishing and wanting for time to run faster than the fastest runner ever known to mankind. Unfortunately, though, I wasn't as lucky as I wished myself to be.

For, every sunrise that I pretended to see in this dark, abandoned prison of mine, the day just kept getting longer and longer, never-ending in its magnified glory. Time wasn't flying. Heck, it wasn't even walking, or moving that one baby step meant to give hope. It was simply stagnant, taunting me with its ugly presence as it reared its massive head, tormenting me with the slow speed in which it was claiming my life, sucking the blood out of me one sip after the other. Then again, that was just my imagination to blame!

Time was following its own pace, no consideration given to how much I prayed for it to go faster. It just did not care!

I wanted this to end.

I needed this to end.

I had never much been one to pray. At least, not by chanting hymns or attending church like my parents regularly did. Devotion for me had a much simpler meaning, one that demanded nothing but honesty and love from me. I respected and loved that power that lay above us, irrespective of what name he or she went by. I did not fear it or worry about upsetting the almighty. All I did was to be honest to myself and to everyone around me. I did not wish ill on anyone or thought a thing that could harm another. I never stole, or physically harmed another. I minded my own business, believing that that would be enough in order to live my life in peace.

Apparently, it was not.

For, how else would you explain this that was happening in my life currently?

Maybe…my parents had been right all along…

You did need to go to church in order to stay in God's good books.

Maybe, God did not notice your presence otherwise.

Either way, I did not have much time left with me. I could only hope that I was on the right track…and that God was sitting there somewhere, finally taking notice of me and my miseries.

I prayed day and night to be rescued.

What else did I even have to do in here?

I had no entertainment, or anyone to talk to, in order to pass the never-ending time.

Praying and thinking was all I ever did, it seemed.

Edward had not appeared in here since that first day argument of ours, at least never coming close enough for me to see his face. I was aware that he was keeping an eye on me, the trays of food and water that mysteriously appeared beside me while I slept a proof of that. But either he had nothing to say to me, or killing me by loneliness was his master plan, I could not decode.

Irrespectively, even my thoughts had begun to haunt me.

It had been five days since I had been taken a prisoner, five small trays filled with soggy burgers and half edible fries accounted for that. I was only fed once a day, hardly enough to feed a small child, licking my fingers as tears of hunger trailed down my eyes each new day. Water too was a luxury these days, one small bottle that was meant to last one whole day. It was not enough. It was never enough.

I had pleaded in the start for more; my parched throat begging me to let go of that last remnant of self-esteem, but dark walls never could respond, and silence was all that I received back in answer.

I had then learnt to adjust with what I had, silently glad that I was still getting food and water. It was better than the fact that I had no blanket or mattress on me, expected to sleep on the hard ground with a shiver passing through my bones every few minutes from the relentless cold that tended to dominate this windowless room, confusing me about the source of this sudden air.

It informed me of one thing, though.

I was locked up in some cold place, the unidentifiable cold reminding me of the Chicago climate, ruthless and dangerous in its aftermath. But I wasn't in Chicago; I was sure of that. For one, the air just felt different from what I had grown up in. And second, why would my kidnapper be as dumb as to bring me back home?

This would literally be the first place I would escape to, if I ever had planned to run away from my routine life!

It would be so, so obvious.

Everyone knew about my everlasting love for the city!

But then where else could I even be?

We were entering July, and not every place in the world, or in the United States, would be as cold as this place was, especially not in the peak of summer.

Wait. Could I be in Canada?

Yup. That was a possibility?

I had never visited Canada to know otherwise, but from what I had heard, the air back there was biting and chilly.

Or maybe…this could be Alaska?

Wasn't Alaska too, chilly year-round?

Damn it.

I blamed my refusal to visit any place minutely on the cooler scale for my lack of knowledge.

Either way, wherever I was, it was far, far away from home, I couldn't help but believe.

Far away enough that my parents would never even suspect my location.

And why would they, it was simply too distant to appear on their map of possibilities.

And hence, I was stuck here without any way out!

It was inevitable.

I was going to die here.

Edward would soon get fed up of me, or my parents would be unable to pay the ransom, resulting in my actual kidnapper demanding my death, my remains blessed enough to see the outside of this dungeon.

Or so, I could only hope.

I let out a shudder at that thought, the tight ropes in my hand and legs still as painful as that first day of captivity, nothing but the bleakness of survival haunting every thought of mine.

There was just no end. No way out. No door of freedom hidden in this windowless room. No ray of hope visible to the naked eye.

I was meant to die here.

This was my future.

And I had accepted that.

What other choice did I even have?

It had been five days! No one was coming to rescue me.

I was not going to be rescued.

I was meant to be one of those common cases wherein the victim was never found, no one knowing what happened in that miserable dungeon of survival and death, just aware that a human had gone missing never to be seen again.

I didn't blame my parents, though.

How could I?

They were probably worried sick now, crying their hearts out as they called every distant relative possible to gather the extreme amount of money demanded in ransom, hoping and praying that they wouldn't be too late in doing so.

Honestly though, a part of me half wondered about the possibility of them failing.

Now, I wasn't suicidal or anything. I did want to get out of here, more than anything in the world. But that was my parents' retirement money! They had worked so hard to save every penny of that, so many dreams envisioned for their future. They had wanted to renovate the entire house, making it their dream home. Dad wanted to buy that grand piano that they never really had enough money on the side for, most of their earnings and savings utilized in our daily needs and my education. They had wanted to give me the best of education possible, their wishes always taking a backseat in comparison. Now that I was finally somewhat on my own two feet, it was high time for them to start living their lives for themselves. They did not have to compromise. Not anymore.

It just wasn't fair!

My poor parents would once again have to sacrifice their dreams and wishes, putting me first, parting with every penny that they had worked so hard to save.

It would all be taken away from them, all their efforts lost in mere seconds.

Why?

What had they done to deserve this?

It was just so unfair.

Maybe…they shouldn't pay the ransom to save me.

What if there was some way in which I could be rescued without them having to part with every penny of their savings?

It would solve all our problems….

But how, was the question here?

How would I get out of here?

There just seemed to be no way- easy or hard- in sight to do so.

From what I had gathered, there were no houses or humans living anywhere around where I was. We were secluded from the rest of humanity, no sounds of domesticated animals gracing my ears as they went about with their day. I would often hear birds chirping though, especially during what I believed were the mornings, but it was a given that birds could be of no help to me. All they ever did was congratulate me on surviving another day in this hell.

Wait.

The burger and the fries!

How had I not thought of this any earlier?

It was a given; he had to be getting them from somewhere!

He wasn't making them in here, that much was obvious from the lack of a stove or a microwave in sight.

That meant…there was livelihood around here somewhere…. close enough to touch.

He didn't have a car or a bike on him; I would have easily heard the sound of the engine rumbling had that been true.

No.

He was travelling by foot in order to get that food for me. That means…the restaurant or the café that he purchased my food from, had to be at a walking distance.

That's it!

I had found my way out.

I was getting out of here.

I could not believe this!

I was this close to being rescued; how had I not known of this?

It was unbelievable!

But it wouldn't be that very easy to escape, yes, I was equally aware of that.

In order to plan my escape, I needed to have a full proof plan. With no possibility of anything going wrong.

I needed to know the exact minute when he left the dungeon to walk to the restaurant, returning with my food a short while later, pretending as if he had never left, with me being deep in my sleep all throughout.

I would have to keep a firm tab on his movements.

Only then would I be able to successfully plan my escape.

I was not giving up.

I refused to do so!

I gave out a wide smile, a first in many days, dreaming of the freedom that would soon be in my reach, capable of being touched, felt and smelled.

I would get to go home…

I would get to see my parents again…

I would get to go to school again, returning to my routine, desired life.

I would get…

'What are you smiling about? Share the good news with us, too, princess!'

I let out a loud gasp, coming back to reality with a sudden jerk, my tormentor sneering down at me, his face too close to mine for comfort, as he finally appeared like that dreaded child-eating monster in the end of the unilluminated tunnel, not a pleasant sight to anyone's eyes.

'Edward.' My breaths were coming out extremely fast to appear any range of normal. 'I didn't see you there. When…um…when did you enter the room?'

'You weren't meant to see me, and hence you didn't see me before this.' he waved me off, smirking. 'But I do want to know what had you smiling as much. I thought I had taken every reason to smile away from you. Maybe I need to work harder on this! I can think of a few plans to execute….'

'No!' I instantly protested, gulping a second later at the realization of how terrifyingly loud my protest had been. 'I mean, there is nothing to tell. B-But how have you been? What's…um…what's going on in life?'

Seriously?

What the hell was wrong with me?

Had I just asked him how he was doing?

Like, really?

He kidnaps me, and here I am, making small talk with him?

In my defence, I was desperate to get the attention off me!

Anything to achieve that.

He let out a booming laugh, as expected, dressing me down with his eyes. 'Oh, princess! I will miss you once you're gone. You have been my most entertaining hostage till date. I have not been this amused in ages! And trust me, I have seen enough to last a lifetime.' He finished with a satisfied sneer.

'Since,' I paused, gulping, looking down at my knees in discomfort. 'Since how long….'

'How long what?' he stared at me; an eyebrow raised, as he came to sit beside me on the cold ground, a cigarette dangling from his lips. 'Since how long have I been in this business?'

'Yes.' I shyly nodded my head in agreement. If you could even call this a business!

'Around a decade, slightly more.' He waved a hand in air, nonchalantly staring back at me, almost as if this wasn't a big deal in life…and maybe, for him, it truly wasn't. It was a life he had learnt to adapt to over the years.

'And in these ten years,' my voice was a mere cautious whisper, 'how many victims….'

Did I even want to know the answer to that question?

What would I even achieve from hearing him say it out loud?

Nothing.

All it would do, without a doubt, would be to scare me even further than I already was, traumatizing me to the bones and back.

No.

I should not have asked him this question.

I don't want to know.

Some things are better left in the unknown.

'I don't keep count.' He shrugged in response, apparently a stranger to my inner debate, having made the decision on my behalf. 'Makes no sense to keep. This is my job; that is all it is to me. And will always be.'

I offered him a half nod, quite not knowing how to react in this situation. Yet glad enough that at least we were having a civil conversation. 'Have you ever thought of…quitting?'

Why would anyone willingly do this "job"?

Kidnapping a vulnerable human for a bit of money, ruining their life….and possibly even committing a murder?

It wasn't a noble or respected job, for sure!

Was he forced into it?

It did not seem to be so from the way he behaved.

I could understand that he did this for the money, but come on, money wasn't everything in life!

What about morality? What about the fact that this was just so wrong? What about the fact that this was a crime that he had committed repeatedly?

Wasn't he afraid of going to jail?

Why would anyone do this willingly?

It just made no freaking sense!

He turned to stare at me, expressionless, his gaze severely uncomfortable as he continued to stare for several long minutes.

'What?' I squirmed at my place. Why was he staring at me like that?

Stop it. It was creepy!

'You think you know it all, don't you?'

'Excuse me?' I mumbled in confusion. What did he even mean by that?

'You think I am the misguided protagonist in severe need of help, no one but the bubbly, chirpy female, who has never seen a bad day in her life, capable of healing my invisible wounds; Let me be very clear, princess,' he sneered, grabbing my cheeks in his hand and squeezing them tight, a yelp leaving my lips mercilessly, 'This is no romantic movie. This is reality. I. Don't. Need. Your. Help. I like what I do, and don't want to quit. Get this straight in your head.' He let go of my cheeks, the burn making my eyes water.

'I did not mean that.' I was quick to clarify, wincing through the pain. 'I was just…curious.'

'Yeah? Next time keep your curiosity to yourself.' He let out a firm growl, glaring down at me in anger and hatred.

I shifted at my place, looking away from him, the smoke emitted from his cigarette making me cough.

'Don't you know it is bad manners to expose someone to passive smoking?' I chided him, another cough leaving my lips.

He let out a roll of the eyes, staring at me in visible amusement. 'You think I care?'

'You should.' I raised an eyebrow in disbelief, shaking my head at the wave of his hands.

'I have news for you, princess.' He spat out, a few minutes of silence later. 'My sources tell me the money will come in soon; your parents have agreed to pay the ransom. You will be a free bird soon!'

'Oh.' I commented in surprise.

My parents had agreed to pay the ransom; while I wasn't surprised at that- I could never doubt their love for me, all that revolved in my head on listening to this piece of news, was that I would have to hurry in my plans.

I needed to get out of here before the ransom was paid and lost forever.

I owed this to my parents.

I had to try…. if nothing more.

Tonight, was the night when I took the first step ahead in order to execute my plan.