Member-only story
FICTION
Through The Eyes Of An Innocent Criminal
Dileep’s undeterred gaze caught sight of the twinkling stars, through the small window of his cell. Over the past few years, his cell had lost its claustrophobic stranglehold on his imagination. Not straying far from the stereotypical environment of a central jail’s cell, Dileep’s cell looked a sorry state.
The cell probably wasn’t longer than 10 feet in length, and every time Dileep stretched his arms the walls always blocked him. Dileep assumed that the cell probably wouldn’t be more than 6 feet wide. Every time he stood up, his head would hit the ceiling of the cell. The plaster on the walls had peeled off completely to expose the brittle bricks.
The night had been made worse by the summer heat. The walls retained the day’s heat. Dileep was sweating profusely. To add on to the stench of sweat, his toilet was within the same cell, right beside where he slept. The water supply in the prison was limited due to the summer shortage. The thick blanket of the amalgamated smell of Dileep’s sweat and the ammonia smell from his unwashed toilet would’ve killed any normal man from asphyxiation. But to Dileep, this was his world. He hadn’t been allowed out of the cell for six years. So he had just learned to live with it. Occasionally he would let his…
