Episode 14
Archana had no feeling of hunger, all she wanted was to sleep early. She knew sleep was a great temporary escape from troubles and tensions. She wished to switch off the single fluorescent light, and throw herself onto the bed. But, strangely there was no manual switch in this room. Everything in this room, or may be in this entire 10 storied building, was remote-controlled by the Joker.
So, Archana went to the bathroom to clean her face before going to bed even with the lights on. Just when she was getting up on the bed, the door opened. The strange thing about door was that it had no inside lock or latch. Archana had no control over the door. Like every thing in this mansion like building, this door, too, obeyed only the Joker's orders.
A masked steward with a stainless-steel, mobile centre-table entered the room. He shifted the food items from that table to the glass table on Archana's room. This had been a routine exercise since her shifting into this room. She would be given half an hour to finish the food. The steward would come again and take the leftovers.
So far, the food had been super-boring for a foodie like Archana. Waking up at 6 AM, followed by 2 hours of workout at the first floor gym and then came the heavy breakfast with 4 slices of bread with butter, 2 half-boiled eggs, 1 glass of milk and plenty of fruits. None of the items was favourite of Archana. Breakfast for her meant mouth-watering, lip-smacking puri or idli or dhosa.
Archana would have withstood that had the lunch been good. But, the lunch, which was served at 1-30 PM without fail everyday, was even more disappointing. A sandwich and a cup of coffee were all that she got for lunch.
In the afternoon, she again had to go for 1 hour of yoga and pranayam session. The lady masked-instructor was the only one who spoke to her, that too in Hindi. She never spoke any extra word other than giving her necessary instructions, though. But still, this 1 hour was the only time that Archana could enjoy during the whole day. At the end of that session, there was a very queer 10-minute meditation session.
The instructor for some strange reason would tell her to think very disturbing things during this period. For example, one day she told Archana to think that Archana was engulfed in a red, hot fire, and she was burning. Another day, Archana was told to think that she was thrown in a sea with her hands and legs tied to rope, and she was drowning slowly. But, Archana never thought those things. Instead, she thought of her pleasant past, when she lived a very happy life with Rajan and the two children.
She was served a cup of tea and 2 biscuits as supper at 6 PM. At her room, she was forced to watch tv programmes and movies, all of torture and horror types. She was forced to watch abominable pornographic movies, and the type was always BDSM. This mental torture would end at 8-30 PM.
The dinner was served at 9PM on dot. Unfortunately, the dinner was the most disappointing: baked chicken breast with the minimum oil, boiled veggies and plenty of salads. The cook seemed to be heartless guy, as he not only didn't give any seasonings in the chicken item, but also had always been heavily economic with salt.
So when the steward entered the room with the mobile table, she expected another boring dinner. But, when she looked at the table, she saw 6 slices of pizza, 3 bottles of different sauces and many packets of seasonings. Despite her pathetic condition, she felt the appearing of water in her mouth.
Then appeared the Joker on the television monitor.
"Let's celebrate your success Honey! You have successfully passed your second test. So, you got this chicken golden delight as the prize. Enjoy your dinner, and don't forget to see a chit pasted on the back of your plate when you finish the dinner. The monitor went blank, and by that time the masked steward had already left the room. The door closed immediately on its own.
The sense of refreshment that she got after watching new tasty food didn't last long. A sense of fear again gripped her mind. Would that be the the third test? What kind of torture would that be? What if she didn't pass it? Would the Joker kill her husband, or would he kill her? How could she escape from this hell? These questions started reverbating in her mind like a swarm of angry bees, and tears started to roll down her cheeks.
An evanescent thought of not eating the dinner appeared in mind. But, she knew if she tried to do such thing, the Joker's face would immediately appear on the television monitor, and she would be again subjected to mental torture. So, she ate the dinner very fast, and without waiting for the steward got onto her bed.
The pizza might have been prepared well, but her unwilling, terrified tastebuds didn't enjoy it. There was a digital multipurpose meter on the wall. It showed date, time, voltage, temperature, humidity and few other parameters that Archana didn't understand. The time showed 8-50 PM and the date showed first February. That meant she had been in the Joker's captivity for the last 15 days. She wondered in which state this place might be! How come no one was coming to rescue her! Very tired, she slept immediately.
To be continued on Saturday night 9 PM IST
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