Victim card

“Yes. I am a Police officer. So what? Are you going to award me with the presidential medal?” The man snickered.

The three rebels who were fighting until that didn’t utter a single word. Each one was flooded with their thoughts. The young girl wept, and the other two maintained silence. Everything flashed within them as thoughts: their lives, their families, their homes.

The way the other three reacted to the man, as soon as they learned about his profession entrusted doubt within him.

“It’s the best moment of my life. Finally, somebody obeys my order. Today I feel powerful, energetic.” The man said and laughed like a drain. He didn’t stop for a while. His activities frightened them to the core. Most of the time he was silent, once in a while, he vociferated and occasionally taunted them. “Confess. What have you done? Common, list the unlawful activities you have ever committed.” The man ordered out of curiosity.

The young girl spilt her words without next single thought. “I didn’t do anything. Uncle said he would take care of everything. Please let me go. Leave me, please.” The young girl blabbered out of panic.

“If you want to interrogate us, you have to take us to the police station and file an FIR and then proceed. This is not the way to interrogate. Putting us in a slaughterhouse”. The girl said firmly whereas the young girl begged not to take her to the police station. The guy was confused and at the same time, he was cautious of not letting any unwanted words. He was suspicious of the man’s identity yet he didn’t question it. He controlled his anger. He wasn’t ready to take any risk anymore. All he wanted was to just get out of that hell.

The girl portrayed herself as a confident woman in every statement and question she asked, though she was shivering within for every passing moment. The man didn’t reply, the silence dominated the place once again. They felt the utmost fear whenever the entire room was filled with silence. After every prolonged silence, they waited for someone to initiate the conversation.

“Confess.”. A husky voice entered from nowhere.

“Hey! Who is this?” As the voice emerged from his back the guy went into hyperventilation mode out of fear.

The girl was engrossed in thoughts. She reevaluated her own words. She felt as though she had made a mistake by voluntarily intriguing the man. “Why should we believe you? You might be anybody from nowhere. You are trying to traumatize us.” The girl uttered her suspicions irrespective of her fear and confusion.

The man laughed once again and said “So now I have to prove myself. Imm…. Shall I do a perfect march past and a salute. Then will you accept me as police”. His talks were full of sarcasm and sometimes out of context too. It didn’t matter to the girl anymore. “OK do it. But to witness it switch on the light and untie me”. She thought it was a clever step from her side to move forward.

“Smart move. But somebody has to untie me, then I will help you” The man said with a sardonic laugh.

“You scoundrel, stop playing your shitty game. Tell me, what do you want?” The guy lashed out with fury. His patience level slumped into the deepest pit possible

Forthwith the guy pleaded for mercy. The guy’s sudden behavioural change shocked the girl and the other people there. The guy who was irate until that was pleading now. The girl couldn’t guess what was happening to the guy. But his cry for help gave a vision of his state to her.

 He begged not to strangle him. He moaned “Heyyyy…Please, leave me, please”. His cry deteriorated within seconds.

Hearing the guy cry, the helpless girl supplicated. She trembled yet she beseeched to let go of the guy.  Her cry for help dominated the secluded space.

He coughed and gasped for breath after a few seconds. “Hey, are you ok? Give him water, please.” The girl begged. She empathized with everyone around. It wasn’t a selfish act no more. But as time passed on, she was heading towards a numb state. She was drained both emotionally and physically.

Whenever someone initiated the cry, the other silent beings started panicking and the outcry for help began. It became a routine. It triggered the speculation within her, she couldn’t believe it anymore, for her, every cry for help felt counterfeit. “Is it pre-recorded voices?” She asked within herself. As for her, the guy and the young girl felt real.   

“Please, stop shouting. I don’t think you will be safe here if you shout anymore.” The husky voice was born once again. It was the voice of a woman. A woman who didn’t portray any disappointment in that dark. She was fine to be there.

“He doesn’t like people who make loud noises. Did you observe that the people who ever shrilled and those who clamoured are taken away if they continuously repeat it? So, keep quiet. Be like me, then they won’t do any harm to us.” The woman cautioned them.

The guy was repeatedly coughing and breathing heavily. He felt suffocated.

 “Please can you open a window? Please I beg you. Please.” He begged for some air.

The girl responded to the guy. “Don’t panic. Be calm! And take a long breath, slowly and steadily”. He followed her instruction without uttering a word. She guided him and made him relax. Simultaneously, she was thinking about the woman’s caution. She couldn’t consider the woman as a victim in any way.

“Do you feel better brother?” The woman asked caringly.

“Feel Better? Can anyone feel better, when they are kept as a hostage and strangled? What are you asking?” Instead of the guy, the girl answered furiously. By then, she didn’t feel frightened to speak up, this is what she has longed for all her life. The courage to speak up for herself and others. She did it while going through a horrendous experience in her life.

“Hey cool! She asked out of concern.” The man said. “Arivuchelvi, these kids will understand as time passes, as I did.” The man said to the woman.

Arivuchelvi! Arivuchelvi! The guy and the girl repeated the name.

Arivu…..Chelvi……….Arivu……Chelvi. The guy tried recalling the name, he couldn’t recall any person in his life by the name Arivuchelvi.“Oh my god! Please, tell me the truth, why am I here? What’s going on around me?” The guy pleaded and cried. He couldn’t bear it anymore, he felt as though his head would explode. “I don’t know, who you are. You don’t know, Who I am? Still, we are here in the same situation. The only difference is, I somehow feel peace here and you feel threatened.” The man said.“Feel peace! Here! Are you a serial killer?” The guy asked“Don’t make me one.” The man responded furiously.“Is Ezhil here? The young girl who was whimpering the whole time intervened”“I am going to kill that Ezhil if I see him.” The man roared.The young girl was constantly repeating the name “Ezhil” by and then from the point of her arrival. That triggered the man. The young girl started howling out of fear and begged not to do any harm to her “Ezhil.” The young girl was purely innocent. She didn’t either know or care about what was going on. All she wanted was to reunite with her “Ezhil.”“Elango, it’s a little girl, don’t shout at her.” The woman Arivuchelvi said to the man.“Elango”. “Elango”. Both the girl and guy muttered the name. As soon as they heard the name, their brain processed for people they have come across so far. They both couldn’t recall a person by that name in their life. Somehow both were convinced within themselves that the man and the woman were behind this entire process. “Anyhow you are going to harm us. It will be good if we know the reason before it.” The girl said. “I am sorry Dad”. She said holding her emotions. She was on the edge of giving up her fight, as she couldn’t figure out whom she was arguing with. She could neither take a guess nor recall the memories of how she entered that place. All she did know was, that something horrible had happened. But she wanted to know why she was there at that dreadful place. She overcame the fear within her to a certain extent and was ready for anything to happen.“Don’t include me in it. I am not going to die like this.” The guy said breathing out.“That’s the spirit bro. Let’s fight.” A new raspy voice encouraged.“Oh god! Who are you, man?” The guy was fed up with every new entry.“That’s me. GOD.” The raspy voice said.

When the other voice introduced himself as GOD, the guy added one more to his psycho list, so he didn’t encourage the chat with the new guy.

“Let’s negotiate. Tell me your demands. I can pay you whatever you ask for.” The guy switched to business mode and started negotiating with his unknown enemy.

He realized getting angry or shouting was never going to take him anywhere. The terror that he experienced a few moments back haunted him within. He knew anything could happen at any time. Still, he tried. Because deep down he felt an intuition of being kidnapped by a foolish gang. Yet he cautioned himself to be careful as the foolish gang could go to any extent.

“Are you a rich guy?” Elango asked.

Elango’s question justified his intuition. The guy thought for a while and said “My family is.”

“Oh! Can you save me too? Please, will repay you in my lifetime. I have some savings too.” Elango asked for help.

The guy was shocked he felt a twist in his judgment. Yet he believed the man Elango was purposely twisting things. The girl tittered.

“Brother, can you save us too? We will repay you somehow.” The young girl joined the list of seekers.

The guy couldn’t get it. He was not in a state of mind to process these things. He turned out to the girl for help. “Hey, girl! Are they mocking us?”

“Don’t include me.” The girl said.

“Hey, I am sorry. But don’t you, want to get out of here?” The helpless guy asked

“I feel like you are an intelligent girl. So, think, let’s find a solution.” The guy tried to team up with the girl because he felt that the only person other than him out there with a sound mind was her.

“Keep your feelings to yourself.” The girl was rude to him now.

 After a few seconds of thought, she asked “How can I believe you that, you are not one among them.”

“Do I behave like those psychos?” He asked in a low voice. He thought the discussion with the girl was one-to-one. He forgot to think about his surroundings and the people around him. His only motto was to get out of that grisly place. 

“We all are one,” Arivuchelvi whispered.

Arivuchelvi’s voice stirred up the guy.

While on the contrary the word psycho always triggered Elango and it pushed him to the verge of anger.

He shouted and fought with the guy once again.

“You rich idiot, how dare you? Never repeat this, I will kill you.”

 Elango ended by saying, “I don’t want your help. You rich idiot. I would rather die here.”

“Never say that to me. Never.” The guy shouted; the scream felt as though the sky would fall apart.

People were emotionally damaged to the core. As they were incapable of fighting physically, bloodshed was out of imagination. It was an emotional torcher for them rather than a physical one. The inability to move haunted them yet most of them were physically safe, Other than the guy.

Once again, the place became calm. Only the respiration process was in action. Eventually, the girl gave life to the space by trying her best to have a conversation with Elango.

“Elango, you look like a genuine guy. I believe I can trust you. I feel you are a good person. It’s so frightening. Please tell me why we are here.” The girl spoke politely.

She continuously felt a terrible presence, as though somebody was sitting amongst them and was enjoying their suffering. She aspired to find that person. She couldn’t feel any of them being smart there. So, she decided to have a conversation and find out the truth. She started it with Elango by praising him. She guessed by then, that he wasn’t a fan of loud sounds so she asked gently.

Elango repeated in a gloomy voice. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.” After a pause, he said “Thank you, in my entire life, this is the first time someone has said this to me, that I am a good person. So, thank you. But for your information. I am not a good person.” He wailed while confessing.

He repeated twice, “I am not a good person. I am not a good person.”

someone or some incident in his life has deeply made him believe that he isn’t good. She thought. 

The guy overhearing the conversation was irritated, yet he didn’t intervene, he felt the girl was trying something and he believed it would lead to a positive result. All he wanted was to get out of that dark.

He was convinced that Elango was the kidnapper. He wasn’t sure of the reason, the only thing he was certain of, was it wasn’t for money.

On the other hand, the girl didn’t give up there, she didn’t judge Elango and jump to a conclusion. Instead, she was able to look beyond his words it was full of hurt and regret.

The guy sensed her silence and questioned her. “What are you going to do now? He is acting.”

After a long breath, she said “Do you have an option?

He said perplexingly “No, I don’t have any”

Do you have any idea of what’s going on around us? She asked politely.

He replied, “No, my eyes are blindfolded.”

Are you able to move? She asked controlling her tears.

“If I could I would have punched them and saved everyone here.” He said furiously.

His answer brought a smile to her face, it was a moment like a jaggery drop falling on a red chilli-tasted tongue.

“Do you watch many movies, she asked in the flow.”

“What?”

“If they were capable of taking you here, they are capable of doing anything, don’t underestimate them, and please don’t overestimate yourself, especially in this situation.” She said the reality, being in an uncomfortable position. 

“How did I come here? Do you remember, how did you end up here? He asked. Until then, he was thinking about an escape, but now he realized that he couldn’t even remember how he ended up there.

The guy tried his best to recall everything, he wanted to know how he ended up in that horrible place. He was able to recall up to a certain extent. The beer, the terrace and the love of his life flashed within him. As he thought more, he longed for that moment again. He wished to somehow get out of the rut and make his longing moments come true. But the reality taunted him. He felt like a completely lost person.

“So, you too don’t remember! Was I intoxicated?” The guy expected a reply from the girl. He felt slightly better when chatting with her rather than being alone and spiralling into the most dreadful thoughts.

“How do I know? But I am sure of one thing. There’s nothing we can do.” She said with a heavy heart.

“Yes, that’s what I am telling you from the beginning, we can’t do anything,” Arivuchelvi said rhythmically.

Arivuchelvi’s sweet and polite voices then and now instilled fear within them yet they ignored her.

“Elango, but I feel you are a good person by heart. I feel like speaking to my father. I feel that vibe.” She tried the emotional route.

She thought the person opposite her would fall for the father-daughter sentiment. But in contrast to her expectations, Elango exploded.

“How dare you compare me to your father? Don’t repeat this ever. If you repeat this, it will be your end. Be careful.” Elango lost control and yelled furiously, that behaviour of Elango startled the girl.

“Who is your dad? I hope he is his enemy.” The guy asked the girl as he thought he finally cracked something, he felt, that if the reason for the kidnap was known there would be a possibility for escape.

The girl didn’t come out of the shock. She couldn’t think of anything else. Her dad’s face and voice were the only thing stuck in her mind. She recalled the conversations with him and wept for a while. “You are stronger than you think. You can.” Her dad’s usual slogan kept on playing as a loop within her. It did some wonders within her. Her courage killed the fear and she blossomed stronger.

She knew her silence would never help her in this situation.

“I am sweety. I am in this pathetic situation here amongst you. I don’t know where I am, as my eyes are blindfolded. And I am tied up too. I’m tired of crying. I don’t think I have tears anymore. I am not going to beg for my release, I am not going to ask for help. But I wish to know why I am here.” The girl said and waited patiently for somebody to respond.

 She wanted to know how many of them were with her in the dark. She spoke without fear because people speaking or blabbering weren’t restricted in that space as she observed. Elango was on her list of kidnappers but she was sure he was an innocent idiot used by someone else. She tried to bring out the other voices to the forefront so that somehow, she could find the main culprit. She stood firmly like a lone warrior. She was determined to somehow get out of the place. She wasn’t anymore the same vulnerable weeping creature as she was when she was taken here. She was in detective mode packing her emotions aside.

“Sweety,” the guy muttered twice. He couldn’t restrict himself from thinking about his lovely wife. The memories of him fondly calling her Sweety and her cute response to that immersed him in joy. But at the same time, he didn’t forget the reality. His only driving force at that dreadful place was the beautiful memories of his love. He wished to go back home just for her. He longed for his wife’s tight hug.

Arivuchelvi’s voice brought him to the present.

“I am Arivuchelvi. I have been here for a long time. My friends were taken away a long back, but I am still here.” the woman came again into the frame. She volunteered to speak whenever possible. Her voice didn’t represent even a slight fear or sadness.

“I am Elango.” The man introduced himself just by telling his name, he was calm by then. It was an easy task for him to switch his emotions. He was a short-tempered man.

One after the other started introducing themselves. Sweety was shocked to hear people following her and opening up.

“I am Sudalai.” As a surprise, an old man’s shaky voice emerged.

Sweety was able to relate the old man’s voice to the crackling cough that she heard for certain intervals.

She knew already there were silent spectators too.

“I am Raja.” Another new entry spoke. The voice was so composed and polite, No crying, nothing. He asked, “Is there any possibility to escape?”

“I am Gomathi.” The young girl said. “Ezhil, say your name too.” The girl spoke to the boy who wasn’t present there.

As soon as he heard the name, Ezhil, Elango took a long breath and calmed down.

The guy was filled with doubts. On one hand, he was confused by hearing so many voices. He believed one among them was the one who strangled him a few moments back. But more than that the name Sweety disturbed him more. “Is this my wife Sweety?” He asked himself.

“Saanvika.” The guy said his wife’s name and waited to hear Sweety’s response.

“What? Are your parents idiots? How can they name a man like this? Are you a man? Or Did I misunderstand you by your voice? Elango lined up with his doubts and mocked the guy. As usual, Arivuchelvi joined him.

“Who is Saanvika?” Sweety asked curiously neglecting others.

“Don’t you know?” He asked stuffing his emotions.

“How do I know? Who are you?” Sweety asked doubtfully

The guy had mixed emotions, but happiness dominated everything. He was happy that the girl Sweety next to him wasn’t his wife. He felt good to know that his wife was safe.

“I am Preash. I don’t want to know anything. I want to just get out of this place.” 

“I too,” Raja said

Raja, Sudalai, Sweety, Gomathi, Preash. A voice read out the names loudly.

You Missed us both. Arivuchelvi was disappointed as she was left alone.

Raja, Sudalai, Sweety, Gomathi, Preash, Elango, Arivuchelvi. A rap song filled the dark space. They felt as though they were at a party.

A guy guffawed and spoke. “I welcome you all, to the club. Nice to meet you guys. Well, I am GOD.”