Once upon a time in a faraway land, there lived a kind boy named Jack. His folks didn’t have to do with him much, so he wandered off in a strange place with strange people. Everyone thought of him as weird, but he didn’t pay them any heed and kept totally to himself. He roamed and roamed further to find a friendly face. Reconciling to his fate, he sat on a stone by the pedestrian path. He thought about his folks, he thought about the world, he thought about everyone but himself.
A long time passed, and no one came. He was doing fine by himself. Then one day, a man in ironclad clothing came. He had a sword in one hand and a shield in another. He asked, “are you looking for a place to stay?”
Jack didn’t like strangers much, so he replied immediately, “no sir, thank you. Kind of you to ask, but I am getting by fine here.”
“There will be three times food and a roof over your head. You will not have to worry about sun or rain.”
Jack was tempted. He thought for a while and said, “okay if you say so.” He followed the man on a lonely road. The road took him to a place with huge walls. And they walked along the walls to reach a large gate. The gate opened and they entered inside. Looking at the castle in the distance, Jack asked, “are we going there?”
“Not today,” the man replied.
Jack didn’t mind and followed the man further inside. Away from the castle but still in sight. The path got narrower, and the men were scarce. They came to a halt at a place with bars. The rooms had roofs as the man had said. But all the walls were made of iron bars. The man unlocked a door and signalled Jack to go inside. When Jack didn’t answer, he said, “hurry now before you miss the next meal.” The man looked persistent with a strong grip on his sword. Confused and scared, Jack walked inside. The cell was hollow and cold, and he sat in a corner with his legs crossed. The door clanged shut with a rattling sound, and the footfalls grew faint as the man walked away.
The man strolled further to meet his fellow mates. And he boasted of capturing a young spy from an enemy kingdom. The mates patted him for his bravery. They drank and they laughed, and the man was never seen again.
Jack spent the night alone waiting, but the food never came. The sun rose, the rays shimmered, and he decided to look at his neighbouring cells. His right was empty, but his left was not. A girl was sitting facing back. “Hello,” he called with a glimmering hope. But she didn’t bother replying to an insignificant boy. He didn’t mind and looked at the castle in wonder. But a fella came and blocked his vision. He slid a plate under the bars with dry bread and some boiled potatoes. And without saying a word, he moved on to the next cell for action.
Jack didn’t complain; he just ate, slept, and wondered. And the days passed by without much to render. Then one fine day, he had a tiny visitor. He was a cute little squab with blue-grey wings. Jack didn’t mind the company, so he fed him crumbs. He grew up faster to be a smart pigeon. He danced around fanning his feathers and cooed happily in every weather.
The damsel in the cell had taken notice, but she continued some more with her natural pretence. And one day, when jack least expected it, she came over, knocked on the bars, and asked, “do you want to be friends?” Jack didn’t mind another company, and so the friendship began. They talked, they laughed, and the songs of love they sang.
The autumn passed and the winter came. And the three of them were happy even if their world was lame. Some more days passed when the girl wrote a letter. She needed Jack’s bird to deliver it farther. Jack gave his pigeon happily to his friend. Then pigeon carried the letter to her folks, who came straight away to take her to their own land. She left saying, “we will be friends forever. I promise I will keep on writing the letters.”
The winter passed and the spring blossomed. Without his friend, Jack struggled with his emotions. He further waited, but the letters never came. He was saddened in his cell knowing not whom to blame. Then he sent her a letter asking, “how are you doing with your pack?” The reply came, “who are you? I don’t know any Jack.”
Jack failed to understand and was heartbroken. He shed some tears laying frozen. The tears dried up, and he convinced himself there are no true friends in the world. Then he patted his pigeon for the last time before setting him free. And the days followed in a lonesome spree.
The memories faded with time. And Jack started doing just fine. He looked at the castle and felt happy again. He didn’t want his hope to die in vain. A few more days passed, and his right cell opened. A new girl was brought in as his neighbour. Her face looked sad, and her head was low. Life had given her the strongest blow. She dropped in a corner and cried through the night. Jack had seen the most painful sight.
His previously broken heart told him not to care. But his selfless part said that would be unfair. So, he gathered the courage to ask, “why are you crying?” She replied sadly, “my life is not worth living and I feel like dying.” Jack calmed her down thinking she might yet not be yielding. However, the next morning, she was adamant to quit, ready to hang herself from the ceiling.
Jack stopped her on time, kept all his guards down, and entered the world of empathy. And the more he talked to her, the darker her world seemed. She was lonely with no friends, and everyone had had her bullied. She desperately desired a friend in need. Without thinking about himself, Jack was there indeed.
The seasons passed and they fell in love. In their own small world like two inseparable doves. They dreamt together and promised to make their world better. And a unique tale of a true love story it was. And so they thought, and they thought for years. That they have been true lovers in their past lives, and they will be in all the future ones. “I Promise”, she said. “I will truly love you even after I die. My soul will always be around to look after you.” The bond was the strongest with many intimate promises. And Jack had never felt luckier in his life. Maybe getting locked in the bar was for a reason; meeting his soulmate was the ultimate destiny.
And Jack felt invincible; he could conquer the world with one hand if she were holding the other. The bars were only temporary; they couldn’t hold them forever for their hopes were too high. So, they built their fictional world, and they named their kids. In their own imagination, they grew old together. More seasons passed and the years turned into a decade. And one fine morning, her consciousness betrayed. She looked at the castle and wondered, “I wish I were born there. And lived like a queen. Oh! Has it really been these many years? What an inelegant way to live a life in constant fear?” She didn’t say much but her thoughts prevailed. And day by day it only upscaled.
She ignored Jack and looked after herself. Every day, she wrote letters. More letters. To everyone she knew: friends, cousins, brothers, sisters, and even distant relatives. She took out the gold coin that no one knew, and she bribed the guard to deliver the letters. And she waited and waited. For days and for weeks. But Jack was still oblivious and in love with all his heart.
That winter passed and the spring came. The spring brought a friend that she knew too well. With more gold coins to get her out. And Jack stood there with an urge to shout. “I love you, but we can’t be together. I am not the same person anymore. I have evolved. Take good care of yourself,” she said and left.
Jack collapsed and laid on the floor with a decade of memory to haunt him every day. Day and night. Week after week. Season after season. Every word spoken echoed in his ears. Every promise unfulfilled made him shiver. Every intimate moment tortured his heart. And every dream shattered drained his life. Jack was scarred for life.
He waited there to die. In a corner of his cell, without eating and drinking, like the skeleton of a lifeless soul. Then a guard came across and made a notice. The burden of a dead prisoner was too much to carry. He called another guard for attention. And then came some more. And more. The cell was swarmed with every guard in the kingdom.
“Doesn’t that face look familiar?” a voice shouted from behind. A few more voices hummed in agreement.
“Let’s take a closer look. Get him up,” said the man in command.
Two of the men went inside the cell and lifted his unconscious body to rest against the wall. They came back and said, “Nah, we haven’t seen him. Can anyone confirm why he looks familiar?”
One by one, they went and returned. It was the last but one who came back and said, “yeah, I know him. I had seen him in the country far north. When our king had sent me as a messenger to his cousin. A king up there. He is his son: Jackson Crawford.”
“Are you saying he is a prince and related to our own king?” the commander asked.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Are you sure you haven’t confused him with someone else?”
“I am sure. Saw him speaking to people there. His brothers were in disagreement. Remember it too well.”
“Who locked him up?”
“How would I know? I saw him just now after that visit.”
“Well, don’t just stand here. Call the doctor, will you? And do it like your life depends on it.”
“What is the rest of you looking at? Get him to the castle immediately before we are all executed for this blunder.”
Jack breathed life again. In a castle. Similar to the one he had run from. But he didn’t feel alive. He was missing the spark. He was freed from the cell and brought to a castle, but from the bondage of this selfish world, would he ever get free?