The Enigma Of Deceptive Love

Chapter 9: Blinding Lights

Sighing, I apologize before rushing into the washroom, carrying the uniform that was ironed and kept. At this rate, I'd be spoiled in no time.

Coming out, I found that Logan had changed too. I stare at him for a while, trying to imagine how his chiseled face would have its features placed in each part of the helmet-mask-thing.

I realize what I was doing quickly enough. My eyes wandered off to every inch of the red blobbed wall, cutting off eye contact from him.
"It's time for lunch." He says, quietly enough for me to hear.
I nod and follow him, only to lead the line yet again. We were fed lasagna, one piece per person, and a pudding - for dessert.

I take my seat on the isolated table. The same bruised woman approaches me, before hesitating and deciding to shrug her shoulders and come sit anyway.

Logan had come to ask us if we needed anything else, she shook her head whereas I asked for water.
While he was gone, I finally heard the woman.

"You left the castle didn't you?"

The building was indeed huge, with poles that stretched to above what my neck could comprehend. The antique look of the exterior was in perfect contrast to the modern interior. I never thought to call it a castle until then.

"I did yeah."

She slowly passes me a piece of paper, with a pleading face. Mouthing 'hide and open, please'. I open the paper, completely confused.

Even more confused when I saw what was written in fresh blood.

'What day is it?'

"21st of May?"

I look at her blankly, long enough to notice the fear that creeped into her eyes when a shadow approaches the table.

I hide the note, not understanding what any of this meant.

She looked like she'd acquired some very confidential information, nervous yet relieved, when she quickly stood up along with her plate.
Logan passed me the water, seeming as confused as me when he took the piece of paper and read it. Probably thought of her as a lunatic.

She was about to scream into the crowd right before a guard shut her mouth with his hand and took her away.

I didn't see her for the next six months.

We all get taken back to our rooms "to prevent further misunderstandings."

"What the hell was that."
"Oh you're asking the girl who just came back from school hoping to have her mango pudding in peace?"
"Right. My bad."
"Mhm."

We sit in awkward silence for quite a long time, before he breaks the ice,
"I'm sorry."
"For?"
"I won't be able to show you around today."
"Oh yeah, don't worry about it."
"Yeah- uh- so- wanna do something?"
"Pervert much?"
"Oh please. Don't flatter yourself.
And just like that, we managed to ease the awkwardness.

"No way a twenty something man hasn't read atleast ten books by now."

"Twenty three. And no ma'am."

"Tragic. What kind of a person were you in high school anyway?"

"Definitely a good looking one."

"You're way too full of yourself."

"It's called self-love." He chuckles

"More like obsession."

"As the kid wishes."

"You're impossible."

"You're gorgeous."

He goes to attend the knock at the door while I trace the word on my arm with my finger, with a certainty that I messed it up.
I quickly take my book and copy it down.

In a few minutes, the door creaks and he shuts it behind himself. Panting.

"You good?"

"Can I trust you?"

"With?"

"What I'm going to say of course."

"Tea?"

"Uh huh. So they took the crazy woman to a room. Like a completely white room."

"No blood stains?"

"Nope."

"Can I go instead of her? This makes me sick."

"No. You don't get it. Nevermind."

"Explain it to me, I promise I'm not eight."

"Okay so basically, this white room right, it's completely white, like no speck of a different colour."
"Is that it or am I too dumb to get the key info?"

"You're dumb.
Basically what happens in this form of treatment is that, depriving people from viewing other colours would make them lose their sense of identity."

"So you're telling me that having a rainbow life is what's keeping people sane?"

"Colour-wise? Yes. They deprive them of taste too."

"Oh so starvation causes this."

"Not exactly. We feed them, just bland rice and water. All in white plates. The rooms are also lined with specific kind of neon lights that completely removes shadows. They're also given absolutely no way of socializing with people for the time that they're there. Everything from their clothes to their surroundings would be white."

"That's sick."

"You think this is cool?"

"No I didn't mean sickkk, I meant sickening."

"So what exactly happens after that?"

"Sensory deprivation is the main goal here. The walls, food, literally any surface you touch will end up feeling the same, continuous exposure to illuminated surfaces will lead to lack of sleep. This goes on for about six months to a year, and when the person is finally released, they lose themselves completely unable to adjust to the new surroundings and one of the cell mates here even ended up killing himself."

"What if they find any other form of viewing colours, like cutting themself? Wouldn't they bleed?" I add.

"If you're cutting yourself just to be able to see a different colour, I'm pretty sure the treatment has already worked."

"What about when you relieve yourself?"

"Oh we slip a white paper for them, the guards wear padded shoes to avoid any sound."

"The fuck? Who even came up with all of this."

"It was used as a torture technique back in old Iran or something."

"I didn't want an answer, I was just expressing my concern."

"Girls are weird."

"Why do you not want the world to know about something that happened ages ago?"

"No the world knows. You're hopefully the only one."

"Then?"

"So the woman you met earlier-"

"No."
"I'm sorry."
"Why do y'all even have a place like that."
"Don't ask me. I don't run this place."

We spent the rest of the evening in silence.
I start revising a bit, trying not to think of anything that happened. This day was straight up the worst. Believe me, I wish I were exaggerating.
By the time I was called for dinner, I had given up studies and finished writing a poem. Logan snatches the book from me and starts reading it out loud before I could take it from him.

"Live, love, die.
Thats the rule of life.
Yet, the universe was unfair to me,
Maybe happiness is just not meant to be.
Everytime the noises echo through the ground-"

"Eat glass."

"Ouch. Rude."

My cheeks fired up. I keep the book inside and make my way outside. Where we had our dinner, for the first time, in peace.