Trapped
I glance at the photograph—the one we took decades ago, arms entwined, smiles wide. Just yesterday, I shredded it to pieces. And yet here it is again, by my pillow. Whole. Intact. Waiting.
I stare at it, heart stuttering in my chest. The same crooked angle, the same laugh frozen on Monal’s face, her arm wrapped around Arjun—my Arjun—as if she owned him. Shreya and I lingered, desperate to belong.
We took the photo at Mall Road. All of us kept a copy, promising to hold on to these moments forever. But I threw mine into the gorge, the same gorge in which Monal, Arjun and Shreya fell. An accident, they said.
The truth is trapped within me, the way I’m trapped here.
The phone in the hall rings once, sharp as their haunting screams, then falls silent. Like every night since they locked me here.
I shuffle to the lone unlocked window..
The air smells of rain, jasmine, and memory. There, on the ledge, lies another photograph, of faces I never wanted to remember, but can never forget.
I hide the photograph under the sheets as the orderly’s footsteps clatter in the silent hallway.
***
Trapped is my submission for #btbwritingchallengeofjune2025. This story won 250 BTB coins.