The queue grows longer behind me
Few people ahead of me now
Closer and closer I come to fate
Closer now, any second
My eyes meet the officer
Will my dreams be fulfilled
Or will I live and die stuck in a nightmare?

Any second now
The clock ticks in the background
Louder and louder
Buzzing in my ear, louder and louder
The grey stone room seems to close in
My vision starts to shake
As my eyes zero-in on the officer
It is my turn now
What is my fate good officer?

Never did I imagine that it would come to this
I was always a nonconformist
But I wasn’t given a choice this time around
A land that once promised freedom
Now thrives in chains
And now so do I
What can I possibly do now
When survival rests on my conformity

My mother once told me
Before the very same officer determined her fate
To never stop fighting
There is hope in struggle
Because when you stop fighting
Your hope dies
And you’re nothing without hope.

I stand before this very officer today
With the chance to claim my freedom back
What am I to do?
Mother, what am I to do?

The clock ticks even louder
The room is vibrating with anticipation
What am I to do?
I can’t...think...

“Nakkiran, you will be a...literary control officer.”
All the books left in the world
Stories and poems of hope
Struggle, sacrifice,
Love, peace,
Happiness
Now mine to destroy
What a fate

Not mine.
I refuse.
“I REFUSE!”