I nodded, wanting to confess I was out of my mind, but I thought he should know. “I guess not.” He sighed again, dismayed. “There’s really nothing to talk about, is there?” “Why? Should I?” I didn’t exactly know what I’d done, but I wouldn’t admit that. “You mean you don’t have any reasons for what you’ve done?” he asked. “OK.” He loosened the bandages and turned to me. “Will you please take these awful things off me now?” I asked. From his shrug, I could tell he was weak-willed. He then wheeled me into a sterile room with bright lights. I looked at my driver and backseat matron-they were dying to hear me confess. After riding a smudged and dirty elevator filled with spooky people, I was wheeled into an iron-barred room where a psychiatrist for law enforcers questioned me. The attendants made me sit in a wheelchair and restrained me with endless white bandages. I was taken for an interview at a hospital. But underneath, I could detect a basic goodness, and I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to kill me. My face looked much younger than my hands and not as wise. I wondered if I knew as much as my palms and turned to see myself in the red lights. Long and tapered, they had deep, revealing lines, ancient and wise. Taxes kept people like me in the back of police cars. I’d interrupted her gossip session with the driver about prisons, job positions, and the new chief.
“Don’t start,” a matron snapped, glaring at me. As we drove onto the muted gray freeway, the sunset was a diluted brownish-orange, forming a halo of smog above the city. Having been captured so unfairly, I had no desire to continue living in such a culture. Handcuffed, I became subdued and disdainful. With two on each side and one behind me, I was literally dragged and thrown into their car. They weren’t going to get me easily I’d make that clear. I swore, kicked, clawed, hit, and bit, breaking away only to be grasped and yanked back again. I twisted around, lashing at random faces. After making a few yards of progress, I was seized from behind. I lunged forward with all my strength, throwing him off balance. I hoped we could laugh and explain it to the others. It passed through time and space we were playing an absurd game and we both knew it. I stared hard into his eyes, and he held the gaze. Searching for his face, I was pleasantly surprised to find he looked young and kind.
“You took my keys,” I said, attempting to clarify the situation.
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