-I edited the two-chapter escape and tried fitting it into one chapter so here it is. Therefore I am going to delete the chapter titled as  "The Fence".

The faint luminosity in the prison corridors guided Saleem forward as he made his way to the prison mosque. All around him, prison inmates who were regular at prayer joined the walk from their cells. Some said their greetings to him, while others simply looked away.

The mosque came in view as he turned the corner. Saleem realized that there were a lesser number of people present there than usual. Two of the five prayers always attracted lesser inmates to the mosque; the first prayer, Fajr and the last prayer, Isha.

Saleem set foot in the mosque when the Imam was performing his call for prayer. He proclaimed in Arabic.

"Come to prayer, Come to prayer

Come to success, Come to success"

His soulful voice penetrated into Saleem's heart and filled him with warmth that radiated out to his complete body. No melody in the world could compete with what he was hearing right now since every word was being recited with love and compassion.

Saleem sat there patiently, waiting for his last prayer at the mosque. Although he was happy that he would be escaping in a few moments, yet an unusual sorrow overtook him as if he was sad to leave this mosque for an indefinite period of time. Right here, within the confines of these walls, had he met with his new life; the life that was stocked with humility for mankind and love for God.

A few minutes later, Saleem performed his last prayer with moist eyes, listening to a heart-filled recitation of the first revelation, one of the surahs that the Imam regularly recited in his prayers. Saleem had become fluent in prayer by now and had learned the meanings of everything that he recited.

"The point is not to mechanically deliver a script to God. The point is to feel it, Saleem. And you can't feel it if you don't know what you're saying." Saleem remembered what the Imam had taught him and a tear raced down his cheek.

After the completion of the communal prayer, Saleem stayed behind with a few other inmates for individual prayer. The night sluggishly moved forward as everyone else left, leaving none but Saleem, the Imam and their God. Finally, the Imam ascended the cemented stairs at the front left corner of the mosque that led up to his residential room. The plan was finally in order. All Saleem had to do was wait.

Just as expected, a few minutes later a forty-year old man in the prison guard's uniform came with a register in hand.

"Saleem! I've been looking for you. Everyone's back in their cells." He said with an aura of ignorance. His patchy beard was clear in the soft light of the mosque.

"Yeah, I'll be back in a few more minutes."

The guard stood there in his loose-fitted uniform and stared at Saleem for a while as he prayed to God for help in his escape. After a few failed attempts at twirling his cane between his fingers, the guard turned at his heals and left.

"He ain't going anywhere. I'll come back and check later." He thought.

It was precisely because of such lethargic and irresponsible behavior of this particular guard that the Imam had chosen this day for the escape. The register duties rotated every day between the guards and this one was particularly infamous for his reproachful attitude.

Saleem stood up and looked at all four sides. The coast was clear, but his heart won't believe it. Everything that he had done and was hoping to do came down to this very moment.

Saleem made his way to the right where a metallic cupboard stood against the wall. He turned back one last time just to make sure, then held the rotten handle and turned it. Both the doors creaked open to reveal the left side filled with books of all kinds; old, leathery and dusty. But something glinted at the base. Saleem stole a look and saw a broken plastic trophy lying there. The Imam had kept it safe all these years!

But he did not have time to dwell over that. Saleem quickly stepped into the vacant right door and pulled the doors shut.

Instant darkness encapsulated him into a vacuum of blur thoughts and anxiety. He felt as if the doors were physically pushing in on him, depriving him of the little oxygen that he had to survive. The thick darkness accompanied him as he kept standing there, not knowing the amount of time that he would have to keep it up.

After an indefinite period, Saleem heard a soft clunk of metal against metal and then a clipping sound. The Imam had locked the Cupboard from outside, as planned.

The guard returned after a while with his mouth full of daal and roti, one of the country's favorite cheap foods, and peered around the vacant mosque.

"Well, he left, I suppose."

He had one last look around the room when he saw the old metallic cupboard in the far corner. He pondered upon the bizarre idea but then saw the metallic lock hanging on it. The guard turned off the lights.

Saleem, who still stood in the metallic cupboard, saw the ray of light vanish from the small creak at his foot and knew everything was going according to plan. Although his lungs were hurting with the exertion, yet the perfection of Imam's plan kept him going.

The guard left the mosque and turned away from Saleem's cell before stopping dead in his tracks. He scratched his head and cursed himself.

"Pasha is gonna give me another bashin' for being ignorant if he isn't back in his cell on time. Better go and check."

He turned around and trudged towards Saleem's cell until he stood in front of the rusted bars.

"Good. You're back in time." He grunted at the pillows that Saleem had arranged on his bed and covered with a sheet to make them appear like a huddled human being.

The guard opened his register as he walked away and hastily placed a tick in front of Saleem's name for the nightly attendance.

Back in the metallic cupboard, Saleem was struggling to breathe. Odd shapes were forming in front of his eyes as he battled anorexia. Another sound came now, someone was trying to open the lock from outside. Saleem heard the jingle of keys and then a clink.

The doors opened, bringing with them soft fresh air that filled his lungs with delight. The Imam stood in front of Saleem with his arms spread wide, holding both doors open for Saleem.

"Hurry!" He whispered.

Saleem stepped outside and felt his legs tremble under his body weight. The floor seemed to be shaking under his feet, but he maintained his balance. They had actually pulled off something totally crazy.

"You know what to do." The Imam encouraged Saleem.

Saleem nodded and smiled at his face one last time.

"Thank you!" He said.

"Thank me by staying resolute to your reason."

Saleem nodded in approval and then walked outside into the corridor, then turned around to see the dark interior of the mosque. But the Imam was nowhere to be seen. Saleem doubled back and took a deep breath.

"Let's do this."

He soundlessly ran along the corridor skirting the central open gallery and passed his cell, then took a right and descended the cemented stairs down to the ground floor. The dull blue paint of the prison walls could hardly be differentiated from the dark of the night. Saleem soundlessly jogged away into the open night.

Light breeze rippled through Saleem's hair, making it ruffle and scatter bizarrely. In front of him, the prison ground stretched for some fifty meters and was contained by steel fences with barbed wires on the top and four watchtowers at every corner of the compound.

Saleem ran now towards his left where he saw a small warehouse. He had not known what was it used for until about a couple of days ago when the Imam had told him. Saleem's muscles already began to crumple under the pressure when he finally reached the wooden door to the warehouse. Lights had been turned off inside, just as the Imam had told him. Saleem turned the doorknob but found it locked.

Taking a couple of steps back, Saleem ran shoulder first into the door, utilizing all his body weight, and slammed forward which caused the door lock to break open. Clutching his now-swollen shoulder, Saleem saw heavy machinery inside whose metal glinted against the twilight. Saleem looked for the lever that he had to pull. Time was against him and he had to hurry.

Saleem began sliding his hand over the machines as he walked along them. The moonlight was insufficient for him to realize truly what he was feeling, but he hoped to find the lever soon. Once he reached the farthest corner of the room, he felt the cool metal of an apparatus that was unmistakably a lever.

Saleem crouched below to read what it was since he couldn't afford to mess it up. But all that he could see in the dim light were some English letters that he could not comprehend in the first place. Saleem wished he had attended school now.

He closed his eyes and pulled the lever.

The whole prison had been deprived of electricity when Saleem pulled the lever. The forlorn walls erupted with groans of distaste as the inmates screamed for the guards to check for the electricity.

Saleem's heart beat in a distraught manner as something sank deep into the pit of his stomach. He had just a few more minutes to run some fifty meters to the steel fences that were now devoid of the deathly electric shock that they could induce to anyone wishing to so much as touch them.

Saleem ran for the door as fast as he could. It was only a matter of time before anyone came to check on the problem that had occurred. The immense heat made it unbearable to survive without at least a ceiling fan being turned on.

As Saleem reached outside and closed the door behind him, he saw a man walking towards the warehouse from a distance.

"HEY!" The man shouted before Saleem could react.

Saleem stopped dead in his tracks while his chest heaved with the effort to breathe.

"HOW LONG IS IT GONNA TAKE TO GET THIS SHIT FIXED? THE HEAT'S FRYIN' US INSIDE." The guard had not realized who Saleem was in the dark and had supposed him to be a technician.

"Yeah... I'm working on it." Saleem replied.

"You better!" The guard moaned despairingly and turned back towards the prison façade.

The coast was clear now. Saleem waited for the guard's dark silhouette to vanish inside and then ran for the distant steel fence. Every step came as another huge effort, but he kept going until his lungs were aching with exertion. The guards on the watchtowers could see him if they focused, but his black shalwar kameez camouflaged him well in the night.

Saleem's mouth ran dry as the fence came within ten meters of him. He reached it and held it with his hands. As scary as it sounded, he had nothing but his body to help him get through. The only way he could escape was to climb this fence and hope the guards won't notice him.

Saleem placed his foot in one of the diamond shaped holes between the steel wires and pulled himself up, then placed his other foot in another hole and continued higher. His progress was steady as he lofted himself above the ground. He could see the sharp barbed wires at the top now. Saleem's mind dwelled into a state of panic as he lost his footing and was left hanging with both his hands holding on to the fence and legs waving in the air.

His legs banged against the fence and created a noise. Saleem closed his eyes and stayed still, hoping that no bullet would pierce into his skin at any moment.

One he was sure that none did, he opened his eyes and steadied his feet again, climbing higher until he reached the circular barbed wires at the top. He saw sharp blades placed on it in regular intervals that shined against the twilight. Saleem placed his finger on them and tested their sharpness. They weren't as sharp as they seemed to be.

Saleem held on to the wire between two blades so he won't cut himself open and pulled himself upward, making sure to keep his body away from the blades. His left thigh grazed against one as he pulled it over to the other side and he sliced open a cut that immediately bled.

Saleem didn't have time to focus on that, it was just a matter of time before the guards on the watch towers noticed. He pulled over the other leg as it grazed against more blades and wet his shalwar with blood. Wincing with the pain, Saleem held on to the fence as he could not afford a drop from this height.

Now on the outer side of the fence, Saleem felt closer than ever to fleeing this life once and for all. He lowered himself from the fence as the welcoming ground came closer and closer to meet him until finally his feet landed on the dry grass just outside the prison boundary.

Saleem turned around to view the free world and ignored the pain that shot through his legs. He turned his head on either side to see if the guards had noticed, but they didn't seem to have. Just as he took his first step away from the prison, the lights came back to life and prison alarms erupted into a mocking laughter for Saleem. He gulped the last bit of air that he could freely and ran...