An iron heart, maybe that's what man possesses. A heart that does not easily throb or bleed. Unlike women, they don't wear their hearts on their sleeves. A woman is known to have a power, that being the ability to hide everything in the depth of their heart. Their secrets are locked away in a small treasure box. But do men also have a treasure box? I think they do, but unlike women who keeps this box securely caged inside their heart, man would bury theirs beneath a desert. A scourging place that they will never revisit. Maybe that's why men forget, but women never do.
***

(East Wing San Fernando Correctional)

Sebastian slowly pulled open the door to the stock room with Protacio trailing behind him. Ernest had volunteered to carry the young cop back to the South Wing. It took a lot of convincing for Protacio to give in. Not because he failed to trust the prisoner, but because he somehow feared for the big man's life. Protacio was aware of the circumstances why the giant was locked away.

He murdered his sister in a fit of rage. According to his lawyer's argument, the big man was emotionally unstable during the time of the murder. He had just lost his wife and unborn child. He watched how his wife bled and their little angel was forced to leave her mother's womb, earlier than expected.

But the prosecution argued that Ernest did not kill his sister during the accidental death of his wife and child. He acted upon it four days after their death, which the prosecution saw as premeditated murder. Needless to say, the jury agreed with them.

But could they truly blame the big guy? Anyway, Protacio had a soft spot for him. He never once joined any riot inside the prison or indulged in any inmate problems, there was no misdemeanor ever recorded on his file. Maybe, that's why the warden felt hesitant to allow the big man on a journey that could potentially cost him his life. Protacio feared that allowing him to do so, would be sending him to his death.

But the young guard's life was also at stake. Protacio had to make a decision. Lose one because of cowardice or lose both because of courage. Well, a prisoner and a cop could only be associated with courage, right? So, he permitted Ernest and prayed for his and the young guard's safety.

"Hey, where is that fridge?" Sebastian asked, disrupting the musings of the old warden.

"It's that big door in front of you." came Protacio's reply, after the inmate with him, brainlessly rummaged through the boxes inside the room.

"Is this a fridge?" Sebastian asked.
Protacio rolled his eyes while saying, "Could you keep blood inside a box without spoiling it?"

Sebastian understood the look his warden gave him. He had to admit, it was stupid of him to search inside the boxes on the floor. But it's meant to be a joke. He supposes, the warden was not in the mood for any humor right then, they were, after all, fighting for survival.
***

(North Wing)

The number of inmates who decided to return to their previous dwelling, increased by the minute. Every one of them was well aware that escape was out of the question. Besides, Rudolf's man was not one to choose between killing a guard or a prisoner. The convicts mused that the small enclosure which they longed to escape from, was the safest place they could ever be at that moment.

One prisoner, in particular, crawled back on top of his bed. He pulled the sheets over his head and opened, what to him, seemed like a love letter. It was smudged with footprints and the bottom was torn, but the wordings were still readable. He was not a nosey man, but his mind needed to appease his worried heart, and what best to placate the thoughts of death than to read. Being who he was before he ruined his life, a piece of paper with words in it would surely bring him peace.

Dan Griffiths was a former librarian. He used to live a peaceful life before a certain incident brought his ass to San Fernando Correctional. An incident that involved a minor. A sexy, cunning teen who drained him dry of his life's earnings. But, if anyone would ask Dan if he regretted being in a relationship with her, he would say no. Even if it resulted in his incarceration, because it was the first time he fell in love, the first time he was ever in a real relationship, and the first time he felt valued.

Though he later found out that she wasn't serious with him, he still saw what they had as something special. He was not a good-looking man. He was twenty-six and single, living alone in an empty apartment. Although she broke his heart, he was happy. Besides, her being with him was a miracle in itself.

He could have walked away. He could have turned the other cheek when she urged him to Rob a bank. He knew it was wrong, but how easy was it to walk away from what you saw as your life? Your source of air, and happiness?

He heard the others pacing on the floor surrounding his cell, murmuring worries and questions. Dan needed to escape; he wanted something to get his mind off of things.

Before releasing his next breath, the prisoner brought the letter towards his face and began to read.
***

Dear Maria,

I fell asleep inside the library this afternoon. I can't help but wonder why no one bothered to wake me. I was reading a book called Of Mice and Men. It was short, but it was a good read. I guess everyone in this world is meant to face a hard decision. Everyone needs to take a step forward, even if doing so could possibly hurt them in the process

The book spoke about two friends, two males who grew up as brothers. One of them was a bit slow in the head while the other was smart. Their life kept falling apart every time the mentally challenged generated a problem, dragging the other guy down with him. Anyway, the brilliant one needed to kill the other, because he had become a threat to himself and to others. It was a task that took everything in him to accomplish.

As I read through the pages Maria, I understood one thing. It was right of me to walk away from you before, even if it crippled my soul in the process. I knew I will become a threat to you, your family, and myself as well, if I stayed beside you, any longer after your marriage.

At first, and I have to clarify that I felt like this for years and years, I thought it was a mistake on my part to have walked away. I believed, for the longest time that turning my back on you after your marriage was a big mistake. But now, I think I did the right thing.

The morning after your wedding. I immediately packed my things. It was so difficult Maria. I was moving like a robot, willed by nothing except for the proper thing to do. I can't even remember how I managed to box all my belongings in one day.

When nightfall hit the sky, without thought of anything but to create a distance between me and your new family, I rode a bus, took a train, rode a cart, and before I knew it, I found myself in a place called Rancho Buenaventura. It was a privately owned land. I don't even know how I got there Maria. All I was certain of, was the vehicles I rode, but how I chose which one or where to go, those decisions remained a mystery.

When I became fully aware of where I was, I noticed that I only got my backpack with me. The boxes I had when I left San Ignacio were no longer present. Even the suitcases that held my clothes were missing.

I lingered like a dumb man in front of the Ranch's gate until a woman came up to me and asked, "Are you the new worker they sent?"

I bobbed my head without thinking, and before long, I found myself ushered inside a small house, which I was told, will become my quarter.

I sat inside the small cottage musing about you, where I was, how I got there, and a bunch of other thoughts, which I can no longer recall as of today.

The woman who led me inside the cottage reappeared by nightfall. She gave me dinner along with a newspaper. She expressed her gratitude for my arrival and said, "Thank goodness the company sent a decent-looking man."

I didn't want to alarm her, so I mutely nodded my head to acknowledge what she said. When she left, I took the newspaper, and only then did I realize, it has been ten days since I left San Ignacio.

I had no recollection of my travel. I guess, my head and heart were in so much turmoil, my body just moved on its own.

That was the beginning of a new chapter in my life Maria, but allow me to say, not a single day went by without the image of you plaguing my mind.

Merry Christmas Maria! How is the turkey this year? I hope you're spending Christmas with your kids. Maria, do you have a new man beside you now? If you do, I hope he is treating you right. But something tells me, you are well capable of protecting yourself this time around.
I love you Maria

Love Forever

Your Silent Knight