📸 Photo

SOLITARY CONFINEMENT

away like I did. If she had been in La Paz still, I knew that she would have saved me. Or even if she had known where I was, I felt that would have somehow made me stronger. She could have thought about me from the other side of the world. But there was no way that she could have known. No one on the outside knew where I was. I could have died and no one would have known.

Night-time was the most painful. The nights were cold, colder than I had ever imagined. It was difficult sleeping on hard wooden planks, but there was no choice - the concrete floor was colder. Without blankets, I couldn't stop shivering and thinking about all these problems. I knew there was nothing I could do while I was locked up, so I tried not to think about them. But it was impossible. I couldn't get away from my own thoughts, not for one minute. Being stuck in solitary confinement was like being a prisoner in your own head. In the dead cold of night, I became convinced that I was going to die before morning. I knew that I had to get out of there. I would go crazy otherwise.

◯◯◯

Julián eventually managed to get past the La Grulla guards, claiming that he had an obligation as delegate to check on the prisoners' welfare. I was so relieved when he arrived. He was my main hope of getting out of there and of proving my innocence.

'How are you holding up, Thomas?' he asked, lifting the flap and poking his arm through the observation hatch to shake my hand and slip me a stack of coins he had taped together for bribing the guards with.

'I'm OK, but how's Abregon? Does he know I'm in here?'

'He hasn't called.' Julián paused and added slowly, 'Someone spotted his woman in Cochabamba.' According to Julián, there were rumours going around that Raquel was dressing nicely and spending up big. It was what I had suspected, but that didn't make it any easier when I heard.

'Can't you send him something?'

'We're trying our hardest.'

'Julián, I need you to get me out of here. I need to speak to the governor.'

Julián persuaded the guards to let me call the administration office.

297