1

Prisoner E lies on the floor looking at the peeling paint flaking off the high c
eiling. He's almost relaxed in his frustration. A long sigh of impotence sways h
is breast. Locked in a cell, no place to go, nowhere to hide from the bad choice
s in life. The consequences of his deeds come at him like rabid, barking dogs. I
t's been so many years since that dirty day when he got so reckless, confused, f
rightened and into all this damned trouble. Conscience pangs can be muffled out
at times yet never wane completely. He is trapped in something worse than a nigh
tmare. He's been sentenced.. For his crimes, of course. Sent to live the twisted
, strange life in the prison system on the Dominican side of Hispaniola island i
n the Caribbean Sea. A place where he is supposed to go to re-adapt to life in s
ociety. He has not been sentenced for life. But he has been sentenced to the har
dest time: 30 years. In the crevice between crime and pain lies prison life.. Wi
th some chaotic order rising from need and corruption. The only arms open to him
are those of decadence and paranoia. At the edge of daybreak begins the ache of
having to face the other inmates, to listen to their constant chatter and yelli
ng and screaming and fighting and cursing. The noisy bachata music, played too
loud on every possible speaker system or the Pentecostal Christians banging thei
r bongos and tamboras. Their giras and deranged praising hymns.. Inmates selling
every possible thing, from cellular phones to cocaine and weed and booze to chic
harrn and bofe and yanikeke and mab to rooms made out of plywood (called Goletas)
with internal plumbing and a bed and a tv and a fan. If you are wealthy enough y
ou can even have an air conditioner or a water heater or the latest smartphone o
r an HighDefinition TV set, a fridge or a microwave oven. Yet he lies on the flo
or looking at the peeling paint because he can't afford a Goleta. So he sleeps o
n the floor. They call him a "rana" literally, a frog. Hunger rumbles his belly.

He has no money. So all he gets to eat is Chao, prison food, white rice and maca
roni in watered tomato paste with chicken bouillon, and cocoa and oats. This is
all the food he gets. So do all the one's who cannot afford to buy or cook their
meals. A paint flake falls into his eye, he tries to get it out by stretching o
pen his eyelids but as the eyeball moves he feels the harsh flake scratching his
sclera. He cries in pain. The tears in his eyes rinse out the flake. He hates h
is life.

2
prisoner N tip-toes to look out of a dirty window with bars at the flowing rain.
The strong wind sweeps the prison grounds. A wave of flies fleeing the rain sma
shes against his face and arms and against everyone else. He cringes as he tries
to adapt. The country side that one can often see from the prison window is ste
eped in fresh watery fog. The palm trees sway violently. He looks around at all
the others, some look back at him and sort of smile. He wants to smoke some mari
juana. This is why he came to this window, but a cop is nearby. In this prison t
he guards are policemen called "llaveros" (key-handlers) and this one is going i
nto a GOLETA to fetch a cock fighting rooster. N looks at another chicken that i
s clucking under a table. It is tied with some rope to a table leg next to the w
indow. The table is used to prepare food on it. The wood is not painted and on t
he top it is covered with linoleum. This is like a restaurant's kitchen that N i
s looking at. Next to the table is an "ANAFE", this one made out of a 5 gallon t
in can of cooking oil transformed into a mobile furnace, filled with burning cha
rcoal and a skinny shirtless mulatto man is deep frying plantains on a thick met
al skillet on the coals. This cooking and food serving arrangement is one of man
y lining the wall just underneath the iron barred windows. The floor is dark wit
h charcoal soot and ash. The smell of very hot, almost burning soy oil and wafts
of powdered garlic seasoned frying chicken stuns N' senses. He moves towards th
e end of the corridor hallway. Away from where the cop is and lights his joint.
Some inmate smiles with approval. N strikes a wooden matchstick and lights up.
Puffs and inhales. Holds it in. Puffs some more. A little cough. He swallows har
d. Feels the rush from the weed make his heart beat a little faster. Feel a litt
le bit scared of getting caught. Looks to where the cop was and sees him leaving
, rooster in hand. N relaxes at the sight. The inmate that was smiling is beggin
g with his eyes for the oily roach between N 's fingers. N hands him the roach.
The man inhales with passion and desire. As if he were hungry for the smoke. Th
e small butt end of the joint burns like an ember between the man's fingers. He
sucks the last little smoke there is left and tosses the last burning bit of th
e joint into his mouth. N smiles and walks away. Higher than before. The rain fa
lls outside and the palm trees seem to dance in the cool stormy wind.
3
prisoner D remembers the day he arrived at the prison. The details remain with h
im no matter how much time goes by. He is 39 years old now. Two months short of
two decades in the slammer. He was still a teenager back then. He came here for
his part in a heinous murder. He knew from the moment he was arrested that he wa
s facing the maximum penalty. It had been an uncomfortable ride on the way to th
e prison. The vehicle was over-crowded until the point his ribs were squeezed so
hard between rough policemen in bullet-proof vests that he could hardly breathe
. He looked at the highway, wondering where this prison was. Some lieutenant, th
e one that conducted the investigation had said that this prison was like a hote
l. He and the other sad soul involved in the crime where being moved in a convoy
, their over-crowded vehicle flanked by a silver pick up truck with SWAT guys in
the back The case was of high media profile.
They came to an exit off the highway and D recognized having passed by this plac
e when going to the beach and the time he worked in Bani at the clothing factory
in the Free Zone.
The vehicle turned right and the left and they arrived at the prison. They came
upon some big iron doors, an asphalt driveway greeted by an almost life size sta
tue of a white plaster Jesus his arms open in a blessing/come unto me manner. D'
s hearts beats fast as the vehicle stops at the front door and he is taken out o
f the car. His legs are weak and the twinge of pain in his spine makes him tumbl
e. The officers at the prison look at him and at the other guy. "So these are t
he assassins.." says the man in charge with disgust and scuttles them, rushed do
wn a dark hallway into a room with a large barred window with white metal Veneti
an blinds. The blinds are open and through them can see a horde of inmates pilin
g on top of each other for a chance to look at D. They scream at him. "Murderer.
Abuser." A guy with dark skin and green eyes yells "I'm gonna rape you, you bas
tard." A man with a body builder's physique and into his 50's "Child Killer! Mon
ster..." D looks at their angry deranged faces. What would he do if he were thro
wn into that angry mob. Fight back with all his might? until they shanked him an
d bled him? How many could he bring along with him? But then closing time came
and the screaming prisoners were hauled back to their cells by the llaveros. An
d D was looking out the window. Then a policeman comes into the room and says th
at there are ham and cheese sandwiches and juice or soda for sale. D hands him a
100 note and the policeman goes to fetch the snacks. D goes back to the window
where he sees an inmate approaching from the other side of the bars. It's the da
rk skinned guy with the green eyes. "I can buy some cigarettes for you."
"Wait, didn't you just say you were going to rape me? I heard you scream this at
me!" The dark skinned guy smiles a bit and says "they were all screaming at you
, I had to scream something too! But I didn't mean it. My name is Lee!"
4
prisoner Q is locked in a room in prison This is his cell for now. But it is not
a cell like the others. It is really just a strange room. Supposed to be a clin
ical laboratory but it is really abandoned. It has a barred window with metal Pe
rsian blinds painted white. And two concrete counters covered with blue bathroom
tiles. One of the counters is under the length of the window, the other one, to
the right, makes an L shape.
There's a knock on the door, a wooden door white on the outside with a natural
wooden finish on the inside, prisoner Q has stripped off the white paint on his
side with a razor blade. Taking some nights to do this. But there's a knock on
the door. Q was sleeping in this air conditioned room, gets down from on of the
counters where he had set up his bunk, opens the door and it is Caesarine. She's
an inmate in the prison too. They smile and kiss, he closes the door, then ther
e's another knock and it's Peter July, he's the dentist/doctor, happens to also
be an inmate. "You have ten minutes" he says and leaves, Q bolts the door. And t
hey embrace. Caesarine is older than Q, she must be like 38 and Q is 20. They ki
ss and Q pulls out her white tittie and sucks on the soft nipple, the aerola ski
n tightens under his tongue tip. She grabs his dick and they get up on the bunk.
She gets comfy and slides the thick engorged cock into her wet mouth while she
caresses the balls. He stops her moves around, kisses her and slides a finger up
her pussy. Her vagina feels dry inside and sort of rough, like he had never fel
t before but he had never been with and older chick, so who knew really. They ki
ss and flirt some more and she spreads open her ass and gets on all fours. Q fuc
ks her pussy. She's white and skinny and wears small rectangular glasses that ma
ke her look witchy somehow. Q squeezes her white butt, her asshole perks up as s
he slams her pelvis on the cock, grinds and they come, he creams her pussy. She
gets her panties on with the cum inside her. She kisses him, smiles and leaves t
he room. Q closes the door again. Grabs a tissue to clean his dick then heads fo
r the bathroom to get a shower.
5
prisoner J stands facing the 8 in the morning sun on a winter day. He needs to g
et a little sun. He has tuberculosis and he needs fresh air and sunshine. But he
re in prison he stands in a concrete yard where there is a b-ball hoop and some
men frying yanikekes in anafes , other prisoners getting some sun, smoking, stre
tching, scratching, coughing. The septic fumes waft from an open register almost
in the middle of the yard that other prisoners are trying to fix. He has a blue
cardiscman blasting some techno into the headphones. A breeze flows by intermit
tently. It's the freshest air he's going to get in this joint. He stands there
and another guy sort of creeps up next to him, a taller guy. Dry skin up his arm
s and neck give him a certain air du serpent. So he tries to make chit chat, not
caring much for the fact that J is wearing headphones. J tries to ignore him bu
t he is after all taking the sun and just standing here and so decides to take t
he headphones off and listen to the snaky man.
Not many words go by when the man starts telling of how he liked to roam the riv
er border and once he found a couple, a man and woman, who ere kissing and fondl
ing each other in a lustful encounter, but he had a gun. So he held them at gun
point and raped them. J looks at the guy. It is bizarre but not quite uncommon t
o come upon monstrosity every now and then. The man looks excited. He savours ho
w she cried and told him to stop, that he was hurting her. She looked so beautif
ul as I hit her, he lets out. They did catch him and took him for trial and conv
icted him. But that was some time ago, because he came out free once more, and r
aped someone yet again. His eyes were sort of lighting up. He was totally relax
ed telling his story in the morning light. This is a typical day in this place.
J shifts his weight puts his back to the sun.
6
What does a man do with any moment of his life? Live, as best he can. Anywhere h
e might be at. Call on some stories just for old times sake but even stories fad
e at a fast pace. And a new mental state, is needed. Man needs to re create all
the time. Every moment is lost only to be re-FOUND.
prisoner T knows a guy, Sergyo, used to be a dominican army guy, a lieutenant. O
n a 3 year sting. Crazy-go-lucky white guy, like 37 yrs old. Had a cute wife and
gorgeous blond baby girl. But he likes cocaine. And he can't handle cocaine. Th
is one night in 99 he did some and lost it. People had to shower him to try to c
alm him and keep him alive. He was screaming, scared that "they" were coming. Th
e other inmates in the cell tried to restrain him. Yet there weren't many people
, only five. So they handled him in his paranoia. One of the inmates suggested t
hat they put ice on his balls to calm him. This they all agreed upon and did. Th
en the next day they talked to him. And he apologize to his cell mates. He was g
oing to quit for good.
During the days he exercised, and did his dishes. He was fat and white and had f
at bitch tits. He had tattoos and abundant chest and back hair. He talked of sho
oting guns and rifles. Much bravado at times yet like a wounded cow. Then one da
y POLICE breaks down the "especiales". The special cells where the wealthiest li
ved, so there is an exodus, and the guys living in las especiales are pretty sp
ecial on their own and all have and share their drug habits. There's Lil Maxim a
nd Victorio. And they got some blow. They're about te same age as Sergyo and the
y know him, so they share the snow with him. He snorts and it is some mother fuc
king electric buzz ringing from his nostrils to his asshole, tightening up.
Some hours later Sergyo wants more. He 's up on the wagon again, and it's moving
fast, thoughts go through him like a TRAIN. But he's got no dough left. "Pawn t
hat electric fan!" says lil' Maxim. And so he does and they get money for two mo
re grams. But this blow is mad strong. Lil Maxim is a crack burning intraVENOUS
stinging pill guzzling addict and is freaking out on the drug, moving his jaw to
the sides, grinding his teeth at times, scratching his nose.
"AAHH, Ahi vienen!" (Here they come!!) - Sergyo screams and bolts out of his cel
l/room. He was locked in there, snorting coke with out a fan, and he's fat and s
weating like hog. He's drenched in sweat. He screams. By this time there are man
y more other people in the and some try to help him, to hold him down. But he sc
reams and moves fast through the centre hallway of the cell. He screams and gets
away from the helpers. But the cell door is closed because it is at night, afte
r closing time. He screams in terror, fear in his face "Ahi ESTAN!" (there THEY
are!!). He holds up his hand to his chest as if he's in pain. He collapses to th
e floor. Others try to help him and put him in is room, a Christian starts prayi
ng. But he leaps up again and is trying to run away. He dashes out of the room o
nly to be hit by the chest pain again. The prisoners are all confused. Some are
trying to help and start calling for the guards to come. And eventually they do.
And look at Sergyo and his lips are bluish. They look at him and they leave. Th
e prisoners insist on calling the guards. About 20 minutes after the guards come
again and open the cell door and some inmates help take Sergyo to the medical a
rea. When he got to Juan Pablo Pina. He was D.O.A.
7
to be continued...