Finally Free

Pyongyang Airport – Afternoon:

Kathleen is being arrested at the customs for no reason. She has no luggage except for the small handbag she held during the whole flight from Dubai. She was just passing by Pyongyang for some photo shooting before flying again to Beijing. That would be her last stop before going back home to Phoenix Arizona.

For thirteen years she had been working in journalism. And she excelled in it. Often criticized in the United States for showing the true positive sides of the world the Americans always wanted to hide.

Kathleen wasn’t even allowed to make a single phone call. She was thrown into a small truck which led her to a female prison on an terrible rainy day.

This was more of a terrorist kidnapping than a police arrest. Kathleen wasn’t charged for any crime. She was sure nothing was in her handbag. The only hardware she had was her camera, and not much photos were taken except for some desert sites in the United Arab Emirates.

The only thing Kathleen could think about was that she had been the victim of a long and crucial dual between countries. Between the United States and North Korea. She was an American stepping into an enemy zone. But then she thought that she was a reporter and dozens of them, Americans, fly to Pyongyang on a monthly basis.

That’s it. Kathleen was in prison. Not in any prison. In Pyongyang. No news. She had no clue of what was happening outside her room. Obviously her family had done some contacts, the American news had broadcasted it, the story became a huge headline around the world, but Kathleen felt that she had been forgotten.

Four years had passed and Kathleen was still in the Pyongyang prison. Life had no meaning anymore. Hope had vanished and therefore she was living the day just to live it. And if she did not, she wouldn’t mind.

By that time the Americans had reached an agreement with the North Koreans. Kathleen was to be released in exchange for taking away some American missiles which were placed in Afghanistan and others in Japan. Two of the largest American bases in the Eastern region. Of course all the negotiations took place through a third party: Russia mainly and under the international umbrella of the United Nations.

Kathleen went outside for her everyday walk. She was exhausted and extremely down. She could barely feel her body. She was slowly looking around but really not seeing what was out there. Pictures and sounds meant nothing anymore. Life was starting to close its curtains.

All the international channels were starting to cover the news conference during which the American ambassador to the United Nations was to announce the release of Kathleen from the North Korean prison. Channels from all around the world were covering it. In all languages.

Kathleen was standing there, somewhere in the middle of the large court where the prisoners could walk. She was looking straight at the fences which lead outside the prison. They were heavily done and there was a guard each few meters. So everybody knew there was no way out.

But still, Kathleen started to run. Going faster and faster with every step. All the other prisoners were watching. The guards were shouting. With every new step Kathleen ran, the guards were shouting louder. They were preparing the guns. Kathleen was running towards freedom. Here, she had a smile on her face.

The American ambassador spoke for about five minutes explaining the details of the negotiations that took place. Finally he said that the world is again experiencing the defeat of the evil and the freedom of the innocent.

Kathleen was five meters away from the closed fence when all the guards opened fire. The smile was still on her face when she laid down on the ground.

She was finally free.