A full Stomach

A full stomach
By Rohini Sundar

3700 words


         "The treacherous are caught by their own greed." The words from the bible echoed in my ears and I wished I had paid more attention at church.  It was too late to repent now as I lay there, unable to move, wishing I had not heeded Mammon’s whisperings.

#####

         It all began when Mitch came home two weeks ago, wearing an excited, overeager look on his face.
         “Hey, we gotta talk,” he said, nervously pushing his glasses up his nose in his familiar way.

         He was slimly built, almost geeky to look at with his oversized glasses and serious button down shirt. I gestured at the porch continuing to snip at the errant stems of green, carefully shaping them to an even horizontal line.  He sat there in silence, his fingers drumming impatiently on the wooden floor beside him.

         I could see he was restless, but I took my own time.  There was really no need to rush…at least not for Mitch’s sake. We had known each other since junior high.  Though he was closer to Lizzie’s age (my lil sister), he had hung out with me and my gang.  I didn’t mind too much…a little hero worship never hurt anybody.

         Junior high had given way to college and Mitch still stayed around, coming home every few days to share a beer or shoot hoops.  He usually came for advice, asking me my opinion about people, jobs and other stuff, and advice could wait some time, I thought, as my shears trimmed the hedge making a crunching sound every time the blade bit into a stem.

         A while later, I joined Mitch at the porch, after retrieving two cans of beer from the refrigerator, offering him one, while I greedily took gulps from mine.  The evening was hot and still, and we could hear the bees buzzing around as we sat sipping our cool beers.

         “Larry, I know how we can get really rich,” he blurted out, with no preamble.  I stared at him, seeing for the first time how flushed his face look.  I narrowed my eyes quizzically.

         “You see, I have been working as a supervisor at the mine for some months now, in charge of the cleaning section.  I have found a way we can steal diamonds from there even before they are counted.  Nobody will ever know,” he said, his voice becoming high-pitched with excitement.

         “If you are thinking of stealing diamonds out of the Jorge mine, forget it buddy. I know for a fact that it’s impossible, given their security down there.” I knew Mitch worked at the Jorge mine that was close to our town. I shook my head, wondering where he got these hair-brained ideas from. 

         “No, listen Larry,” he insisted. “It’s possible. Look at these.” He opened his palm showing me three large stones. I stared at them, my eyebrows shooting to the top of my face. With wonderment that only a diamond could generate, I took one, almost unbelievingly. These were diamonds alright, each about the size of a large pebble…the unpolished kind.

         The hard stone bit into my palm as I held it tight as though trying to confirm it presence. It odd that diamonds are said to be a woman’s best friend when they have so much that appeals to a man. Their hard, unyielding strength, their sharp clean edges and defying brilliance were such ‘male’ qualities. Maybe that’s why women liked them so much, I thought.

         I turned my attention to Mitch, studying his face while my mind buzzed with a hundred possibilities.

         A while later I nodded at him. “Okay Mitch, I think you better come inside if we are to discuss this with any seriousness.”

#####

         
         
         I brought out a couple of beers for each of us, setting them down on the table. Even the damn beer cans are sweating, I thought, as I saw moisture beading on the surface of the cans. We both sat across the table facing each other. The hanging light above us cast its pool of light on us as Mitch began.

         “As you know Larry, I am responsible for supervising the cleaning section in the mine. The section has about four workers who transfer the diamonds from one machine to another and load them onto the conveyor belt from where they go into the polishing section,” he explained.
         
         “Around noon, all workers leave for lunch and I check if they all leave the room and if all machines have been turned off. So, I am the last one to leave.  Now, as part of my duties, I am supposed to count and report the number of large sized stones that have been cleaned. This I do in the special section, away from the scrutiny of guards and workers, and that is when I managed to smuggle these three beauties out.” He smiled at me, expecting me to be amazed at his story.
         
         The fact was I didn’t believe him.
         
         “I know they strip you naked and search you everyday before you can leave the place Mitch. So how did you get the diamonds out of that place?” I asked him, impatient to know the answer to the one question that really baffled me.
         
         “That’s the best part Larry. I simply swallowed them!” he giggled like a schoolgirl.

         I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. Swallow diamonds?? Every one knew that they would cut up your throat in seconds, killing you, especially ones as large as these were.
         
         “I know you don’t believe me, but that’s really what I did. Of course the key is to…” he stopped halfway, seeing how angry I was. My chair screeched on the floor as I pushed it and stood up.
         
         “I’m not a fool Mitch. No matter what you say, such large diamonds are bound to cut into your throat. And even if you somehow manage to swallow them without hurting your throat, they will definitely cut into your stomach or intestines. So will you quit fooling around?” I was shouting by now, really angry with him for leading me up this far.
         
         “Larry, just hear me out okay. That’s all I am asking. Moreover, how in Earth could I have got them out of there otherwise?” He held out the three stones, his face wearing the familiar pleading look I’d seen many times before. Besides, his question was valid.  There was some way he had managed to smuggle those shards of heaven out of the mine…and I really wanted to know how.
         
         “Alright then, go on,” I said, sitting down on the couch, waiting for him to continue.
         
         He smiled, like an over eager puppy who was going to show a trick to his master. “You see Larry I got the idea when I found out quite accidentally that wax doesn’t get digested by the body. So, all I did was smuggle one large diamond at a time and bring it to my locker. I knew that they didn’t check anyone except at the exit gate. That’s where the strip search is done.”

         “I covered each stone in wax and yesterday, I swallowed these three. Wax being a natural laxative, these beauties came out today,” he grinned, inordinately proud of himself.
         
         “But don’t they keep a constant watch on the diamonds?” I asked, still puzzled at how someone like Mitch had managed to successfully smuggle such large diamonds from a high security mine like Jorge.
         
         “Of course they have guards manning the rooms…they patrol from the open gallery at the level above us, making sure we don’t flinch any.”
         
         I could see that he was enjoying this. For once, he was explaining things to me and he was taking pleasure in my bafflement.
         
         “Well, actually, others have tried to smuggle diamonds by swallowing them, especially the small ones. So they always keep a constant watch on the medium and small sized stones.”
         
         “However,” and this he said with a pause of a great storyteller, “the larger diamonds are given to me for counting. Only I know how many there are.”
         
         “What? Why would they do that?” I asked, not very clear why such a stringent security system would allow laxity of this kind.
         
         “Well, no one can carry the large ones on their person ’cause everyone is strip searched and they think it’s impossible for anyone to swallow these without getting killed.” He was breathing hard by now, looking keenly at my face to see if I got it.
         
         “Tell me one thing, how did you manage to melt the wax and how come no one saw you?” I asked, excited, but not really sure of all the details.
         
         “That was the challenging part Larry. I started by using candles and melting them with matches when I was in the men’s room. That was really quite time consuming. But then I discovered a really fast and easy way.”
         
         He smiled at my attentive look and continued. “All I did was to take a few cups of really hot coffee with me to the locker room and, when alone, dunked a smaller cup with some candles in it. The candles melt real fast from the hot coffee. Then all I needed to do was to dip each stone into the wax cup, hold it out for sometime till it dried and then swallow it…it’s that simple!!”
         
         He got up to trash his empty beer can (he was a stickler for cleanliness). “And, if someone does come by, I have a bag of marshmallows that I keep in my locker, which I begin eating from.”

         He laughed with a snort. “They really look similar to wax covered diamonds…no one can tell the difference from afar.”
         
         “It’s a perfect plan Larry,” he said, walking upto me and staring into my eyes looking for approval…and maybe even appreciation.
         
         I gave him both.

         Mitch’s idea was simple but I was quite surprised at the ingenuity of it.  How no one else had thought of it so far, I didn’t know. But this could really work…had really worked. I got up and paced around the room while Mitch sat calmly at the table.  If somehow Mitch could manage to get me into the place, both of us could swallow many diamonds and then…and then we’d both be rich.
         
         “Mitch buddy, we gotta plan this out carefully,” I said, staring long and hard into his face, my mind far away, dreaming of beautiful French villas and large white sail boats.

#####

         We planned it out thoroughly. Mitch was allowed to bring in a friend to visit him and that was how I was to get into the mine offices. Though I wouldn’t be allowed to enter the cleaning section, I knew how I could get to the diamonds.

         We planned the robbery on a Friday; that was when the guards and staff were the most informal and in a hurry to finish their work and leave for the weekend. Their guard would be down and their mood light, I reasoned.

         Mitch’s role was the most important one, collection of the diamonds. On Wednesday and Thursday, he was to collect diamonds and begin covering them with wax. These ‘waxies’, as we named them, would be stored along with the marshmallows inside his locker.

         On Friday, I would visit him and join him for lunch at the Jorge canteen, where both of us would share in the bag of marshmallows that he’d bring from his locker. Both of us would eat some marshmallows and swallow all the waxies. Then, we’d both leave the mine, carrying with us a fortune in diamonds, with none the wiser.

         It was a great plan and we decided to do a dry-run first, to test out our plan and see where we could possibly fail. So, the next Friday, I went to meet him at Jorge mine. Of course, we weren’t planning to steal any waxies this time. We only pretended to.

         I met all his co-supervisors and we sat down at the canteen for lunch at a corner table. Mitch pulled out his bag of marshmallows and offered it to me. I took a handful from the bag, while my eyes darted around the room, trying to see where everyone was and how much attention we were being paid.

         I needn’t have worried. No one in the room seemed interested in what we did. I bit into a soft marshmallow, savoring its sticky sweet taste and the way it squished between my teeth, yielding itself completely to me. When we finished the bag between us, I knew we had a winning plan…that it was really going to work!

#####

         The next Friday began very normally. The alarm buzzed, announcing the time as seven in the morning. I shut it and sat up on the bed, immediately wake. There was something special about today, I thought. Of course, it was Friday…“d-day” in more ways than one!

         I hopped off the bed, eager to get started, the blood buzzing in my veins. I thought of opening my book shop for sometime, but decided against it. I didn’t want to accidentally betray my excitement to anyone.

         I took a quick shower, changing into a pair of clean jeans and a blue checkered shirt. I looked into the mirror and saw an average yet attractive guy with an easy smile. I smiled back at my reflection, practicing the expression. I wanted the guys at the mine to like me…to think that I was an average guy with no other motive for coming there except to see where his best friend worked.

         Best friend! I laughed aloud. Till now, Mitch had only been “the guy who hung around”, useful for little chores or to wile away some time with, but not a best friend. But now, I guess, that had to change. The poor guy had really come through for me.

         I waited impatiently for the clock to turn to eleven. The moment it did, I quickly put on my boots and got into my old ford.


         The drive to the mine took 20 minutes and ten minutes after that I was at the reception, waiting for Mitch to come get me. I smiled at little nervously at the receptionist there, the smile tugging at the corners of my mouth in little spasms. I turned away, not wanting her to see how edgy I was.

         Gosh! This wouldn’t do! I needed to get a hold of myself. I focused on the flower arrangement on a side table, trying to compose myself. A few minutes later, Mitch arrived. His eyes were wild and he looked really nervous.

         “Hey L-L-Larry! Great of you to d-drop by,” he stuttered, his voice shrill and loud in the reception office.

         I glared at him and turned to see if the receptionist had noted the bungling fool’s nervousness. She was animatedly taking into the phone…apparently to some friend of hers, oblivious to the two nervy guys in front of her.

         “Come now, and quit being so nervous! You’ll spoil it all,” I whispered harshly to Mitch. Then, seeing how much more tense he was getting, I smiled a tight smile and said, “Come on man, you’ve done this before. It’ll all be fine.”

         I patted him on the back and he led us inside. It was now quarter past twelve. The canteen was abuzz with loud conversation. We walked in quite nonchalantly and made our way to one of the corner tables. Mitch brought two trays, each with some mashed potatoes, a piece of chicken, some greens and some buttered bread.

         He put the trays on the table and looking into my eyes with a meaningful look said, “I’ll be right back.”

         I waited impatiently for him to return. A couple of guys I’d met last week, waved to me from across the room. I waved right back. What was taking Mitch this long! Maybe he was in some trouble, I thought, not knowing what to do.

         Just as I was about to get up and go looking for him, he appeared, clutching a large bag in his hand. I watched as he weaved his way across the room to our table and set the bag down in front of me.

         He smiled sheepishly at me. “Sorry I got held up. Some guys stopped me for a chat.”

         “That’s okay Mitch. Let’s get started now,” I said and reached for the bag.

         I picked up the first waxie along with a few marshmallows and put the handful into my mouth. I was careful no to bite into anything and, with a painful swallow, I downed the entire lot in one go. I pushed the bag across to Mitch. It was his turn now.

         The next couple of minutes, we both established a steady rhythm. A few bites from ourtrays and then a waxie…a gulp of water and then a waxie.  The deal was that we would each keep the waxies that we swallowed. Mitch never thought of asking for more than that, though it was really him who’d done all the work.

         “Hey Mitch, what are you doing this weekend,” someone shouted from across the room. I watched a burly guard got up from his table and began walking towards us.

         “Go to him!” I whisper-shouted at Mitch. He gave me a petrified look and quickly went towards the guard, leaving the bag with me.

         I watched as they both talked, Mitch easing up a little and laughing along with the guard.

         I looked down at the bag with me. This was my chance, I thought, to scarf up as many waxies as I could. I eyed Mitch and quickly began gulping them down, one…two…three…four. I took a swig of water, lubricating my throat and began again. Mitch’s bag of marshmallows was my ticket to a great life.

         Visions of large limousines and beautiful women danced across my eyes, as I popped in one waxie after another. Mitch was glaring at me from afar, seeing how I was greedily gulping down the diamonds. I didn’t care. All I thought of now was the large French villa or maybe even chateau that I was going to buy.

         Waxie went in one after another, more urgently now, as I saw Mitch pull away from his guard-friend and come towards me. I gulped down one large waxie and pushed the bag toward him. There were probably about five more left in the bag. I had counted twenty waxies that I had swallowed.

         I smiled victoriously at Mitch, my stomach full from a ‘rich’ lunch.

         Mitch snatched the bag from me and sat down. I could see that he was angry, but a deal was a deal. Besides, if it hadn’t been for me, he would never have had the balls to go through with the whole thing.

         Mitch finished off the rest of the waxies silently, while I took little sips of water from my glass. He looked sullen now, but he didn’t dare say anything…not to me.

         “I’ll get some more water,” he said, getting up.

         “I’ll come along…I need some too.” I followed him, a little uncomfortable now, with my stomach pressing against my belt. I tried adjusting my belt, pulling at it and trying to push it below my slightly engorged stomach. We reached the water machine and I filled my glass with the cold liquid and began drinking from it. The water sloshed down my throat, easing the bloated feeling in my stomach a bit.

         I burped noisily, earning a glare from Mitch. I smirked at him, my smirk turning into a grimace as my stomach contracted painfully.

         “I think I better leave before we both get into trouble.”

         Mitch looked at me, angry at first, but sobered down seeing my painful expression.

         “Alright, come, I’ll walk you to the exit gate. They’ll have to strip search you there, of course,” he said, leading me towards the exit.

         I walked with him, urgently at first, and then a little slowly, the pain in my abdomen getting worse and worse. Somehow we managed to get to the guard room at the exit and Mitch led me there, telling the guard that I was his friend.

         I began stripping my clothes, my head spinning a little now. I controlled my self…couldn’t let go of the French chateau so easily! I spread my arms and legs as the guard began searching me. My stomach rumbled and he looked at me a little oddly.

         The search was complete, thank god! I stepped away from him, ready to put on my jeans and leave the goddamn place.

         Suddenly I stumbled and fell on my stomach. I clutched my stomach and cried, unable to bear the pain any longer. The guard rushed to me and turned me over on my back. I lay there, unable to move.

         “Where’s the pain man?” he asked, prodding my stomach with his hand, worsening the ache. I gasped as my stomach began throbbing.

         The guard suddenly got up and, ran to the phone. I heard him call the infirmary and ask for the doctor to come down. I tried to get up and managed to sit up slightly. I was perspiring heavily now, cowardly sweat leaving my body in rivulets that ran down my face and chest. I could see Mitch’s anxious and scared face from the window in the guard room. I tried to look reassuring, but didn’t feel too confident about anything.

         The guard came back and sat near me.

         “The doctor will be here in sometime, don’t worry,” he said soothingly. His gaze turned from my face to my stomach and the look in his eyes turned to puzzlement. I followed his gaze and watched in horror as my stomach proclaimed my theft.

         The skin on my stomach had multiple roundish protrusions. I watched as the guard’s expression turned from puzzlement to suspicion. He got up slowly and walked to the phone once again.

         This time, he called his supervisor.

         The bible warns that the wrath of God falls on those who give in to greed. I guess my day had come after all.

The end