Many years ago, a man named Kafuko was wrongly convicted and sentenced to jail.

One day, after seven years of sentence, Kafuko's jail cell was left wide open. Kafuko was suspicious at first, but was later told by the warden that he is free to go.

Kafuko was confused, he demanded explanation but got none. To the surprise of everyone, Kafuko grew angrier.

He refused to leave prison. Despite beatings by guards, Kafuko went on for months as a regular prisoner, taking the same meal and doing the same routine as every other convict.

Over time, Kafuko grown bitter. He hardly even talked to jailmates who were friendly to him. Everybody seemed to think Kafuko was setting out to suffer more than everybody else.

On a morning like any other, a legal counsellor named Mugoya came for a visit. Though they were not close friends, Mugoya had known Kafuko for a long time.

Mugoya wanted to know what's on Kafuko's mind.

Mugoya: "The door is wide open. You are free to leave, nobody will stop you, nobody will hurt you. Why do you not leave?"

Kafuko: "Because I've been wrongly put here to begin with."

Mugoya: "Then shouldn't you want to leave immediately?"

Kafuko: "No. The fact that they let me go and pretend nothing happened doesn't mean I'm vindicated."

"You want to be vindicated so badly that you are willing to give away your freedom for it?"

"They owe me!"

Mugoya: "What does it take for your leave this jail?"

Kafuko: "I want them to apologize. Tell me to my face what they did wrong, and that they regret."

"I hate to break it to you, that's never going to happen. In the remote chance that it does, it is not going to be genuine, at least not in the satisfying way you're hoping for."

Kafuko: "How do you know that?"

Mugoya: "Nobody wants to admit being wrong. Because where we are, doing so is fatal. The best we all get is that is the chance to live the life we deserve on our own terms."

Kafuko didn't know what to say.

Mugoya continued: "It's not just freedom you're giving up, maybe that means little to you. But being imprisoned here all these years changed you. This is the worst version of you among all that I've seen. Choosing to be in jail has made you a lesser you."

After this exchange, Mugoya left without demanding anything from Kafuko. Kafuko went about his day in prison as usual.

The next morning, prison guard found Kafuko's cell empty.