Create the silence. Listen. Do you hear them?
…
Voices whisper in the background.
Quiet yet deafening.
Judging. Leering. Sneering.
Disapproving.
Tap. Tap. TAP.
A hammer strikes the base of the skull from within.
Gentle. Violent. Silent. Painful.
Sharp. Solid. Tender. Broken.
Unrelenting.
Numb. All numb.
Heat it up. Melt the ice.
Feel… anything?
Feel everything.
Gasp. Splutter. Inhale.
Take the breath denied for decades.
Not with lungs.
Flood the hollow space.
Choke back the tears.
They come anyway.
A moment of freedom.
A moment of joy-
A momen- TAP.
It snaps closed.
A room? The wrong room.
A prison? A home?
Not real.
Very real.
Always real.
Always the wrong room.
Always a prison.
Always a home.
A prisoner’s home.
Decades passed. Never past though.
Still here. Still there. Still alive.
Not alive.
Waiting. Still.
Completely still.
Nothing to do but wait.
The clock holds the door shut. Wait for it to open.
You cannot leave. You will never leave.
The clock holds the door shut. Wait for it to open.
The window remains sealed. The view changes. The others smile.
The clock holds the door shut. Wait for it to open.
The body ages. Nothing changes.
The clock does not stop. The clock can never stop. The door opens.
Open now. Go. Leave.
…
Leave!
Please…
No, no… No. No.
I am where I belong.