Imprisonment

He moves around the dusty prison yard with such confidence. All eyes occasionally glancing in his direction, the eyes seem almost lifeless as they look away and continue with what they were doing. The guards in the towers, look down on the prison yard, eyes darting from one side of the yard to the other. Guns at the ready, just in case someone tries to escape.

A high pitched squeal echo's throughout the yard, all the men slowly shuffle towards the big iron gate that leads back to the cells.

I look up at the sky as a paper bag comes into view. I watch as it darts from side to side on the wind. I imagine the bag to be an aeroplane and me the piolet. Twisting and turning through the air. A guard comes over and kicks me in the side. I look up to see his stern face. I get up, slowly dust myself off, as the guard pulls me by the arm. Then he violently pushes me toward the big iron gate.

I walk down the long hall towards my cell, as usual I am the last to be there. Everyone looks at me, some with hateful expressions, others lifeless as if their bodies were still there but their minds were not. They call me the dreamer. Ever since I got here I haven't spoken a word to anyone. I get to my cell and I am pushed in. The gate to my cell slams shut behind me. I look at my prison mate. Mr Confidence, grinning as usual, looking as confident as ever. I ignore him and climb up onto my bed. I lay down and a few seconds later the lights begin to switch out cell by cell, I raise my hand and with my finger press the air, as if to be switching off the lights. I know when each light is switched off, I've been here for too long, twenty five years to be exact. I want to go home. I close my eyes. sleep doesn't come easy in a place like this. I listen closely and I hear whispers echoing throughout the prison. Then I hear something strange, it sounds like a dog whining.

I think that its all in my imagination, so I ignore it. Then again I hear it, this time its louder, it was coming from below me. I look down, my eyes adjusting to the darkness and I saw Mr Confidence huddled in the corner of the room crying. I lay down and think to myself.

Mr Confidence? Crying? Impossible! He's been here for twenty years. I hear him climb back into his bed and think nothing more of it.

Every night for the next six months he did the same. Curiosity began to get the better of me. I climbed down and made my way over to him. His eyes looking up at me like a frightened child that had lost its mother in a supermarket and doesn't know where to look.

I offered him my hand, he quickly turned his head away from me and began to shake. I stepped back and sat on his bed and watched him for hours. Till I became so tired that I fell asleep on his bed.

Days later he disappeared. I spoke for the first time, I had to know where he'd gone! The guards said nothing or denied that he ever existed. They looked at me as if to say that I was crazy. They brought doctors in to see me. For weeks they talked to me about it. The other prisoners avoided me. No one looked at me or spoke to me. Thinking to myself I asked

"Why would they lie to me? Where has he gone?" I shake the thoughts from my mind.

Then I hear it. That familiar sound. I leap from my bed, THERE HE IS!

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" I screamed at him.

He didn't look at me. I ran toward him and grabbed him. I shook him violently. I continued

to scream at him, behind me I hear guards running, my cell door opens and they rush in.

"What's going on here?" they ask angrily.

"See! I told you he was real!" I out stretched my arms and presented.......thin air.

"All right that's enough from you!" they grabbed me and dragged me out of the cell.

Now I sit here in my padded cell, alone. I huddle into the corner and cry, rocking back and forth slowly.

I see a shadow fall upon me.

I look up, its him!

I being to laugh wildly.

I'm not insane.

He's real I tell you!

Real!