Post by ezlo on May 25, 2007 9:47:42 GMT -5
This is a story I wrote for a contest with a limit of 2000 words. I hope you enjoy it as much as I found out about myself writing it.
Do you know... the meaning of pain? Do you know... what captivity is like?
Pain... is true imprisonment.
My mind spun—swimming in a sea of it's own grief. I looked around this dead room, to see absolutely nothing. Good—the less I could see, the less pain there was. I heard utterly nothing. Good—the less I could hear, the less pain there was. This place is evil. I shivered; my clammy skin acquired goosebumps—not because it was cold—they never left it that way. I shivered because of the lack of, well everything here. Days passed without my notice. I didn't know what was going on outside—that would just cause more pain.
They had said they've never seen anything like it. They said this was the best place for me. I have problems believing them. They came in the other day and told me that they had found a new treatment. They said that they would be transporting me to a hospital for the procedure. I yearned for a change in atmosphere, yet was scared of what pain and suffering it could lead me to. The next day they came in and placed something around my eyes and things in my ears. Good—I couldn't hear or see anything.
The ride to the hospital wasn't long, but on my way there I contemplated why I am still alive. What purpose did my life serve? It was such a waste, such a waste. A waste of my family's money as well. I missed my family. I hadn't seen their faces in years. All because of this pain. Something had to change. Anything that my doctors did, well—didn't do anything, really. It was meaningless.
We arrived. They proceeded to lead me out of the car. I quickly tore off the blindfold. I shrieked. “What on earth- put the blindfold back on! Hurry!”, wailed an aide. Pain—My head was ablaze. Even though my head was aflame, direction came. “Run; be free.” I dropped to my knees and screamed my lungs out. I scrambled up and ran from the car. Where I was going, I had no idea. Anywhere away from here, or from them, was a good idea.
Thank God it was night, or else my head would have exploded even more. In my desperation when I was running away from the doctors, I ended up in a dank alley. I have no idea of the amount of pain I went through, but I made it. I could stay where I was kept no longer, but I thought I could not bear the pain to see and hear again. But what a pleasure! I am sure that the pain to go through is far worth everything that I have missed. Even the grain of the deep red brick I was staring at gave me pleasure.
Ah, but I would rather live in pain forever, than live like I used to. It was a living death! Creatio ex nihilo. If I have no cause to die for, then what is the worth of my living?
_______________________________
As I strolled through the city at night, I realized the gravity of my decision. I was free, but where was I to go? How was I to eat? Perhaps I should have thought of these things. The city's lights filled my vision, and the smells of local restaurants and smoke from cars wafted into my nostrils. I basked in the glory that is life and my thoughts of hunger left me. I wandered quite aimlessly following neon after neon. Like me, most people didn't seem to have a purpose, as I saw while walking. Sirens wailed; people ran; it was in utter chaos. I realized that even running from the doctors didn't guarantee my total freedom. My stomach grumbled, yearning for food. I ignored it. I looked directly above and saw great stalagmites, that looked as if they were reaching towards the heavens. My head reminded me that I still hadn't rid myself of the headaches, my sense of pleasure had just overwhelmed it. I felt cold stone steps underneath me before I collapsed.
“Wake up.”
I don't wanna.
“Come now, it's morning.”
Aww, great.
I opened my eyes to meet a friendly face, one with un-rimmed glasses and a small pointy beard. He wore a black suit, with a little white collar that sat underneath his Adam's apple. I cringed. The pain still hadn't left.
“You alright there?”
“Yeah, I'll be okay.”
“Are you sure? I'll get some aspirin to fix you up.” He walked through these giant doors, if you could call them that, into a tremendous room. Rows of seats were horizontally arranged facing the back of the building, where there was a slightly higher plateau. Stained glass lined the walls to my sides. The most peculiar thing that caught my attention was a cross at the back of the room. It hung maybe 20 feet tall. When I saw this, it was as if the knife that caused the pain inside my head was slowly being taken out.
The man came back with a glass of water and a pill. He gave them to me and I offered a word of thanks. I couldn't take my eyes off of the cross.
“What, have you never been in a church before?”
“Oh, that's what you call this place? It's beautiful. This is my first time being in a church, yes.” The man just looked at me kinda funny. “What is the cross for?” I continued to stare at it in wonder.
“Considering you haven't been in a church, then I suppose you haven't heard the story of Jesus Christ.”
“Oh, Jesus Christ? I thought that was a swear word or something.”
“Are you sure you're okay? You keep cringing.”
“Oh, I guess I do that without noticing. But anyway, forget about me. Tell me about whoever this Jesus Christ is.” The room started spinning. My vision blurred. No! I need to know. I collapsed to my knees and fell over, coughing. Everything faded into oblivion.
__________________
I was standing in a room. White walls, no molding, no decorations. Just one window straight across from where I was standing. I strode over to it and looked outside. I saw many people moving about out there, minding their own business. Suddenly, all was dark I couldn't see a thing. I started shaking. I thought I escaped from this captivity! I turned and turned hastily reaching for some sort of reference point. The tips of my fingers found a smooth surface, the wall. I needed to find something. I walked sideways, one arm stretching out reaching for anything. I came upon a change—grooved wood. There it was, the door! I flung it open and I could see again.
It was a long corridor, with three doors on one side and four on the other. One door sat at the opposite end. A sputtering fluorescent light hung from the ceiling. The door behind me slammed shut.
I sped to the other end of the hall, wishing for an easy way out, to find the door locked. Etched with some sort of knife into the door was a message that read:
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”
I had no clue what this meant, but ran to the next door I could find. Another message was etched sloppily into the door. “Gula”. I reached for the golden knob, to find that it was open. I pushed it open just a little, then swung it all the way. A man, a very large one with little to no hair, sat at the end of a extremely long table filled with food. Any dish you could ever think of was on this table—it made Thanksgiving look like a light meal. Not a spot of table or cloth could be seen. The man didn't notice me enter because he was stuffing his face. He reached to refill his plate when I spoke up,
“Umm, hello?” He swung his head up quickly to determine who I was. His face had morsels of food still on it, with some falling off. He didn't say a thing, but pointed an obscenely fat finger across the room to another table filled with food. I don't know how I didn't notice it before. Have a bite, you're just so hungry. My stomach grumbled from hunger once again.. I gotta get outta here though, eating isn't my priority. “Do you know the way outta here?” He groaned, and looked up again.
“There are only two ways out—This or Him.” That didn't make any sense. Instantly, I was shoved out of the room by some unseen force, and the door slammed shut in front of me. I clenched my fists and yelled some obscenities. I stomped over to the next door to find that something was scrawled on it, just like the other two, “Acedia”. I opened the door, with an arm of fury, to be stopped in my tracks. It was a simple sight—a dark, gritty room, with one worn, moth-eaten chair and a television. In the chair sat a man, not fat or skinny this time, with a deep gray beard that flowed from his chin in tangly knots. His glazed-over eyes stared blankly at the blinking tube. I walked over to him and asked him quite bluntly, “How on earth do I get out of here?” He just looked at me and grunted, then turned his eyes back to the television. I clenched my fists, fury rising in me. I reached over and grabbed his shirt and pulled him up from his slouch. “I'll say it again, in case you didn't hear me. How do I get out of here?” The man started mumbling, I couldn't hear him, “What? Stop babbling like a fool.” He cleared his throat,
“Fine, you really want to know? Because I'm not sure that you would be able to handle it.”
“I'll take my chances.” I replied with gritted teeth.
“The only way out is Him or nothing. Make your own choice.” Once again I was thrown out of the room, but this time by the man in the chair. The door slammed shut. I picked myself up and dragged my feet as I walked to the end of the hall. I hated this hall. What they had said to me made no sense. I couldn't make anything out of it. The text on the doors didn't register in my mind, as I passed them I read more: “Luxuria”; “Avarice”; “Ira”. They certainly weren't in English.
I was trapped, there was no way out. I sat with my arms on my knees and my head turned down. I sat in front of the end door, which had that message which I could not understand, even though it was in English. Here I was in bondage again—tears streamed from my face.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. I didn't look to see who it was. “Come, my child. Now is the time.” The door in front of me creaked open. Then it burst open all the way to reveal a blinding white light.
“Follow me.” he said.
__________________________
My eyes popped open. I rubbed my eyes and took a look around. The man with the glasses sat behind a large wooden desk, with a glass of water in his hand. He swirled the ice in the glass. “You've been out for quite a while.”
“Yeah, I had this dream. It was insane, some sort of re-creation of my life. A man in a blinding light said follow me.”
“Ah, then that forgoes the need for me to tell you who He is. Will you follow Him?”
“I think I shall.” After saying this, I noticed that I no longer was in pain.
Do you know... the meaning of pain? Do you know... what captivity is like?
Pain... is true imprisonment.
My mind spun—swimming in a sea of it's own grief. I looked around this dead room, to see absolutely nothing. Good—the less I could see, the less pain there was. I heard utterly nothing. Good—the less I could hear, the less pain there was. This place is evil. I shivered; my clammy skin acquired goosebumps—not because it was cold—they never left it that way. I shivered because of the lack of, well everything here. Days passed without my notice. I didn't know what was going on outside—that would just cause more pain.
They had said they've never seen anything like it. They said this was the best place for me. I have problems believing them. They came in the other day and told me that they had found a new treatment. They said that they would be transporting me to a hospital for the procedure. I yearned for a change in atmosphere, yet was scared of what pain and suffering it could lead me to. The next day they came in and placed something around my eyes and things in my ears. Good—I couldn't hear or see anything.
The ride to the hospital wasn't long, but on my way there I contemplated why I am still alive. What purpose did my life serve? It was such a waste, such a waste. A waste of my family's money as well. I missed my family. I hadn't seen their faces in years. All because of this pain. Something had to change. Anything that my doctors did, well—didn't do anything, really. It was meaningless.
We arrived. They proceeded to lead me out of the car. I quickly tore off the blindfold. I shrieked. “What on earth- put the blindfold back on! Hurry!”, wailed an aide. Pain—My head was ablaze. Even though my head was aflame, direction came. “Run; be free.” I dropped to my knees and screamed my lungs out. I scrambled up and ran from the car. Where I was going, I had no idea. Anywhere away from here, or from them, was a good idea.
Thank God it was night, or else my head would have exploded even more. In my desperation when I was running away from the doctors, I ended up in a dank alley. I have no idea of the amount of pain I went through, but I made it. I could stay where I was kept no longer, but I thought I could not bear the pain to see and hear again. But what a pleasure! I am sure that the pain to go through is far worth everything that I have missed. Even the grain of the deep red brick I was staring at gave me pleasure.
Ah, but I would rather live in pain forever, than live like I used to. It was a living death! Creatio ex nihilo. If I have no cause to die for, then what is the worth of my living?
_______________________________
As I strolled through the city at night, I realized the gravity of my decision. I was free, but where was I to go? How was I to eat? Perhaps I should have thought of these things. The city's lights filled my vision, and the smells of local restaurants and smoke from cars wafted into my nostrils. I basked in the glory that is life and my thoughts of hunger left me. I wandered quite aimlessly following neon after neon. Like me, most people didn't seem to have a purpose, as I saw while walking. Sirens wailed; people ran; it was in utter chaos. I realized that even running from the doctors didn't guarantee my total freedom. My stomach grumbled, yearning for food. I ignored it. I looked directly above and saw great stalagmites, that looked as if they were reaching towards the heavens. My head reminded me that I still hadn't rid myself of the headaches, my sense of pleasure had just overwhelmed it. I felt cold stone steps underneath me before I collapsed.
“Wake up.”
I don't wanna.
“Come now, it's morning.”
Aww, great.
I opened my eyes to meet a friendly face, one with un-rimmed glasses and a small pointy beard. He wore a black suit, with a little white collar that sat underneath his Adam's apple. I cringed. The pain still hadn't left.
“You alright there?”
“Yeah, I'll be okay.”
“Are you sure? I'll get some aspirin to fix you up.” He walked through these giant doors, if you could call them that, into a tremendous room. Rows of seats were horizontally arranged facing the back of the building, where there was a slightly higher plateau. Stained glass lined the walls to my sides. The most peculiar thing that caught my attention was a cross at the back of the room. It hung maybe 20 feet tall. When I saw this, it was as if the knife that caused the pain inside my head was slowly being taken out.
The man came back with a glass of water and a pill. He gave them to me and I offered a word of thanks. I couldn't take my eyes off of the cross.
“What, have you never been in a church before?”
“Oh, that's what you call this place? It's beautiful. This is my first time being in a church, yes.” The man just looked at me kinda funny. “What is the cross for?” I continued to stare at it in wonder.
“Considering you haven't been in a church, then I suppose you haven't heard the story of Jesus Christ.”
“Oh, Jesus Christ? I thought that was a swear word or something.”
“Are you sure you're okay? You keep cringing.”
“Oh, I guess I do that without noticing. But anyway, forget about me. Tell me about whoever this Jesus Christ is.” The room started spinning. My vision blurred. No! I need to know. I collapsed to my knees and fell over, coughing. Everything faded into oblivion.
__________________
I was standing in a room. White walls, no molding, no decorations. Just one window straight across from where I was standing. I strode over to it and looked outside. I saw many people moving about out there, minding their own business. Suddenly, all was dark I couldn't see a thing. I started shaking. I thought I escaped from this captivity! I turned and turned hastily reaching for some sort of reference point. The tips of my fingers found a smooth surface, the wall. I needed to find something. I walked sideways, one arm stretching out reaching for anything. I came upon a change—grooved wood. There it was, the door! I flung it open and I could see again.
It was a long corridor, with three doors on one side and four on the other. One door sat at the opposite end. A sputtering fluorescent light hung from the ceiling. The door behind me slammed shut.
I sped to the other end of the hall, wishing for an easy way out, to find the door locked. Etched with some sort of knife into the door was a message that read:
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”
I had no clue what this meant, but ran to the next door I could find. Another message was etched sloppily into the door. “Gula”. I reached for the golden knob, to find that it was open. I pushed it open just a little, then swung it all the way. A man, a very large one with little to no hair, sat at the end of a extremely long table filled with food. Any dish you could ever think of was on this table—it made Thanksgiving look like a light meal. Not a spot of table or cloth could be seen. The man didn't notice me enter because he was stuffing his face. He reached to refill his plate when I spoke up,
“Umm, hello?” He swung his head up quickly to determine who I was. His face had morsels of food still on it, with some falling off. He didn't say a thing, but pointed an obscenely fat finger across the room to another table filled with food. I don't know how I didn't notice it before. Have a bite, you're just so hungry. My stomach grumbled from hunger once again.. I gotta get outta here though, eating isn't my priority. “Do you know the way outta here?” He groaned, and looked up again.
“There are only two ways out—This or Him.” That didn't make any sense. Instantly, I was shoved out of the room by some unseen force, and the door slammed shut in front of me. I clenched my fists and yelled some obscenities. I stomped over to the next door to find that something was scrawled on it, just like the other two, “Acedia”. I opened the door, with an arm of fury, to be stopped in my tracks. It was a simple sight—a dark, gritty room, with one worn, moth-eaten chair and a television. In the chair sat a man, not fat or skinny this time, with a deep gray beard that flowed from his chin in tangly knots. His glazed-over eyes stared blankly at the blinking tube. I walked over to him and asked him quite bluntly, “How on earth do I get out of here?” He just looked at me and grunted, then turned his eyes back to the television. I clenched my fists, fury rising in me. I reached over and grabbed his shirt and pulled him up from his slouch. “I'll say it again, in case you didn't hear me. How do I get out of here?” The man started mumbling, I couldn't hear him, “What? Stop babbling like a fool.” He cleared his throat,
“Fine, you really want to know? Because I'm not sure that you would be able to handle it.”
“I'll take my chances.” I replied with gritted teeth.
“The only way out is Him or nothing. Make your own choice.” Once again I was thrown out of the room, but this time by the man in the chair. The door slammed shut. I picked myself up and dragged my feet as I walked to the end of the hall. I hated this hall. What they had said to me made no sense. I couldn't make anything out of it. The text on the doors didn't register in my mind, as I passed them I read more: “Luxuria”; “Avarice”; “Ira”. They certainly weren't in English.
I was trapped, there was no way out. I sat with my arms on my knees and my head turned down. I sat in front of the end door, which had that message which I could not understand, even though it was in English. Here I was in bondage again—tears streamed from my face.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. I didn't look to see who it was. “Come, my child. Now is the time.” The door in front of me creaked open. Then it burst open all the way to reveal a blinding white light.
“Follow me.” he said.
__________________________
My eyes popped open. I rubbed my eyes and took a look around. The man with the glasses sat behind a large wooden desk, with a glass of water in his hand. He swirled the ice in the glass. “You've been out for quite a while.”
“Yeah, I had this dream. It was insane, some sort of re-creation of my life. A man in a blinding light said follow me.”
“Ah, then that forgoes the need for me to tell you who He is. Will you follow Him?”
“I think I shall.” After saying this, I noticed that I no longer was in pain.
