BANG. BANG. BANG.

  My fists viciously beat down on the wall in front of me.

  BANG. BANG. BANG.

  My flesh peels back to reveal the dense bones underneath.

  BANG. BANG. BANG.

  Relentlessly I grind away at my own flesh until my arms are nothing more than stubs. My eyes are shot, I'm hyperventilating and left stewing in my own vitriolic thoughts. I fall to my knees and stare up at the ceiling, where the beautiful open sky was, wondering if I'm hurting myself more than this damned prison of mine. A chunk of my arm's flesh dangles by the smallest bit of skin, but I can not feel it.

  HUFF. HUFF. HUFF.

  I could just barely hear it over my muffled breathing. CLICK. Like the snapping of fingers. My body pulsated. A raw chunk of me came undone and fell to my feet in a puddle of my own blood. My body pulsates again. It's beating like my heart. Like some kind of intricate toy, my bits and pieces return to me. The chips of my bone, the crimson flesh, my mutilated muscles. All of it becomes one with me again. Blessing or curse, I never can tell, but I'll never die. I'll never live, either. Not so long as I stay here.

  Lines of intricate precision meet my stare. The metal box before me is a masterwork, every curve so pristine. Not even the intensity of the sun can match the look of hatred my eyes etch into every nook and cranny of this abominable prison. With all of my being I despise every little minute detail carved out by whatever backwater craftsman decided he would decorate the interior of my own personal hellscape.

  ...

  There isn't even a scratch from my efforts.

  I've been here for so long that it's possible that the creator is dead. Regardless I wish death upon them with each passing breath. If I even had a sliver of a hint who might of who forged this blasted thing then you had better believe that every last detail down to the date he spoke his first words would be categorized and filed within the complex of my mind, all of it dedicated to making him experience just one billionth of the whole that is my suffering.

  Ever since my incarceration, every day has been the same. Each moment like a grain of sand in the vast, desolate wasteland that is my life. It used to be that I had some kind of inner mechanism that could tell me the precise time down to the second, but think about it. What is 12 PM to you really? An indicator of all the FUN little things you can cram into the day, yeah? Okay, now boil that down to a fraction of a second. What is it to me? A sense of the natural splendor around me without context? That fills my mind with seething reminders of what once was, and it pisses me off. I still sense it there deep within.

  ...

  8 PM. The sun has set.

  I don't give a damn what time it is, and in fact I'd be eternally content if the sun, the moon, and all other of the accursed stars would fuck right off.

  Gritting my teeth I rose to my feet once more. Like hell I'd stop just now! I felt it boiling inside of me. My rage, my ambition. Everything that had been taken from me was coming to the surface. Energy in it's rawest form, rising from the core of my being. I felt the sensation before I even threw my punch; lightning coursed through my arm. Thunder followed as the power of the gods themselves assisted my blow. The feeling of divine providence! There it was! That feeling of unstoppable force! Pure bliss! Fury transformed into the deepest of joys! Oh-ho-ho!!

  Without hesitation, my body as a weapon, I carved my path forward.

  BANG! BANG! BANG!

  Shock waves reverberated throughout the cage. I could feel the outside world bending to my will as I delivered a punched with enough force to move mountains. I was perhaps the strongest man to ever exist within that moment.

  I could feel it in deep within my soul! This time..! This time.....

  ...

  This time is the same as the last.

  I lie there at the pit of my despair. No matter how hard I try the result is always the same. I don't cry. I never cry, but if I did it would be in times like these.

  There is no light, no justice here. Whatever hopes and dreams I had died long ago and I fear that god has played a cruel prank on me. The hour glass is large, ticking down into eternity, but from here I can not fathom how much sand is left until I pass. It is then in the deepest of sadness, in my most loathsome thoughts, that the most cruel belief takes hold of my mind: A man destined for great things wouldn't be here, would he?

  Sometimes I scream until I can't anymore, sometimes it rains until I'm drenched, and sometimes I think about how things used to be. It is in those times that everything always comes back to that accursed man. Lately it seems that I can't recall his name whenever my mind returns to that place and time. It always comes back though; I'll never forget. Not so long as I live.

  Kairos. That's the name of the bastard that put me here. I'd kill him once I get out if that was enough to satiate the primal rage inside of me.

  It was a fair day in Spring. The sun was shining, the birds were singing. The cool morning air was refreshing.

  I was on a journey of sorts, leisurely enjoying my seat beneath one of the largest trees I'd ever seen in my life. There was a stream close by. I was experiencing what you might call "peace". A rare luxury for a man such as myself.

  I had gained something of a reputation back in my day, so trouble always finds me. I wouldn't call myself evil, but I wouldn't call myself good either. I serve my own interests first and foremost. I do a good thing from time to time though. Charity, if you will!

  A good friend of mine approached me at my camp and asked me if I'd heard of a menace who'd popped up recently. He was a dirty devil of a man. "Kairos" they called him. He told me that he liked to play tricks on people.

  He told me this story about a woman that was working at a bar. She complained about men's comments within his vicinity. Not even to him, just NEAR him. "All tits, no ass?! The nerve of some guys!!" she decried. Apparently she was very shaken by some interaction she'd had. No matter. Kairos simply snapped his fingers and she was suddenly a donkey. "There! No tits, all ass!"

  Yeah, I know. A real jokester.

  My friend went on and on about this guy's many zany interactions. At the time I really couldn't care less. It was one thing after the other. "He turned the rivers red." "He put a kick me sign on the King of Erzkebal" "He brutally stabbed a guy to death because he said his jokes weren't funny."

  At some point you just get tired of hearing about other people. For me, it's the second it starts. But I'm tolerant, yeah? I let him yap for a while.

  "Enough about this Kairos guy, let's talk about me!" I said, stretching my arms out to the world before patting my chest.

  "Ahh, but we do that every day! Anyways, about Kairos, he's here in town and he's going to be-"

  "Ahh, yes, yes. Fascinating, that Kairos! Amazing! Fantastic! Have you told your wife yet that you've started seeing him on the side?"

  "Huh? No, I-"

  "Oh don't worry then, I'll break the news gently."

  I grinned and I pranced off to live my happily-ever-after, leaving him in the dust. I wasn't about to let one odd encounter with this guy ruin my whole day! I had places to be, and people to see!

  Closest to me was Pomallum, a place I was well acquainted with. The scenery was so beautiful that even someone like me could enjoy how the flowers popped in the spring. Oh!! The greenery that adorned every building... You could soak up the sun there for days and not have a worry in your bones. Buuuut... an adventure is an adventure, and I needed excitement.

  About three days away by foot, there was a nice little city by the mountains that I'd heard of in recent years. They call it Mallumme, and it used to be a small little hick town, but it's seen a lot of development in recent years. I'd never been there however, and I wanted to check it out and so I set out to do just that!

  Through the plains, across the great river and at last I found the fierce forest that lead to the mountains. There were no more than a few hours until sunset, but I continued on. Dense and lively as could be. Fresh, beautiful nature.

  Packed inside of the trees, hidden in the bushes and crawling along the ground there was something new to be found every step of the way. So many strange creatures, and they seemed as fascinated with me as I was with them. One of the larger creatures still sticks out to me. It's boney frame was closer to that of a bug, and it's head which contorted to lock onto my every move was closer to a mammal's. It had reddish-pink humanoid skin. It's eyes were fully open, large, and like a person's, but with the uncanny feeling of a savage beast that could attack at any moment.

  I'd never been out this way before, and there was an excitement within me growing. That feeling of discovery, of not knowing what else I might find.. suddenly cut short.

  ...

  Silence.

  Dead silence within an instant. Maybe I crossed some kind of invisible line in the sand. I don't know, but the change was immediate. I started to notice that the trees weren't as luscious as at the start. The berries on the bushes were rotting, and there was a strange smell that I couldn't place my finger on. It seemed familiar though, similar to that kind of smell you get sometimes; that nostalgic smell from a time long past.

  There was a fog rolling in, and I didn't really know where I was going as night began to approach. There were no lights aside from the moon, but my inner guidance knew the way.

  The trees became more decayed the further I went. Though I could not see them directly, their crooked form blocked out the moon's light, revealing branches that had dried up until there was nothing more. The trees, foliage, everything ceased. The sky revealed itself to me, and it's light guided the way. Just over that hill lie the town, and so I went.

  At the front gate it dawned on me that I still hadn't seen anything since the forest. Everything before me expanded outward in bright, vivid colors and lights, as if to say "Come right in!" But... everything was desolate.

  The city itself had an eery quality to it, and it was no more than 9:30 at the time. Night time in a place like this should be bustling. Even Pomallum, which had a rather lack luster night life, would have soft piano music and drunkards making a ruckus after a hard day of work. Yet there stood the classic makings of a bar without any life to be found. Everything here was pristine, as if everyone had just gotten up and left.

  Every move I made echoed throughout the city. Something in me wanted to run. I knew I shouldn't be here, yet I was drawn in by mystery and intrigue. Something was right around the corner, I could feel it like the gravitational pull of destiny, and so I kept walking.

  ...?..?..

  My ears perked up.

  ..?...??..?..

  I could hear it in the distance. Music. It was faint, but it was there. I followed my senses. The piano's notes were haunting, and something about the piece seemed off. The timing between notes seemed too fast at times. Unnatural pauses followed. I was sweating something fierce, getting chills thinking about what lie ahead. I saw the building's entrance, but I didn't even process it at that point. Something was wrong, and I had to see what.

  BAM

  I bust into the room and the music came to a sudden halt. That's about when my surroundings kicked back in. Cozy fire lighting adorned the walls. This place had earthy tones. A carpenter's wet dream mixed with some tasteful red that suited the darker tone of the wood.

  I probably looked about as unhinged as the door as I stood there, trying to comprehend my surroundings.

  A man seated all the way at the back of the establishment called out to me "Hey, buddy. You know doors have handles, right?"

  I ignored him for a moment and my eyes darted across the room. There was a younger lady on the piano and she seemed scared for her life. I wasn't sure which would pop out first: her eyes or her heart. Surely I had nothing to do with that, right? Me? I put the GENTLE in gentleman. Of course, I likely looked no better than the strange bug-mammal looking thing back in the woods in this moment.

  The lady on the piano struggled to get back into the groove. It was awkward for her, but I have to hand it to her, she has talent and composure.

  "What happened to everyone?" I asked. At least, that's how I wanted to ask it, but the feeling that I shouldn't be here remained. My voice was panicked and it came out more forceful and panicked.

  The man at the back sighed and looked me over. He snapped his fingers and the room began to warp folding in upon itself. The walls melted, dragging toward me; or so it seemed in the split second of action.

  Huh. Magic. I'd have to keep a note of that.

  I was now in front of him. He appeared human, but he bore horns which twisted outward in a spiral pattern. He was well dressed and had something of a smug grin.

  I didn't like it.

  There was something unnatural about him. Something bizarre that I couldn't quite understand.

  At the table was a woman who looked to be an employee here. She shook in her seat, holding a bottle of wine. On the table was his glass, which was filled close to full.

  "What brings you to my domain?" he asked inquisitively.

  "Domain? What do you mean domain?"

  "I said what I mean. Domain. Library's just down the street if you need a dictionary." he said, bringing his glass to his lips and taking a swig. He let out a refreshing "Ahh" sound and set the glass back on the table. Only maybe a mouthful was missing, but the lady desperately rushed to fill it back up to full.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "Uh-huh... And what happened to every one else here?"

  "Ahh, well, don't worry about that! They're all gone, but they'll be back——"

  He looked like he was constraining himself, just barely holding back laughter as he followed it up with "Eventually."

  I shot a glace at the woman holding the wine bottle. She practically jumped as we locked eyes.

  The women here looked distressed, but there wasn't any sign of a struggle. The guy was trouble, but I've always been a bit of a trouble maker myself. The tense feeling wouldn't leave me, but I sat down at his table and asked him "So, who are you anyways?"

  "Lord of the Golden Way, Kairos!"

  He flashed me a toothy grin and downed his wine. The woman at the table chattered in her seat in anticipation, bottle at the ready. He put his glass down and with the gal not skipping a beat, it was as if it were never empty.

  "And who are you? What brings you here?"

  I remember him asking me this, but I don't recall the answer I provided. My memory up until this point is pristine. Although I have omitted some things for brevity, such as the meals I had along the way, I could tell you how they tasted, the texture, and how many of the strange bug-men-things I had along the way (the answer is zero, by the way.)

  I remember I always had a habit of boasting about my title. Damn, I must have used that more than my name itself. But outside of the things I've done up to this point, I don't remember much about myself. My name, the names of others, the names of even family. Nothing. Every so often I think back on this story, and it's always about here that it gets to me the most.

  He seemed bemused by my name and title, that much I remember. It was like he was shrugging me off. Something about his demeanor bothered me.

  "I've heard of you before." I said with a grin.

  "Ohhhh?"

  "Yeah, a good friend of mine told me all about your exploits. Heard you're a real menace."

  He laughed and shot me a smirk.

  "Yeah, that sounds about right."

  He brought his glass to his lips began drinking once more.

  "I've been known to be something of a menace myself. Been banned from a number of places like this one. I wander mostly, so it's not a big deal. More or less that's how I found myself here. People just can't handle banter, you know? Sometimes it gets to them knowing that I'm better, stronger, faster..."

  I paused for a moment, and shot him the coldest, smuggest look I could. "...funnier."

  He caught himself from choking on his drink. He seemed surprised, processing things.

  Glass just short of his lips, he responded with haste before getting back to his drink.

  "Really? You don't look like much of a threat."

  "Yeah, I've heard that the funnier you are the less imposing you are. You just have an aura about you that stops people from feeling threatened by you."

  I looked toward my nails, making sure to drive it all home to this smug fuck.

  "But that's world's apart for you, huh? Didn't mean to talk so much about myself."

  The air of the room changed. I had something of a reputation for this kind of shtick back home.... not that he knew that.

  The lady was sitting there, waiting on him hand and foot. She must've noticed the shift, because she seemed especially nervous. He placed his glass back down. She went to fill the glass. As she raised the bottle, my eyes caught something. Something coated the bottle that wasn't there before, something shiny like a kind of cooking oil. It was just for a split second, as she lifted the bottle, but it fell out of her hands. Then like that the glossy texture was gone, along with the contents of the bottle. It all spilled out onto his pants and shattered as it hit the floor.

  The piano lady hit a wrong note, panicked, and the music stopped.

  He put on a show for me, that tricky little bastard. His face got all red, but he was silent as he raised his hand out towards her. The bastard was about to exorcise her with the way she looked. She was frozen solid, truly statuesque in more ways than one. I could sense his energy building, and from this distance there wasn't much I could do in time. My breath as a guide, natural and unbroken as should be, my hand flew forward with no resistance towards his arm, just before his wrist. Coursing through my veins, my hand began to vibrate intensely as I emitted energy of my own and used my hand to slice as if it were a blade.

  BYOOOOM

  A bright light shot from my fingertips. Sensing danger, he tried to jump back away from the girl; my attack shredded through his flesh. Tsk tsk tsk. That's why we aim further away from our target fellas. Any faster and he might have still gotten his shot off, but I got his whole damn hand.

  He screamed out in horror as blood gushed from the stump of his arm. He certainly didn't expect that.

  The woman stood there terrified.

  I looked at her. She looked at me.

  "What are you waiting for?! Get the hell out of here!"

  She then proceeded to follow my advice and get the hell out of there, sprinting towards the exit. Surely she and her coworker would be fine.

  I returned my focus towards him. His eyes were blood shot. He was having a really hard time of it, holding his arm.. come on man, it's not coming back. You're not gonna wave a wand and have it magically come back. I'm not sure he'd ever been in a real fight before. If anything I held back on him.

  He should have thrown his hands up in the air and thanked the good heavens above that he lived. He should have shook my hand and said "Well gosh dangit, now I see the error of my ways!" Then we could have gone on with our lives and lived happily ever after and then God himself would have descended from the skies and said "Oh wow, ya did it!" and imparted an eternal rainbow upon all of mankind.

  But that's not what happened.

  Instead he got really mad.

  His face began to distort, and I don't mean that kind of way where people start snarling or whatever, no. His facial structure started to change into some kind of freakish abomination. I started to think that maybe he should have been back there in that forest. He had the skin of a human, but the head shape of a dog, the beady eyes of a crow, the horns of a goat, and his back hunched over like some of the inbred children in the northern territories.

  Here I was thinking "Hey, he's human, I'm human. We're the same!"

  But no, it turns out he's some kind of demon. How was I supposed to know that? The gut feeling? Come on now, as if you don't get that feeling around the homeless. Don't play with me here.

  His arms were now freakishly long, with some long, unhygienic nails, and his legs were similar to that of a horse. I'm sitting here on the edge of freaked out and intrigued. He screeched and threw the table in front of him at me. I jumped back and to the side, easily evading it. I might have actually done too good of a job though, because now there was some serious distance between us.

  A strange glow began to emit from beneath him. It expanded outward as it's source formed a coherent design in the form of some kind of sigil.

  "Oh hellll no." I said aloud.

  And then it happened. Time split open and a shift occurred.

  THUMP

  THUMP

  THUMP

  I looked around, confused at first. My eyes then locked on it. A disembodied arm.

  THUMP

  THUMP

  THUMP

  I was spotting more of these strange arms around me by the moment, and I didn't have time to really grasp the severity of my situation. If I didn't act, something funny was about to happen. The room itself was splitting open, the floor cracking open to reveal an eager fire spilling out of every opening.

  I'm not exactly the best shot caller, okay? But I know that spells are dangerous as hell. If I didn't take this guy out, I might have been dealing with some curse or something for the next year. I MEAN, that's how spells NORMALLY work, right?

  I danced across the floor, through the fire, sticking to the sides that were safest. You know, the ones without the weird wriggling arms. It really limited my movement, so it was a pain in the ass evading everything. He was waiting for me to make a move, he knew had the advantage.

  Something fell from the ceiling above me and landed on my right shoulder. It latched onto me like a leech, and I felt it trying to burrow deep inside of me. It sucked away at my vigor and an intense pain that felt like shards of ice filled my upper arm as a result. I tried to move it instinctively; unresponsive. I grit my teeth and grabbed a hold of it with my left hand and squeezed my fingers deep into it's flesh, tearing it off of me and flinging it across the room and into the wall; it was one of those arms. It's fingers had sunk into me like fangs. Woah!

  My shoulder was in pretty bad condition. I'd recover, but I couldn't throw a good punch like this. I'd have to use my left arm, and I had to end this now.

  He was still there, waiting for me. Smug punk.

  I propelled myself into the air, leaping at him. It wasn't enough to hit him, I had to catch him off guard too. I faked him out as if I were going in for a punch with my right arm, and he shot me that creepy beast-like grin. As he tried to strike me, I sprung my surprise on him. I generated energy around my body and used it to propel myself to above and to the side. I span my body around, using my acceleration to curve around behind him as he missed his attack. I drove my left fist into his back with the force of a small train and decimated his spine. I still remember the feeling of impact, right before I punted him across the room.

  I'd surely won the battle. Kairos was never going to walk again. It was over.

  Unfortunately, I didn't anticipate the full picture.

  THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

  THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

  THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

  Dozens of hands all locked onto me instantly, covering my body. They weren't very strong, but something felt wrong. I should have felt that supreme, unstoppable feeling of victory.

  I could sense something large beneath me, and it was approaching me faster than I could even think to react.

  As if the dark lord himself had something to say about my victory, a massive hand burst out of the foundation of the floor and gripped my body, squeezing it tight. I felt the life leaving my body and it dragged me straight into the pit of fire. Eternal damnation.

  I blacked out.

  When I awoke I found myself here. Here in this grave of mine. If I sit in one place for too long like this I start to get comfortable with my surroundings, which.. YA KNOW. It's kind of frustrating. It all piles on itself. Every second I waste is an act of my own doing.

  I know, my story isn't "happy" by any means. Do I deserve this prison? Maybe. I believe in a higher purpose, and I believe that you reap what you sow. So where is my harvest? Ahh, but to that I imagine that someone pious would ask me where my faith is. To that I'd respond "In all of my actions, even in times like these."

  The devil has a grip on me like a vise. I'm not stupid enough to not realize that. There is no victory for me here. No one is coming for me. I've spent so long down here that the hope of a savior has long left me. The only way out is through myself and with respect to the higher forces at work.

  I don't like being alone with myself. I don't like having to think about why I'm here. I don't like having to think about how nothing ever changes. There is a pit deep inside of me, and I have to dance around this empty feeling and whatever decides to fill it.

  There is this feeling deep inside, this horror that eats at me. A cage inside of a cage. Do we even need a box at this point? When nothing sticks, when nothing works, when my screams could reach the heavens and not be heard, what do you do?

  Nothing. That's the answer I come to every time. Battered, bloodied and bruised, coming off of that high of feeling like I might be able to change things. It all comes crashing down.

  The tide is growing stronger, and I sit on the beach waiting for it to take me out to sea knowing full well that I can't swim. Struggling against the tide tires me so. I sink down to the depths of this abyss, where no one can see me, and I can't see them either.

  ...

  Nothing. So calming, so peaceful.

  My North Star in the darkest of nights. Oh, how will I find my way back home?

  ...

  ...

  ...

  A thought interrupts my peace: What if this prison is magic? I mean, he primarily used magic, right? But that's not how spells work. I've been here for so long it would have run out of energy, if not completely dissipated after I shattered Kairos' spine.

  ...

  ...

  ...

  Well, if this place is physical, how come I can't destroy it? Metal or not, I've pulled off crazier. It just doesn't make sense.

  I sink back down, away from my immediate thoughts.

  Further.

  And further.

  ...

  ...

  ...

  THUMP

  ???

  ...

  ...

  THUMP

  ...

  Are you even trying?

  It's been so long.

  ?

  What is this?

  Everyone is so disappointed.

  You are weak.

  You will die here alone.

  Raspy little whispers into my ear. I feel the dark lord's grip.

  No one is coming to save you.

  And even if they did, what would they think?

  THUMP THUMP

  I feel it, a sensation on my body. It grips me. I can't see it, but it's there. I remain silent, analyzing it. Whatever this thing is, it’s foreign. It does not belong to me, yet there it is.

  If someone cared, they would have come.

  It's been so long.

  Remember how long it's been.

  Yes, oh so long.

  I feel an emptiness in my shoulder. In my upper right thigh. In my chest. In various places I can feel it sucking the life out of me. The warmth of my energy courses throughout me so strongly, nourishing me. It's sensation comes second nature, doesn’t it? Yet I feel it’s absence. I feel cold.

  ...

  It stops. Everything stops, flowing into a singular point, where nothing can reach it. It condenses as the heart beats; automatically.

  ...

  I feel something detaching. It falls away from me.

  THUD

  Again. And again. In at least a dozen places.

  Release, and silence. No more. It's gone. There's this feeling of immense joy that fills me, coupled by a soft sadness. I feel it lifting off of me. I'm at peace.

  I open my eyes.

  Light? There's light in this room? I see it casting across the ground. Ground..? As in dirt?

  Wasn't it night time a second ago?

  I check the time.

  11:24:37:89 AM,

  Hold on. HOLD ON.

  Just what in the hell is going on?! Light? Wait, there WASN'T light before? But, but the design?

  I look up. I squint. The fuck is this?

  I touch the wall in disbelief. It's WOOD.

  Okay, okay, let's just calm down, and think. Is it magical wood? I just, I just——

  I look around, feeling this thing I'd once called a prison in disbelief. I'm circling around it now, touching the planks of wood as I feel I'm on the verge of both defeat and revival. My spirit is so weak. I'm shaking and there's this tightness in my stomach. I want to throw up. No, no. I can't give in here.

  I need to sit down, but something inside of me drives me forward. I hear it whisper soft, encouraging and kindly "Everything will be okay." The feeling is pure and kindles the fire within.

  I have to keep going. I move further along the wall.

  Wait—— There's an indent. I've passed over this spot before, haven't I? I stop and I lower my gaze slightly.

  ...

  What the hell am I looking at?

  It's a DOOR KNOB.

  WHAT?!

  WHAT?!

  WHAT?!

  ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

  ARE YOU- WHAT?!

  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

  I grab hold of the door knob and turn it.

  It's not locked.

  Is this a joke? Am I being pranked? Surely this can't be real!

  Do I pull it full strength? Is this a trick? Am I being tricked? If I pull full strength will I fail? If I pull too weakly will I fail? Perhaps this is just to reveal another door behind it! Oh, how cruel that would be! Bravo, Kairos, bravo! You've surely bested me! You've gotten me good! HA!

  Ha!

  HA HA HA HA!

  Ha!!!

  ...

  My freedom is right behind this door, but something inside of me aches. Is it doubt that still remains?

  The hands that bind me are gone, but my heart feels heavy.

  I breath in slowly, trying to calm this immense anxious feeling.

  I grit my teeth in anticipation.

  I pull the door gently.

  There's a bright and amazing light that graces the world, and the horizon continues on endlessly; beautiful and blue as always. Serenity and peace wash over me, that ugly feeling is gone.

  The pain and doubt fall away from me like dust in the wind as the cool breeze hits me. I had forgotten what it was like to smile... I had forgotten so much. In that moment, it all came back to me. I never knew that I could feel so light, as if born anew.

  I don't cry. I never cry, but if I did it would be at times like these.