Rain patters against the glass, running down. Drip. Drip. Drip.
I look up at the twirling walls of my prison. Change is the only constant here. Today it’s semi-translucent walls with little red marks on the far side. Yesterday it was silver, endlessly twisting down into an abyss.
This is the greatest prison ever devised, the prison that can never be escaped. There are no guards, no bars. Just the walls that will not break, because if I break them, it will all be over.
The prison, you see, is my mind. Endlessly inventive, working against me, taking little thing I’ve seen – the inside of a telescope, the coin slot at the casino, the drain on my sink – and making them into jails of the abstract.
They’ve locked me in here and I can’t break out.
Because if I break out, I’ll go mad, won’t I?
Word Count: 146
This is for this week’s Flash Fiction for the Aspiring Writer. Thanks to Priceless Joy for running the challenge and to Nonnaci for proving the prompt photo!
what an interesting thought!
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jails of the abstract – i can think of no other more horrible prison to be in than this. powerful words in this story.
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Thank you!
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Hmmm…. food for thought.
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Glad it made think. Thanks for commenting!
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This poor guy has already gone mad within the prison of his own mind! Chilling thought! Great story!
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My pleasure!
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What a unique take on the prompt – very well penned and thought.
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Thank you!
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Excellent take on the prompt. Inventive and provoking.
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Thank you!
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This is an ingenious idea! Trapped in your own mind, think of the money the government would save!
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It’s cheap and terrifying. Thanks for commenting!
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Very creative take on the prompt, and what a haunting last line!
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Terrifying piece. The mind can truly be the most frightening place. It’s the reason you never tell children an exact punishment, you let them think about it, because what they think is always worse. I got a distinct Edgar Allan Poe feel from this piece. ‘The Pit and the Pendelum,’ when reading it, I always have nightmares. It’s not in the guy’s head in the story, but if it was, it would be even worse. Very unique and interesting view point.
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Thank you! Yes, I think you’re right that what people imagine is always worse.
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A very original take on the prompt. Well done. It’s all in the mind.
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A great take on the prompt! Trapped in your own mind…!
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Thank you!
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A beautifully told story, JA. 🙂 I have to wonder, though, whether madness really lies in breaking free or if maybe the madness is what he’s already trapped within. Maybe sanity lies outside.
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Thank you! Yes, there’s an ambiguity in how sane he is now. But as long as he THINKS madness is in escaping, he won’t try, even if it’s the only way to sanity.
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Love your story. So well written with the prison evolving from the (assumed) real prison to the prison of the mind. The last line is a real shocker. It bring home the human face of madness.
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Thank you!
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I say madness but as I reflect more, it’s not madness. The narrator seems perfectly sane and it’s the ear of not being sane which is keeping him/her trapped.
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Whether they’re sane or not is purposely a little ambiguous. They certainly believe they’re sane, though.
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Oh dear! That doesn’t sound like a good place to be stuck in.
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It certainly doesn’t. Thanks for commenting!
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