Labyrinth

• Jessica Carpenter, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2011

I am scared. God help me! Please anyone! My heart dances, my head pounds, why must it be me who get treated this way? I close my eyes and I’m in sweet darkness, no one can see me, I’m in my own world. In reality I’m alone, from what I know, but I am not safe. Who could feel safe knowing nothing good can come from being trapped in the desperate merciless soul of another. My eyes are struck open in the vicious sensation that all is lost for me. I cry out with grief and agony to be bewildered by the echoing sound of grieving death. Tears are making it hard for me to see as my sight had been suddenly vanquished into sorrow. Inhaling a deep breath of frosty air I familiarize myself with my whereabouts. Where am I? I stutter a few steps forward and see … nothing? Wiping away my tears nothing much changes, everything is white. I shuffle a few more steps forward and realize I am in the middle of an old path, there are two walls on the far sides of me only allowing to progress onwards on backwards. Please don't be what I think this is! I start to run as fast as my legs would take me but as to how useless that is I wont know. I cant tell whether I’m actually getting anywhere as no matter how fast I seem to move, nothing is changing. I suddenly trip over a small pebble and my knees give way as I fall to the ground. This must be a labyrinth for only those of committed fraud are sentenced to a life imprisonment. Although I don't ever remember committing such deed, actually I can barley remember anything at all! Reaching down I feel the warm blood oozing and trickling down my leg. I try and wipe the blood with my sleeve but it just smears making it worse. I’ve heard of people going crazy from places like these but I intend to retain what sanity I have left! Dusting myself off I stand up and run further but collapse to the ground almost immediately. I look up and in front of me lay a piece of glass half buried in the rugged soil. This may be the answer to my problems! This can’t be real, I can’t be real! Without another thought I plunge the shard into my heart thinking wishfully this was the answer to escape. Within a heat beat I shatter into complete nothingness.

Nurse, is that man okay? I think his heart finally gave in, after all those years of being kept in a psychiatric ward he couldn't contain his decency any longer. In his nightmares he kept talking about white walls, being trapped, we couldn't wake him up.