Caged

• Zac Whittaker, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2019

An insignificant dot in a giant universe. Unwanted. Unloved. All his life Jack has craved a friend. However, his attempts to form friendships are usually misunderstood or rudely rejected. To cope with this constant disappointment, he retreats into his safe place, his private cage. Jack’s head sags onto his knees which he squeezes tightly towards his chest. His mop of unruly hair flops forward creating a further refuge from the cruel world beyond the bars of his loneliness.
As a whirlpool of negative thoughts flood through Jack’s mind, his ears sense whispered voices approaching. Cautiously, he raises his head and opens his eyes. Familiar faces are trying to force their way through the bars. Hurriedly, he covers his ears. He has been hearing and trying the strategies blasting at him for as long as he can remember with no success.
As Jack sits cradling his head in his hands, the voices fade, only to be replaced by a dark fog that begins to creep through his entire body. He shakes his head, stands and moves about. Beyond the bars, shadowy figures are happily engaged in various activities, ignorant of his presence. Jack grabs at the bars which now seem to imprison, rather than protect him. Unfortunately, acceptance and relief from his loneliness are only temporary. Once each activity concludes, Jack finds himself abandoned and alone again. Dejected, he creeps back into his cage and slumps to the floor.
Jack’s body aches, his head throbs. He struggles to see an end to his nightmare until images of birthday celebrations flicker like candle flames into his mind. His fingers twitch and he finds himself writing and forcing his arms out through the bars to give out party invitations to his peers. Some offer excuses for not being able to attend, others simply don’t even bother to reply. Each rejection stings like a sharp slap in the face for Jack and he retreats yet again into his dark and overwhelming cage.
Rocking slowly to and fro, Jack cannot hold back the tsunami of tears that has been brewing behind his closed eyelids. Tears rush down his cheeks, onto his arms encircling his knees and soak into his clothes. Eventually, echoes of his sobs interrupt his distress. As his tear-filled eyes try to focus, he sees another boy rocking on the floor and sobbing. Is his brain playing tricks on him? Is this merely a reflection of himself? Ever so slowly, he extends his hand. It does not touch a cold, hard mirror, instead a warm, solid, miserable boy. To Jack’s surprise, the boy does not recoil from his touch. Instead, he opens his eyes and tries to dash away his embarrassing tears.
Both boys stare at one another trying to regain control of their turbulent emotions. Conversation gradually follows and they discover they have much in common. Slowly, Jack senses the bars to his cage melt away. Finally, he feels wonderfully free. His special friend, Andy, has allowed him to escape his solitary cage.