Cycles ∞ (#1)

A very short story (5 parts) with a plot twist you will not expect.
Inspired by true events, unfortunately. But I hope I can change the way you think about them.

                                    "The caged bird sings
                                     with a fearful trill
                                     of things unknown
                                     but longed for still
                                     and his tune is heard
                                     on the distant hill
                                     for the caged bird
                                     sings of freedom."

                                     -By Maya Angelou

(pixabay)

I go to shower the second I get home.

The strong flow of water falls on my head and runs on my skin, makes me all warm and clam. A faint smile appears on my lips when the water finally mutes all the noises that usually echo on my mind; screams, bangs, and the loud silence that always comes afterward.

Only now I understand silence can be so loud.

I scrub my skin so hard until this smell of nausea disappears. Then, I take care of my long sticky hair, try to fill it with soap as much as I can. No less than three times. I step out and grab the towel on the way to my room. The bed sinks a little under my weight when I fall on it with my arms open. Only for two minutes, I tell myself. And then, maybe one more minute...

I have no idea how long I've been sleeping when i wake up to the knocking sounds on my door. From the window i can see the full yellowish moon staring back at me . The knocking become more violent and I rise in alarm. My stomach shrinks suddenly, and still I make my way in silence to the door, tightening the towel around me.

Different voices, hostile and deep, burst from behind the wooden door in a foreign language I cannot recognize. I send my right hand to the door and feel it shivers under my touch, so I shiver too.

A second later the door hits me with enough force to throw me on the floor.

The air rushes out of my lungs, and a pounding feeling explodes in my head. The floor is cold under my body, and the door threatens to crush me flat. I try to make a sound but instead I hear a whine escapes my mouth as a shock passes through my spine.

My eyes flutter open and all I see is one big pair of boots, so close it almost touches the edge of my nose. Someone grunts as he take the door further and further away, and I can breathe again. I lift my head up and look around.

Everything is blurry, as if I am looking through a camera lens that hasn't been cleaned for ages. I try to make sense of the shapes in front of me, the sounds in my head, the metal taste in my mouth... and the thin sticky flow that slips down my throat.

Before I can get away strong arms lift me up, right before the sweet darkness carries my conscious away.