Confined

Prologue

Pain. All I felt was excruciating pain burning out my insides. The nausea danced on my nerves as I felt as though I were being repeatedly stabbed in the chest. One. Two. Three. Nothing happened. I choked, trying to get air into my now burning lungs. Counting definitely did not help. Moisture pooled down my forehead as I clutched my stomach in agony, shifting into a fetal position. Cold air surrounded me like second skin. My eyes, as though glued shut, did not budge open. The air entering my mouth sat stale on my tongue as I let out small whimpers. My back had turned sticky. My limbs refusing to cooperate as I tried to move. Energy oozed out of me steadily as I forced to pry my eyes open.

Almost as though my silent prayers had been heard, my eyes flew open only to be greeted by a haunting darkness I had just fought to escape. My heart swelled, it felt as though I were drowning into a sea of grief. My body was numb, no sensations. No pain. Nothing. Lying wide awake, I could envision the familiar cracks in the ceiling above me. The jagged walls of stone seemed to be moving in on me as I lay cooped up.  Fear sat on me like a pillow over my mouth and nose. My limbs lay hauntingly still as I tried to calm my racing heart. I waited. Just like my therapist had advised me to do. Don't fight. Check. Breathing. Check. Do not panic. Not check.

The backyard which was dangerously close to the forest glittered under the sun. The warmth welcomed me, almost urging me to take a walk through the greenery. The trees drew nearer as I quickened my pace. Silence screamed scarily in the distance. The forest lay eerie and still as a graveyard. Branches of trees reached out like fingers. The leafy paradise grew thicker, the trees turning darker in color as I went on. The grass crackled under my feet while jays screeched above me. The blue sky was covered by the dense canopy. The trees and leaves danced to the wind while the flower bushes I had stopped to admire shimmered magically in the sunlight.