Help

“What would you do if you ever got out of here?” 

The soft voice from the cell next to her is just loud enough to hear through the thin wall in-between them. It startles her and suddenly she is well aware of her surroundings. After a few seconds, she realizes she hasn’t answered yet and opens her mouth, but the voice is faster. 

“Hey, can you hear me?” it asks again. Stupidly, she nods and licks her lips before answering.

“I would put on red lipstick and rock that s**t.” The giggle from the room next to her puts a smile on her face and she rubs in her eyes, trying to get rid of the sting while simultaneously wiping away the tears that were caused because of that. “I would buy those high heels I’ve wanted for ages now and I’d go on a road trip by myself.” 

Silence. 

“I like that. Would you ever go bungee jumping?” She can hear the curiosity and excitement in his voice. Scoffing, she gets up and wipes the dust off of her jeans. “You think I would voluntarily risk my life after getting out this prison? No, thanks.”

He laughs. “That’s fair. What else would you do?” 

Her muscles are stiff, her neck hurts and her vision becomes blurry for a second. “Ehm,” she says while trying to think of some more things, “I think I would go to some more parties.” It’s hard to think about something like this, since she never thought about getting out. That would only create dreams she knew would never come true. 

More silence. She stretches her arms and turns her head, getting rid of the strain in her neck. “It doesn’t really matter, though,” she mumbles. She can hear the boy walking around his cell too, probably doing the same things she’s doing: stretching and making sure your body doesn’t suffer as much as your mind. “Sorry, what did you say?” His voice is low and she can’t help but wonder what he looks like. Does he look like her? Average height, dark hair, freckles, a slim body? Or would he be tall and look like some kind of Greek god? But it doesn’t matter. People here don’t get picked because of the way they look or what job they have, whether they are nice or mean, kind or coldhearted. 

“I said it doesn’t matter.” Immediate regret. “I’m sorry, that came out harsher than I meant it to.” She looks up at the wall and at the window in the corner of the room. There’s barely any sunlight, and she would kill for some fresh air. “I don’t think I’ll ever get out of here, so it doesn’t matter what I dream of.” 

The silence that follows lets her know that he doesn’t really know what to say and she shakes her head, even though he can’t see it. She doesn’t talk to a lot of people, but when she does things come out wrong and negative. 

There are voices sometimes. People that walk past her cell and whisper nice and encouraging things. Things like it’ll be alright or I know you can get out of here, just try. And even though she wants to believe the voices, something always holds her back. What if she fails and people find out she was stuck in that cell? What if they judge her for it or even worse: not believe that she’s there and not come to help her?  

She tugs on her hair with a groan and bites her lip. This is the kind of stuff that drives her crazy. Just thinking of staying in this cell for the rest of her life scares her, but she doesn’t trust the world enough to try and get out. 

Instead she often wonders what it’s like to be a different person, someone who is free and enjoys life to the fullest. Why did she turn out to be the person that is in this cell? Unfair, unfair, unfair. 

The boy coughs and sniffs. “I don’t even remember what it was like before I ended up here. When I told my parents I was here,” she can feel something sting, “they didn’t really want to help me and told me to figure it out on my own. I have only spoken to them a couple of times since then, but they pretty much left me to suffer. Can you believe that?!” 

She looks at her hands. 

“I would never abandon my child if he or she ended up here. That’s for sure.” 

A satisfied “hmpf” follows her answer and he says: “I thought that was common sense, but apparently not.” 

This time the silence is comfortable, both of them in deep thought. Somewhere down the hall a door opens, and she can hear footsteps. 

“Come on, you’re okay now. I got you. You’re almost there,” she hears someone say. That must be the guard. It sounds like they’re close by. She turns her head towards the sound and tries to catch a glimpse of them. Her cell door has a little door that she can open and close by herself, but even if she opens it, her view is limited.

“Wait here,” the voice says, probably to a prisoner. The footsteps fade and she can hear a door open and close. A person, that looks like a girl, steps in front of her door and looks inside. When they look into each other’s eyes, the girl smiles. Her shadow on the wall in the cell makes her look huge and terrifying.  

“You’ll be okay,” is what she says. “I can help you. Do you want my help?”

When she gets no response, she knocks on the door. “Hey,” the girl whispers. “I can get you out of here.” Still nothing. 

The girl in the cell is speechless, confused and uncertain. What does she do? Should she take the leap? What’s the worst thing that could happen? But should she do it, though? Yes, yes, she should. Just say yes, just say the words you’ve been practicing for weeks, months, years. 

“Help me, please. I need your help.” But it’s not her. It’s the boy in the cell next to her. The shadow disappears, and suddenly she feels lonely. 

The boy bangs on his door. “Help me, someone help me, please!” 

She wants to yell too, stand up and kick and slam against the door. But the word she wants to scream is stuck, like a lump in your throat that is hard to swallow. 

Next to her the door opens and she can hear them whispering, more footsteps. People running, doors slamming, someone’s happy shriek far away. 

 

And there she is. Still stuck in her own mind. 

Author's Note

I'm not a native speaker so sorry for any incorrect sentences, grammitcal errors or such.
Also, I wrote this in three hours or something, I thought of it in the shower, so feel free to let me know if something doesn't add up or if you have any other comments. Thanks!! :)