Through the Window

    A young woman huddled in the corner of the cold, dank room.  The room's darkness made it hard to make out any of the surroundings.  There were stone walls and a tiny window that let in a little light, but all other parts of the room were shrouded in shadows.  The girl did not raise her head.  She seemed a part of the wall.  She was still and the only life she showed were small breaths that barely moved her petite frame.  She never spoke.  The only sounds heard from her cell were the muffled sobs that echoed through the hallways in the wee hours of the morning when everyone should have been sleeping.  Her jailers may have thought her insane but for the hard light of determination that smoldered in her eyes on the rare occasions she acknowledged their presence.
    Silas watched her through the small window and wondered who she was.  She could not be much older than eighteen.  He thought her quite pretty.  He would have called her beautiful if it wasn't for the newly-healed scar that distorted the corner of her mouth and marred her well-shaped chin.  If he had seen her on the streets, he would never have looked at her twice, but there was something about the strength that glowed from her eyes that caused him to come to her window again. 
    Silas had sat by the window and watched her many times in the week she had been in the jail beside his home.  He couldn't understand why he held such fascination for her.  All she ever did was sit in the corner, quiet.  Sometimes her lips moved as if she was talking to herself, but he never heard a sound from her until he visited her for the seventh time.
    "I know you are watching me." A voice came from the cell, scaring Silas half out of his wits.  "You have been here before.  Why?"  Her voice was faintly musical, although rusty with disuse.  She turned and looked at him through the barred window.  Silas felt as if she were peering right into his very soul.  He blushed but could not speak.
    "I understand," she laughed.  "Your mother told you never to talk to strangers."
    "I'm eighteen," he said indignantly.
    "Good, you do have a tongue.  It would be a tragedy if my first visitor in three weeks could not speak to me.  Tell me, what is your name and why are you here?"
    "You first," Silas mumbled, his shyness returning.
    The young woman became serious.  "Very well.  My name is Elena.  I don't know why I am here.  Three weeks ago, some men came and took me away from my home.  I cannot even think of a reason for them to take me away from my family.  We aren't rich or famous.  I have no secrets that would benefit them.  They have not said a word to me about my capture.  I tried to ask once and the leader gave me this."  She traced the scar, pain in her face.  " They have been moving me around the country since then.  There is nothing else to tell.  Please, tell me who you are, and why you have come."
    "My name is Silas.  I just came to watch.  I cannot stay.  My mother will be looking for me."  Silas stood quickly and left her at her window.  As he walked slowly across his front lawn, he could see a picture of her lonely face in his mind, her big eyes pleading, and he knew that he could not leave her in that jail cell for long.
    He could not sleep that night. His mind was flooded with plans for her escape, but none of them were plausible.  The only part he had truly worked out was the end.  He imagined them outdistancing their pursuers, finding a safe haven and Elena throwing herself into his arms in gratitude.  He tried to imagine how her lips would feel on his when he embraced her in victory, but his imagination failed him.  He couldn't imagine a kiss and he couldn't imagine a way to make the desired event happen.  His brain became foggy and he fell asleep, his plan still unresolved.
    He woke up early and ran to Elena's window.  Her cell was empty.  He ran around the front of the jail just in time to see Elena pushed into the back of a police van.  They were moving her again.  Elena walked with her head down, resigned to her fate.  Silas could not bear to see her so sad, but there was nothing he could do.  Elena climbed in and the van drove out of the yard.
    Silas flew into frenzied action.  He ran to his home, grabbed his bicycle and flew down the forest trails in an attempt to intercept the van before Elena was lost to him forever.  He reached the road ahead of the van, but as he sped onto the road, he hit a rock and lost control.  He fell, skidding on the gravel, and lost consciousness.
    Silas woke up and saw the face of a concerned prison guard above him.  "Hold still for a moment young man.  You have had a bad fall."  Silas stood up shakily as the man spoke soothingly to him.  Silas saw something that made his heart jump.  The prison guard who had stopped for him was the driver of Elena's van and he was the only prison guard present.
    "Do you think you can stand on your own?"  Silas nodded.  The man let go of his arm but followed him closely as he picked up his bike and wheeled it off the road.  Silas pretended to waver. The man came closer.  Silas leaned over and picked up a short tree branch on the edge of the road, whirled around and brought it crashing down on the man's head.  The man crumpled to the ground.  Silas snatched the keys from the man's belt and rushed to the van.  He got into the driver's seat and drove for several hours.
    Silas reached an obscure road that led deep into the forest.  He followed it until he thought he was safe and went around to the back and let Elena out.  She stared in disbelief as Silas helped her down from the back of the van, but her face soon changed into a look of joy. 
    "You saved me," she said quietly.  "Why?"
    "I couldn't leave you there.  You were so alone.  I had to do something."  Silas became shy and turned red.  "I. . .kind of. . .like you."
    "But Silas," Elena protested.  "We don't even know why they took me in the first place.  They could come after me again.  They could hurt you, maybe even kill you, for rescuing me." 
    "Elena, the moment I first saw you in the window, I looked into your eyes.  Something in them told me that someday I would be willing to anything, even die, just for you.  We may never know why they took you, but I love you and I will protect you as long as I have life in me."  Silas became bold and stared intensely into her eyes.  "I promise Elena."
    Elena looked into his eyes, and something in them told her she could trust him with her life.  She nodded and took his hand in hers.
    Silas pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her.  He smiled as reality took over where his imagination had failed.

Reviews

[Kaitlin W. Blaylock]

interesting, but not fully developed. It moved too quickly.