“Do it one more time!”

“But I’ve already tried this 10 times, can’t I take a break now?”

“No breaks until you get it right, now go!”

Emily sighed because she knew her words would never be good enough for him. She could prance across this stage day in and day out, she could yell from the top of her lungs and not forget a line but it was never enough. The man of the hour is what she called him because one minute he’d be there and the next she was alone. Alone in the darkness once more. She could feel the coldness of her bare feet rubbing against the floor, the splintered wood under her fingertips when she slid them over the chair and the moldy stench of the rotting walls that surrounded her. This view became everything she knew and trusted. It was all that she saw every hour of everyday and all she would ever be. Except she couldn’t think that way because if she did, she would have given up long ago. Dawn became the time of day that she looked forward too. A slight glimpse of sunlight peeked through the window behind her. The man of the hour had boarded it up so no one could see inside but a corner was uncovered. Something so small but so significant to her. Something that she swore would save her life one day. Something to live for.

After 10 years of looking at the same scenery Emily could describe it well. The dust filled stage had once been black but over the years it turned into a dull grey. She could remember the day that she first saw the red velvet curtains and how they mesmerized her small brain. She was only 6 at the time and little did she know how those curtains would change her life forever. After this long of observing their intricate details they still cease to amaze her. There wasn’t much to this room until those curtains flung open with an exasperated call. They, along with her, knew exactly what was to come when they were forced to open. As she gazed into the bare audience only one seat would be occupied. Each time those curtains were unveiled she hoped to see something out of the ordinary but that was never the case. Over and over she stuck to the same strict routine just like she was enrolled in a military training camp. Naturally Emily began to give up all hope that someone was on their way to rescue her. Although she convinced herself that it wasn’t true, deep down she knew that they had stopped looking by now. The police department in their small town had never experienced such a crime. That was the fact she couldn’t wrap her mind around; the very thing out of the whole situation that just didn’t make sense. Why her? Why now? And why in this town? What did he want from her? Surely it couldn’t be his own form of entertainment. Anyone in the right mind would get annoyed by watching the same show repeatedly. Then again there was no way that this man was in the right mind; that she was sure about.
Screech, Whoosh!
She had her eyes closed tightly praying that today might be different but she was too afraid to open them and be disappointed for the umpteenth time. Gradually she let her face relax and her eyelids were cautiously pried open. A feeling of immense dismay came upon her as fast as a shooting star. She felt her heart stop for a moment and her stomach churn. Despite her overwhelmingly powerful need to cry, the tears refused to fall. The man of the hour sat there with his typical smirk, dark hair and hypnotic eyes. A sense of anger engulfed inside of her until she finally let it burst; knowing the consequences.
“What do you want with me” she screamed

“See that is where you are wrong. It’s not what I want with you, it’s a mere reflection of what you really want from yourself.”

“What does that even mean?”

“ The fact that you still don’t understand tells me you are not ready”

“Ready for what?!”

“That will be all for today, you’ve disappointed me.”

“Hey you, come back here!”

“Sam.”

“What?”

“Next time you feel the need to yell at me, at least have the decency to use my name”

She froze in silence as her eyes remained wide open, appalled by what he had said. After hours of pondering the word Sam, nothing came to her. Afterall she was only a naive child when she’d been ripped away from her dependable home. Now all she had was this chair. This chair that stayed beneath her, glued to the stage. It was horrifying to think that this inanimate object was the closest thing she had to family. If there was one thing she had learned from her life it’s that loneliness really is a silent killer. Being forced to listen to your thoughts persistently everyday is enough to make anyone go mad. Maybe that was Sam’s goal. Maybe that’s what he wanted all along, someone to take over his cruel ways. Maybe I wasn’t a hostage at all but rather a trainee. All of these ideas were scrambled inside of her brain until finally everything just stopped. She no longer felt the soreness of her bruises or the ache of crushed bones. For the first time in forever she felt unharmed and protected from the world. The zip ties that constricted the peeled skin on her wrists had let loose. She carefully rose to her feet and curled her fingers in disbelief. Her anxious breathing became relaxed as she took the first step to her freedom.

“Is this real” she whispered to the room.

For some reason she just couldn’t accept that maybe faith was finally giving her a chance. A chance to scarper from this dreadful room once and for all. The only problem was she had forgotten or rather never learned how to do anything. She was barely attending school at the time of her capture and now she can’t imagine her life outside of this place. The thought dawned on her and before she knew it time was running out. She could either plant herself back in the chair that she has come to love or take a leap and find what lies beyond that window.

Emily glanced at the familiar wooden chair and it simply examined her with it’s worn and weary eyes. Suddenly the corner of the window murmured in her ear. The sound vibrated until it forced itself inside her head. She felt herself shuffle her feet toward the call of the outside world until she came face to face with the opaque window.  She realized that she’d never seen it this close up before. The light was illuminating into her pale eyes and stung the surface of her mangled skin. She lunged her weak arms forward and grabbed ahold of the wooden panels that cloaked her only escape. Unfortunately her fragile arms weren’t strong enough to defend against the stubborn wood. A surge of defeat came upon like a storm on the sea. She tumbled to the aged floor as all hope fled the silhouette of her body. What felt like hours passed by and sucked all of the motivation from the tips of her fingers and beyond. There was nothing left to save her now. She had gotten so close to exemption but once again it appeared to be some sort of vicious joke. Emily was doubtful that she had made a mistake so inexcusable that she deserved all of this punishment. But why else would she be compelled into this life of evil? Only when nothing seemed just in the world she mysteriously began to laugh.

“That foolish chair is my only friend,” she confessed.

Like a friend it was there for her in her darkest days. Like a friend it never left her side. And like a friend it held the answers all along. Precipitously the solution was as clear as glass. She was hoisted off the the ground like the strings of a puppet. Gathering all the strength she hid inside, she wandered to the item she knew would save her life; the chair. She raised her leg in the still air and knocked the leg right off of her lifelong friend. A feeling of guilt and relief poured into the veins running beneath her skin. She scooped the piece of fractured wood and hurried over to the window once more. By stuffing the leg of the chair between the pieces of boards she pried them until she heard a crack. One bolt, then two and three hurtled in every direction. It wasn’t long at all and the stream of sunlight flowed in the ominous room. The decrepit wood that had once hung there fell to the floor with a crash. In shock, Emily maintained her job of staring out of the window. Surprisingly it was still in mid condition after all these years that have gone by. She was so close, she could literally see the way out. The only dilemma standing in her way of protection was this astounding patch of glass. An automatic thought jumped into her mind that Sam would be back any minute and she had to act quick.  

A peculiar sight caught her eye from the comfort of the stage floor. She squinted her eyes but the object remained foreign to her. She finally found just enough strength to slide her lifeless body to the base of the side curtain. Her long twisted fingers fumbled the object until it came to register in her brain. A small tattered piece of dark red fabric rested in her calloused hands. It must have detached from the antique and diminished curtain. She caressed this magical material in the palms of her hands while she surged to the window for a final time. She carefully wrapped the curtain around her right hand as many times as it would allow. She held onto the fabric tightly so it would be secure. She inhaled a swarm of musty air while she launched her stringent fist into the pane. The whole structure shattered as it succumbed to the force it hadn’t been previously exposed to. Unafraid and with great courage she promptly removed the small pieces of glass that neglected her punch. She settled her elbows on the ledge and lifted her delicate body as high as she could. But she must not have realized the strength she withheld because she tumbled to the earth on the other side. 

The tips of grass painted lines across the surface of her skin. The soft greenery cushioned the land beneath her drained body. The tiny hairs lining her epidermis arose to the unidentified environment. With little energy left she rolled over on her back using the grass as a cotton pillow.  She laid there while memories of her childhood flooded her overwhelmed head. She pictured the days where her parents would take her to the park and roll down the grassy hills. They’d relax on a picnic blanket and laugh for hours. A drop of rain trickled across her face and awoke her from this trance. In a matter of moments the rain poured from the clouds above like a flash mob in the middle of time square. She wiped the water away from her eyes as they carefully opened. What she saw was no longer the rain collapsing from the sky nor the images that soothed her minutes before. It was the despised black walls, those red curtains and of course the all-mighty chair. Filled with utter shock and inapprehensible pain, Emily peered across the room to see Sam awaiting his encore.
“I guess that’s what you get for refusing to drink the water I provided. Good news though, I think you’re finally ready now,” he teased.
“Yeah, I guess I am.”