A brilliant flash of yellow protruded through my window momentarily blinding me before I shifted out of its path.  My back now to the light, I observe my long shadow cast across the floor of my cell. Looking around, I examine the familiar rust on the maroon colored bars which have encompassed me for quite some time now.  A similar shade of red capped down from the top of the corroding walls, which gave their usual condescending look.  I had deemed the walls quite rhetorical to my life by now, yet they still hurt to see.  A loud yawn that sounded all the same drew my attention only to see once more my cellmate Amathis wake at his usual time.

“What’s for breakfast?” he said to me in a joking manner. Politely but painfully, I cracked a smile. 

Turning to look out the window, I caught an agonizing glimpse of myself.  I wished that a different man would appear looking back at me from the  mirror, yet a familiarly disappointing face with Jet black hair and intense dark eyes looked back at me.  My cynical thoughts were quickly interrupted by the sunlight once more glaring into the corner of my eye.  Reflexively, I move out of its way.

“Scared of the light or something?” asked Amathis gently laughing.

“A man afraid of the light is quite an unforgiveable one” I replied.

“What do you mean by that?” he said shocked by my real response to his aimless statement.

I paused momentarily, only to relevantly ask “Why do you suppose we have the only window in any cell in the entire Jail?” knowing Amathis wasn’t smart enough to comprehend the question, nor accidentally give a sufficient reply.

“Why I’m not sure.  I guess because the guard here wants us to. Maybe we’re his favorites for some reason. I don’t like to look out the window much anyway.”

I paused momentarily, comprehending his incoherent, yet provoking statement.

“If we were his favorites, why would he leave us to suffer so badly in here.”

“He hasn’t made us suffer. I enjoy it in here. My bed is quite comfortable. We also have a mirror in this room.  You should appreciate more what he gave to you.”

“I wish I could” I said mumbling under my breath just quiet enough to not be heard.

“What did you say?” responded Amathis.

I gave no reply as I tried to recapture the morning silence I suddenly envied so greatly.  But after thinking about what Amathis had stated about our time being here and the guard, I questioned...

“Isn’t it weird that neither of us have actually seen the only guard who runs this jail. And why would there only be one guard anyway. If everyone tried to escape from here we could.”

There was a long, moderately awkward pause, as he had no direct response.  A few stretched moments passed before I asked “What if there is no guard at this prison. I mean, think about it, we’ve never seen him and no one else has ever seen him. It’s only logical that us prisoners are the only residents of this jail.”

“It’s not good for you to think such crazy thoughts” Amathis replied. “The guard is most certainly the head of this jail, and he would throw you in solitude should he heard you say such things.”

I stood up and moved to approach the bars of the cell. Pulling them to the side, they slid open effortlessly.

“What are you doing?” asked Amathis. “You’re going to get us both in trouble!”

“I would rather spend eternity in solitude then another day in this cell” I remarked before calmly walking down the hall on my way towards the exit, confident I would be uninterrupted, yet still slightly fearing the guard seeing me, and condemning me to solitude.

I turned the corner, walked toward the door, and put my hand on knob ready to exit, and see the light outside for what it really is.  No guard had stopped me on my entire walk, and I knew that he was never there in the first place.  I should’ve felt an anger at all the time of my life I had wasted in that cell, afraid and limited by a guard who wasn’t there.  But what I truly felt was remorse for the other prisoners.  I wanted to go back and tell them of the truth behind the lie which controls all of their lives.  But I knew they would not believe me even with the most convincing proof.  They were all just like Amathis.  Instead, I will let them live in their cells that they find so simply joyful.  I will let them live happy, and die happy for no particular reason as well.  I shouldn’t feel such remorse for what their destiny holds for them.  After all, they were pre-ordained to it, as I was to mine.  So I twisted the knob, and opened the door, not afraid of the bright light that would hurt my eyes, for I would only be momentarily blinded before adjusting to see the extravagant light and having a clear view of what the world would hold for me.  Surely it could hold something far greater than any power a guard could have over me.  Surely, it must be something greater, and more meaningful than life in that prison.  Surely it could provide, an explanation.