Prisoner

I gave a small yelp of pain as I was kicked to the ground by one of the many guards in the concentration camp. He spoke in a loud, booming voice, and told me to start my work at once. I tried my best to keep myself together, even though small sparks of mixed feelings were held inside me, ready to ignite. I nodded, emotionless, as he laughed at my scrawny, helpless figure, and I proceeded to clean the camp. When he finally walked away, hot tears started to prick my eyes instantly. I was but a prisoner, destined to stay in this hell until I was finally put to death, which I thought would have been so much better than this. I wiped my eyes of tears with dirty wrists, and looked up at the tall fence dividing us from the real world…where I once lived. I stared at the endless meadow of beautiful green grass blowing in the fresh wind, and tried to imagine myself there, running freely…then I noticed something…some…one…standing on the other side of the fence. I squinted to get a better look, then decided otherwise and ran nearer. There stood a beautiful young girl, about the same age as me, smiling a sweet smile. She wore a dress adorned with a pink scarf, and a large sun hat with a matching pink ribbon. It was perfectly placed atop her short golden locks, which were the same color as mine. Then, her friendly turquoise eyes blinked at me. They too were the exact same color as my own. I was speechless, unknowing of what to say. Sadly, she left shortly after our moment of silence. I was disappointed, but I had an idea. I quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil, and started to write a letter. The next day, if she came again, I would send it to the fair maiden.

The next day I had woken up with a smile, looking forward to seeing the girl again. I was even smiling as I did my daily work, clutching the letter in one hand the whole time. Soon, just as I expected, the beautiful girl came again. I immediately dropped my broom full of splinters and happily ran near the fence. She smiled that sweet smile again, and this time, I returned it (although I of course could not match the beauty of hers). I folded the crumpled letter into a paper airplane and threw it over the fence. It soared so freely, and it made me feel so happy. The blonde caught it gently with ease with her petite hands, then walked away, reading it.

The next day, she wrote back, and threw her own paper airplane over the fence. I was filled with such joy when she threw it, and when she had left and I had read the letter, I was filled with happiness. My lips curled into a happy smile, and I could feel myself blushing. Had I…really…fallen in love with the girl?

The days passed by quickly, and the two of us continued throwing each other our paper plane letters every day. I had kept every single one, and they were my joy. They kept me going, no matter what happened. They helped me smile. I didn't feel like dying anymore, ever since that girl came…and I felt like nothing could ever have stopped me.

Those feelings were soon crushed a few weeks later. This time, it was her turn to throw a plane, but instead of giving me the wonderful smile that she never failed to bring all this time, a look of despair filled her porcelain face. She threw the paper plane with a strange hint of sadness. I stepped back some, and barely caught it. She stayed as I read the letter…

"Goodbye. I'm leaving…to a place far away…"

I read the letter again. Surely this wasn't really happening! I read it 2 more times. 3 more. 4 more. I started to quiver, and when I looked up, the girl was starting to walk away. It couldn't be…it just wasn't supposed to happen…a loud "WAIT!" erupted from my mouth. I didn't want her to leave me behind. "Wait!" I said again. She stopped in her tracks, and crystal tears started beading from my sorrowed eyes. I breathed heavily, and she remained frozen, waiting for me to say something to her. This was the first time I ever spoke to her…

"I thought we..."

My voice then turned into many choking sobs. I swallowed and tried my hardest to speak.

"I thought we…we were always going to be…together…"

I could feel her give a sad look. She stared at the ground, but didn't say anything.

"You…"

It was hard for me to speak. I was crying too hard.

"You're not coming back?...I've kept every single…one…I've kept every single one of your letters…I…I'll wait for you!"

I waited for her to say something in response, but she ran off.

I dropped helplessly to my knees. "No! No! No!" Was the only thing I screamed. My days of happiness were over. She was gone. I had let her slip away. I dug my bony fingers into the dirt. It felt so painful to have her leave me. All I did was cry.

I returned to my dark cell and sat in a corner, gathering all my precious letters and holding them close. I was soon interrupted, though, by loud footsteps echoing nearby and coming my direction. Two tall guards were shortly standing in front of me, grinning. "Hah! Look at the boy!" One of them said. "What a little fool!" The other one hit my head with a strong hand. "Get up, you disgusting thing, you're coming with us…" One of the generals then barged into the room. His eyes were full of evil as he stared into mine, then he averted his gaze to the paper airplanes. "What a joke…" He muttered. Then he took one, grinned, and ripped it into pieces. My eyes widened in shock. The sound was deafening in my ears. I stood up, and without thinking, gave him a forceful blow on the cheek. I was full of anger. Full of rage. Full of bitter vengeance. He fell on to the ground with a loud thud, and looked at me furiously with his gloved hand rubbing his cheek. I rose my fist up into the air again, screaming, ready for another strike, but the two guards held both my arms, preventing it. Then they took me away…

I was thrown into a large, dark and musty room. I forced myself to stand up, and I looked around at the dark chamber around me. I knew this would happen to me one day or another.

No…no I didn't. All this time I was given so much hope from that girl…all this time I believed that I could go on...I thought I would be able to be set free one day...

But she was gone. The poisonous gas filled the room, and I started to cough helplessly. I covered my mouth with my hand, and started to bang on the stone walls violently, trying to find a way to get myself out. It was no use. As my hand started to bleed furiously, I began to feel dizzy from the strong gas and dropped to the floor. Tears sprang from my eyes, and flowed down my cheeks instantly. My eyes started to close, and with my last dying breath, I whispered, I at least wanted to know your name…