I've lived in this mine, digging for gold ever since or, should I say, the oldest I remember. I never cared about anything since they did it. Well, I forgotten what they did and how it affected me. Because I didn't care. My future lies behind the wired fences of this mine. Where all you do was mine. That was all I did. All I did in my life. Picking up a pickaxe and slamming it into the walls of the mine. I didn't do it because I want to, I did it because I had to. The punishment for not doing so was enormous. That was all I remembered, I don't know why I thought that. I was taken cared by Gumball, a blue feline who is as old as me, and, somehow, I do it back. I don't remember why. It's just because I don't care. All I do is mine. Like all of the other prisoners here, that is all I am meant for.

We were only allowed to sleep in 5 hours and had to work on the mine straight away. We were given bare food, which is usually uncooked noodles. It didn't taste like anything. Because I didn't care. The water we drank from the creek was black and murky. It didn't matter to me. It was still water. The supplemental need for the body. It was better than drinking from your own sweat. The funny thing is that I barely sweat. I shiver instead. It's the cold. There was snow around the mine. Whenever we sleep, there was no fire. We were cold at sleep.

Sleeping happened when the day was done. I would mindlessly walk through the mud to my bed. My bed was barely even one. It was just a rug and a blanket on top. What a place to sleep on. It's better than sleeping on the cold, bare floor, like many other unlucky prisoners. I slept beside Gumball. He always told me stories. Stories about the outside. I wondered if these stories are actually real. I'm always excited to hear his stories every night. Probably I want to escape. But that's not what I want to do. But deep inside me, something is telling me something. I don't know what it is and I don't care.

I'm probably insane. Insane, I am. I don't care about anything, I don't take risks and I don't know anything. I don't even know myself.

• • •

It was 11:30. The soldiers escorted us back to our beds, in case we did something wrong. We went to our beds and laid down. The soldiers guarded outside the building, locking the only way out as they went out. Gumball turned to me and smiled.

"So, Penny, are you ready for my next tale?" Gumball asked, with his usual French accent.

I nodded. I had that grin. The grin when you were excited.

"So, there's this place called Paris," Gumball started. "It's west of this horrid place. This place was in a country called France. Paris was peaceful, surrounded by meadows that I had once walked through. It had a river, where Ferries floated. It was so...tranquil."

Gumball sighed.

"I don't really know what to say next," Gumball hesitated.

"Is Paris ruled by a king and the queen?" I asked very softly, not really knowing this place.

"Yes, it does," Gumball replied.

"Wow," I said to myself, trying to imagine this wondrous place.

"So, there are orange and yellow leaves that fall down and... Penny, let's sleep. They're coming," Gumball was alerted. If the guards caught us awake, we would suffer torture.

I shut my eyes, trying not to wake up. I didn't know if Gumball did the same. I don't know.

• • •

I woke up, discovering that half of the prisoners are already mining. Gumball was tapping me.

"You missed breakfast," Gumball said, holding out a cup of the uncooked noodles. "So, here you go."

I found myself holding the cup. I didn't deserve it. I gave it back to him.

"I don't deserve it," I said as I walked out.

I powerlessly took a pickaxe and walked mindlessly into the tunnel. When I reached the end, I started mining. I threw the pickaxe into a crack and pulled it out. I continued the process. After 10 digs, I stopped. My hands were bleeding. I stopped at a moment. A soldier with black fur came around and kicked me. I fell on the ground and looked at him.

"You continue work! You not stop until you find gold!" The soldier said in his German accent.

I nodded and quickly went back to work. My hands hurt a lot as the pickaxe was cutting me more. The soldier walked away. I bit my lips, not trying to get attention. Then I felt my stomach grumble. I hated that. I hated hunger. I should've took the cup of noodles Gumball gave me earlier.

Gumball came by, as he worked at the same sector of the mine. He noticed my hands and came to aid me. He started searching through his pocket. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"You don't need to," I said. "I'm fine."

"Okay," Gumball said as he started mining beside me.

Then my hand hurt more. I stopped and held my bleeding hand. Gumball took out a bandage and wrapped it around my hand. I saw the smudged blood on the bandage. It hurt a bit but I knew it would help me. I looked at Gumball. He just continued mining. He seemed to be mining to somewhere. Specifically somewhere. I didn't know where. Definitely not to Paris. It would be stupid mining to Paris.

"Gumball, what are you trying to do?" I asked.

Gumball looked around, leaned towards me and opened his mouth.

"Let's keep mining this way everyday and we'll..." Gumball lowered his voice even more. "...escape."

He stood tall again, hitting his head on the small hole's ceiling. I would've giggled but I would attract too much attention.

"I'll think about it," I said, worriedly. "All my life, I've been in this..."

"To remind you, you weren't in this place all your life," Gumball remarked.

"H-h-how d-d-did y-y-you k-know?" I asked, scared that he knew almost everything about me while I didn't.

"I just know," Gumball replied as he continued mining, as if he knew more.

I knew that he knew more, it's that he's not wanting to say it.

"You know more about me, please tell my whole history," I pleaded.

"I can't!" Gumball argued. "I would rather not. I have control over my memory."

"Okay," I said, downhearted.

I really thought that I'll get myself back. Probably I didn't care for a reason. Probably I'm like this for a reason. I'm insane for a reason. I am insane. I cried as I stabbed the pickaxe unto the edge of the tunnel, making the rocks fall off. I felt sick to the stomach. Gumball put his hand on my shoulder.

"What's wrong, Penny?" Gumball asked.

"What's wrong?!" I sobbed. "It's myself! If I weren't here, you wouldn't have to risk yourself! If I weren't here, probably you won't be suffering the pain you are suffering right now!"

I leaned my head on my hands, which were on the pickaxe I used. I just continued crying.

"Penny," Gumball said. "Calm. You do not need to stress yourself..."

"No need to stress!? I'm stressed everyday!" I exclaimed. "I hated myself ever since!"

"Hated yourself?" Gumball asked. "Look, everything will be alright."

I looked at him at the eye.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"As long as I'm alive, I'm sure," Gumball said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Do you think if I was dead I would take care of you?" Gumball asked.

I shook my head.

"But now, I'm still alive," Gumball said, with a grin. "So, there's nothing to worry about!"

Gumball wiped my tears and held my hands.

"Nothing to worry about,"

• • •

As if I believed what Gumball said. Now, two soldiers are escorting us to the building. We were tied up to these chains that the soldiers held tightly.

We entered the building. There were three doors. One said PROSECUTION ROOM 1, another said ADVANCES and the last is TO PROSECUTION ROOM 2 AND MASTER ROOM. I was sure that we were going to one of the 7 prosecution rooms. I let a tear down. After all, I'm just an insane person. An insane person that doesn't deserve to live.