The shining man, whom I have now come to think of as a guard of sort, escorted me to the door of the cell that I have called home for god knows how long. The shining guard had to support me by the shoulder so that I don't fall to the cold stone ground. We passed through the smelly cell to face the closed iron door of my prison. The guard banged on the door three times before it swung open in front of us as if by magic.
As we crossed the boundary of the cell into the long, winding corridor that now stretched before my eyes, I felt something pleasant, something welcome course through my body. It was warmth. Warmth coming from the fire of a torch another shining guard was carrying. Oh, the feeling of warmth, how lovely. The second guard stayed near the cell after relocking the cell and nodding curtly towards my escort.
We moved through the torch lit corridor silently, as if afraid we might awaken whatever was inside the other neighboring cells. I breathed a sigh of relief as the pain in my legs started ebbing away; soon I was able to walk slowly almost unsupported now. Concentrating now, I tried to remember what the hell happened to me and how did I get here. The guard must have noticed the quizzical look on my face and smiled smugly.
"You don't remember anything, do you?"
"No.", my voice was gruff but clear enough to be understood.
"Can you recall anything at all? You must remember at least your name!"
"No, I can't remember anything. Please explain this. Where am I?"
My question seemed to have sounded funny for him because he smirked under his metal sheet. He nudged me towards a large door in front of me that I had just now noticed. Pushing the door with his strong arms, we passed through it to another corridor almost identical to the last, except there were no cells here.
"Please, my mind is so fogged."
"That is normal; after all you have been imprisoned for decades, your memory might return. Do not hope for it to return though, for many don't come out of this place remembering their old life."
His answer did nothing but place more confusion in my mind. What is this place that I have been imprisoned in? How long have I been here to lose my memory? And who the hell ordered my release? All these questions swam in my already clustered mind, But I didn't have time to ponder on them, for we were now in front of a huge stone door.
The door was ginormous. It dwarfed anything I have seen before, which is not much. It had carving of what seemed like men in armor and crowns battling dragons, carvings of stumped creatures that prowled under the feet of the kings. But most shockingly, carvings. All around the edges of the giant door. Carvings of men with chains and irons, of executions and torture. Of death and misery and forgotten dreams.
At that moment a horrible though came to my mind. What if by release, the guard meant DEATH. My death would certainly be a release from this madness!