After fifteen years of living in the dark, those first glimpses of sunlight are both blinding and beautiful.
But at the same time, after those years in the dark, I was terrified. Looking around me, all that I could see was a glow of unknown and I didn’t know what to do.
My eyes slowly adjusted to the sun and I surveyed my surroundings. I’d seen pictures of the outside world but only on television screens or magazines, never experienced them in such a vivid way. It seemed every leaf had a color all its one and the texture of the bark held groves in it that I had never thought real. They had always seemed so two-dimensional.
And the blades of grass had such a smell. They brushed across my naked flesh and I almost laughed. But almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. They had killed my laughter with cruel gestures and rough hands.
I was a scrawny thing, caked in dirt and cavernous grime, now curled into a heap on the ground. Yes, finally, I was free, finally I wasn’t they’re prisoner, and now finally, I had a greater reason to fear then ever before. Because for the first time in my life, I was alone.
How long had I been there plaything? Fifteen years didn’t seem like enough. They had raised me as an infant to be cute, as a child to be amusing and simple, and eventually, as the years crept on and they saw the “charm” of my looks, it was a different entertainment that they craved from me.
I heard a sudden screech and looked over the hilltop, expecting to see they’re greedy minions scrounging through the horizon looking for me. Instead I watched with intense curiosity and dismay as a large winged beast swept down from the sky, touched the ground and returned to flight with a small something gripped in its claws.
Had I just witnessed murder? Yes, it seemed a murder of survival? But was death the only contribution that the small earth-bound creatures could make to the circle of life? I didn’t think so. Yet in the back of my mind, a little voice whispered to me. You should take a lesson from the predator. Now, more then ever, your life is about survival.
I looked around again, at least realizing the beauty in the soft white clouds that feathered through the pale blue skies.
And I stood up, understanding what that little voice had meant. I couldn’t fear what I didn’t know, the most unknown fear of all being death. Rather, I had to go out and survive without fear.
I had made my first and final escape.
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Lily's Notes: I began this only be a contest piece to really give meaning to the term "fearless." If you don't find it in the reading, it really just means being able to walk onward and, not so much ridding yourself of fear but rather about not letting fear hinder your progression and your survival.
Also, though I didn't plan on it, I may continue taking this further. If you have any suggestions or comments, please make them. Thank you.
