The Light

This story is by Markesha Fountain and was part of our 2019 Summer Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here.

A stillness surfaced the circumference of the room she lay there suffocating in. Darkness studied her limp body while the chains coming from each limb trapped her. She fought helplessly, trying to free herself from the captivity that grew to consume her. Unable to remember how she got to such a place. The chains held her physically, but that wasn’t the only thing that kept her. Her mind was vexed with anger, neglect, worry, shame, bondage, and insecurity, but that was just a few of the many things that stood against her daily. Her heart was bad, it was full of mistreatment, rejection, and hurt. Her body lay in shambles, as the many things life threw at her, crowded her memory. The cold cement that pierced her back, reminded her of the temperature her life fell to quite some time ago. Her face was very pleasant, it sported high cheeks bones, full lips, and a deep dime sized dimple that her left cheek framed perfectly. Her dirty blonde hair which was full of curls dangled down to the middle of her back. Her eyes sparkled a beautiful green that was enough to take anyone’s breath away. Her exterior was so attractive from the outside looking in you would have never guessed her struggles internally. Her body shivered with chills, struggling to grasp ahold of the warmth she ached for. This place reeked of undealt with problems, lack of persistence, and voids that just wouldn’t go away. Ever since she can remember, things have been this way. I refer to her nameless because she has no identity. She doesn’t know her worth, who she was created to be, or even her place in life but still, she desired something different. She needed it! For so long she had been a prisoner within her own self, shackled by the loneliness that lingered and barred behind the fragile time that had presented itself long gone. She began to go back to the memory of her grandmother dancing around and filling the atmosphere with what she referred to as prayer. She didn’t know much about it, but the memory of it never failing to leave her grandmother in a joyous state was enough to get her started. She murmured “I need you” every day until light overtook not only the room but her aswell. The light presented a door that the darkness was able to hide. A key lay beside her that released the chains that once stilled her body. For the first time in a long time, she felt and embraced a glimpse of freedom. An unfamiliar knock and voice accompanied her at the door that spoke “Rebecca, I’ve been waiting on you, will you let me in? ..