Muffled whimpers echoed in the distance. The long hallway ended up in a moss covered door, deep into the dungeons of the soul. Breaching the locks with all my might, I discovered it’s owner, small and weak, starved of sustenance and light, tucked away in a corner. The spark from its eyes was long gone, assuming it ever existed. Dilapidated, obscure, its quarters housed many treasures that had been dulled and tarnished by the passage of time, robbed of their beauty and value.
Devoid of freedom, feeding only on sorrow and apprehension, the room’s occupant lay beaten, broken. Flat. Its face betrayed no sign of relief or redemption, no profound joy of being rescued. Fear and resentment emanated from every fleshy, skinny, lanky limb. Uncontrollable vigorous waves reverberate through its tiny corpse like body; a subatomic particle running down the Hadron collider in an attempt to teletransport itself to safety.
Discarding all weapons on the ground, the expedition approached the prisoner, hostage of its circumstances. Selling the idea of coming in peace was difficult because of all the brute force employed to reach this part of the castle. Meadows were traveled, walls were scaled. Doors were ripped from their hinges in an attempt to liberate the treasure hidden behind the impressive stone walls and state of the art defense systems. All that effort was for naught as the captive was bereft of worth, of purpose.
In hindsight, it should have been evident that the iron clad design of the structure was meant to conceal, to protect itself, from the trove of emotions that broke the resolve of the small shriveled up creature. Joy. Passion. Sadness. Empathy. All useless to its owner who had learned to live in a cold and unforgiving world that didn’t care about love, respect or common decency. Gesturing to the baubles and trinkets, it instructed us to take what we wanted, and leave. It couldn’t believe we were interested in liberating them from their grief and despair. That which we sought must be elsewhere.
How can you save the ones that don’t want to be saved? How can you bring back to the present those who rather relive the errors of the past?
Dear, kind soul, why won’t you allow me to save thee?
Mrs. Enginerd - Nerd Whisperer 