Her gaol cell may lacked elegant furnishing, privacy or windows and her shower time may be limited to three minutes per day, it was home to Gin. Should the sea-green wall disturbed her senses or her roommate or other inmates made too much noises, Gin had books to keep them out. It didn't bother her that she was likely to spend her geriatric years inside a cell. She had no dreams nor a bucket list to pin hopes on. She craved only a peaceful existence.
Every now and then, she would contemplate getting out but dismissed it. She had plenty of time to sit and ponder and read books and though she had some regrets, she was mostly contented. The downside was new inmates often wanted to challenge her. She didn't like the spontaneous trips to the infirmary but she relished fighting with people. Before, she was a pacifist but in here, she lost that peculiarity.
This morning, when she met the board members, she offered a half-hearted plea to let her out. What was out there for her anyway? More work? More time to enjoy the drudgery of a life ruled by others?
On some gloomy evenings, she still reminisced about her old life as a bodyguard to powerful beings. But that life was over when she broke a mortal rule – she got involved with a human's life. She was foolish to believe the woman was her friend. On a cold morning, the woman brought her a cup of hot chocolate and Gin drank it without thought. Then she woke up in a deserted place surrounded by a field of cops with guns pointing at her. No matter what she did, she couldn't prove she didn't kill the security guard or the bank manager. The woman had disappeared and couldn't be found. But Gin was at fault for not listening to warnings about that particular human. Why they didn't take away her immortality, she was still baffled but she didn't have to worry about dying but her body aged like any living being, only slower.
In the afternoon, she was pleased to hear she was staying put for another twenty years. As she turned the pages of a newly borrowed book, she smiled.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This month's Words for Wednesday's prompts are provided by messymimi over here. This week's prompts are: elegant, limited, spontaneous, bother, list, pin and these phrases (which I didn't use) don’t count your chickens before they hatch; par for the course; a piece of cake. And Charlotte's colour of the month is Sea Green.


I know someone who is going to prison for a crime he didn't do, so this piece was very topical for me.
ReplyDeleteLive and Learn: I can't say I understand but it must be frustrating to have to go to prison for a crime you didn't do.
DeleteThank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.
You know, I like this very much. Both the story and the fact you used the old British spelling of "gaol" which I hardly ever see used anymore here in Canada. Also, it reminds me of this snippet from a favourite poem --
ReplyDelete"You're a thief!" the judge said. "Let's see
Your hands!" I showed my callused hands in court.
My sentence was a thousand years of joy.
--Robert Bly, excerpt from "Stealing Sugar from the Castle"
Debra: I do prefer 'gaol' as it sounds sort of better. I didn't know that poem - something to think about.
DeleteThank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.
"Gaol" for "G." Well done!
ReplyDeleteAl Penwasser: Thanks. And thank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.
DeleteGood
ReplyDeleteChristine: Thanks. Thank you for stopping by. Have a lovely day.
DeleteGood story, good use of the words.
ReplyDeleteRiver: I like the prompts, they really did get me to write this story.
DeleteThank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.
Gin’s quiet acceptance of her confined life feels both unsettling and strangely understandable as her story unfolds.
ReplyDeleteTamara: I think sometimes you have to accept things for a better living, maybe.
DeleteThank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.
Maybe in 20 years she will be ready to move on. Fascinating story, thank you for participating in Words for Wednesday.
ReplyDeletemessymimi: Yes, I believe Gin will move on in 20 years. Thanks for the prompts.
DeleteThank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.