Diary of a slave

It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clock was striking thirteen.

Alex had entered the depths of the forest running after his dog Horus. The branches of the trees were so dense and thick that the sunlight was yearning to reach the ground. The silence all around, the soft blowing wind, and the darkness made the whole atmosphere mysterious.

Suddenly, he heard the soft voice of his dog. "Horus, where are you?" he called out loudly and started walking in the direction of the voice.

While walking, suddenly, Alex's foot landed on a soft surface, and he sank straight into the ground. The ground cracked and he fell into an underground chamber. This place is very strange - an old house, full of dust and dirt, and it seems as if it has been buried in this condition for years. It seems as if it has been buried under dust and dirt for centuries.

Immediately after falling, Alex realized that he was in big trouble. There wasn't enough light, although a few rays of overhead light illuminated the room a little.

"He had some minor injuries and was completely covered in mud. Then he heard the dog barking.

"Ohh! Horus, my dear friend, you are here too!" he said, taking a sigh of relief.

As soon as he stepped forward, his foot hit something solid. When he looked back, his heart stopped beating for some time, and he also felt a little scared. A human skeleton was lying in front of him, whose bones were tied with iron chains. Perhaps he was in the same condition till his death.

Alex was still understanding that horrific scene when his eyes fell on an old rusted tin canister. He opened the lid of the canister, in which he found only a diary. Which was very old and in bad condition. Its pages had turned yellow and were torn from the corners. He cleaned the dust on the diary. And to read it, he turned the first page and started reading...

"Your breaths do not matter, but every breath taken in freedom is precious.

I have never experienced freedom, I am still yearning to enjoy a free breath. I am a slave whose desires, feelings, dreams, thoughts, and every heartbeat and every breath belong to someone else. I have no idea about my existence, who are my parents? I don't know. When did I come to this wretched house? I don't know. Although I heard Mr. Balthazar Thornwell say that "he bought me for $50 when I was only five years old." He also said that "the people who sold me to him included my mother.

“ Balthazar Thornwell's tobacco and cotton fields are my world. And his many cattle are my companions. Cleaning the house regularly, disposing of the animals' excreta, and feeding them. And obeying Mrs. Thornwell's every order and listening to her stale abuses every day. This is my daily routine. Be it the bitter cold or the scorching heat, I have to work. If I make the slightest mistake, I am beaten with leather ropes until pieces of flesh fall off my back and the blood flows to give peace to that devil. Then I have to starve for many days. I have never tasted fresh food; I only get to eat stale food for many days and rotten fruits.

I tried to escape from this hell many times. But I failed. When I made my last attempt to escape, I cried for the first time in my life. After that, they gouged out one of my eyes.

This diary was also given to me on the condition that I stay hungry for three days. In which I can write those things of my heart. No one is here to listen.

Alex turned the next page, tears flowing from his eyes soaking the pages of the diary…..

I would like to recite just one small poem to you.

"In my heart bound in chains

Happiness still resides
When the tragedy of my life began

That day I was decorated

From the slums, I traveled to the palaces

The slums gave me life, the palaces took everything from me

Only one wish is saving my existence

Only one free breath, only one free breath

Just one breath, only one"

Today, I heard Mr. Thornwell saying, "A very terrible earthquake is going to come; they will have to leave this place. And they are leaving from here today itself. They are going somewhere far away after collecting all their belongings from here.

Will they take me with them? I ask this question to myself and only laugh. Because I know they will take me with them. Otherwise, who will entertain them?

" All the pages in the front of the diary were blank. Alex took that diary with him. And took out that skeleton from there and buried it in an open place outside.

Author’s Note: This story is for Liam Storm's 1984 challenge

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