𝑇𝑅𝐴𝑃𝑃𝐸𝐷 𝐼𝑁 𝐹𝑅𝐸𝐸𝐷𝑂𝑀

𝐸𝑃𝐼𝐿𝑂𝐺𝑈𝐸~ 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑑

One Year Later
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Trapped.

The feeling of a never-ending nightmare, stuck in a place of horror, misery, and suffering. For sixteen years, I had been trapped in a cage of which I tried desperately to escape.

Even a year later, I still felt trapped at times. Little things in my day-to-day life reminded me of the experiences that led us to Sarosa. The low purr of government trucks bringing supplies to Mada each month, the whirling blades of a helicopter, simply taking citizens on an overhead tour of the city. The flapping wings of gentle birds, the sound of horses trotting through a field. Too many things took me back to the trauma.

Freedom.

The overwhelming sensation of new beginnings, of release. When we had reached Sarosa, I was set free from my figurative cage, and in doing so I became an entirely new Cammi. I now trusted in myself and others more than ever, and I never doubt my abilities. I have grown in ways I never imagined, learned to appreciate everything good in my life. I've learned to be brave.

With Arlo studying to work as a professor at one of Sarosa's many prestigious universities, I decided to continue with my writing, mainly poetry, and have even submitted my work to a few contests with some success.

After staying with our dear friend Dugal for around a month, my friends and I moved out of his house and began lives of our own. Arlo and I now had our one place, which was crazy at the age of only seventeen. Nevertheless, I could never imagine spending my life with anyone but Arlo. It was the perfect home, an image straight out of my childhood imaginations. A small but cozy house with a thriving garden, and even a swimming pool in the backyard. My brother Callum and Sariah lived in our neighborhood in a similar home, and were both working at a Fitness Centre as personal trainers. Nola lived with Arlo and I, but spent most of her time at school or exploring Sarosa with her new friends.

As for Dugal, well, he began his own journey as Prime of Sarosa. Although we were all mildly surprised when he made the decision to run for Prime a few months previous, we encouraged him to go after the position. Dug was thrilled to be working in collaboration with Prime Harper, as he still and always will love her. Harper and Dugal decided that In-Between was no longer in their best interests, and even after many failed attempts at trying to destroy it, they were still searching for the answer. Dugal continued to invent new things, and he and Harper's main focus during discussions was brainstorming a solution for easier travel between cities.

My friends and I all shared a feeling of relief that In-Between would soon not be accessible, not wanting anyone else to go through what we had. Although the memories of In-Between continue to haunt my nightmares and life, I have forced myself to become grateful for my time there. In-between wasn't what any of us expected to be beyond Mada, beyond The Wall. We had been so naive to think that freedom was so close.

Don't get me wrong, Mada was an awful and treacherous place. But In-Between was worse, an entirely different kind of nightmare. The one thing both places had in common: the feeling of being trapped. I suppose my friends and I had been trapped in what we thought was a free place, what we thought was Sarosa.

I suppose we had found ourselves to be Trapped in Freedom.