Freedom in the waves

Freedom

No one is to leave the walls.

The words played back again in Sock's head as he sat up in his bed. The room was dark, devoid of the day's light from the previous hours. Everyone was still cleaning up the palace, busy doing their assigned job that put them where they were. The evenings events were dull, a flicker of amusement popping up every now and then. Though that still wasn't enough to satisfy the prince that sat at the foot of his bed.

What was a life where everything was yours, without freedom? All his life he'd felt guilty about his position. How he had things some children his age would give anything for while he was dissatisfied. How he had so many things he didn't need, that others wanted, yet he didn't care. He'd gladly give it up, hand it to someone more fitting.

Even for just a day.

Because all he'd ever wanted was freedom. The choice to do something on his own. Not by the supervision of some advisor assigned by his parents. Just once he'd like to be able to walk out into the village and not have someone following his every stride, bowing and saying 'hello your highness!'. To him, there was no point in all this luxury if there was no way to enjoy it.

Though in his mind what had defied his sense of freedom was the fact that he could not see the ocean. He wasn't even really supposed to speak of it, especially around his parents. The king and queen would always tell him it was none of his concern, and to only deal with what he had to do to become king when he was older.

But he didn't want to be king. There was no joy in sitting on a throne and dealing with the entire well being of a kingdom. He didn't enjoy giving people orders, he didn't like to speak out and announce things that only raised spirits and came later in life. The life was dull, there was no other word for it. Though his physical body had to stay here, he had always let his mind wander.

And always to the ocean.

"Stupid wall..." He muttered as he stood, slowly walking over to the windowsill that gave him a perfect view to it. The wall. Earlier on in his life, before he could remember, something had happened to him. Something that everyone in the kingdom was sworn to keep secret from him. And due to these unknown events, the ocean was blocked off from every citizen around. A wall made of thick sand colored concrete rose up to the point where the horizon couldn't even be seen.

But he'd seen it once. Just once, and fallen in love. It was gorgeous, and though he'd only been five years old at the time, around the time that the wall was almost complete, he'd known just how stunning it was. He'd appreciated that one small glance, it was enough to show him that there was more out there. It was what gave him his longing for freedom.

His finger traced the pane of the window, watching the dust gather at his fingertip. The moonlight seeped through the glass, shinning an icy blue light onto the room. Every part of it wasn't shone in the glow, only the parts where he had stood. His shadow, a long black figure across the floor. He'd often imagined his shadow on the beach, covered by crashing waves. And he'd always imagined it'd be beautiful.

And in that sense of beauty, there was a bigger long for freedom. And in that long for freedom, as much as he couldn't admit, depression was lingering. If not lingering, almost over powering. He'd rather be dead than have to live his life out under someone else's control. The thought was enough to terrify him, thinking that he'd be stuck that way all his life. And once again, he'd rather die.

Maybe there was something wrong with him. Something that hadn't yet clicked in his mind on how lucky he was. He did know how lucky he was, that was for certain. He reminded himself day after day that he had what more people dreamt of having. But they had freedom, at least, more than he possessed.