Set Me Free

Chapter 3

The quiet greeted me and I was left alone accompanied by my own thoughts. A sigh of relief first left my body, grateful of my bountiful upgrade from a street corner to a generous heated bedroom. The sigh morphed into a layer of fresh tears coating my eyes. I was proud of my independent progress despite how fragile it was from expiring.

I blinked the sting away from my eyes stubborn not to let my eyes leak 'at least for today': my mantra for the past two years. I was also proud of how I've managed to ease my emotions since my escape. Sure, it was excruciatingly difficult during my first few stages of travel but it was only until around the third or fourth month since that date that my slogan began. But I dread for the day that I explode from bottling up my past for too long.

My feet finally broke off of the floor to stop in front of the second door in the room and I slid it open. A white marbled bathroom stood in front of me accommodating a vanity sink, shower, toilet and cabinets that ran across a left-side wall.

Cabinets opened by my hands and inside sat folded clothing of varying shades of whites, blacks and greys. When I dragged a few samples of t-shirts out, I was convinced that it definitely was not my size but with more tampering I was surprised by the stretch in its fibre. 'One-size-fits-all' it read inside the label which I started to believe.

Without further distractions, I proceeded towards the shower eager to experience cleanliness. A frown formed on my lips once setting my eyes on another, waterproof, touchscreen appliance embedded into the wall of the shower. 'Touch to start' but I refrained, feeling nervous that I'd just break it somehow.

But I didn't. In fact, I was fascinated by how it worked. Options were available for the power of the stream and the temperature preferred. At Liskeard, I never really had an option for minuscule details like these. Everything was defaulted and you grew used to it. I set the preferences to the middle of the ranges causing a moderate stream to flow from the shower head. I then stripped and tossed my mucky clothes, eagerly stepped into the water.

The crack of my neck bounced off the walls once I gave my head a twirl underneath the spray of the shower with my eyes restfully closed. The water ran blissfully over my body, coating it with warmth and energy. The temperature itself seemed to be enough to sooth and replenish my dehydrated skin and my eyes opened just in time to catch the murky liquid disappear down the drain to be replaced by relatively clearer water.

I spotted a bottle inside a small alcove and took it for it to pour over my skin. The liquid alternative for bar soap succeeded at ridding of the more stubborn two-year-old dirt simultaneously replacing my stench with a fresh scent of lavender.

Once satisfied, I configured the shower to switch off and wrapped a fluffy white towel around me. I grasped the shirt in my fist before exiting and set it on the bed afterwards, leaving a trail of steam behind me. Nathaniel's sweater was carefully hung in the wardrobe. I contemplated returning it but selfishly decided against it, reminiscing the joy it gave me the when I first wore it. I wanted to experience that again. If he truly needed it, he'd ask for it and I'll soon train myself to have no problem giving it back. 

Between moisturising, I caught a glimpse of a digital clock on the bedside table on my right: '01:47, 04/21/99'. But there are twelve months in a year, in what universe is there twenty-one? I brushed away the thought, resuming my dressing by finding additional 'One-size-fits-all' undergarments. But I opted not to use what vaguely looked like a bra due to not being completely sure of what the contraption was.  With a plunge into the comforters, it launched me into a peaceful slumber;

'at least for today'.

I naturally woke with my eyes refreshed from sleep and rose to start my day. '10:11, 04/21/99'. My head shook away my reoccurring suspicion, focusing on the dresser fixed with a border-less mirror.