The Bargain

In a stark, spotless room with impossibly high walls, a man wakes each day to the same quiet routine. Once, the room was filthy-a reflection of his inner turmoil-but he cleaned it all in exchange for a promise: freedom, if earned. For 10,950 days, he has waited, clinging to hope, recording time, preparing himself. But when he finally opens the long-closed door, he finds not escape, but an endless void. Realization dawns-this was never a prison built by others. It was a choice. A retreat from the unknown. A quiet surrender disguised as discipline.

A haunting meditation on self-imposed limits, false bargains, and the quiet tragedy of a life spent waiting for freedom instead of walking into it.