With a deep feeling of longing, I sat still in my cell. I knew the instant the clock struck the zero hour and the world moved on to the next day. This was going to be a momentous day in my life, and it was not for a small reason. For the past fifteen years, I’ve been a resident at the Federal Prisons, and it was through my fault. I could still remember that night when my life had turned upside down in the blink of an eye. That night, I had been in a terrible mood. Having just lost my job due to some cutbacks my company was making, I had thought that was the worst feeling in the world. I went home feeling depressed and sad, the house itself was gloomy and didn’t feel homey at all. The children had refused to eat, they were on a hunger strike. “But why?” I asked my wife, my mind was still on the injustice my company had just dealt me. “They were kicked out of school today, because of outstanding school fees.” “Shit,” I cursed, this fact opening a wound I was struggling to heal. I had been hoping to save up from my next two to three salaries so I could pay the fees. But now that plan was botched, I had no idea what to do next. “Please mind your language,” she muttered irritably. “So how soon are we paying it?” “Soon,” I replied vaguely. I just could not bring myself to tell her I had lost my job, I had failed her and the children. She didn’t take kindly to my response and she didn’t hesitate to let me know. She was asking for a specific time and I was not forthcoming, and soon it escalated into a quarrel. We were arguing at the top of our voices, the children were crying uncontrollably, it was a shouting match. One I would forever regret as long as I lived. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I walked out of the house to clear my head. I had made the first mistake by not telling her I had lost my job. I made the second mistake that night by leaving my house and going to a bar. These days, when I look back, I wish I had stayed home instead and settled the quarrel as a sane man would. That was how I began to drink. One bottle, then two, and so on… even I didn’t notice when I got drunk. And that was when I made my final and most damning mistake, I drove my car. And to this day, what happened is still hazy as I can’t fully recall. I do know that there had been an accident after I had driven a red light. I had survived with barely a scratch; unfortunately, the other driver had died on the spot. And that was how the trajectory of my life changed. I never got home that night, instead, I was taken to jail and subsequently taken to court where I was tried. I pleaded guilty to my crimes, pleading for leniency. I was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment for a slew of charges ranging from Driving Under the Influence to Manslaughter. It was a heartbreaking moment for my family. I left them when I shouldn’t have, at a very bad time. I had failed them woefully. But they never abandoned me. My wife had to get a job which she used for the upkeep of the family, and she came for periodic visits with the children to ensure I never felt alone. While in prison, I kept mostly to myself and being on my best behavior. Seeing as my rash actions had gotten me into this mess in the first place and I didn’t want a repeat. And that was how, with continuous support from my family, I saw through fifteen years of my sentence. I attempted a plea bargain and fortunately, I was granted early release because of good behavior. And that, in the last fifteen years of my life, was the best news I had received. And now, I was sitting still in my bed. Counting the seconds because in just a few hours I’ll be released. Although over the years I have been seeing my family regularly, I was looking forward to seeing them out in the open, without the glass wall between us, breathing clean air, and being free to run and play with my children even though they were grown up. I was longing to make my family whole again and there was nothing I would not do to get that. I had learned a valuable lesson from this episode of my life, no matter how bad things get in my life only I get to decide just how much it affects me. I had let my work problem escalate into a family problem that eventually cost an innocent driver his life. But I had paid the price for that transgression, I had learned my lesson and I had learned it in full. And I was ready to go home. Soon, the sky climbed out of the sky, shining its dazzling light over the jailed and the free. All through last night, fellow inmates had been wishing me good luck as I got released, the same way I had wished many others over the years. At eight o’clock on the dot, I heard the sound of a baton strike the bars of my cell. “Inmate 437,” the Warden called. “It’s time.” And as I walked out of the cell for the last time, on my way to freedom, with my former inmates throwing out tissue papers as they bid me well, I smiled. I knew my family was waiting for me outside, and my smile widened. I was going home again. The End.
Image by Meritt Thomas
Hello friends, this story was written in response to last week's prompt Longing. It's been a while I took part in this exercise, and I have to say it's good to be back. Hopefully, I will work on this week's prompt before this week runs out.
Thank you for reading.
Feel free to contact me via my Discord handle below:
bruno-kema#1355
This is a very distinct take on "longing" @bruno-kema. It is hard to imagine a greater long than the desire to be free and with one's family. Thank you for sharing the story with the Ink Well community. We appreciate your engagement with other authors.
At one point or the other of our lives, we tend to find ourselves longing for the things we could have. It's sad when it turns out we can't have it just as we want.
Thank you for your support.
The story is well crafted and addresses the prompt. We understand longing and regret in this case. We feel the longing. There is something I thought that was missing: guilt about the person who died.
It would seem to me all those years in jail to contemplate a lost life, this guilt would be the motivation to reform. This punishment will not be over when freedom form jail is achieved. This character will never actually be free. That's the thought I had. Please remember that I have had a long life. At night, when I can't sleep, it's worry about my family and regret over things I can never change that sometimes keeps me awake.
Your story is wonderful. This is not a criticism, just an observation.
Whoa...
I can't believe this detail skipped me.
My bad..🤦♂️
Actually, while writing I was just focusing on developing the story and telling how much he wanted to be with his family, totally forgetting about how he learned his lesson. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, next time I'll pay better attention to such details.
I'm glad you enjoyed my story, @agmoore😊
You're a great writer, and the story is great. I feel a little bad mentioning it. The problem is, you are such a good writer that I take liberties because I think you understand and I like to see you grow.
Yes, I agree with you, the element of guilt was somehow missing. The character feels responsible for the care of his family and longs to be free, but does he regret what he did? Is he a better person now? The story leaves us wanting to know more :)
It's interesting that I don't really want to know more. There probably are people who would not be haunted by guilt. But it is an aspect of the story I wondered about. Thanks for engaging, @beautifulwreck
This is a beautiful and heart-wrenching story, @bruno-kema. It was sad how the events of the night played out that landed the narrator in prison. It could have happened to anyone suffering from dejection over a lost job or other trauma. So it is quite a cautionary tale from that perspective! And it is also beautifuly told.
Yes, @jayna.
It's a sad reminder for one to always be in control of one's emotions. Because things could get out of hand in the blink of an eye.
I can believe the narrator would find it hard to lose control in the future.
Thank you for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed the story.
Nicely written.
I love your story, I love the hope it brings and how it is deeply woven, I'm looking forward to the next one