She’d cavorted freely all around. Around him and abound. His presence neither hindering nor aiding, but a steady anchor in the hurricanes that usually shook her every now and then.

There was always a freedom and the liberty that she took for granted. He’d never stopped her. A fondness that they shared mutually. The hiccups and the yawns made it all normal. A life ordinaire. The usual thin bed of roses with the thorns numbing the prick as they poked through.

Mistrust, dialogs, and decibels.

A mesh descends extending its slimy fingers around her. She stands transfixed, watching lines form steadily. Black, deep and repugnant, they mock at her. Taunting. Tempting. The promise of a smile and a warmth that would melt the darkness away.

She hesitates, unsure.

The caged borders held a familiar comfort. The known pain was a comfort compared to the harshness outside. An asylum in retrospect.

Tags: prompt