They say it’s all in the mind — but what if the mind has been stolen?
While running through dingy hallways, I pulled on each door but all were locked.
Please, God, help me!
There were no windows to escape through into the daylight sun.
Is the sunlight real or merely my mind playing tricks on me?
My chest ached while I held my breath, trapped under a thick sheet of ice, with no one able to hear my watery screams. Why can’t anyone hear me calling? My fists pounded from below while my heartbeat did the same inside my pleading chest.
Do I really see the world above or is it just another trick of my mind?
While staggering past an army of soulless bodies, I gazed about for a means of escape. What’s with all these people? I have to get out of here! My exhausted heart took a delicate leap when I spied a narrow spiral staircase.
Will I climb the stairs forever or will my body finally give in?
An unknown entity restrained me. I felt unable to catch a breath. My heart thumped at my chest while my gaze spied dark shadows surrounding me. Leave me alone! Get off me! I noticed my body stood naked and exposed to the whims of those creatures in the shadows.
Will they torture my naked flesh or enjoy my vulnerability in some other way?
A powerful urge to murder forced blood to swell my penis. Gently, I glided the dagger across his throat while he choked on his own blood. What the hell am I doing? My screams squeezed blood from inside my throat and filled my mouth with a rich taste of lead.
Will the slaughter give sexual satisfaction or will my mind erase the experience?
Entangled under murky water, I flayed about in hungry reeds. A dark and painful life is a bloated cadaver that attracts monsters to feed on the uniqueness they dream of possessing. I wish they’d quit hunting me. A thousand sharp teeth tore my flesh and fed upon my soul’s brilliance.
Will society’s abuse continue or drag my mind deeper into mental agony?
Thieves of memories dissected and devoured my most intimate thoughts in the name of science. My soul rotted while an attempt was made to solve the mystery of that which ravished the mind. Stop asking me questions! The looky-loos gawked through the filthy metal bars at my battered skeletal body that lay in the decay of thoughts and nightmares.
Will their words end my mental agony or merely distract me for the moment?
They lusted to glorify in an enigma but they were not punished for their crimes against humanity. If you listened carefully you’d have heard them whisper that they were merely following orders. Their sanctimonious voices infuriate. But they were unable to hear the poisonous voices or see the putrid images that violated the exhausted mind within.
Will their attention bring artificial freedom or condemn me to more mental agony?
Buried alive as if Pharaoh inside a great pyramid. I gasped for breath while serpents coiled around my throat and chest until the gentle snap brought the shadows falling from the walls. I know the truth that makes me appear insane. My enlightened vision enabled me to see the endless traps; the constant risk of drowning in sand. The prospect was a welcome release.
Will the illumination remain or plummet me into darkness and ignorance?
While I straggled through a dense forest, with only the moon’s broken light as a guide, howling dogs, rampant foxes and that which cannot be explained terrified my mind. The darkness, that so often comforted, surrounded me. Please, turn off the noise. I wandered in an endless search for a warm heart and a good soul to ease the pain of mental agony.
—H, cartographer of fractured corridors
