Prisoner Five Eight
written by: John Lane
With most business on lockdown, more and more stringent rules to enter the few open ones remaining and the mandatory wearing of fabric around my nose and mouth, I feel like Josef K., a character out of Franz Kafka’s novel, The Trial. A character being punished for an unspecified crime.
I want to experience life again. I want to meet people that I haven’t seen in a while. I am tired of seeing the world through a golden rectangle. I am tired of having the same four walls greet me day in and day out.
My solace in my wife and in my writing, they have both kept me alive during these trying times. My wife for being held and comforted without following the social distancing rule of six feet. My writing for making a difference in someone’s life without first spraying in disinfectant or washing it for twenty seconds before sending it out. Whether getting a reply for volunteering as an editor for 101 Words or having a story submitted in an online publication, my writing means something.
There seems to be a parole hearing on May 8th for Pennsylvania to lift the stay-at-home order. I think that the Governor will extend our sentence.
Pennsylvania, USA
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
I would love to say that this is some kind of fiction that I invented from my own mind. Or a nightmare that I can’t seem to wake up from. Unfortunately, this is the “new normal”.
- Prisoner Five Eight - May 12, 2020
- Are We Good Enough? - November 11, 2019
