Set Free - Charles

The young boy sat with his head in his hands.  Silently sobbing in his empty room.  The one lamp that he had lit was casting a low glow across the shadows covering the room.  The lone table in the middle of the spacious floor was all that decorated the room.  The walls were white with nothing scattered across its surface.  One singular window set in the wall behind the boy.  A plain wooden door served as the only entrance.  Dust covered the floor like thick moss.  What seemed like days passed and he never slept.  Only imagining what lie beyond the walls.  Deep in his seclusion, the door finally opened.  A man in white gave him food, comforted him and proceeded to leave.  The young man slowly lifted his head and took a bite of his dinner.  Turning his head he glanced out the window behind him and down into a courtyard.  Below, the water from a fountain trickled gently down its sides.  The lush planting of daisies, tulips, daffodils, plumbago, and various grasses created a beautiful design.  The pavement was clean, and littered here and there with benches and lamps.  Turning away Charles only imagined how long it would be until he could approach something of such splendor.  He finished the meal and pushed the dish to the opposite side of the table.  Hours later the man in white returned.  As he picked up the dishes he saw Charles raise his head.  Charles asked him how long he had.  The man in white responded; telling Charles that he had six days.  Charles sighed and put his head back down, and the man left.  Five more days passed and each was the same as the days before, except for the fact that Charles was finally sleeping consistently.  On the sixth day Charles was awoken by three men, all dressed he same.  Finally they took him out of that room.  But as they did so Charles' heart sank.  They led him down a long hallway and entered an elevator. It closed and they hit 1.  Three floors below, the elevator stopped slowly.  They got out and walked a short distance.  Arriving at a door, they pushed it open and crossed the threshold.  The room was clean and had a chair in it.  The men sat Charles in the chair and he looked around.  Straight ahead and on both sides of him were windows.  Behind the glass he saw people walking and they all looked grim as they progressed.  Turning around, he looked over the chairs back.  It was a white wall with nothing covering it.  After the three men had set him in the chair, they left Charles alone yet again.  So he sat just watching the people through the panes.  Moments later there was no movement and Charles closed his eyes.  Not trying to go to sleep, he started to pray to himself and his God.  Gas filled the room through the vents and seconds later Charles sat with a drooping head, lifeless.  He finally was able to see all of the beauty outdoors that he had been longing for.  The people all sat on the other side of the glass in the seats that were provided.  They had just witnessed Charles' execution.1