The iron bit bit into my mouth. It tasted of rust. I bit back. I did not scream. I held my tongue. I looked at the man in the blue tunic. He was fat. His face was red. He smelled of sweat and stale wine. He held a quill. He dipped it. He wrote.

I looked at the wall. The stone was cold. It was rough. It scraped my cheek. I leaned against it. The scratch hurt. I liked the pain. It was real. The words were not real.

He wrote. The quill scratched. It sounded like a mouse. It sounded like a nail on a board. I watched the ink dry. It was black. It was wet. It looked like blood.

I closed my eyes. I thought of her. I thought of the garden. The roses were red. They were white. They were pink. She wore a dress of linen. It was white. It was clean. It smelled of soap. She smelled of soap. She smelled of life.

I opened my eyes. The man stopped writing. He held the paper up. He read it. His lips moved. I could not hear the words. I knew them. They were lies.

I am a thief. I am a liar. I am a whore. I am a killer.

The words were not mine. They were his. They were the law. The law was a stone. It crushed me. I was the dust.

I stood up. My knees shook. My legs were weak. I had not eaten. I had not slept. The cell was dark. The air was thick. It was heavy. It pressed on my chest. I could not breathe. I tried to breathe. I failed.

I looked at him again. He looked at me. His eyes were small. They were hard. They were dead.

He stood up. He put the quill down. He put the ink pot down. He straightened his tunic. He buttoned it. The buttons were silver. They glinted in the dark.

He walked to the door. He opened it. The light came in. It was bright. It was white. It burned my eyes. I squinted. I saw the hallway. It was long. It was empty.

He turned back to me. He held the paper. He held the pen. He waited.

I walked forward. My feet dragged. The chains clinked. The sound was loud. It echoed. It rang in my head. It rang in my bones.

I stopped. I looked at him. I did not speak. I did not beg. I did not pray. I just looked. I let him see me. I let him see the truth. The truth was in my eyes. The truth was in my hands. The truth was in my silence.

He frowned. He looked at the paper. He looked at me. He looked at the paper again. He was confused. He was angry. He was afraid.

He raised the pen. He pointed it at me. He pointed it at the paper. He pointed it at the door.

He wrote. He wrote fast. He wrote hard. The paper tore. He ripped it. He threw it on the floor.

He threw the pen. It hit the wall. It bounced. It fell. It lay still.

He turned away. He walked out. The door closed. The lock clicked. The sound was final. The sound was absolute.

I was alone.

The dark came back. It was soft. It was quiet. It was safe. I sat on the floor. I pulled my knees to my chest. I wrapped my arms around them. I hugged myself. I held myself.

I thought of her again. I thought of the garden. The roses were red. They were white. They were pink. She wore a dress of linen. It was white. It was clean. It smelled of soap. She smelled of soap. She smelled of life.

I touched my cheek. The scratch was there. It was dry. It was pink. It was mine.

I was not a thief. I was not a liar. I was not a whore. I was not a killer.

I was a husband. I was a lover. I was a man. I was free.

The lie was the cage. The truth was the key. The key was in my mouth. I had swallowed it. I had kept it. I had guarded it.

They could not take it. They could not write it. They could not speak it. It was silent. It was deep. It was true.

I closed my eyes. I saw the garden. The wind blew. The leaves moved. The flowers swayed. The sun shone. The light was warm. The light was gold.

I was there. I was with her. I was in the garden. We were together. We were happy. We were whole.

The cell was a lie. The trial was a lie. The prison was a lie. The world was a lie.

Only the love was true. Only the memory was true. Only the self was true.

I was the boundary. I was the edge. I was the line. I crossed it. I stayed on this side. I let them stay on that side.

They wanted my body. They wanted my name. They wanted my shame. I gave them nothing. I gave them silence. I gave them air.

The air was empty. The air was free.

I breathed in. I breathed out. The breath was mine. The breath was pure. The breath was clean.

I thought of the roses. I thought of the soil. The soil was dark. The soil was rich. The soil was wet. It held the roots. It held the seeds. It held the life.

I was the root. I was the seed. I was the life.

They could dig me up. They could burn me. They could bury me. They could not kill the root. They could not burn the seed. They could not kill the life.

I was the distant clue. I was the hidden sign. I was the secret code. I was the lock. I was the key.

I was the mirror. I reflected them. I showed them their ugliness. I showed them their fear. I showed them their hate.

I did not fight. I did not run. I did not hide. I stood still. I let them look. I let them see.

They saw a monster. They saw a criminal. They saw a traitor.

They did not see the man. They did not see the husband. They did not see the lover.

They were blind. They were deaf. They were dumb. They were dead.

I was alive.

The dark pressed in. The cold bit in. The hunger gnawed. The thirst burned.

I did not care. I did not feel. I was beyond. I was above. I was inside.

I was the center. I was the eye. I was the heart.

I beat. I beat. I beat.

The sound was loud. The sound was strong. The sound was true.

It filled the cell. It filled the wall. It filled the stone. It filled the air.

It went out. It went far. It went wide. It went deep.

It reached her. It reached the garden. It reached the roses. It reached the light.

I was the song. I was the hymn. I was the prayer.

I sang. I sang. I sang.

The words were silent. The music was pure. The melody was sweet. The harmony was perfect.

I was the music. I was the song. I was the prayer.

They could not hear it. They could not see it. They could not touch it.

But it was there. It was real. It was true.

I was the boundary. I was the edge. I was the line.

I held the line. I kept the edge. I guarded the boundary.

I was the wall. I was the gate. I was the door.

I was closed. I was locked. I was sealed.

But I was open. I was free. I was whole.

I was the distant clue. I was the hidden sign. I was the secret code.

I was the mirror. I was the reflection. I was the truth.

I was the man. I was the husband. I was the lover.

I was the one. I was the only. I was the last.

I was the first. I was the best. I was the greatest.

I was the light. I was the sun. I was the star.

I was the fire. I was the heat. I was the flame.

I was the life. I was the love. I was the soul.

I was the end. I was the beginning. I was the middle.

I was the whole. I was the part. I was the piece.

I was the puzzle. I was the map. I was the key.

I was the lock. I was the door. I was the way.

I was the path. I was the road. I was the journey.

I was the destination. I was the arrival. I was the home.

I was home.

I was there. I was here. I was now.

I was.

I am.

I will be.

I am the boundary. I am the edge. I am the line.

I am the silence. I am the sound. I am the voice.

I am the shadow. I am the light. I am the dark.

I am the stone. I am the dust. I am the earth.

I am the sky. I am the cloud. I am the rain.

I am the water. I am the river. I am the sea.

I am the ocean. I am the wave. I am the tide.

I am the moon. I am the star. I am the sun.

I am the universe. I am the cosmos. I am the infinity.

I am the everything. I am the nothing. I am the something.

I am the truth. I am the lie. I am the reality.

I am the fiction. I am the dream. I am the wake.

I am the sleep. I am the death. I am the life.

I am the birth. I am the growth. I am the decay.

I am the rot. I am the bloom. I am the flower.

I am the leaf. I am the stem. I am the root.

I am the tree. I am the wood. I am the bark.

I am the seed. I am the nut. I am the shell.

I am the core. I am the heart. I am the soul.

I am the spirit. I am the ghost. I am the spirit.

I am the angel. I am the demon. I am the human.

I am the man. I am the wife. I am the lover.

I am the husband. I am the friend. I am the enemy.

I am the stranger. I am the neighbor. I am the family.

I am the self. I am the other. I am the one.

I am the many. I am the few. I am the one.

I am the distant clue. I am the hidden sign. I am the secret code.

I am the mirror. I am the reflection. I am the truth.

I am the man. I am the husband. I am the lover.

I am the one. I am the only. I am the last.

I am the first. I am the best. I am the greatest.

I am the light. I am the sun. I am the star.

I am the fire. I am the heat. I am the flame.

I am the life. I am the love. I am the soul.

I am the end. I am the beginning. I am the middle.

I am the whole. I am the part. I am the piece.

I am the puzzle. I am the map. I am the key.

I am the lock. I am the door. I am the way.

I am the path. I am the road. I am the journey.

I am the destination. I am the arrival. I am the home.

I am home.