Page 8 of Day Break

They grew quiet, so I lifted my head and realized they were all watching me.

“You made a statement earlier,” Sam said, motioning with her spoon. “Ain’t no one going to mess with you. Not after that show you put on. You knocked out one of Crazy Carlie’s teeth.”

I went back to eating my food as the three of them continued to talk like I wasn’t there. Though I appeared to be the hot topic of the hour.

I was thankful they weren’t demanding that I take part in their conversation. When I was done eating, I returned my tray and made my way back to my cell.

Thankfully, Lucy wasn’t there, and I had plenty of time to empty my bladder and clean up. I flung myself on my bed and closed my eyes and allowed the entire world to drop off. I hadn’t really slept in the hole. I’d just gone into a trance.

Somehow, I’d exited the space more tired than I’d been when I’d been shoved inside.

I woke later when something light landed on my chest.

“You should keep track of your things better,” Lucy said, jumping up to the top bunk.

I blinked a few times and looked down at the destroyed book. She’d taken the time to clean the mud and dirt from the cover and had even taped the spine so that the book hadn’t fallen completely apart.

“Heard you destroyed Crazy Carlie after breakfast,” Lucy said with a chuckle. “I knew you’d have it in you to stand your ground.” Her face appeared once more over the side of the bunk. “You made your point. I wouldn’t go picking any more fights, though. There are a handful in here that you don’t want to mess with. Trust me.” She rubbed a bald spot on the side of her head before she disappeared up top again.

I sat in the bunk, silently reading Lord Byron until the lights went out.

I had officially survived my first full day in prison. I only had three hundred sixty-four to go.

CHAPTER TWO

“Each time dawn appears,

the mystery is there in its entirety.”

- Rene Daumal

I stood in the early morning sunlight, not quite feeling its warmth. I held the light jacket to myself, trying to keep out the cold wind that somehow blew through my entire body.

I had less than ten dollars to my name.

I didn’t have a job.

I had no family or friends.

I was completely alone. Not a single person I knew had stayed in contact with me over the past year. Not that I’d had many friends to begin with.

I hadn’t been allowed to have people close to me, lest they see through the web of lies and find out the truth.

But officially, my last name was no longer Meyers.

I was free.

Tossing the small bag with all of my possessions in it over my shoulder, I glanced to the right, then to the left.

Which way to go?

Without thought I turned my body to the sun and started walking.

In the past year, I’d realized that I had no idea where the correctional facility was. I didn’t really know the area.

I still didn’t care.

I still felt nothing.