Fiction Writers Group Flash Fiction for 1/18/2020

Here's my weekly submission to the Fiction Writers Group Facebook group's flash fiction prompt for 1/18/2020, inspired by:

I Wait

(With apologies to Mr. Herbert)

I wait. The full moon mocks me, but I wait. Again and again it mocks me, but still I wait. The bitter wind whips through the bars on my window, freezing my blood, but I wait.

I await my captor. I await the one who laid this trap. I await the powerful witch who constructed this cell just for me. I await my revered grandmother, whom I have never known.

I could easily slip these shackles that bind me. I could, without effort, pull these bars from their window. But that way leads to certain death. I could break down the door to this cell. In my rage, I could tear it from its hinges. But then I would face the one who stands guard. Then I would face my own mother.

And so, I endure. I endure the chains that weigh me down and bite into my flesh. I endure the cold rain and the scurrying rats which sustain me. I endure the loneliness. But most of all, I endure the fear. The fear of the future, the fear of not knowing.

I wait and I endure in the hope that to do so proves my humanity. To prove I can overcome my animal nature. To prove I am worthy of what Grandmother taught as she locked me away.

An animal will gnaw off its leg to escape a trap. But a human will lie in wait, feigning helplessness, until those who laid the trap return, fighting unto death in order to remove a threat to all of humankind.

And so I wait. The moon mocks me, the chains hurt me, Mother guards me, and my fears assail me. But still I wait, the gom jabbar at my throat.