She stood staring out at the world beyond the room she was enclosed in, if a room was the right word for it. It was more of a prison that she was trapped in, with no one around that could, even for a moment, take hold of her hand and assure her that it would be okay. It was also a shelter to which she fled when she had nowhere else to hide. Yet, it too was an element of nothingness- she could be standing in it and screaming at the top of her lungs, but no one would hear her.

So she sat in the prison, hid in the shelter, screamed in the nothingness, all the while staring out through the window. Many sights met her eyes: the blue cloudless sky, the green swaying grass, the giants that bore the name of trees; sounds made by kids laughing, people talking, birds chirping, and the wind singing reached her eardrums.

She placed her hand against the glass, the only substance that separated her from the outside world, that separated freedom from a locked cage, happiness from pain, and an endless dream from a nightmare.
So how to get out?

You can fight it. She heard the voice and nodded to its suggestion. Yes, she could fight. She could stand brave and strong, and even when others would try to suffocate her, she would make sure to stand up and take another breath.

Ignore it. The second’s voice opinion interrupted her thoughts, but only for a moment, as her mind began to form new ideas. She could pretend that everything was okay, and just try to go through life as normally as possible.

Destroy it. Yes…that was another option. She could flip the roles around and become the one who inflicts pain rather than the one who always has to deal with it.

Run away from it. The girl let the voice’s suggestion dwell a bit in her head. She could always leave those that tried to keep her trapped; run away when they’re not watching and not come back till they promised to stop hurting her.

End it. The girl froze, and slowly lowered her eyelids. There was not a lot to think about for that.

All five voices, clawing inside her head as they tried to win the fight.
Fight it, you’re strong.
No, ignore it, it’s easier.
Don’t listen to them, you must kill and destroy it.
Why bother? Just run away, leave this place.
Listen to them bickering and telling you all this nonsense that will require so much effort on your part. You know all the pain will go away if you end it.
Each second the voices would become even more jumbled, and she was only able to make out certain words.
Fight, ignore, destroy, run, end. End, run, destroy, ignore, fight. Fight…
“Stop!”
A wisp of silence scattered around the room, reaching its deepest corners. The only noise emitted was the sound of the girl’s heavy breath and splatter of tears against the windowsill. She lay her head down and closed her eyes, taking raspy breaths that grew more controlled and she fell into a deep sleep and entered a dream.

The girl opened her eyes. She was no longer sitting by the window staring outside because she was outside. The tears that had stung her eyelashes where now replaced with a smile that radiated from her face, giving her whole body a light, gentle glow. Something else was different, but she couldn’t quite place it. It was almost as if…no…it couldn’t be… Slowly she guided her hand over to her back and…yes it was true.
A pair of two, long, white wings were attached to her back. She ran her fingers through the soft feathers as her eyes shimmered from the tears that were quivering in them.
The girl pushed off the ground and rose up into the air, gliding towards the clouds that surpassed her. She took a deep breath of the air and let it sink into her lungs. She was free.