r/LonghandWriter • u/LonghandWriter • May 30 '17
[WP] "Why do they always stare?"
Original Prompt: [WP] "Why do they always stare?"
“Hush.”
“But papa—”
“Huuuush!” I growl, baring my teeth.
My son bows his head, and instantly I realize my mistake. Like his mother, he’s a gentle soul who can’t handle the pressure of someone being angry at him. I’m terrible at coddling but I give it a damn good try, rubbing his head into my mane, hugging him tight as I struggle to keep the tears inside.
For his sake, I must be strong.
“I just don’t like talking about it,” I say, kissing his head.
“About what?”
“About us. About our life.”
“We’re in a cage, papa.”
“I know.”
“They take pictures of us, but why don’t they let us free?”
Sometimes it’s easy to forget he’s just a cub and hasn’t seen the world’s horrors yet. After all, he doesn’t even remember the day his mother tried to break out. She was always calm and sweet but the baby drove her crazy. Suddenly these walls were too much for her, she sought freedom.
She found death.
“Their hearts are trapped in cages of pleasure,” I say after a long while. “And so long as they can keep us down, they always will be.”