Life outside here
Author: Judith Bosire
The first night outside, I heard a sound louder than anything else I had ever heard.
There had always been noise inside metal doors slamming, distant voices echoing down corridors, footsteps placed precisely. Even in silence, there was that ever reminding whisper that you are not alone yet never free. Yet out here, beneath an expanse of sky I had nearly forgotten of, the silence just seemed to stretch on forever. It was stunning and terrifying at the same time.
Jackson had done eight years and when he walked out of the gates, relief was supposed to wash over . Freedom, second chances, fresh starts, stuff I heard people discuss a lot. But nobody really preps you for the weight of it.
He paused, grip on a tattered satchel containing everything he owned real tight. The world outside moved fast. Cars zipped past, pedestrians didn't give it a second look and life went on like nothing happened. For him, everything had.
Eight years earlier, he had been another young man trying to find his way in the world. One decision gone awry, an instant of rage, and the course swung. Being inside made him look at himself in a way he never had before. He learned patience. He learned.
