I wrote... a thing. ??? (I was supposed to write a book review about a book dealing with everyday life in the Roman Empire... I got distracted a bit.)
This is the first story I've written in English since high school (more than five years ago), so I'll be happy about any corrections.
The shortest escapeShe knew she wasn’t stable; she knew this feeling wouldn’t last; she knew they’d catch her eventually. She couldn’t have cared less. The usual mess of senseless messages had ceased to flow through her mind, all these angry and sad voices had shut up for a moment. She felt like she was flying. She was free, if only for now.
Her feet worked the pedals with ease. She had climbed a small hill. At the summit, she stopped pedaling and rolled down on the other side, without moving a muscle but still rushing through the light wood. The ticking of the wheels running at idle fit the lapping and splashing of the small stream that was running alongside the cycle path. Birds sang to greet this first day of spring.
Why had they hid the bike?, she wondered in a small corner of her mind that wasn’t stunned by the beauty of nature around her. This was the best she had ever felt in a long time, maybe even a year. Her long chestnut hair was streaming behind her in the wind and for a moment, she was tempted to let go of the handlebars. As she reached level ground and had to pedal again, the moment of intense joy was gone. Fear and pain started to creep back into her thoughts. They are going to find you. They’ll lock you up once more and you’ll never feel this happy again. She tried to ride faster, but already she felt the energy drain.
No! I will not let this happen! With a final effort, she pushed aside the dark thought and made a sharp U-turn. She had to go back. Only if she came back by herself and hid the bike, they wouldn’t know she had found it. Maybe they hadn’t even noticed she was gone.
The way back up the hill was hard. She was out of breath. The birds now seemed to mock her efforts, they who could fly and escape so easily. Tears started to fill her eyes, but she didn’t stop. Finally the white buildings came back into sight. Although she could barely think clearly through the screams and cries now filling her head, she managed to sneak back in through the creaky old side gate and hide the bike in the small shack that was almost invisible inside the hedge, overgrown by vines for decades.
When she reached the door to her building, she was sobbing and knew she was on the brink of losing it. Before she could turn the handle, the door swung inwards and a stern voice addressed her: „You didn’t think of running away, did you? Poor girl, you know there is no way to escape yourself.“ The woman in the white dress ushered her back into the building, into her room, into her bed. She didn’t resist. Before the drugs knocked her out, she remembered again the happiest moment of her stay in this establishment. One day, she hoped to ride the bike again.